New CDL class A with lots of questions

Was that going there to visit, or work?

Japan was great, except for the work environment.
The bosses are gods and the workers are peasants to be trodden down. At least that was my experience.
No one dares say anything because they are so afraid of losing their job.

I was lied to about nearly every aspect of that job, and what to expect when I got out there.
After a few months I was fed up and told them exactly what I thought of how they ran their business and how they treated their workers.
By them I mean the owner of the company.

I don't think he had ever been spoken to like that before; it showed on his face.
So he fired me.

About the only thing I had in writing was a fax stating that if I were dismissed for any reason my return air fare would be provided.
I had to threaten to contact my embassy and tell them what exactly was going on there to get that promise honored.

 

I went to those places on a Navy ship and after that went on my own vacationing. I love China. Own 3 condos there.
Next trip plan to visit Macau, China. Maybe sell one of the condos and use that money to buy one in Macau.

 

Hong Kong

 

Probably better money in that than trucking and it's transportation.

 

A few airline pilots do make big paychecks, but most don't.

 

This is a big one. For your #1. OTR, if you haven't lived apart, is like the military. You can't go home when you want. You can't help her during emergencies. .... And the other component... you are paying for her school. There are many stories of a partner getting higher education and then divorcing the other. Make sure you are life long partners--or make her sign a financial contract!

Money!!! Your first 2 years, you might get close to 100k gross (up to 60k annually by year 2). But you will not see your wife much. "Most lucrative" doesn't apply to you since you are new to the industry. Some companies still start your pay at 35k per annum for new drivers.

#2: Buying your own rig. People get scammed in the Lease Purchase everyday. The most successful men I've encountered finance their truck when they have 30k in savings and good credit. I'd recommend 2+ years before even thinking that plan through because you may HATE trucking. No clean bathrooms, no parking, unfriendly DOT, sleepless nights, etc....

#3. Every trucker has an opinion on trucks. The data on breakdown is not a available because all the mom&pop shops or owner-ops across the country do not report their repair data. Big companies don't share this either. It would be too advantageous to their competitors. Mechanics can give you general information, but "show me the data". It's not there. I've been in an International for 2 years. Low mileage on 2 trucks. 300k+ on 2 others. I ran without a single breakdown on these later model trucks.

International and Freightliters at large companies stay running nonstop because the company has extra parts, trucks, and a successful management plan to keep their drivers rolling. I switched trucks 3 times at 1 company in a year, down no more than 2 days for any breakdown. I would say trucks DO NOT MATTER so much as a well managed company.

Look at the FMCSA score of where you're going. New driver? Can you start with PRIME? That would be my recommendation. Great equipment. Professional enterprise.

 

Your first year....to 18 months in....will pretty much suck....regardless of with whom you start.

Why?

You are learning A LOT of new stuff...& in a hurry. You are doing A LOT of new things that you aren't used to, yet. The learning curve for such can be quite steep, in certain cases. It's A LOT of hours, & a lot of responsibility. A lot of it is OJT. Companies & schools just don't have the time to teach you everything about everything. Since you lack experience, the pay generally sucks. Even if you don't go OTR--you will spend A LOT of time by yourself. It's not a good gig for those who can't work independently. Conversely--it's a pretty good gig for introverts, "loners"...&/or people who are sick of office politics &/or micromanagement (like me). Ditto if you have a bad case of wanderlust (which I did ).

The above will be made easier if you start out with a carrier that is reputable/well known for grooming/coaching new CDL holders. That's why I earler mentioned/described things with Swift in some detail.

As a beginning driver, if you have a bad day, & do something stupid...your odds of being fired from Swift are a lot less...than if you made the same mistake with a smaller carrier.

Being fired as a new/relatively new driver is VER-RY toxic for your CDL career, going forward.

I will pretty much agree with briantrucker's post above...good info there.

--Lual