Considering career change

Old Dominion Freight Line hires new cdl school grads.
Team drivers can make $125K or better for each driver on line haul runs.

A search shows 5 facilities in Georgia and 2 of those are in Atlanta area.

 

I started w/ Superior Carriers back in January as a rookie driver fresh out of CDL school. I changed careers from IT support after getting laid off for the third time in five years. Superior is a chemical tanker outfit so in order to get hired on you'll need to get the tanker + hazmat endorsement ( while you're at it, it wouldn't hurt to get the doubles / triples endorsement though you won't need it per se ), TWIC and valid passport as well as being able to get at least one year medical card. You'll also need to be willing to drive a truck filled w/ liquid and a load that continuously shifts around ( tank surge ) AND be willing to occasionally pull 3" and 2" hoses to unload said chemicals either w/ the pump or air compressor mounted on your truck, some of which can be pretty hazardous by nature.

I got released from training and started going out on my own as an OTR driver at the end of March. As a company OTR driver they'll typically want you to stay out 10 - 14 days. I usually go out on Monday and stay out about 11 days coming back on Thursday of the second week to stay home 3-4 days. Now that I'm a little more used to what's expected I'm probably going to bump that up to 17 days out returning home on the third Wednesday.

The $21.50/hr figure is what local drivers make after you complete the 8-10 week training period. During training you'll make $20 /hr running locally w/ a trainer for about six weeks, one week at the training facility in Greer, NC and then running 2-3 weeks out w/ an OTR trainer. After that you'll be assigned your own truck ( I got a 2017 Peterbilt w/ 170k miles but it has a pretty nice sleeper ) and likely be sent out OTR doing what's called "system work" basically delivering long distance loads and bouncing between other terminals until your "due home date" comes up and they route you back to your home terminal. This is typically what they want from new drivers. At least at Pasadena I'm not aware that they hire local drivers to start but it could be different at other terminals. So far for me it's been pretty good and at this point I'm netting between $900 - $1200 /wk running OTR out of the Pasadena, TX terminal.

OTR has been okay so far, it's been interesting and educational seeing different parts of the country in person that you normally only see on tv. However I can already see where I'll eventually want to switch to regional work to be home more frequently probably in a year or so. I'll probably stick w/ tankers though.

The above list is a really good set of rules for the new driver. A couple of things I would add:

1. Find out your companies accessorial pay and endeavor to take advantage of that to the fullest extent. You'll be amazed at how much of your take home pay will be made up of these "extras" but really it's just a matter of getting paid for everything you do while you're out w/ the truck. They won't really tell you about this in CDL school b/c every company has different policies. You'll also want to get an understanding of these policies before signing on w/ a company. Some companies are much better than others. In my experience the tanker companies seem to be the best on this score.
Accessorial pay will be things like:
* Demurge - The extra amount paid by the shipper or receiver for time your kept above the agreed upon loading / unloading time ( usually two hours ). Some times this can be several hours and you'll be just sitting and waiting but you *should* get paid for this so make sure to document however the company requires and turn it in on time.
* Loading / Unloading - Some companies pay if you have to manually load and / or unload the truck. With tankers this typically involves pumps and hoses and the company will want you to document what equipment was used along w/ how long it took.
Layover / Dispatch delay - Basically you're waiting for your next load / assignment. Some companies pay for this if you wait beyond a certain point. Sometimes you can wait several hours that can turn into days depending on how freight is moving. Get a good understanding of this policy and how the time is documented, it's likely to be a big deal.
* Bunk / sleeper pay vs hotel lodging - Some companies pay you a little extra to stay in your sleeper vs getting a hotel room which they'd reimburse you for later.
* Break down pay - If your truck breaks down and you're waiting on the side of the road or at a mechanic shop for repairs you're obviously not moving a load so companies pay a certain amount for this but when it starts and how much varies by company.
* As you can see this stuff can start to add up and even if you're not running 3000+ miles a week you can still make a descent pay w/ all of these other factors added in each week. Of course YMMV literally.

2. Endeavor to stay connected to family and friends! This job and OTR work in particular is notorious for destroying relationships and families b/c of the extended time away and the stress and that can quickly lead to depression. First you have to decide if extended absence is even something you can accept or is something that will work for your situation? If it isn't there's no shame whatsoever in that, but you need to be completely honest w/ yourself and your family about it as you go in AND when you think it might be becoming a problem. I make a point to have a video call w/ my wife EVERY night even if it's only for 5 or 10 minutes. Sometimes we don't have much to say, the typical "how was your day" spousal conversations but the content isn't as important as a maintaining the connection. I also make it a point to maintain text chats, e-mails and phone calls w/ a close group of friends. I personally don't think social media is a substitute for this b/c there can can be a lot of negative crap there that will weigh on you.

3. Make a conscious effort to maintain your health, i.e. like stated above, eat right and get some exercise! Along w/ keeping some descent real food in a cooler / fridge in your truck you should also make a point to get 30 mins of actual exercise per day. I keep an exercise mat, small step stool, pair of 20lbs dumb bells, jump rope and athletic shoes in the passenger side footwell of my truck so it stays out of the way but I make sure to get in at least one 30 mins workout per day. Sure I probably look like an idiot working out in truck stop parking lots but the long term benefits are evident when you start looking around at some of the folks you see that aren't making an effort. Plus you genuinely feel better while your driving.

4. There's going to be a lot of dead time so endeavor to use it to your advantage. This was the thing that really surprised me about trucking. I'd always thought the schedules were really tight in trucking and it was always GO!GO!GO! Nothing could be farther from the truth! You'll spend all kinds of time in hurry up and wait mode, waiting to get loaded, unloaded, dispatch, etc., etc. Use this time to your advantage whether it's catching up on paperwork to having a good book to read. Don't fall into the habit of just mindlessly fiddling around on your phone. Honestly there's so much of this kind of down time that I've started working through the academic videos on Kahn Academy and I've seriously started thinking about taking some online classes from my truck in the fall. Feed our mind! It's another way to stave off the disconnected feeling you start to get in trucking.

I know that's a lot to read. I honestly hadn't meant for it to be that long but it's sort of a synopsis of what I've learned in my first six months as a professional truck driver. I hope it helps! Good luck!

 

Ok, sounds like your in a good position to try it out. And if you don't like it you can try something else also there is plenty of different things to haul, reefer, van, flatbed, tanker. Ect.. Best of luck to you

 

You'll enjoy trucking.
One of my daughters is a nurse and it's damaged her back and health.
She's doing home healthcare visits and also has done maximum security prison hospice care.
No way in Hades I'd do any of that.

 

I would add....to everything, that it's important to know how a company operates, types of freight, freight lanes customer base....I say this because cpm is not super important as much as the ability for a company to keep you busy. You want your pay to be competitive at the very least. You also want good steady miles. Me personally, I love companies that have the capability to travel all 48. That way, the sky is the limit in terms of your paycheck