Driver earnings as from start of career and onward

I'm looking to become a long-distance--that's what OTR means, right?--truck driver. I need to know what kind of money* I should expect to make. I want to know how this changes over the life of a driver's career. Obviously, pay goes up over time, but I need more specific info than that.

I should say that, at least for the 1st couple of years, I'm not going to care about stuff like getting home frequently or regularly, driving on, say, Easter. Stuff like that. In fact, I'd just assume spend as much time driving as possible. The only 3 things trucking companies aren't going to like about me are I have no experience, I care about safety--I don't want to be an Ice Road Trucker, and to the extent it's possible/not a career-killer, I'd like to minimize exposure to mountains, tornados and icy conditions--and I don't want to drive as part of a team (except for whatever mandatory training period will be (required).

I'd like to get a small, very tame dog to take with me ASAP, but I'm flexible on waiting for a year (or 2, if need be). Thus, I'm leaning toward U.S. XPress, since they're pet friendly. (Comments on U.S. XPress welcome.) I spoke to one of their recruiters, and couldn't get a straight answer out of her about how much money I'd be making.

So, my question is: What are the pay milestones in a driver's career? For example, graduate school/get hired/2 months of mandatory training with an experienced company driver for $50/day; then earn about $700/week until 1 year out of school; then pay goes up to about $800/week, but you're probably better off switching to another company (such as _______) at that time (because ________), in which case you'll probably make more like $1,000/week, until 2 years out of school; at that time, pay goes up to about $1,200/week. Etc. Obviously, I'm just making up example numbers.

BTW, I live in the Chicago area, but I might be willing to re-locate.

Finally, are there companies that will pay for my schooling under a sort of indentured servitude arrangement? If so, what's the effect of that on pay?

Any other advice is most welcome.

Thanks.



* Please don't say "dollars." Cute, but not helpful.

 

One last thing companies might not like about me: I'm going to insist on following the law, always. I'm not going to speed and risk my long-term career just to get somewhere on time.

 

OK. Thanks for the reply, Celticwolf.

Anybody agree or disagree? Further thoughts?

What are the "way to[o] many factors" that Celticwolf referred to? I need to have some idea of what they are, if I'm going to influence how much my earnings will be.

What's the low end of what I should reasonably expect to earn the 1st year out of school? Thank you, Celticwolf, for your estimate of $35-40k as the high end? When you say, "and that is being aggressive," what does that mean? Speeding? Long hours? Driving in dangerous conditions?

Also, I refer y'all back to my original question. Any further comments on anything in it would be most appreciated.

Thanks again, Celticwolf.

 

Also, have I posted this question in the right part of this website? We're in Truckers Report Trucking Forum | Largest CDL Truck Driver Message Board > Good & Bad Trucking Companies > Questions From New Drivers. Can anybody think of a better place to post this question? Are there other trucker websites like this one where I might want to post questions, as well?

Thanks.

 

So is EVER earning like $50k or $60k anything but a fantasy? BTW, I REALLY don't like the idea of hauling fuel. Burning to death...can't think of a worse way to die. Only thing worse would be NEARLY burning to death...can't think of a worse way to LIVE.

Thanks for the thoughts so far.