Once you get six months to a year of experience where should you go for the big buck$?

If your Looking to get rich in trucking. Your in the wrong business. I meet ppl all the time that say "I want to get into trucking because of the big payroll". I then reply what big payroll!!!

Sure there are plenty of $80k plus p/yr truck driving jobs. But there require 3-5yrs experience with no more than two companies.

 

I don't know, the average household income in the US was apparently $59,039 in 2016 (link). For an industry that you can start making $35,000-40,000 gross right out of school, and be up in the $50,000-60,000 gross range after two years, that's a fair bit more than one person in a two income household would generate on average ($29,519).

It's not what it should be (inflation would suggest six figures to start), but it's better than average. But I agree, it isn't winning the lottery or anything. And it isn't easy work for the money.

 

Big bucks?
McDonalds!

 

If you want well above average pay in trucking, I recommend tankers or line haul. Yes, there's more money elsewhere, but to save your back and wearing your body out at an early age, I'd go with tankers or line haul.
By line haul, I mean with companies such as Estes Express.
Pulling tankers, majority of the drivers where I worked, the company hired were former car haulers and beverage drivers such as Pepsi, etc. 100 % of them had pretty serious health problems directly related to the work they had been doing. They made great tanker yankers though because the hardest work you will do is dragging a hose and hooking it up.

 

Back to school get an engineering degree, train with a stateside drilling company and learn directional drilling. Then become a site foreman for Aramco. You'll have to redefine what you think of as big bucks though, lots of truck drivers think $100k/year is a lot.

 

I am not trying to be argumentative just to argue. In general I agree with your point. However what sometimes gets lost is a lot of green drivers think all they have to do is (JUST) go find that dream job. First off most of these premium jobs are not open and most of the time when they are the employer has a list a mile long of people waiting to call. Then there are the specialty jobs. yes these jobs can pay very well but the big gorilla in the room is there is a reason for this higher pay. Contrary to popular opinion there is NO such thing as EASY BIG BUCKS or FREE MONEY in this business. I council all these green drivers to stay patient! If your current job is meeting your needs and you are generally happy stay there. I was in a local cafe having a bite with a friend the other day. While waiting in line to pay the check I noticed where someone had placed some trucking want ads. Become a trucker make the big bucks it said. I know the owner of the cafe. I asked him why did he allow that crap in his property. That whole thing got placed in the round file. By the way I am not a cynical person by nature. I just get sick and #### tired of watching these kids fall for this crap and spend 2 or 3 years jumping from one job to another searching for that golden goose that they never seem to find.

 

We could hire 10 drivers tomorrow is we could find them. In the last year I think 6-7 drivers have started training. Two made it through training and only one of them made it through the probationary period. I think we're at the point of either requiring previous fuel experience, or at least 5 years of other trucking experience.

 

MOST newbies that post here seem to randomly choose a starter company and too many then start truing to job hop to a bright future. The wise move is to be Very cateful picking your 1st company and even more careful picking your 2nd company if you change. In my experience, when considering several good companies, you get more benefit earning seniority than switching companies.

 

Apply to UPS. 100 k in two years, full health care, union pension. Work nights for twenty years. I do tanks and make good mon

 

There is a lot of truth in what you say about staying with a few companies and it doesn't apply just to trucking. My first career was in nuclear power and the bulk of 30 plus years was spent with only two companies. The promotions and pay raises came by staying put. It also gave a lot of stability for raising a family and having a life outside of work.