1st year driver pay

lol. I used to be an Army Recruiter. I never lied but know others did. I'm kinda in the same boat as you. I'm currently in school. I'll finish early Oct. Its hard to wade through the bull. I'm currently thinking Prime or Schneider. I don't know what I don't know.

 

35-40k is more realistic. What a lot of new drivers don't realize is that in the beginning you are going to be pretty inefficient. It takes experience to be able to maximize your hours and miles and money. Don't get discouraged It gets easier every day.

 

Starting pay will vary somewhat according to what you haul. Most who start out pulling vans will realistically earn between $30-35,000 the first year. Second year it is possible to earn $35-40,000. After that you should be over $40,000+. If you get with a more specialized carrier your starting earnings might be a little higher. For instance, those pulling flats tend to earn more than van drivers. The reason is due to the extra work tarping your load and the generally higher rates for open deck freight. Not all drivers want to work that hard.

 

Looks like we posted at the same time. lol

 

My first year with Swift (2011) I grossed $37,453. This included two full months in training. My second year I expected to make about 45K, but ended up at about 42K. I now work for a different company, and this year I should be close to 60K. I hear the pay's gone up some at Swift, so you may be able to do better than I did, but what really matters is the kind of work you end up in; OTR generally pays less than dedicated accounts and specialized fleets. The recruiter may be a little high, but you already figured that. Good luck to you.

 

I have been driving just 13 months and am making $1100-$1200 a week hauling tires on a dedicated route in the south. There is a bit of physical work off loading at each stop.

 

started in sept of 2004..My 1st full year at swift 2005 my pay was 37,711.11 my last year pay was 51,411.06

So about 35k to 42k is what you looking at 1st year

 

by the math starting at 33cpm and averaging 2200 miles a week you get just over 37k, however you get 5 raises the first year and you might get more miles when you get better at driving.