Not a driver yet, but prospective student with questions..

My God man, $900 one week then $200 the next... I would be so out of there, the second that happened. Heck I'd bring that pay stub to the interviews I'd be having the next day. Folks it is NOT like this in the better companies... WOW!

 

Dodge....IMO Don't do it right now is not a good time, sure they are crying for drivers but theres a reason for that....The company drivers just starting out are getting anywhere from 27cents per mile to 31,if your thrown into a team it can be even worse.Now you could grab yourself a red turban,pile your entire family into the rig and drive for Banghu or Pannu.Your best bet since you have a family is follow your gut.OTR you would be away a long time and barely make those ends meet.

 

IF they stay with the training company is a big if . A high percentage don't stay for various reasons . IF they don't stay they will be billed for an amount higher than most private schools charge . They won't get certification for their training and will most likely get a negative DAC which will prevent other starting companies from hiring them .
Can someone starting in the industry pay $1200 a month in bills ?
Consider no pay while in CDL training 4 to 6 weeks . No pay while waiting to get hired and an orientation class started . No pay while waiting for a trainer . $300 to $600 GROSS trainee pay 4 to 6 weeks . Waiting for an assigned truck .

 

It was answered. The answer is no. A newbie typically will not make enough to support a family. The odds are against you, and I would advise getting a college degree in a actual profession instead.

 

No, it's not like that at the better companies. However, it's going to take you a couple of years to find a better job. And it's not about the pay either. As a family man, you need time home, benefits, and a retirement package. Finding a company that offers all 3 is like finding a very small needle in a very large haystack.

 

I'll speak as someone getting back into the industry after a 30+ year hiatus and letting my CDL lapse. The reality of the trucking world today is that anyone with a new or renewed CDL will have a small percentage of companies that will hire you. If you go to any truck stop today there will be a magazine rack near one of the entry doors, and each free magazine will be page after page of advertisements from trucking companies that are wanting to hire you. If you do your due diligence and research all the companies and opportunities you will quickly find that only a few companies will hire new drivers.

After six months behind the wheel experience you will have a few more companies that might hire you. After a year you have many more that will hire you. After two or three years experience the door opens up to almost every job opportunity.

You don't have to have a school to get your CDL, but for any new driver it is highly recommended. Anyone with a new CDL will still be trained by one of the starter companies. The minimum requirements to get a CDL is to get your medical card (by paying about $80 for a doctor to certify you are medically fit to driver - not a drug test), pass the written exam at your local DMV and get your permit (the permit allows you to drive a truck as long as a CDL holder with at least 2 years experience is awake and in the passenger seat), and then pass the pretrip/skills/driving test at your DMV.

Once you have your DMV then you should expect that any company that will "hire" you will ask you to come to orientation. On the first day of orientation you will need to pass a drug test and road test (the road test is much less stringent than the DMV test). The company will pay for your transportation and hotel at orientation. Once you make it through orientation (expect 3-5 days) you will be assigned to a trainer for a period of about 1-3 months, depending on the company. After passing training you will take a more stringent road test, and then you are assigned a truck.

During training your take home income will be as low as $70 on the second week (they withhold pay for a week) to maybe as much as $300-400 per week. After training, getting into your own truck, expect take home pay to be about $400-700 per week for the first year.

After "paying your dues" for a year, then you will have a track record and qualify for a greater number of opportunities. Even after a few months you will find opportunities within your starter company. Keeping a good CSA score, on time record, etc. might qualify you for dedicated runs, intermodal, or other situations that might get you home weekly or every night.

I got back into the industry with my eyes wide open, knowing I'd need to "pay my dues" to get that year of recent experience to start opening more doors. Fortunately for me my kids are grown and gone and my wife is willing to get on the road with me as soon as I'm assigned my own truck (I have a few days of training left at a major carrier). My plan is to put in my year, then look for a higher paying company job, then start saving money toward purchasing my own truck and becoming an owner/operator.

Without a doubt your first year of income will be meager, and your $1200 per month bills will barely be covered. The trick to not going broke the first year will be whether you can live cheaply on the road. If you are willing to purchase your own food at Walmart or other grocery stores and avoid eating fast food at truck stops then you can save on the biggest part of the trucker's budget. For example, my trainer does not buy any grocery market food and only eats fast food or at places like Applebee's or better. He's spending $40-60 per day for food. By comparison I purchase all my food at Walmart or other grocery stores, and spend about $60 per week. If you are willing and able to reduce your food budget by eating "in the truck" then you can survive and thrive. If you insist on "eating a decent meal" and will only eat prepared food at restaurants and truck stops then you will end up going broke. It's pretty much that simple.

By the way, I eat much healthier food than my trainer... and even though he's making much more money than I am I have saved much more money than he has during the last five weeks training. In other words, my meager paychecks end up with money in the bank by the time the next check rolls around, while his much larger checks are often gone before the next paycheck and he's on the phone begging for money from his girlfriend or getting advances from the company. If you are willing to live smart, then you can survive your "training year" and then start to really contribute to the home front. IMHO.

 

Last May, I too used my GI Bill at the local community college and got my CDL. I also have a family, and they actually like seeing me every once in a while, so I applied to all of the LTL places in town. A lot of them say they require 1 to 2 years of experience, but I was able to get a job with one within a week of graduating. I've been driving for them for a year and I came up just short of $48000 take home in that time. That will most certainly go up this year. Getting a CDL doesn't mean you have to go OTR and get paid slave wages for your first couple of years.

 

I have a friend who drives for Pepsi. He said you could drive for them making deliveres. Home every night. They will train yo and you dont have to have cdl. Not sure of the pay, he has two kids though and they dont seem to be hurting for money. That could be another option for you. I start school tomorrow at a private school in Cincinnati. I want OTR and I want to live that lifestyle. My wife is going to be coming with me as soon as she can. That is the only reason I am not taking the Pepsi position.

 

Hey, I found it right out of school. I was home every weekend, with NO exceptions. The better companies with better bosses understand this, they have families too. I certainly made enough to cover $1200 a month in bills and have a lot left over after that, so it can be done. It cannot be done, going with one of the big carriers(Swift, Schneider, Werner.... etc ).

 

You heard companies work drivers too hard for little pay,that's backwords,companies don't work the drivers hard enough.They sit and sit,which leads to very little pay.You'll make 25,000 to 30 thousand a yr.Can you make it on that?