SOMEONE said it couldn't be done...

If you've been following my posts, you've seen that I've been doing a lot of research and asking questions about entry level driving jobs and different companies' compensation packages. In one of my posts, I stated that I was mainly interested in an entry level position where I would earn around $50K for my first year.

Well I was flat out told by someone here on TTR (that I won't name) that it wasn't going to happen. Period. Followed up with 'Gotta pay your dues'.

I graduated from my CDL class on 5/4/2012, and received my license the same day. On 5/11/2012, I began driving for a small carrier / o/o (2 trucks, 3 drivers). I'm paid on percentage of line haul rate paid to the truck. Today marks the end of my first week. 6? (lost count) loads, all Northeast regional. The GPS has logged 2787 miles, (a good portion of that was recovering from wrong turns, missed exits, deadheading to get equipment repaired / swapped out, etc.) I have 8.25 left on my 70, getting back 8 tomorrow, and my first check for $1062.00 will arrive in my mailbox at home on Tuesday.

So as it stands now, I'm on track for over $55K my first year.

Don't tell me that it can't be done.

Newbs, you don't have to settle for Swift / CRE / Covenant / Roehl / etc... The employment path I chose may not be for everyone; when I showed up I was tossed the keys to the truck and told to get to work. My first load was 45,000 lbs of beer hauled from VA to MA, the second load 47,500 lbs of paper stock from MA back to VA. My lightest load was about 25K of fiberglass insulation. I was pretty much on my own when it came to operating the truck, getting it scaled, setting the tandems and 5th wheel position, routing, etc. On my FIRST load, I got fired after I refused to drive the truck (on a route through a scale house) with a trailer tire scrubbing a crossmember after it was loaded, then I was re-hired when my boss realized that HE was the one that put the bigger tires on that axle the day before.

I'm sitting here at the Love's in PA with a big smile on my face and that satisfied worn out feeling you get after a good week's work. I had no idea that I'd enjoy this career THIS much. I'm looking forward to seeing what next week brings.

Thanks for listening.

 

Nope, hometime's not high on my priority list just yet. Can't expect to make good money just starting out when you're going home every 2 weeks.

Maybe that's where I'm 'paying my dues'...

And it's not just one week, it's my FIRST week. EVER. DRIVING A TRUCK.

I'd expect that I'll have less problems and earn more as I gain experience.

 

Nice thing is, I'm on percentage. I'd rather sit than run for the sake of racking up miles. The owner and I have an agreement that we will NOT haul cheap freight. I really make out very well on the short runs that pay more per mile to the truck than the longer runs. And I'll bet I worked harder than I needed to by running an extra 4-500 miles this week just by mis-routing myself and having non-optimal route settings on the GPS.

Thanks. The usual and obvious paths usually frustrate me to the point that I don't function well.