Another Driver Looking for Advice From the Veterans

either a union job, ltl such as con- way or wall-mart are your best options.

wall mart jobs pay approx $65,000 a year depending on your routes. but you will have a steady schedule as far as days off and get paid for all you do. ....good benefits...if you are close to a dc i would look into it

Conway also pays well with excellent benefits and you should be home daily

other ltl jobs like Estes pay decent but not as well as the above carriers

as far as owner operator you will make less than above but there are more tax benefits and how much you make is totally dependent on who you get your loads from and how hard you work

 

as soon as you leave this outfit in search of more money...you will wish you hadnt

there are so many more headaches OTR and you will be wishing you could go home

money inst everything

i would say hold onto what you have got...

 

Anything that is an "In-House" or "Private Fleet" those are your best options, it does not have to have a union complicating things for it to be a good company, just remember that. I don't know how it is out East, but out West you can make a good $65,000+ here no problem with a record and history like yours. There are plenty of careers that don't advertise, just remember that. I got my driving gig with the attitude that good jobs, like good products, do not need advertising. They sell themselves.

Honestly, what I did was. I parked on a off-ramp for around an hour. And wrote down companies that I could see myself driving for(as they passed by), I made a huge list. I then found them online, and started e-mailing their HR departments and letting them know who I was, that I saw one of their trucks, and that I am interested in learning more about what their drivers do because their company is one I could see myself retiring from and am wondering what I need to do to join the team.

It worked!

 

There are many ways to improve your income. My advice is do what I do. Sell your blood. I am O- so I gets me the big bucks.

 

As far as OTR goes, I'd do it in moderation. There are a few 4 out, 4 home runs out here for some outfits....Sounds nice!

 

My husband leases from a company, and it has been nip and tuck some weeks as far as money, he has been paid as little as $-32.00 one week. Even with a student he has cleared one week only $519.00; it is according to how many miles they get that week and it seems to be dropping the last few weeks. The student gets about $37.00 a day that he pays him, the company pays some also; so on some weeks the student is making more than he does.

It sounds like you have a great job as far as what you want for days off, travel limits, even the set salary it sounds like.

Perhaps you should get a part-time job, of course I don't know how this would effect your logs. Had a salaried manager once who drove the bus for retired housing community a couple times a week for the bus driver was out sick; he ended up having to clock in and out daily per our company rules but I am not sure if this was because of DOT or not; you know the 34 hr rule, and 10's.

Conway in 2008 got rid of a lot of their drivers, closed down some terminals and consolidated others; this was when the economy was bad, don't know what they will do now if it goes south again.

 

Walmart (even though I can't stand them for many, many reasons) is a hell of a company to drive for, although very hard to get into. With your record though, you have what a lot of drivers don't: a reason to hire you. 1 ticket, same company for 6 years and no accidents, you are a recruiter's wet dream. That means you're CSA score is almost nonexistent, you prove to be loyal and safe. I'd say you have a better chance than a lot of guys out here when it comes to getting a "premium" trucking job. Hold on to what you have until you get that better job. With your record, I'd say the sky is the limit. Btw, Thanx for being an actual professional.