Confused about pay

And waiting.

Learning to wait. Sitting on the dock from midnight all the way to say 4 PM next day before they call you in. As happened to a driver here on this forum. You have to learn to wait in order to be successful with your time management as well as the need to be rested and bright eyed and bushy tailed (While drug free...) ready to do another 600 miles overnight and do it again tomorrow.

 

Being unemployed for over a year and coming from the IT side of life, I get why you want out. The cuts in wages due to outsourcing and the challenges of trying to find the next gig. IT is not what it used to be, especially when positions are advertised as H1B Visa holders only, which locks the American workers out of the market, I still get them daily.
Now to pay, I would ask the Sage folks to provide you with a list of those paying $55k a year for starters. There is so much to what makes up pay, and it is not easy comparing the various companies. There is actual miles versus zip code miles, detention pay, breakdown pay, tarp pay, safety bonus, mileage bonus, HazMat pay, ontime bonus, some have it, some don't.
Watch out for companies that force per deim pay, then charge you for it. I looked at one place, .42 cpm. Sounds good? Maybe not so, broke down there was .32 cpm base pay, .10 per diem pay, but they charge .03 cpm to for deducting your per deim for you, and it is forced, you can't opt out, the .42 is really .39 cpm, you and I know a computer has been programmed for it, there is no overhead costs to them, the .03 fee is nothing more than wallet padding for them. This also impacts your SS contributions, unemployment pay, disability pay, and when you apply for a loan it lowers your gross pay.
What I would do is, pick a few companies, research them, and compare their total package, then ask on here about averages, or just go to a local truck stop and ask drivers from companies you are interested in, most love to tell you how the company is screwing them.

 

Your problem ain't E-logs it's short freight and sitting
At docks loading and unloading everyday.
I do 2 loads a week maybe 3.
1000 miles and up.
I refuse to do short regional freight just for that reason.
I'm either running long loads or I get a local job.
I've done that northeast regional,worst job I ever had.

 

Listen. If somebody tells you they're going to pay an inexperienced driver a "good" cpm rate AND guarantee you 2,800+ mpw, you can bet something is not right. You're expecting high cpm rate AND a high average miles and this is mostly unrealistic in the beginning.

Also realize MOST of the advertised mileage rates that "seem high" have an asterisk attached to them like the high side of a sliding scale (i.e. "up to") or part of a program where miles potential is low or includes an unlikely bonus portion

 

Ask the Recruiter to send you a copy of the 1 year contract and ask what page the 2500-3000 mile guarantee is on. All companies out there will have you sign a 1 year contract if they provide the training for your CDL.

 

Get "Swift" out of your vocabulary as long as you're looking for a 1st company. You'll have plenty of use for it later when you're telling about dumb stuff you've seen on the road/truck stop/etc. Same goes for Werner, Western Express, and a long list of other bottom feeders.

Don't discount small companies for a 1st gig. I was away from trucking for over 10 years. I landed a job at a small regional company with 3 24' box trucks and 4 tractor trailers. I made over $55K my first year back. Was never below $65k clear the rest of the time I was there.

 

No OTR compny is going to hire you with zero experience and give you 45 cpm. Your best bet is try an LTL like Old Dominion as they sometimes hire new drivers if they're in a pinch. You'll need doubles and Haz-Mat though.

Why are you leaving the computer field?

 

Everything would have to fall into place perfectly to get 4k a week out of a 63mph truck and elogs. Then you'd have to shut down for a 34 and waste a day and a half. It's isn't even the elogs alone that hamper productivity but short haul loads, heavy loads on mountain grades, traffic and slow governed trucks.