Curious about Bulk or Tankers

Ok. I got paid by the hour. I was home every night. I had great benefits. I could invest and the compay would kick into also. I had a CAP and Savings program and a retirement plan. I had 2 weeks vaction after the first year and went to 3 weeks after 5 years then 4 weeks after 10. I worked 4 10 hour days. Anything over 10 hours was time and half. I could work a day of overtime any time I wanted to. I was never forced to work when I didn't feel good. ( But I would loose some of my bonus if I had sick days). I had 6 weeks of sick time. I drove a truck that was never older than 5 years. The equipment was tops. The company took the word of the driver in almost all cases. If the driver said the truck needs to go to the shop then it went. If you screwed up then the boss would talk about it but never in a bad way. My uniforms were paid for along with my boots. Gloves were given to us. Back in 92 I made almost 60K and it went up every year until I retired. Most all the loads were in the city but once in awhile you could get a load that would take 6 hours. Most loads only took 2 hours. The only time the pay would change was after 10 hours, holidays, and the yearly raise. I got 11 holidays. I went to college at night, the company paid for all my books. After your 6 month probation period your pay starts to increase by $.50 an hour every 6 months. After 2 years you're at top pay. There's more but I'm forgetting some. And I'm sure there's alot of companies with the same benefits. But you'll have a hard time finding a company that pays by the hour. When I left I was at $23.50 and hour. $1000 weeks were very common and all you had to work was 50 hours. Most drivers worked 60 hours and you'd still have 2 days off every week.

Now for the bad points.

As the new driver you got the shift nobody wants. Nights and weekends. The gasoline business is a 24 a day 7 days a week.

 

Yes there is more points I'd like to make. The examples I gave you are from a job that most consider the top. It's with a major oil company and it takes awhile to even get there. It's a great goal to set for yourself but you must remember there's alot of stepping stones (or jobs ) along the way. For someone just starting out you'll most likely do your time in the pits. You'll find most first tanker jobs are not the best. What you have to keep in mind is you'll gain experience from any tanler job and it's imperative that you keep your record clean. Once you get a couple of years in then you can start applying for the top jobs. Go around and submit your application and keep it up to date. One thing that impressed me was a driver that kept checking once a month and keeping his app. up to date. It shows the company that you really want the job. Don't get discourage if you're not hired right away. There's always someone out there with more experience, but keep trying. Don't burn any bridges. You'll find out in the tanker business it's a small community and a boss from one job may be your boss on another job. Good luck.

 

Very very true.

 

does anyone know about pneumatic tankers and haulin plastic? Aplied for a plastic haulin job....Is plastic a good gig?

 

Can I get some info on bulk transportation o/o

 

Please (lol)

 

I'm not sure about your location but here in West Texas a person can make a decent living hauling Frac sand, acid, diesel, water, and crude. these are all tanker jobs and most require hazmat. I personally haul diesel which fun but the hours are crazy. My plans is to get enough experience and then apply with a good quality crude oil transport company. I can make 75K easy working less hrs w/weekends off hauling crude....100K if you worked the night shift.

 

Thank you for the reply.I'm waiting for a call from the recruiter for bulk transportation