Survey

4'10, 397 pounds can bend to touch my knees. 24' neck!

All joking aside The job is very demanding both physically, and mentally. Pay is never enough for all of the stress and hassles you have to go through or put up with. You never have to hunt down a driver, just sit at the circle of knowledge during dinner time and observe or talk to those sitting there. You will get a ton of responses.

 

1. It can be rewarding and frustrating. The whole point of the job is to pick up freight and deliver it on time and safely. There are tight schedules sometimes and bad weather to contend with, sometimes finding parking is challenging. The upside is you are on your own and get to see things most don't.

2. Starting salary between $25,000 to $35,000 depending on carrier.

3. 70+ hours per week. It varies here and there.

4. Career growth? As in what? You can make more money after a while. Some of us make between $50-80,000 or better.

5. Be able to breathe and stay awake and aware. That's about it.

 

For me its a great career and not just a job. For some its to keep a paycheck coming in till the economy picks back up.

 

I agree. It's been 11 years out here. I make good money and enjoy what I do.

 

I'm a very new guy but, this is what I see.

1. My day starts at about 4am and I try to drive 10 hours a day. I really don't feel a lot of pressure, only what I put on myself. There are risks but, they can be mitigated by staying alert and anticipating problems. The travel is cool because you get to see the US for almost free.

2. I started out at .25 cpm. I've been told I will be up to .31 after 12 months. My paycheck varies depending on how many miles I drive that week. My first week I had 2900 or so. My next week I had about 280. This last week I'll have about 2500. It all depends on where the freight is and where you are.

3. Unless you want to be an O/O I really see little room for growth as a company driver. You can be a mentor and make more but besides that I haven't heard of any upward movement. It's not the military where you can move up through the ranks. You can move into the office but I have no idea what it takes or what it pays.

4. As for physical requirements, just go to a truck stop and spend the day watching the drivers go in and out of the store. Some are in really good shape and other look like a life in the cab as destroyed them. Some are so big you wonder how they get in and out of the cab while others are so small you wonder how they tarp the load. I think basically, as long as you can do the job, you'll be ok. There are so many different types of trucking jobs that just about anyone can fit in somewhere.

I'm a newbie, these are just my thoughts on it. Take it for what its worth.