Just registered to get my CDL!!! What next??? What do you recommend???

Yea, be sure to put in a standing order with subway in advance to save you time sense they are in every #### truck stop and almost in every #### walmart including one on every other block! I missed my good southern home cookin'. Ain't nothin' like it!

And no pun intended to you northerner's but yall's #### food is so #### bland I can't tolerate it. Even mcdonalds and KFC doesn't have any taste other than soybean burger or bird. Yall have got to discover what spices are or even the simple salt and pepper.

 

Don't take your first offer, its probably going to be too good to be true. Research in depth on this site, but also remember that most stuff people choose to write about is when they are upset about things so you don't always get a balanced look. This means that when you do see at least SOME good posts means they may be alright actually. Also... especially in this bad economy... DONT BELIEVE crap about you are going to make 45-50k in the first year. (REGARDLESS OF WHAT THEY CLAIM YOUR .CPM WILL BE!!!) You wont be doing that. You may be lucky and run decent and push yourself over 30K, but its doubtful in this economy and with a company that is actually hiring rookies right now. There are a few companies that you could push into the mid-30s as a team. You do however (at most companies) get raises rapidly if you stick around. The industry has a high turnover rate so you get rewarded if you are one that lasts. For your second year, if you dont make over 30k, there is something wrong, look for a better company.

If you intend to stick with this career.... NEVER EVER EVER leave your first job prior to the first year (especially if contracted). STICK IT OUT even if it sucks! You will ruin the chances of getting in with a decent company if you do, and if you do, you can pretty much write yourself a ticket into most companies. The best actually require 2-3 years experience. This is less being snotty, and more requirments to get CHEAP insurance rates which in turn means higher pay to attract said experienced drivers.

Also, don't listen to all the negative. There is a crap ton of positive paybacks to being a driver. Don't let anyone tell you that your just stuck in a truck. Get out of the #### thing and check out the world around you from time to time. Take mini-vacations on the road. Yes, you don't make money unless the wheels are turning, but who cares.... a job benefit has value too!!

Oh.... and NEVER EVER EVER drop a loaded trailer other then were its going.

 

Perfect time? Whew,hate to say it but someone lied to you.

I would recommend going to the hardware store and buying a nice shiny new hammer (being the last nice thing you'll ever own) and starting beating yourself over the head repeatedly now, that way it won't hurt so bad when you watch your house and the rest of your assets being hauled away because of a poor career decision.

This is not anything close to an easy sit on your ### job. It's hardwork and the pay these day's suck's and according to what I've seen to another thread on here, trucking in worse than being a janitor. Wish I had never done it. My hammer is no longer shiny or is even reconizable as a hammer because I have #### near beat myself to death with it over the stress this industry has caused.

 

I W-2ed a whopping $26K and some change my first year, running my nut's off and didn't see or come anywhere near home for the first 6 months. I bet I'll be lucky to be banging $30K at the end of this year with alomst 3 years in and 3 different companies total sense I started out.

 

Man,

you need to make a change.............

That is downright pitifull !!!

 

well i would have NEVER been to one to say you (or anyone else) would make "fistful's of money".......

you may very well be working for a company that is "dirt poor" in paying people. as long as you have as much time in as you do, you would be very employable for more money now else where's.

but i also "see" where you had 3 jobs in 3 years......HHhhhmmmmmmm......that CAN BE a problem.....

i wish you well, good luck

 

If I were to run 2000 miles a week EVERY week for my first year I'd gross over $29K I reckon it could happen, but I'd sure like to know the rest of your story??

 

sounds like you should be spening your time researching and looking for a decent company to drive for....instead of wineing all day and telling new drivers how much trucking sucks. I just started OTR and my paychecks are between $600 and $900 a week TAKE HOME pulling a dry van so hmmm ya $26K aint happening




American Trucker

 

Yea, that was the thing about FFE. They try and screw you for every penny they can get away with but when you try and show them the number's they swear up and down and pop out a sheet that show's different. No error on my part because I would sit atleast 3 day's out of the week maybe more waiting to get loaded at meat plants. As well as not reimbursing all scales and tolls.

Refer to above post but I would be lucky to get 2000 miles a week. I stated in another thread where I had told the company I was quitting several times and each time they ask why and I would tell them I'm broke, no miles. Well, your miles do look low. We'll get'em back up for you. Get a good 2500 mile week and turn around and drop back to the way it was. This went on repeatedly. When I started back I remember I had 6 34 restarts in the first week. "Anything on a load yet?" "No sir, planner's are still working on it now" and I would get this message every time. A many of times I have gotten messages after sending my empty call "please go to nearest truck stop and stand by. We currently have no load's in your area and one time up on the north side of Atlanta there was 43 of us parked with no loads but finally one by one started getting them after sitting for several days.

I have. I am in the middle of a field change in trucking to water disposal in the oil patch. Recently obtained hazmat and tank endoursment for this purpose. When I look at OTR companies all I see is the same thing. Lie's and empty promises. I don't whine all day. $600-900 a week take home? Yea, I can see that but here it is in a nut shell. " I just started OTR and my paychecks are between $600 and $900 a week TAKE HOME" Unless you got hired on with a good small company that is reputable and has very low turn over that know's how to treat their driver's just starting out then consider yourself lucky. You can make that kind of money right out of school almost anywhere but once you start gaining experiance and get it under your belt with a big company those $600-900 take home check's will start to disapear in to smaller check's lucky to gross $600 a week but most of the time around $200-300. Why? Because as you gain experiance, you gain raises. Raises cost a company money and means you cost them more to pay than a rookie out of school.

You can take two exact same loads paying the same picking and and delivering to the same place, same miles and the load is a really good run. Your making say $.32CPM and the rookie is only getting $.29 CPM. Who do you think they are going to give that load to first? Alot of companies are starting to stick everything on trains that is over an average of 700 miles.
They can pay the driver what he makes to pick it up and take it to the railyard across town then the company can ship it cross country on a train for only $.10CPM. and pay another driver to pick it up at the next railyard and take it across town or into the next county. Now, are they going to pay more for a driver to take it from point A to D or save fuel and driver payout by only going to point A to B ship cheap from B to C and final delievery from C to D?

When you gain those raises your miles will drop but your still making rookie pay, that's why your checks look good right now. I made good when I was in training at Prime. I did #### good. That's where most of my money that year came from. After getting my own truck and going solo at $.32 and getting a raise a to $.34 my miles went to ####. Make sense? Anybody who know's well will tell you the exact same I just did.

Not trying to piss in your cheerios but that's just how it works with all big companies and some of the little ones.
Companies don't give a #### whether you as the driver makes it or not. We are just a warm body in the seat to make them rich. It's all about what's to get them the gain and save them money. Not you the driver.

Give it awhile. You'll be whistling a different tune.

 

OMG you must be psychic! I do work for "a good small company that is reputable and has very low turn over that know's how to treat their driver's" lol I work for Watkins Shepard as you can see \/ from my signiture picture, and they are not a big carrier thats out to screw there drivers....if fact the longer you work here the more miles you get and the better paying ones at that




American Trucker