How much does a driver manager make?

I can't get an answer on this, it's like its some closely guarded secret for reasons unknown to me. Also what the pay structured around? Typical DM's have 30 drivers on their board, so I'm figuring that they take something from the miles we rack up as drivers, which is no surprise.

 

No. They make a salary in office. Maybe 40K or so. Nothing fancy or taking "Miles" to engineer a concept that they some how are enriched off the backs of the slaving sweatshop driver is a sign of one who needs a vacation more than I do. Been on the road too long as they say. Makes sense?

Its a office desk job overseeing 30 or 100 drivers or whatever number. Its a form of kindergarden. Some drivers need special care more than others.

All of my DM's never hear from me unless either payroll is 0.00 for 6000 miles last week or... they start seeking me out for a botched load due to a variety of problems. I might see them once or twice a year or talk on phone not much more than that.

DM's are not the ones with power to solve a problem related to load or truck. They just hold your hand, soothe your ruffled feathers and feed you a line until you feel better but ultimately they are not the source of problem solving with a busted truck, botched load or whatever. The Company has other persons with the power. Those are the ones you deal with.

 

Less than a driver

 

Not only this, but they are for the most part the low person on the office totem pole! As far as carrier operations go this is where most people start. Then they move on to other positions if they survive.

 

All I can say is that if you are a driver that becomes a dispatcher, you never were truly a driver it's like betrayal that will get you disowned from the road family. IV had dispatchers that said to have 30 years on the road, they were some of the dumbest pencil pushing office jockeys I'd ever seen. They make significantly less than drivers like 14$ an hour IV been told by some. No excuse to become a dispatcher if you can't be a trucker any more, become a yard dog or something anything but a dispatcher.

 

Some companies are performance based. Both driver and dispatcher pay is based on performance. When that is the case, the dispatcher wants the best of the best drivers on board because that means more $$$$ to them. They have no time for slackers and slackers will either be starved out or moved to a less aggressive dispatcher's board. Company policy may be 'first unloaded, first reloaded,' but when you have an aggressive dispatcher trying to keep an A Game driver moving, he will be standing over the load planner's shoulder chasing loads.

In my line of work, we were paid a percentage of the load. It wasn't about miles, it was the load pay. Dispatcher would tell you to sit there and pass on load offers, or even where and when to be at a certain place. High end drivers and dispatchers would make 2x average.

 

Some of the best Fleet Managers/Dispatchers I ever had were ex drivers. The same can be said for safety critters too. Just to be clear, I know by maybe a factor of 4, more dumb drivers then I know dumb people that work operations or safety. In fact, they spend a lot of time fixing driver screwups.

 

Some ppl ask how places like swift or jb can have drivers that's been there 10+ years. That's the reason right there 1.5-2x the money as avg Joe blow

 

When the avg Joe blow is only making $40K, 1.5-2x isn't really much for working 90 hours weeks, out on the road 50 weeks of the year. If you're an "A game" driver you should be looking for something better.