No wonder truckers are paid so little!

Discussion in 'Experienced Truckers' Advice' started by UKJ, Feb 24, 2015.

  1. Victor_V

    Victor_V Road Train Member

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    I've heard a lot of 'you're not as smart as you think you are' comments on this thread. UKJ then replies, well, yes I really am and here's why. Get over it. I understand not liking his superior attitude--but admittedly, he probably is superior. He'll make a darn good driver and then move on.

    Those just itching to take him down a peg need find more constructive endeavors.
     
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  3. UKJ

    UKJ Heavy Load Member

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    It's not about being superior to anybody. All I am saying is most you guys have skills worth far more than what you're selling them for and I see how the megas scam people into working for them with lies. Like I said guys in there were being convinced they will POCKET(Net return) 150k+ by lease purchasing. So I now understand why wages are not where they should be in relation to requirements the job entails.

    I worked hard for everything I have, so I don't know where that comes from, but oh well. I leave it at that.
     
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  4. GenericUserName

    GenericUserName Road Train Member

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    I am very sorry, but it didnt take me long to figure out that lease deals are not what they advertise.

    I DO feel superior to someone who gets suckered into those scams and i have no issues saying this. How much do these new trucks cost? 100-200k? So you mean to tell me guys are signing contracts to lease a truck that is worth the same as a decently sized single family home and they dont at least do the proper research to ensure its a good investment?

    Yeah...I am superior to those guys, and a hell of a lot smarter too.
     
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  5. Jopper

    Jopper Light Load Member

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    This is going to make your head spin gentlemen. 1st year regional airline pilots make between 18k-28k, that is after 25-50k worth of training. They often live with a dozen other pilots in apartments called crash pads. The eat bugs off the floor and sleep in pilot lounges. PAY YOUR DUES. Senior regional and majors pilots can and often do make over 100k. Top owner operators and good company drivers should make 50k, all the ones I know make at least that much.

    Interesting comparison.
     
  6. UKJ

    UKJ Heavy Load Member

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    http://aviationweek.com/commercial-aviation/coming-us-pilot-shortage-real



    They are comparable to some extent. Both underpay and have poor conditions and facing critical shortages in the near future. Maybe they both need to improve their wages and work conditions. :idea1:

    The aviators comments below the article sound vaguely familiar to trucking as well. Millenials will not "pay their dues" to the extent of breaking your back for free. We don't manually plough fields any more for a reason, it's stupid, so is working for cheap. People are more well informed these days. They know pro wrestling is fake and wages are too low unlike the previous generation.
     
  7. ac120

    ac120 Road Train Member

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    Pro wrestling is fake?:biggrin_25521: Heresy!:biggrin_2559: Poppa Shango was real.
     
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  8. UKJ

    UKJ Heavy Load Member

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    Okay, Okay. He was real, the rest were fake though. :biggrin_2559:
     
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  9. Jopper

    Jopper Light Load Member

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    I think it might have something to do with paying back your training expense to the company. But I agree. Starting pay sucks, no way around that. I know when I left flight school I had 20k in debt, one of my room mates had 100k. I was lucky enough to get my CDL paid for by the state lottery. According to my HR buddy in a mega, his company incurs around 63k worth of training expenses per new hire. Thus to recoup some of this money, companies rape new hires for about a year. Well, that was the paradigm...are conditions truly changing?
     
  10. UKJ

    UKJ Heavy Load Member

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    Idk, you are probably more knowledgeable about this side of things. what are the factors resulting in such high training costs? Guessing insurance would be a major contributor. If you have a new driver with a trainer, running loads and making the company money where are they losing money from that deal? That is something I'd be interesting in knowing, perhaps you or your buddy could find out. Now if you have a new guy going solo and always late and costing the company accounts I can see that being a major risk.

    When I was in class with the mega students, they were paying for their own permit, drug test, DOT card, Road test, they mentioned you also have to buy or rent your own chains, etc. So that saves the companies money. I know some companies actually own their own hotels and rent out to the general public.

    You can train an oilfield worker for about $14-$15k and you go immediately to making good money. They need to figure out how to get the cost per new driver down and pass the savings on to the drivers.
     
  11. rank

    rank Road Train Member

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    I can't imagine how they incur 63K in "training expenses" unless they are including:
    1. High risk insurance premiums
    2. Damage due to accidents
    3. cargo claims
    4. $63K in training expenses for every new hire that stays for 2 years. Given that they likely train 10 and keep 1, I could see it might cost them $63K to train the one that stays.
     
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