question for drivers?

I think that depends on the individual and their circumstances.
For me? yes, it would be pathetic.
I have a student right now that lived on $154 per week unemployment for two years.
He has nearly 3 weeks training pay ($350 per week) in the bank now and is happier than a pig in slop!
Had another student that was a window washer. Made $300 per week.
Now, recently having gone solo after training, he's averaging more than $600 per week and is thrilled.
So you see, it's all a matter of perspective.

 

I have no clue to how many miles or significant pay factors, I made 60k as a company driver.

 

Maybe time to look for a new company. There is freight out there and many drivers staying busy. There could be circumstances out side of your control that are causing problems for this company and their ability to obtain loads.
If the old timers are leaving, that must tell you something.

 

It is all relative, if you have 17,000 and you are living at a 50,000 level, yes it is pathetic...

 

agree with the Emulsified !

 

There's many factors.

Many companies won't put your perdiem on your paycheck. That can be another $13,000 if you are not seeing it.

What kind of driver is your husband? How long has he been driving? Is he a whiner or a performer? New drivers have to pay their dues and learn the ropes.

The company he works for? Do they value their employees or are they expendable numbers?

Personally as an experienced driver, if there wasn't over $30K on that paystub by now, I would be reconsideriing. It's 50/50 out there finding a good job. Why work for half when you can make what you deserve? One has to do their homework and be halfway smart to land a decent job. You don't pick jobs by pretty trucks, pretty ads and listening to lying recruiters.

 

Regulation is destroying the Trucking industry. Small companies aren't rolling with the punches. Regulatory compliance costs are smothering the little guys. If you want to maximize your employees' drive time, you need some high tech equipment. The big carriers can afford to choke up a million here, a few hundred thousand there- and they have the legal teams to locate the Gov't programs to pay them to do it.

Many thanks to the A.T.A., it has always been their goal to dominate this business through regulation.

Make your bucks today- driver pay is going down. While we get raises here and there of 2 or 3 cents-per-mile, our costs are climbing much faster than pay. As long as Trucking is artificially bloated with a tsunami of Truck School Graduates pay will continue to increase at less than the cost of living. In other words, Driver pay is going down.

Want to make some REAL money in trucking? Start another Driving Academy.