a little advice and help please

danc694u is right about the 35%...

But another thing that should be mentioned is the future...weigh it out and see which job you think will be the most stable.

$600 a week on the road beats the crap out of living on an unemployment check...

 

Well, can you live on the pay of the local job? You need to consider the expenses of being OTR. It's more than we think when we're new. Really, it's more.

Talk it over with your wife and lay out the pros and cons for both you and her and then the pros and cons financially. YOu see, that "almost 35%" isn't going to be that in take home pay. You'll lose about 20-25 in taxes and benefits possibly, then you'll have road expenses: laundry, food, drinks, showers etc. You can EASILY spend that 35%. Just a thought.

 

Take the local job. The time you miss with your kid will never be made up for.

As for the money, a local job may pay more in the long run if it is reliable. OTR paychecks vary a lot week to week. The other thing is that if the local job is a weekday schedule, you might be able to pick up some extra income on the weekend as a casual driver.

I wouldn't worry about the lack of OTR experience hurting you if you decide later to try OTR. When the driver shortage hits again companies will be a lot less fussy, just like they were about three years ago.

Good luck to you!

 

If both jobs will pay the bills, then the extra money is for your "lifestyle". What good is it if you're on the road? Once you buy that dually you're stuck and choices are gone.

 

Two points:

What ever Prime says you will make out on the road (after you jump through all their hoops) will always end up being less $ than what you were told. That's not a slam on Prime, that's any and all OTR trucking companies. The economy sucks at the moment, and you will always sit around just a bit more than the recruiters tell you no matter how good the economy is. When you aint rolling, you aint making $$$.

Next point, if you take the "home every night job" you are hurting your chances down the road (if the local job doesn't work out) with a 48 state carrier to a certain degree. The big OTR companies want their drivers to have actual OTR experience, and rarely will they accept a driver who's only exp comes in just a few local states.

Obviously, its a decision you're going to have to make after weighing your options, and decide what you want out of life.