How much should I get paid per mile (new)

You dont have to go otr for a year to get a local job.
A number of the ltl companies are offering NEW DRIVER training now.
Abf does it and I just saw a big banner in Chicago for Holland offering the same.

 

You will get whatever rate they give you. No negotiating for newbie. You could do food service and make 50k or more and be home every night or two.

 

Food service pays but man it is more dangerous than flatbedding IMO. Unloading 20k of food down ramps in the Winter!

 

Zero experience and flatbed. Don’t even consider less than .42cpm. Very doable

 

Local is not everything it is cracked up to be ... usually how the scenario unfolds is if a new driver starts out with a good company and makes decent money otr than going local/daycab would be to much of a pay cut....... I don't recommend otr to those that have youngins at home.

 

Class b drivers are cheap and easy to find, the job doesn't pay much because it is a easy thing to drive a box truck.

 

It looks like you have a lot of questions about your new career. Local driver, OTR, paid moving expenses? If you're going to do OTR the first year you'll probably wind up with a large carrier and they generally pay pretty low, although there are some smaller sized companies that will hire new drivers, it all depends on how their liability insurance is set up. Try not to go any less than say .35 cents per mile. A lot of local driving jobs now pay by the hour instead of by the mile, and many pay overtime for everything over 8 hours in a day. You can potentially make a lot more hourly, but as others have said, local work is a lot harder than OTR, especially LTL where you make a dozen or more stops every day.

How you get paid and how much is only one consideration in choosing a new job. What most people don't look at closely before they start a job is the cost of medical benefits. I believe you mentioned you have a wife and child, so you'll be wanting to get some health insurance with that new job. Most companies pay at least half of the employee cost (some pay it all) and they don't pay anything for the dependent cost. Typically large trucking companies get better prices on the cost of their benefits, and they can offer a lower price to their employees. Smaller companies pay more for insurance, and so do you. My first job was with a big company and coverage for myself and dependents was costing around $450 a month which is really low in this day and age. My second job paid quite a bit more per mile, but the medical coverage for my family was costing about $1,100 per month. I wound up making less on each check because of that, even though I was being paid more per mile.

You also need to look at the quality of the insurance your company is offering. Some have a $1,000 deductible while others have a $5,000 deductible. Make sure they offer prescription drug benefits, and dental/vision is always a nice added touch.

Good luck!