Poor pay

OK here is the truth, until we are treated as a skilled trade, like tool and die or something where you have to learn your skills, and earn respect with your time then be treated as a professional in that work field, we will always have this problem. It is aggravated by the very reason you got into this industry, because you have no where else to go so too many people think that it is easy to get into and make great money. It is this revolving door that is whirling around with people get sucked into it through this idea of easy income replacement but then find that they get spit out the other side making what they claim is crap wages and crying about it. A few make it, those who do learn quickly that there is a lot more that they can do while others get sucked back into the revolving door and spit back out on the other side, they cry how it is screwed up or how unfair it is because they failed or didn't make the money they were told they could make.

This isn't the IT world where you could do T&M jobs and get paid for every second that you worked, this is the real world.

 

Good reading:

Rounding Up My First Year Solo

 

Maybe if he looks at why his IT job vanished, he can also understand why trucking wages are so low. Remember maybe 5-10 years ago when you got your IT degree? Or maybe during the tech boom in the late 90's? Yeah, IT was the "hot" thing back then, it was paying higher wages because there was a shortage of graduates in that field. So what happened? Everyone and their brother started getting degrees in the IT field. So yeah, the market got drowned out and supply outnumbered the demand. Then like you said, outsourcing started occurring and you have a ton of people with degrees that aren't in demand.

The same thing with people that have business, and in particular, finance degrees. Finance is one of the worst degrees to have right now, primarily because there is no financing going on right now with the super tight credit market. And everyone has a business degree (like me), which basically is worthless since everyone else is getting business degrees.

In the meantime, different types of trades are more in demand because the so called "intellectuals" convinced most people that if you don't go to college, you are bound for failure. So with less people going into trades and more people going to college, certain skilled trades are paying more than college level jobs.

One exception is the trucking industry because, like many others have put, these companies are subsidized by the government to snare new drivers. As long as there is a constant stream of drivers (illegals, foreigners, newbies, etc), wages will be low. No wonder why the government wants amnesty. More cheap labor for their big business buddies, because they are running out of Americans that are willing to drive for dirt wages.

 

Maybe truckers should pull the fast food workers demand for more pay lol.

 

It is easy to figure out, we work in a global world of business and the Internet has allowed many people who are living in some fake American town in India to go to work in their American style car to an American style office with cubicles and take a call from some ditizy kid who just infected their computer when they opened that email from those nice fella's in Nigeria who need someone to help them recover a million dollars from a US bank which is operating out of the Caymans.

Applying that to trucking, the Internet has allowed everyone with a web browser and a phone to become a broker driving the price to move freight from point a to point b super low.

By the way, I hope finance degrees don't become worthless, I am working on my MBA

 

blacky, forget OTR. You have that right and you don't need it. A lot of the advice here, even from folks I usually disagree with, is quite good--well, except for the snotties. Don't worry about those.

Right now the money's in the Man Camps in the fracking fields.

You'll need to do some research to find out where they're hiring. Some aren't and won't. But where they are, all you'll need do is show up. CDL in hand. Get your tanker, Haz, TWIC and passport.

Have CDL, will travel.

Forget OTR...

 

Truck driving is the only job that I know of where people will work 70 hours every 8 days at straight pay and complain that they are not allowed to work more except for the ones that cheat on their logs and do work more.

 

Try not having an income for a year. Poor pay? If I can make 12k next year as a trucker I wont be happy but I will be greatful.

 

ABF in Eagan, MN has an opening for Checker/Driver Full-time combined Dock/P&D:

• Minimum 21 years of age.
• Have 2 years of verifiable tractor/trailer experience (Candidates with less than 2 years experience may be eligible for training).
• Have a Class-A CDL with doubles/triples, tanker and hazardous materials endorsements.
• Have a good stable work record.
• Have a safe driving record (from MVR and previous employment).
• Be able to pass DOT pre-employment drug screen and meet DOT medical requirements.

 

Why settle for less when you really dont have to?!?