is 29,000 a year job worth leaving to drive trucks?

If that's your plan....Stay where you are!

 

Reality check my friend. As a trainee you will not make $29k per year and you will have road expenses of about $100.00 per week.

Very few drivers get more than 1 week vacation per year. Very little home time and virtually no overtime.

Think carefully. In this economy if you have a guranteed $29k per year with some benefits ..... umm.... yeah.

On the other hand if you WANT to go into trucking because of what it is then knock yer socks off. Just research the companies before hand.

Just my $0.02


................... Jim

 

Look at the posts in the "Report A Bad Trucking Company Here ' forum and see all the complaints about low miles and $300 paychecks .
There have been more and more posts by graduates out of school 3 months to a year that can't get hired .

 

no! Nada! No!

 

Yea, I have 14 months OTR and have been looking for a job for the past month and still no luck even on a rehire. If there were a local job here where I am I would take it, do it at 110% and still kiss ### so I wouldn't loose it regardless of what it pay's (other than mang. position) which is all we have here and even they are starting to be taken sense the GM plant has been shut down for good here. My advice, stay were you are. It's not worth it.

 

Ok lets do the math. Starting pay after training is .25 a mile. .25x2500=$625 a week 625x52=$32,500 a year. Now thats getting 2500 every week and working 52 weeks straight. Now lets look and reality. Say you can get 2500 a week. Lets say you work 42 weeks during the year. Thats 3.5 weeks a month. 42x625=$26,250 a year. Taking just 4 days off a month, No vacation for the 1st year, just 1 week there after. You will work harder and longer for less money. And that $26,250 is before taxes. So as was said before, unless you want to be a trucker your better off where you are. This is not an industry you get into to make money. You can make a living but you will have to work darn hard to do it.

 

If you're thinking long term then you want to wait a while. Like mentioned by others there are a lot of recent graduates of the schools that cannot find a job or are getting very little work. More importantly, the companies can afford to be very picky right how and I have read some stories of people getting fired for the silliest of reasons. Silly reason or not it goes on your record and can still make it very hard for you when things do turn around. Keep your guaranteed income until things get better and then look at trucking. While you're waiting take a good long look through this site.