5 Months in

Kinda like the kitchen business, huh !!!

 

The McMega haulers are only good for getting trained, getting your industry standard 1-2 years in, and then as a stepping-stone for something better.
Just like in any other biz, you've got to crawl before you can walk.
Use this time to learn to work the logbook in your favor...that's the #1 thing you can do to maximize your income.
Stay out as long as you can...always deliver on-time.
Try and sleep at the consignee...get unloaded in the morning and then have max hours to run for the day....this will help you get more loads.
ALWAYS see if you can get to the shipper/receiver earlier than the appointment time....get in, get loaded/unloaded, and then be ready to roll.

You will eventually stand out from other drivers and your miles will go up.
But even so, you will only make somewhere in the neighborhood of $40k at a McMega hauler like Schneider.
Several years ago you could make more...but the pay, overall economy, and demand for drivers was much better then.

Bottom line: this is hard work, long hours, the pay sucks, and you'll hardly see home if you want to make good $$$.
But it can lead to better things down the road.

My advice: try and get into their tanker division....do this for 1-2 years and it will open alot more doors for you to a good-paying local job than dryvan.
Van is a dime-a-dozen...and so are the jobs associated with pulling a van.
In order to make better $$$$, you've got to get into niche areas of the biz like tanker, over-size, hauling cars, LTL, foodservice, etc.

 

DO NOT bother with Schneider's tanker division; you will get 1,500 miles a week.

About that 12 cents a mile plus 12 cents per diem you are being paid -- I think Schneider paid me 34 cents a mile as a trainee back in '03-'04. No per diem.

That is how they create an artificial driver shortage that allows them to hire Mexican and other foreign drivers on worker visas.

The best thing you and all drivers can do about these tactics is contact your Congressman and Senator. Seriously, do it with a strong complaint.

 

Yeah, but tanker exp can help you get a job at places like Airgas, Linde, gas haulers, etc making $50k-$75k and sleep in your own bed every night.
You've got to look at companies like Schneider not as a career but as a stepping stone to something better down the line.