Am I getting screwed??

So, recently, Swift offered me local routes, where I can be home every night. However, most of my loads are based around Detroit. And I’m still getting mileage pay. Most of my loads are only 30-90 miles. Anything under 150 is considered short haul, which ensures an extra $40 on top of the miles. Anything under 200 miles awards $20 extra. Over 200 is pure miles.

Here’s my issue: It takes 90 minutes to travel 40 miles in Detroit. I feel extremely limited in how much I can get done in a day. I live 90 minutes from Detroit. Add 45 minutes at the shipper, another 45 minutes at the receiver. That’s 3 hours already, and then you add in the 90 minutes for a 40-mile drive, that’s 4.5 hours, down the drain, and I’ve only made $60 before tax. Do it again, and that’s $120 before tax, in 9 hours. I don’t have the time on my 14-hour daily clock to do a third run, so that’s my day.

WTF IS THAT???

Any advice for what I should do? I was under the impression that trucking made decent money. But this crap barely comes out to $10/hour!!! What was the extra schooling for, if it doesn’t mean better pay???

 

Yes, this is my first trucking job. I’ve been with Swift for a little over a year so far. I was driving OTR, but I can’t do that anymore. Felt boxed in, trapped inside the truck too much.

 

I’ll take all the help and advice I can get at this point. I know for one thing, I better be getting $20/hour or it ain’t worth a lick. It’s ridiculous. Company is offering to pay me to get my hazmat endorsement, to haul lithium batteries. But even after that, it’s the same issue, since the loads are in the same area.

 

No endorsements at the moment, but Swift is offering to pay for me to get my hazmat so I can haul lithium batteries for them. But those loads are in the same area, so I’d run into the same issue.

 

Well, I’d definitely like to be a family man. But at $10/hour, I’m sure not feeding a family for that kind of pay. Barely afford to feed myself with that. I mostly just feel trapped driving OTR. That, and I want to get in better shape with a regular gym, start boxing after work. Can’t do that, driving OTR, either.

Would you happen to know of any better way to apply for jobs, outside of the internet? How did truckers get better jobs before? I can’t help but feel like there’s some kind of barrier these days, that might not have been there 10-20 years ago.