looking at getting into trucking

With your army training you need to skip over what new drivers have to endure which is low pay for 2 years I sugest get your cdl and go straight to flatbed company maybe heavy haul. Im not going to say you will make more then 20 an hour no truck driver is brave enough to actually keep track of how many hours they work but you should be in the ballpark I drive an 8 axle heavy haul truck and gross 70 and some change.

 

If I had qualifications to get a 40-45k a year job and be home daily I think I would quit driving and take it. I'm on schedule to make 50k this year and I get about 7 days a month at the house.

That being said if you want to drive and don't mind being away from the family more often ,then go for it. Maybe one day you will be a successful owner operator and make double what you are making now.

 

I'm making 45k and I'm still at my first job out of school, I've been driving almost 1.5yrs, city driver, home every day. Looking into better paying jobs now. I've found that most of the local jobs pay better than the OTR stuff unless you get into some specialized type thing. If you have the Army equiv of a CDL-A in most states you don't have to roadtest to get your license, just the knowledge. Better to be in a job you enjoy. I made more before I went to driving but hated life. The only people making under 50k should be people new to the industry like myself. Every single job I'm applying to that I qualify for being over the 1yr mark is paying over 50k/yr. There's a lot of money to be made in this industry don't settle for a low ball company, seems to be a lot of that going around, which is the reason it happens.

 

I always laugh when im on a job board and a company has a 10-15 point list of qualifiations: 4-5+ years experience 2. 0 points on license 3. Perfect pps record 4. No accidents in the last 3 years 5. All endorsements 6. This is an OVER THE ROAD POSITION. BE WILLING TO BE OUT MIN. 3-4 WEEKS AT A TIME

Top pay for those who qualify. 35-45k doe

 

Regional means NE,SE,SW,etc., and your out 1 day to a week. Intermodal means you work off the railyards or ports. Dedicated means your assigned to a specific customer. JB Hunt has a lot of these positions and you average about 45k a year. Since you have 6 years driving in the army, I would just get my CDL and use that as your work experience and apply for union jobs like Ups. I'm sure you know about putting in your dues, coming from the army, and it's no different in the trucking industry, usually you don't make that much your first year, but it usually gets better after that.

 

I was in a similar situation as you a few years ago, same money, etc.

I have no regrets on making the switch. It's a job. I can't say I love it, but I certainly don't dread going to work anymore. I'm making a lot more money, and it's easy money. Yeah, first 6 mos was frustrating for me, but when you get frustrated, take a deep breath and look at the big picture -- what you're working toward. But I was grossing more than my previous (non-trucking) job. Money started piling up in the bank, loans got paid off, new toys ..

Prolly helps to have a plan. research the types of trucking and figure out what you think you'd like (tanker, dry box, reefer, intermodal, flat, dump, heavy, etc) Then figure out if you want to run the big road, stay local or go regional, dedicated, owner op, etc. Then figure out the best path to get there.

I started over the road tanker, now I'm doing dedicated tanker. Waiting for the right day cab job, but at the moment, I'm comfy where I'm at,,, and able to take my time looking.

 

I chose to be a truck driver 18 years ago because I liked the freedom of being out on the road and not sitting behind a desk all day. That being said, choosing to be a truck driver has many variables that you have to consider before you decide to give up your job. If you choose to go OTR, you will be away from home weeks at a time, but you will see the country, new places and meet new people. If you choose to go local, keep in mind that most local jobs require 1-2 years experience or more, in order to be qualified, which probally means you have to start OTR in order to have experience. You also have to deal with traffic, weather (especially snow storms), road rage, breakdowns, getting lost, putting in long hours (10-16 hours a day), driving at night, accidents, weigh stations, DOT, taking tests to renew HazMat, physicals for medical cards, etc. and the list goes on and on. The average pay for truckers is about 50k a year, but there are some really good paying jobs like UPS, USPS, Fed EX, (LTL jobs like Roadway, Yellow), where you can make 80k or more a year, and the majority of them are union, but you won't make that until you hit top rate, which takes a couple years. Just like any job, it's the people you work with that decides whether you like the job or not, and what type of work you will be doing, whether it's flatbead, tanker, hand unload, drop and hook, liftgate, etc. So keep this in mind before you decide to leave your job or not. For me, I love driving and not having a boss watching me all day, which makes up for the downsides of being a truck driver.