Driving a Truck vs Mowing Grass.....

Lynden Transport in Houston has a "dock-to-driver" program. OTR drivers may do Alaska runs. Also uses local & regional drivers.
This will explain it:
DOCK TO DRIVER ---- Click ---> LEARN MORE

• Learn from the ground up
• From dock to classroom to drivers seat!
• Paid CDL tuition
• Mentoring throughout training and beyond

Click ---> LEARN MORE
~

 

That would be good.

I hope you know what to listen and look for.
God can be very subtle, at times.

 

As the others have stated, you're not going to make much more, if any, than you do mowing your first year of driving unless you're one of the lucky few that latches on to the rare unicorn small outfit that will hire a noob. BUT, if you get 1-2 years of good, incident/accident free driving under your belt, you can write your own ticket. It's a tough road that first year or so (you can search my name for other posts where I list the pitfalls), but then it's easy peezy, Kentucky squeezies.

Speaking of Kentuckians... If / when you start driving a truck, you ain't the kind of fella that would try to horn in another man's Kentuckian action are ya? Just shooting you straight here, that's EXTREMELY FROWNED UPON in the trucking industry.

 

Do you mean action like this?
`

 

@LawnGuyHouston ....Take a minute and think about why all these companies that Chinatown is pointing out are looking for drivers. Most of the big trucking companies are constantly hiring because people are constantly quitting or getting fired.
If the jobs were everything that the recruiter claims why can't they keep people?
100% turnover a year is not unusual in this business.
I'm not saying that trucking is bad...just that it's not what people think it will be once they get into it. You might luck into a local job that pays well and has a future right out of school but the odds are against it.
The really good companies aren't advertising for anybody with a CDL and a pulse. The really good companies don't have the turnover and consequently don't hire as many drivers.

 

Can always try and find a local job. Not everything in trucking revolves around long haul. My dad had a 20+ year career in driving/owner op and he never once drove or owned a truck with a sleeper.

 

It all depends on thebperson behind the wheel... And to a lesser degree the caliber of company they drive for.

I'm a self taught truck driver, ZERO official school or training. I'm in my mid 30s, grew up ranching and farming so been around trucks my whole life. Been driving trucks local/regionally on and off for over 20 years, but I didnt get my CDL until 2013. The only reason I wanted it was so I could make a few longer runs hauling cattle for my employer at the time.

I took my first OTR load in 2017. I followed another driver 2000 miles across the country to make delivery, at that point we parted ways each going to our seperate back hauls. First time being more than a few hundred miles from home, and here I was... Alone in a place as foreign to me as the moon, driving and 80,000 pound rig, and finding my own way home. I absolutely loved it and excelled at it. My first year I grossed $61k on W-2. By the end of my first year I had rocketed up the pay scale until I was making as much per mile as the top drivers at the company.



But I also didnt go into trucking as a complete rookie, nor do I work for a Mega Carrier. I work for a smaller family owned carrier...

Orientation went like this:

Pee in this cup.
Here are your keys.
Theres your truck.
Theres your trailer.
Follow him.
Oh yeah, fill this out before you leave.

Very few new drivers will EVER go through a hiring process like that in today's age. But my point is that if you know where to look you can be making decent to good money from day one. You just may not have someone there to hold your hand and guide you through the finer points of the process.

If you cant handle independance, or make a plan and stick to it, but still be willing to change that plan as needed... This will be a rough industry for you. You have to be able to think on your feet. Nothing sits still in trucking, except those left behind.

 

A friend of mine from highschool was a building maintainence manager for a retail company that had a contract with a small one man and his middle school age son lawn care service. They got along pretty good and my friend gave him lots of referrals to other businesses. My friends wife became a rental property management agent for a big realty company and had the lawn guy maintain all the rental properties she was in charge of. Then as time went by with her referrals he was doing properties for others too. The owner of the lawn service now has a half dozen pickup trucks and trailers staffed with crews that do it all while he relaxes a bit more.

No advice just a story of a guy in your current business that your thread reminded me of.

 

Exactly! These are the rare, almost non existent unicorns I was referring to. They’re hard to find and harder to get on with.

Hell, it took me eight years to find one and I didn’t find it. I literally lucked into it by chance.

 

You could easily double your annual current net income in trucking. Just have to work double the hours that you are currently accustomed to.

Seriously, I made $80 k my first year out. I also sacrificed my life to the industry. Stayed out 5 months, holidays in the truck etc.

My motivation into the industry was with wanting to net $100k annually. I ignored the naysayers and refused to work for a nanny “mega” company.

Today, 4.5 years later I couldn’t be happier.

$30k or $1,000,000 a year is all possible in this business. All depends on you and how you measure success.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do.