How realistic is it to make 75-80k a year eventually?

Yes Trimac also trains rookies.
They're a step up from Schiender.
We share a yard with Trimac and their drivers are beating our door down trying to get on with us.

 

I don’t believe the high numbers thrown around by drivers. We all know the truth.

 

There's something else to think about. If you quit your 75K job and jump through all the hoops to get your CDL and then find out that driving isn't really what you want to do?
You probably won't make 75 at a starter company and even if you did your life style would be a major change from what you have now. Can your family handle having you gone for a month or more at a time? Can you handle being away from your family that much?
I understand job burn-out and I don't want to rain on your parade but trucking isn't what a lot of people think it is.
Even local trucking has it's drawbacks...wierd hours, extra board scheduling until you build up some seniority and you might not be making 75K at local work for awhile.
There are good local jobs out there but they're very seldom advertised and the competition for them is fierce.
Whatever you decide, good luck to you.

 

Ain’t THAT the truth!

 

Schneider Bulk - has various tanker jobs where the pay ranges from about $63K and on up to $98K, depending on the account you're hauling for.
Driver - Dedicated Tanker Truck Driver - Class A CDL- Chicago,IL
They hire new cdl grads from about any 160 hr. cdl school.
$6,000 sign-on bonus for inexperienced drivers
Up to $7,000 tuition reimbursement (paid at $200/month) for qualified drivers.

 

I drove for Tankstar and the terminal where I was hired two new cdl grads. They both made $65K their first year. The money is with tankers or LTL/line haul.
Old Dominion Freight Lines hires new cdl grads.
Estes Express now has a "dock to driver" program.

 

For that kind of money? Wait a few years or a couple of decades to inflate to that level while your standard of living hovers near where it is now.

Once wages rise too much for everyone, then robot trucks will get cheap without that expense of humans making 100K a year.

 

I know there are plenty of drivers that don't like to hear this but bottom line is; there really are no 'good jobs' in this industry.
At least, certainly not what I would consider a career to be.

The pay is extremely low and the hours are extensive ( 70 plus hours a week to make $750.00-$1000.00).
$70 grand a year in this industry, as unlikely as it is, is only acheivable by working 12-14 days, 7 days a week and even then, in this day and age, $70 grand a year is not all that much.

Local LTL jobs are better, but still substandard, given the amount of hours required to make relatively low pay.

Seriously, the only answer that I would give to anyone considering a career in the trucking industry is...Don't.
It really is that bad.

And if anyone claims differently, they are either misrepresenting the truth, in complete denial, or are totally ignorant.

 

Since working truckers have already spoken, I feel liberated to speak the truth as a person coming from a rewarding, respected, and secure professional career into trucking: Trucking is a last chance career. Its something you do because fate and life have conspired against you - and your other options are gone - you don't want to be homeless or give up completely.

I think you suffer from the same problem I did a few years ago, which has caused me to have to go in to trucking: You are ignoring your current blessings or you don't have a way to go deep inside yourself to step in to you blessings.

Yes you are working 55 hrs, but lawyers, doctors, truck drivers work much more. Truck drivers are rarely if ever afforded a normal life style, sleeping in own bed at night, time after work to have a normal life, weekends to relax. OTR is on par with joining the military for less than minimum wage, without the benefits or support system you get with military service.

My advise is you need to go deep inside and find some way to look at just how blessed you are with your current career.

So go away, and don't come back here. And be blessed.