i am making over 2 times more than i have ever made in my life...

Ok, now we're getting somewhere. So we have a number that states what the carrier should offer or provide the driver in terms of wages.

Now, we just need to determine what the driver should offer the carrier in exchange for this $2k/wk number. After all, there are always 2 sides, 2 sets of demands, 2 sets of requirements, 2 sets of offerings, etc in any employer/employee arrangement.

How many days ways from home will you be acceptable with? How much of your time will you provide the carrier? How much will you produce for the carrier? How much of your labor and talent will you provide the carrier? What level of performance will provide the carrier? Can/will you provide any "safety guarantees" to the carrier?

 

The reality is weather frugal or wasteful our wages are going down rapidly in relation to prices of goods and services. I went to the dentist and spent $140. $180. and $80. She told me I needed another procedure that cast $850. Two years ago the same procedure was $650. I need a roof on my house $7500. 20 years ago 2500. Look at all the drivers with teeth problems. I looked at moving and found rent had gone from 650 to 1250 for a place similar to the one I own. In the eighties one could often find breakfast for $3.00 coffee was free most places. Plate lunch were around five with beverage. Now you need $15 dollars. In the eighties my company would buy the motel anytime for most any reason like snow storm or layover now sometimes it is hard to find a room under $100. what I am saying is a lot of reason people complain about money is that we dont get very much of it in relation to what it used to be. I dont expect it to do anything but get worse. I have saved money and gotten ahead because I am frugal. At the point that I am at now I am being squeezed and cant save money. I am making the same I made in 1988. I had a great job in 1988. The company closed in 1989. I have had great jobs since. But I got old some how and had a little sickness and even when you are prepared it hurts you economically. the health problems that I have been having are directly related to overworking all those years. I will get over it yet I understand that our pay is low. I should be able to make twice what I was in 88 without killing myself in the process.

 

That's great that he is making 2 times more than he ever made in his life.
Now my question is; what kind of work was he doing before he entered trucking?... part time at Jiffy Lube?

 

Well said.
One can only hope that many others will listen to actual experience, rather than wishful thinking.

 

Not at all haha !

I have a co-worker that has saved a fortune but has sold a lot of vacation time back to the company , worked all the overtime he could never took the wife out much and lived very cheap. That is all good if that is what you want. I like to save but I still like to enjoy life and have some fun.

 

I have always managed to save money in this business. I just had to put a roof on my house and paid cash. I still have money left. I don't finance or borrow money and haven't for several years. When I am on the road, I watch what I eat, but don't eat much fast food. Food and everything has been going up. Much of the increases have come from Washington. More regulations and higher taxes, including obamacare are part of the reason. It is expensive to live these days. We have 15 new taxes that have come into being since the first of the year. More will hit in January. Some are on corporations and those are being passed along to consumers in the form of higher prices. It doesn't make our paychecks go further when there are more taxes coming out. We should all be saving something from every paycheck. Wages do seem to be going up somewhat. Carriers costs have also risen dramatically. Most of us have seen our insurance costs escalate for the last several years. The economy is still not doing that well. But, drivers are still earning more than most other professions. You don't need to live from paycheck to paycheck, nor do you need to not enjoy living. But, neither to you need to take on a lot of debt to buy all the toys and spend money you don't have. There is no reason any driver should not be living well and to save money.

 

I know exactly how you feel op. I had dead end jobs before this, best was 10 bucks an hour with some overtime some weeks. Spent over a year before cdl school collecting unemployment and gearing up my deathknight to prepare for The Siege of Orgrimmar. I quit my first 2 carriers within 7 months because I didn't like the pay, among other things. I was making more than what a lot of rookies are happy with.

This job sucks too much to not make as much as possible. Why work for 30 cpm when the guy in the next lane hauling a drive van is making 45..? That's dumb. His day went almost exactly like yours, but he's making a lot more. If you're not trying to make more money a an OTR guy, you're a chump. Then again, I'm 27. I'm literally trading my life away for my paychecks, they need to be worth my time.

You old guys can say what you want about needing to earn things, and that's true to an extent, but you don't get anything out of working for crap carriers for any longer than necessary. Rookies, don't let people tell you that you need to stick with a low paying carrier for your first few years. Carriers may say drivers are a dime a dozen, but the truth is the other way around. They need us more than we need them. Sure, leaving a job every couple months is bad, keep it minimal, but don't put up with b.s. if you can line up a better offer.

Gonna get flamed hard for how arrogant I am, but I'm making twice what some of these guys think rookies" deserve", and I'm still lookin to move up.

Nobody has your back out here, it's just you by yourself. Your company, your customers and your government couldn't care less about you. You don't owe #### to anyone/anything but your bank account.

 

To answer all your questions, I think a driver should make a MINUMUM of $1,000 per week. Now that may sound like a lot, but for what we have to put up with day in and day out, what is expected of us professionally, and the fact of being away from friends and family (a normal life) it really isn't. This country (and for that matter nearly every other one as well) would go down the proverbial tubes if it wasn't for truckers. We are NEEDED in order for society to survive.

The saying "Without Trucks America Stops" couldn't be more true.

 

Brandson, you pretty much nailed it here.
Although not quite an old man myself (I'm 53), I'm still old enough to tell you that, at 27, you've got a lot stacked against you. Much more than anyone of my generation or older. A lot of guys my age were able to somewhat "make it" because goals were more obtainable in the 60's, 70's, and even the 80's.
Keeping that in mind, these same fellows have the mindset that, "Hey, if I could do it, heck, anyone else could do it too if they work as hard as I did. No free lunch here"!
Unfortunately, they don't understand that things have changed to the extent that they have. Specifically and simply; the rich have finally and completely taken control of absolutely everything; Real Estate, Government, Corporations, Laws, Taxes, Military, Food, Banks.... Everything.
Opportunities have all but dried up, leaving most workers as intentionally underpaid slaves while the fellows at the top rake in record profits.
Glad to see that you seem to be at least aware of what you are truly up against and what is truly up against you.
Maybe your generation can put a chokehold on the current happenings here in our fading republic.
Good luck to you!

 

You are only as happy as you allow yourself to be.... no other person, job or possession can make you happier than you are willing to be...

Complaining is useless.. i don't complain because I dont like the way it (complaining) makes me feel... I am a person of action and if i do t like something I make changes...

I avoid negative thinking and negative people...