Advice for a new guy?

Yep, OTR driving is basically the definition of a dead-ender. I've known a few drivers become dispatchers, or safety managers, but it doesn't happen a lot. And many wouldn't consider that a step up, especially, in pay.

 

I have a friend who also drives a tanker at an airport and from what he tells me it definitely sounds much more dead end than trucking. It doesn't matter what airport you go to, you're pretty much going to make a low wage that will never raise with experience. I'd rather be doing the same job with the possibility of making more than the same job that you're stuck for good with what you're getting already.

 

In order to advance in ANY job you need drive and determination. I suspect there are alot more people that started driving and went on to become an O/O, then their own authority and from there bought more trucks and left the seat to manage their trucking company than there are that started in the mail room of some large corp and worked up to CEO. Trucking's only a dead end job if you don't want to work your way to something more.

 

Where I am at, we have people that have been doing it for 30 years and don't make much more than I do, and I don't make that much. Yes, I can become a supervisor, but I will be making a $1 or $2 more an hour, but it is not worth it. It is way too much responsibility for the pay that we have, even more as a supervisor. People think we make good money, but in reality, we don't. A starting OTR driver makes more than we do and have no where near the amount of responsibility we have.