Can I make 40-45K 1st yr OTR?

the no house, no kids, is a huge advantage, at least in my opinion.

I have a soon-to-be 17 year old son at home who thinks what I am doing is "totally cool".

And for all of you who think he'll go wild now that I am gone...ain't happening. That kid is more well-adjusted than his Dad. And his Mom is right there...who also supports what I am doing. I can't add how important that is.

 

Yeah, same with me...although I probably only contacted about 25-30 companies. The fact that I live in FL was a huge hinderance to my progress.

Werner and CRST were the only mega companies that would entertain the idea of me working for them and only if I was willing to team. Swift had a 4 month waiting list and the others, who were hiring in FL, required a minimum of 6 months verifiable experience.

I thought I had a chance with Windy Hill but after 3 weeks of communicating with me stopped returning phone calls and emails.

WSE is a good company but freight could be better. Equipment is okay...as long as you don't mind auto-shift transmissions. I love it...I had no interest in being a REAL or SUPER trucker. I don't need to shift gears to feel secure in my manhood. I had to throw that zinger in.

Once I get to 6 months, I will likely reach out to Shaffer, Marten, Prime, and other temperature-controlled freight companies, just to see what they have to offer a 6 month guy.

I don't even know how $0.26 per mile stacks up with the others for a driver with little experience. I figured I was stuck here for at least 6 months.

 

It is a stepping stone Class A cdl with exp....& hopefully lowboy exp...untill I get in the union of operating enginers apprenticeship (2-3 years so they say), get my crane operators cert (Need class A or union will not hire appentice in my area for it). Then I get to do something I really enjoy, & make good coin doing it.

So, long term yeah, suck for now yeah, willing to sacifce now for what I want later....yeah.

 

Makes sense to me,....At least you have a plan,...

 

I sacrificed for a couple years and made $82,500 last year. The first few years were tough but you get back what you put in regardless of the industry. I'll make an easy $85,000 this year and break $90,000 if I really max my time. I'm non-union but paid my dues and made less than $40,000 back in 2006. Put in your time and you'll eventually make good coin doing it - I have the easiest $330 per night job in the world now. I basically listen to XM for 7 hours per night and BS with management and drivers for the other 4 - not bad if you ask me..

 

Yeah right.
How many of these people will go into trucking and come out making over $80k and home every day/nite, off weekends, etc?
Why don't you just be honest with people and tell them that it's VERY UNLIKELY they will see a job like this.
Most will sign on to the McMega haulers (the only ones hiring non/low-experience drivers these days).
They will get used, abused, lied to, left stranded, etc and eventually get fed up and quit.
The turnover rates are high in this biz for a reason...and it ain't because people are walking into $80k linehaul jobs.

 

I know. His post was pretty much, look at me I'm so much better than everyone else.

 

Conway OTR doesn't pay what you are getting does it?

I was told a former student from my school wanted off the road (don't know for who) he works the dock for Conway and is 52nd on the waiting list to run city pedal.

 

Shorter than the waiting list I am on...the local 3 gets 1500 applications a month! Each class is 65 people, & they had 1 class last year. I did score REALLY high in their assesment test (70% on a sliding scale, set 1 record, & tied another, highest ever score was 74.39), but it will still be a while. Hopefully in a few years I'll be able to say it was worth it, but new drivers like me really need to look at the pay scale, the time away from every1 you know, hot summer in the sleeper & cold winters in the sleeper (imagine freezing in your sleeper on Xmas & your APU stopped working), small spaces...even 102inch sleeper is smaller than most bedrooms...don't get you use your own crapper, or even see your front door but for a DOZEN days a year...constant feeling of being in motion.

For me I am good with all that (though some parts are harder than others for me..like the cold), but ######, make a plan for yourselves, don't just go to trucking & think it will be a bed of roses & you will make 80grand in 2 years (like the recruiters tell you stevens told me 95K the 2nd year (I laughted out loud & walked out)

I would really NOT go into trucking because you can't find another job. There are plenty of other low paying jobs out there where you are home every night, & force yourself to get trained /schooling to get a job you enjoy...unless you like the things I listed in my 1st paragraph.

*edit. As I wrote that my wife came to my crying saying don't leave us. That really hurt.*

 

The very good companies do not advertise for drivers. They don't need to. You've got to go out and find these companies and apply. Talk to the people that do the hiring and ask them what it will take to get on with their company.

If you want a good paying job that runs legal where you don't have the fear of being fired for any little thing then you MUST go out and look differently than the rest of the drivers coming out of school. Don't just depend on the computer for all your information. Find other ways to seek out companies. You can try and download trucking companies (not trucking jobs) in your area and weed through the list to find want you're looking for. You can scope out the truck stops or the fueling points to find companies also. But if you just take the recruiter's word and the computer information then you can be sure you'll find a company that goes through drivers at an alarming rate and doesn't pay that great.