i am making over 2 times more than i have ever made in my life...

I think you guys missed his point. Which was that truck drivers like to complain, not that they are underpaid.

 

No, I think he was pretty clear...

 

A lot of the problem is the economy as a whole. All wages ( not just trucking ) are falling behind in purchasing power, and it will take some time for them to catch up.
Certain segments of trucking pay much better than others, and it seems the gap between low paying, entry level positions , and upper end, specialized drivers is widening. The more training, skill, experience you have to offer, the better the pay ( in relation to bottom feeder jobs).

 

It's kinda like driving a truck, to make money you have to keep the door closed and to save money you have to keep your wallet closed.

 

So why did he also say "I am making over 2 times more than what I ever made in my life?" I think the OP needs to clear this up.

 

Just speaking to company drivers ...

What is it worth to you to suffer through missing kids and spouses for 3-4 weeks at a time, all year long?

What is it worth to you to safely navigate a 70 foot rig with $100k payload across snow, ice, high winds, through dense traffic filled with many sleepy, drunk, drugged, and otherwise unsafe drivers?

What is it worth to you to day in and day out wait here and wait there, and go here and go there, and do it this way and not that way, and do all this inside of a very confined window of time that has the potential to cost you a job if you deviate outside the lines?

What is it worth to you to be considered a mechanic, a driver, a professional, a tradesman, a general flunky, a customer service rep, an authorized safety expert, and be looked as as an idiot by many ... all in the same day?

What is it worth to you to have the lives of a 35 year old cardiologist, his high-paid working wife, and their 3 kids in your hands for a time, where there are no acceptable excuses on the truckers part in the event a crash occurs?

Some will do all this for $500/wk and some will do this $1,100/wk but nobody should consider themselves "well-paid" because considering the many hats we must wear every day, the money hardly justifies the expectations, sacrifices, and liability drivers must accept and shoulder.

Trust me, if you find yourself involved in a crash where another party was injured or killed, the trucker will be looked on as one who's job is to be "perfect and professional" up until the moment of impact, then all of the sudden you are a "wild, unsafe killer trucker with zero regard for public safety" who should never have been issued a license or offered a job. So again, ask yourself, what is that life worth to you?

 

Coming from a construction background where you made $20/hr [when you could work] is one thing. Coming from a near min. wage job is another thing. Everything is relative. But the point is, a job's worth/value should not be determined by "how much of a wage increase is it vs. the previous job?" What you did and made previously in another trade or job has no bearing on the wages of whatever job you're doing today. Your value should always be based on the current job and what it entails ONLY. That's great you got into a better paying job, how much more responsibility and sacrifice did you have to provide in return for the additional money?