Overstock on drivers?

The thing to note is we are all drivers here. For better or worse. Some like it some endure it. But it must not be too bad because if it is, most of us must be miserable.

You'll make a living, pay bills and notes, and raise a family. But I seriously doubt you're going to be glad you chose the job 30 years later if you make it that long.

Coulda, woulda, shoulda. But in this economy and world we live in today, you have to be highly motivated to get beyond mediocrity.

 

We just started offering 5 days of PTO after 3 mos, along with our sign on bonus. I agree the sign on bonus lure for new drivers isn't much of a big deal these days, and we offer it to stay current with other carriers offerings.

 

STexan, what you say is true. In a pool of 350 million individuals, it's hard to stand out when you're actually an amoeba.

I learned a while ago that in the end, nobody really cares about me as an individual, except those I love and those who love me. And I'm fine with that I don't want those other alley crawlers littering my front steps anyway. But in truck work, all I have to do is be on time, don't run over anybody, and I get the money.

I mentioned this somewhere this morning. What other profession will offer a $50K/year starting wage with 1 month of education? None. So while trucking isn't what it was, it's still one of the better games in town. If so many people didn't drop out along the wayside, we could even say it was an easy way to earn a living. People drop out because it's not easy, you have to work at it.

Last, on all these comments on or about trucking, nobody mentions lifestyle, yet it's one of the most important things to consider. If some person wants to buy all those glittering toys and consumer goods we see on TV, or in Best Buy, or Fry's, want a pricey car, nice place, wants children, it's going to be tough to accumulate any money. If that person would live like a farmer, spend once you see what the harvest brought this year, there'd be a lot more satisfied and secure drivers.

I believe this. In the era of Easy Money, fast credit, and massive advertising, it's beyond tempting to buy stuff lots of stuff. They make it seem like we have to consume to be somebody. That's a false conception. Buying stuff doesn't make anybody more of a human, doesn't make anybody cool, doesn't make anybody secure. Buying stuff makes those people who do it into wage slaves for the people who are MAKING THOSE TOYS. Rant, one of my faves.

 

Churn is actually the highest turnover ratio, sorry.

And I think it's actually more like $200B gross annual transportation volume, right?

 

STexan, one other response to this post. You're including the drivers who are active, and it's probably true that sign on bonus offers are designed to bring new drivers into companies, right?

The demand for new drivers is driven ( ! ) by churn, by the fact that out of 10 new signons, only 1 will still be working a year later. If that. I always think about that, because the numbers are so enormous. 106% turnover annual? Hard to credit that as an accurate figure, since that would mean these megas are actually losing more than they're gaining. Right? Whatever it is, I guess they gotta kiss a lotta frogs to find a prince.