.22 cpm?!

Real truck drivers make .41 per mile. That is the industry average for 3 years experience. Local drivers make an average of $18 an hour. Per diem sc rews the driver as you gain nothing from it and lose your Social Security and credit advantages of having a higher wage. Safety bonuses are usually base on speed. The problem with that is that by driving fast you make more money then the Safety bonus allows. Idling bonuses mean you will sweat in the summer and freeze in the winter.

As a student you have to understand that no company will hire you without experience. The companies that do will not pay you real wages. The turn over rate is too high for them to make a profit on you if they pay you real money. You are going to damage their trucks. They also pay a trainer for riding around with you.

For the first six months in this industry, you will get the shaft. Other industries have apprenticeship programs that pay you least then the market wage also. You are not a journeymen driver, you are an apprentice. Six months for a lifetime job is not too much to ask.

 

.22/mile are you taking the per diem, where they are paying you .29 and only taxing you on .22/mile?

Are you getting paid as a team driver? Not sure werner does that during training

I'm just a noob, so if I am wrong then one of the Real Drivers will come along and correct me

 

That is simply not true. It is a myth perpetuated by so many people that is mistaken as fact. With some effort and research, you can find companies that will hire a new graduate, pay a decent wage, and treat them with respect. The problem is that everyone is so conditioned to believe that the can only work for 1 of 10 or 20 companies instead of putting in some effort to find those that are "off the radar".

Sure you will get screwed if you are putting less effort into your career search than you put into your last lunch order. Sure, I understand that many veteran drivers go the shaft when they started out and I respect the effort they put in to get where they are now. However, just because it worked that way for them doesn't mean it has to work that way for everyone.

 

Does Werner have REAL drivers ?

 

that's what i started at in 97

 

I made .24 a mile back in 83, with TransAmerican, thought I was a top dog!

 

I have to correct myself. I know that you do not have to start out with the bottom feeder companies. I did not. I started as a team making .45 per mile. Keystone Automotive Operations out of Kansas City, Kansas. I made $1200 a week. The company was a Mitt Romney company. What I believe is that people have the right to work for as much or as little as they are willing too. I want to point out that getting your foot in the door is worth something. I got my job because of who I am. I have connection and know how to use them.

There are many paths to success. The Werner path will get you there but it doesn't pay much to start out. The best way to start out is to buy a brand new truck and brand new trailer, get you own customers and make your own money. That only takes about $240,000. If you do that, you will not make any money for the first year or so. So, making a little profit with a bottom feeder while you learn isn't all that bad.

 

Gotta start somewhere....

 

When I ran for PAM, they took .02 per mile out of your check, and reimbursed it back as tax free.

 

I started at 23cpm in 1998.