3 yrs exp, but left trucking 4 yrs ago making $120K+, where do I pick up?

Really bro?


Master Eagle Dive


For the happy ending to this bizarro thread, I ended up going with Schneider. Can't say I enthusiastic about being a company driver, but its OK I guess.

They offered me $0.40 mile + $0.02 safety bonus (paid quarterly) + $6500 signing bonus (also paid quarterly)

The companies $0.02 "safety bonus" is complete and utter BS. So many things (not safety related, but money related) are tied in to the safety bonus, that I find it offensive to call it a safety bonus. I assume many drivers will likely never see this bonus, because of all the stipulations involved.

I have been with them for about 3 weeks, and my paycheck this week will be $1200, last week was $1100, so not too bad, but not great.

During the 3 day orientation, it was hard to watch and swallow their video and "reasoning" for not being a "union" company, which to me was somewhat BS. But to each his own. There is a reason UPS drivers, which are union, love their jobs and get paid great.

One thing that I don't like is the 60MPH imposed on solo drivers, yet teams drivers are allowed 65MPH. That is just a ridiculous policy. So right there, they are automatically limiting how many miles I can get a week.

I was and somewhat still am hesitant about switching to K&B Transport (who also pre-hired me) and offered me $0.45 a mile, which increases to $0.46 in 6 months, and $0.47 in one year. They also have a guaranteed $1125 minimum weekly paycheck, and been hearing there drivers average about $1300-$1500 a week.

The only reason I am trying to stick in here with Schneider is because of the Schneider Choice porgram. Because my experience is over 3 years recent, I have to be with Schneider for 6 months, then I can go with Schneider Finance and get on the Schneider Choice program, which I really, really, really like. Did I say I really like it? Yes, I really like the Schneider Choice program.

Anyways, my DBL's told me 3000 miles a week was impossible with Schneider, but so far I just closed 3000 miles this week, and last week ran 2900. When I joined I was promised 1700-2200 miles a week. Haha, now that's real funny.

As for the company, they seem pretty decent, about the norm for a company driver. But being an Lease Operator before, its very hard to adjust to all these Company Driver restrictions. I love to bobtail and do stuff in my free time, and as a company driver, there is no "Off-Duty Driving" button on the qualcomm (e-logs) so it's makes this rather impossible.

For me, I don't mind sticking in there for 6 months, since I do see the potential, and the freedom that the Schneider Choice program offers. To me, its almost a perfect program, so just need to do my time as a company driver then hop over.

That's about it! Chilling at the Iowa 80 TA, on my 34-hour, and figured I would give and update. Thank you guys for giving me the suggestions to get me headed in the right direction! (which was basically relevant 10 posts out of 340, lol).

Later!

 

Haha, that's epic. Then again I never had anyone bang on my stall ever. Now I know what to do if one ever does!

Thanks Chinatown, basically your two suggestions, Schneider and K&B, were spot on for being the best bet on what I was looking for. Funny, I applied to about 15 different companies, and the only one that didn't accept me was J.B. Hunt. In the end, Schneider and K&B ended up being the best of all of them. I ultimately chose Schneider ONLY for the opportunity to get on the Choice Program. If it wasn't for that, I would have definitely went K&B, as the pay company wise is much higher, with much more miles as well.

 

Yes, I still have those goals in mind, and taking the route I've chosen, with time, will get me there. I want to save up enough money to try and get all that off the ground while I'm out here on the road, on my off time. Seems if I want internet everywhere, $750 a month with verizon for 100GB 4g LTE is the price to pay lol. Sadly, my metropcs out here in Iowa, has left me without internet for the past day.

My plans are to do 6 months company, move to Schneider choice, make more money, complete my programming classes on my off time, outsource the work I want done on a few of my websites, start putting in the capital from to monetize on those websites, incorporate, hire some full time employees, expand my business, hire more employees, seek venture capitalist to invest, possibly even government loans like Elon Musk, more rapid expansion, hire execs to run the companies, invest in a variety of different market segments, come up with crazy ways of revolutionizing the way things are done in everyday life, start an IPO, octo-quadruple my net worth within a few years, make the top 10 Forbes list of billionaires, start a charity like the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, do all the things I always wanted to do, and to finish it off, give away all my trillion dollar fortune when I die to third world countries, Warrent Buffet style! No easy life for my son's, they will work for what they want in life. I will not leave them anything.

But, I need to start somewhere, and this is where I start... The only difference before I started this thread and where I am right now at this moment in life, is that now, for the first time in my life, I have decided on a destination I am aiming for to achieve my goals.

From here, it seems I now have a plan to make all this achievable. Before, I was wandering aimlessly through life.