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

lol, seems you've made your mind up. Best of luck to you. Just remember, patience is important.

 

After a year experience I was hired on starting pay of .36 cpm with JR Schugel, also TransAm offered me .36 cpm as well.

Yep this is how I fealt when I was with Schneider and swift. They just bounce you around from region to region no real long haul freight. But when I was with Schugel there was long haul freight there, was actually nice running from MN to CA to MN to NJ to NY to MN.

 

I've made upwardxs of $55,000 a year only workin 8 months a year.... I had a job offer of $80,000 haulin flatbeds year round. If u find the right place u can make good $......do what u want cause life is too short not enjoyin what u do

I got .53 a mile doin flatbeds, or $25 an hr local as well

 

ive been otr for 16yrs and got laid off with a soso dac. it is hard now to get a driveing job.im glad i got un emp bennies now. but i do love to be out there. there nothin better then the t/a west on a hot night.good luck bro

 

Depends.

Right now I can't jump ship from Knight because even though they haven't given me a raise in a year, I still make more than a 5 year driver at most other companies because they've dropped their wages.

 

They are frustrated and showing it because you are not listening to there advice.
You asked the question.
They gave you answers.
The problem is that you did not like the answers, so you rather not pay attention to them.

That one Owner Op showed his numbers.
Now remember, his truck is paid for. That is not the norm for many.
Also he has to pay taxes still. Most OO hold 16% of there Gross for quarterlys, not of there net.
That is also a 100k mile year, not running really hard, but not a bad year.
Still. He owns the truck, it is paid for, and he makes about 25% more a year than I do as a company driver. If/ when the time comes to buy another truck that will be payments of at least 1000 a month. So subtract 12k, and also about 25k for quarterlys. Some of that will come back at the end of the year, but cannot be banked on.
Also, that is a low year on breakdowns. He was lucky, or the truck was under warranty.
Allot goes into trucking.
Sometimes we have good years and sometimes bad. This year is hurting me bad. Laid off for 4 months then I broke down and went back to a large company. Miles are down, pay is down allot. If I make 38k this year I will be surprised. Most likely it will be around 30k, but I also did not work for 4 months, and the start of the year I was making good money with a small fleet.

ALLOT of good experienced drivers are looking for work.
The only reason the bottom feeders are even still training drivers or taking trainees is because they can get you to work for tens of thousands less a year.
Hopefully it will come back to bite them in the but later, but not yet.
There are 8 million Class A CDL holders in the US.
3 million of those are driving trucks right now. (or were last year)
If the money ever goes back to near what we are worth I am guessing at least 1 mill of those that are not driving will come back looking for work.

 

Trucking can be good...BUT! It's pretty tough right now for new drivers! I've been out here for a lot of years and I wouldn't trade this life for anything. I own my business and have for a long time and that makes a HUGE difference!
I hear horror stories about big companies and have a few friends that have screwed up and worked for some of the bottom feeder outfits like CR England....For a company driver these days....It's a toss up!
If you're single and want to do this and can afford to work for very little money for a while then, Go for it!

If you're not single and need a good, steady income then it's probably best to stay where you are.

 

Good points.
Also, he's under his wife's health insurance...otherwise he would have to pay out of his own pocket.
Not to mention no 401k matching like company drivers get.
No paid vacation, paid holidays, etc.
Has to hire an accountant to do the books.

Factor all of the above, and that 25% premium he makes over you gets whittled down real quick.

 

Guess I am one of the fortunate few who has not had to go the otr route.
Started driving in 1985 part time for excavation co. then got on with a ltl freight line 5 day`s a week home every day off on weekends. When I left was making 43cents a mile plus.
Started hauling car`s in 1999 for a union carhauler in tx did that for 11 year`s before being laid off. Worked mostly 5 day`s a week made 73 k a year until the collapse of auto industry. This was the best job I ever had and I loved it but time`s they are changing.
Been on layoff for 8 months,been looking for work but not otr finally found a job that starts in a week monday thru friday daylight hours but,it only pay`s about 980 wk. plus benies.
All though I managed to get a decent job in a tough economy it is still a far cry from the money that I have made in the past.
Trucking pay is desending not ascending and it proabably will get worse. My advice to you is get an education and try an go another route for a carrer because truking is a dead end job. Yes there are still some decent co`s but getting a job at one of these is next to impossible at least for now.
Hope thing`s turn around but it does`nt look like it anytime soon at least for blue collar america.
chainslinger