Going from a driver to a dispatcher?

How much do planners make?....being a driver automatically makes you overquified for that job tho......

 

To be an efficient planner, you have to first be an effective dispatcher. Most dispatchers make in the 40's that I know. Depending on what type of freight and how technology advanced your company is would determine your day. At the mega's where it is all Peoplenet, Qualcomm, you would have 40-50 drivers on your board. A smaller company that still does it over the phone maybe 25 drivers. Dispatchers are like everyone else in the business...they have good days and bad. Planning is probably twice as hard as dispatching in my opinion.

Know matter the size of the company just look at the dispatch office and how much the phones are ringing, people are typing on different screens, looking up directions for lost drivers, dispatchers are trying to coordinate w/ planners because now Tommy in truck 4052 has a blown turbo in KS, which his load was going to be relayed to truck 3220, but due to the delay has now run out of his 70. Meanwhile Joe in truck 3655 didnt leave the yard in time to make pre-scheduled deliveries on a multi-stop load. What to do?

 

Even though it looks hard, it isn't. Efficiency comes with time, focus is most likely the biggest issue people have. You learn how to handle things with time.

 

Company I work for requires years of experience as a planner to be a planner or a logistics degree. I still get the feeling they do their work with crayons and wear plastic helmets all day...

 

Been there, did it for a month, lost my sanity and went back into a truck. Why? Because as a former driver, I took a lot of things as a driver would, refusing to push guys tired or out of hours. Didn't sit well with management and I have a very hard time keeping my tongue in check when I'm right but get flak for it.

Basically I was told to quit and I could go back in a truck or just leave. The money was less as a dispatcher, so it wasn't a hard decision.

 

Most dispatchers qualify for welfare & hate truck drivers because truck drivers make so much more. I was pressured into being a dispatcher at a company; got tired of listening to the office people badmouthing the drivers then acting like they're best friends when the driver comes into the office or calls in. I didn't last long in that environment. This was a smaller company; about 50 trucks.

 

My statement was NOT meant to be sarcasm. If it came off as sarcasm, I TRULY and GENUINELY apologize.
I TRULY and GENUINELY thought that the newest dispatcher genuinely earns more money that the highest paid truck driver in all of the United States of America. It only makes sense for it is the dispatcher that directs and relays information and instructions to the the truck drivers out on the road.

God bless every American and their families! God bless the U.S.A.!

 

Look for some companies with logistics/dedicated divisions where you're where you haul loads out of the Chicago area, then unload and right back to Chicago.

Cardinal Logistics has those type of jobs and they pay is usually between $50K - $60K.
A few months ago a driver posted he was hired with Schneider in their tanker division doing Chicago/Virginia turnarounds.
Check Careerjet website also.

 

Perhaps my thought process is all wrong.

However, I figured that dispatchers would have the UTMOST RESPECT for truck drivers, only because it is one of the 10 top most dangerous and stressful jobs in all of the Unired States of America, not to mention one of the most federally and state regulated jobs in all of the United States of America.

Also, just how little does a dispatcher earn that they should even have to qualify for welfare?

God bless every American and their families! God bless the U.S.A.!

 

probably depends on the company but if you do searches for dispatcher on glassdoor its very low.

I have looked into being a driver manager eventually, I actually applied to a position that opened back on Dec 1st and when I check app status its been at "considering" for over a month now. My previous DM actually encouraged me to apply thinking I had the mentality and patience to do it.