to drive or not to drive that is the question

i gotta agree with these other guys. if your family can move in with the mother in law for now, you can keep your current job and see your family every weekend, which would be more oftan than if you are otr. and I really dont want you to take this the wrong way, I am not trying to be an ### hole, but if they are moving by her because she is in bad health, the move would probibly be temporary wouldnt it? once she passes they will have no reason to stay

 

its pretty hard with fed ex but no harm in trying. run from stevens transport they take newbies which you are not your the pay scale is very low when I tried them with 2 years experience they told me I would make barley .30. if you took your cdl of your license like with con-way they require you to do 48 states for a year before you can do ltl where you can be home every night the pay is really good. they say a solo can make 150000 a year otr they are a good company I consider them but I just had enough of the west. when I return from my injury I am going to go to crete the pay is .41 and their trucks have apu Im not returning to star because they signed with swift as fleet operator's you should try them they are near you some what. they took me when I had 4 1/2 months and the pay is really good .36 up to year, .39 1 year, they top out at .46 you increase every year. if you would like to talk to them call 800-548-6082. push option for safety talk to mr. mike in safety. he is over orientation. he is real cool and he will tell you if they would hire you and tell you what u need to do. make sure you tell mr mike that you have experience already. but make sure you get your haz back they pull a lot of beer and pepsi loads and you have to have haz if you stay on main lane your chance of getting home is real good possibly every weekend for mandatory 34hr break. the trick is to always request to be home on the weekend you want. I live 8mi from I40 I was home every weekend majority of time. I can count on 1 hand how many times I was away from home 2wks or more and con-way require haz if you go to them GOOD LUCK!! pick carefully you shouldn't have problem as long as you have clean MVR and CSA

 

After letting my CDL go (for about 10x longer than your 3 yrs) I did a 'quickie' refresher at Vincennes University in Vincennes, IN. $50/hr. Two three-hour days (Wednesday & Thursday) and then came back on Monday for the actual Skills ($150). So it cost me $450 total. The instructor had me, first thing, blind-side a long-nose Volvo w/sleeper and 53' trailer into a parallel parking spot and out of dumb luck I got it in. We were on good terms after that.

Also, I think you're underestimating the Indy job market for local work. You could yard hostle some where, work on the dock. Shipping and Receiving. Old Dominion has actually put sign boards out on Morris for dock workers and local, line haul. That way you'd be home in Indy and not out on the road away from your family. Plus service writer work. Meineke is on CL right now, says pays same as dealer. Even if you got one full-time job @ $12/hr and a second @ $11, you'd take home more than 1st yr OTR and save all that $$ you'd put into Pilot, Fly J and Petro food. Probably work fewer hours, too.

 

If sixteen bucks an hour is what you consider to be "good money" then God bless you man. But from the sounds of it your current job seems a lot less stressful so I wouldn't recommend going OTR for the same modest wage...

 

You have a wife, kids and make $16 a hour (decent money in Indiana.) Seems like a no brainer to stay where you're at.

 

If the OP's mother-in-law does pass away, his wife would still have to take care both estate and probate matters. Depending how much there is to deal with, it could take anywhere from several months to several plus years. Only time will tell on this one.

Back in 2006. I left the Midwest to go back to the Northeast. I left the Midwest to help my 2 sisters care for our elderly mother. 1 year later, 2007, our mother passed away.

I stayed an additional 2 years to help my 2 sisters go through both of our deceased parents' estate. The estate consisted of 50 plus years worth of stuff from the attic to the cellar, along with my sisters handling the probate portion of it. There were 13 estate sales plus sales on e-bay and Craigslist, over a 2 year period. I returned to the Midwest in 2009.

 

$16.00 an hour X 40 hours = $640.00 a week.

$640.00 a week X 52 weeks = $33,280.00 a year.

If you work over 40 hours a week, you would get time and one half. $16.00 an hour X 1.5 = $24.00 an hour. If your company is giving extra overtime, your paycheck can be quite decent.

Don't forget the benefits and retirement package that your company may be offering to you, that is if they are offering it to the employees at your company.

It is probably best to stay where you are at.

God bless every American and their families! God bless the U.S.A.!

 

Three yrs is not that far back,how do you figure you would be making close to what you're making now?Sorry about your mother in law.

 

Your have a wife and kids, Do you have insurance ? if so. going OTR like others have said, you wont see them any ways, if you do have insurance, I'd stay there and visit as much as I could, If you don't have insurance, then go OTR, most companies will offer insurance after 90, Good luck