Pilot Making a Career Change

You're the second pilot that has posted on here this week, that's making a career change. The past few months several pilots have done the same including one female pilot.

Millis is a good choice; dry van with a good reputation for good paychecks.
Maverick and McElroy both have weekend home programs.
Melton Truck Lines has the best healthcare benefits for driver & family.
Schneider is good if you go tanker division.
Prime has excellent training & choice of refrigerated/flatbed/tanker.
Holland Enterprises is a coast-to-coast refrigerated company.
Corrigan in Detroit is household good movers; I wouldn't go that route unless it's OTR. Really slow during the winter months since most families move during Spring & Summer.

Your hometime will be based on company policy, so a terminal near your home won't make much difference, if any. Other than Millis, your best pay annually is usually flatbed or tanker/hazmat. Maybe someone else can give more info. on KLLM, but I understand many drivers have some long waits on loading/unloading at chicken & beef plants from what's been posted on here anyway.

Prepare for the better paying jobs by getting the endorsements; tanker/hazmat, TWIC, and a passport. You can make some real good money with tanker/hazmat OTR or local; $60K + range.

 

as a former right seater I can sympathize....you'll find a few of us out here that moved from wings to wheels lol i was a freight dog and in my case it was due to loss of a long term contract which bumped me out of the seat and into senior management......then 9/11, the industry going to hell and loss of a subsequent contract that left no other choice but close my station and take early retirement after hanging on tooth and nail for several years after trying to cut costs and keep the operation profitable. unions didn'thelp that cause any and in the end we were outbid and grossly underbid by a non-union company. duh lol. you know all too well the disparities in pay between long timers and newbies getting into the regional jets, as well as the difficulty getting back in the seat after you've been out of the game awhile.....much like trucking to an extent.....

don't know what to tell you about companies in your area or otherwise as I got on with a smaller company 10 minutes from my house and doing pretty well. I've been pretty happy but much of that was due to making a well researched and informed choice of where I went. one advantage we former pilots do have is no issues with background or medical qualifications in most cases going into trucking like so many that end up with the bottom rung companies have as you see posted so many places on here. that's a tough break having your medical denied but like you say, you shouldn't have any problems with the dot physical the standards aren't as tough. but you will find that having a dot cop on a bad day doing an inspection is just as bad as having an faa guy in the jumpseat doing a checkride lol

just want to offer my support and say good luck. think smaller not larger in terms of companies if possible. the better ones don't advertise or recruit heavily. they don't have to. but they're out there and there are some good gigs that take students if you do the legwork and find out what's in your area and knock on a few doors. your background is a for sure selling point.

company sponsored slavery should be your last option in my opinion. if you can cover the training cost at a community college program you're way ahead of the game and have options. if you don't, won't or can't, your first year will most likely be hell and you won't be able to get out of there soon enough and up to a better company

good luck

 

Because it is just like that one.

 

Note my screen name.

Air Force A-10 guy, Part 121 regional guy flying Dash-8s, then corporate where I wound up in Challengers.

That gig went away and I happened to have a 'hobby truck' I bought because I could see the writing on the wall and wanted a back-up that would work with my Air Guard gig.

Personally, when my flying gig ended in April of 2012, I tried like heck to find another corporate gig...but between the lack of jobs and the fact that I'm still part-time in the Air Guard, I struck out...and now I am out of currency in every one of the five different aircraft I am type rated in.

I happen to have lucked out and my father-in-law has been in the trucking business for 41 years. I went and got my own authority and have been running a 1979 cabover Kenworth with a flatbed (skateboard in trucker axiom). So far the past year and a half has been extremely challenging, extremely rewarding, but the company has been pretty much just breaking even as we get into a groove and expand on finding direct shippers instead of working primarily for brokers.

I wish you the very best of luck, and you've come to the right place to ask questions. When you get your post count up, feel free to PM me and we can talk on the phone.

You might want to look into UPS. I have NO idea about getting hired on there, or if they are even hiring, but I have talked with several of their drivers and they have excellent work rules and compensation.

Sort of like their pilot group.

I'll watch this thread and see if there is anything else I can offer...for now, do your diligence in researching if this is for you. This job isn't so much a job as a way of life (sort of like aviation), and if you are allergic to working long, hard hours in all types of weather, I can tell you this isn't for you.

All the best -

W2W

 

My dad was a pilot ...he's retired from Eastern years before they went under.

his first "paying job" was co pilot on a D 18 Beech..the outfit only had one plane

from the stories he told me...unless your in the left seat of a big one ( dc9,737,etc) your basically starving.

hope thing work out for you....I've seen as high as 52K in the trucking world...but it generally was around 28-32 for the first few years

 

Well I know I tend to preach about working for old dominion but I do this because I have worked for several others and being a linehaul driver for this company I can not complain and trust me if I had a issue I would deffenitly post it.
Pay is comperable just shy of six fig
Treatment: Never had any problems managment as long as you do your job they leave you alone
Equipment: Most equipment is 2012 or newer I drive a 2013 volove
Hometime: Home everyday I drive 10hrs and I am home the rest of the day like a regular job
Company training yes they have a company school and they are one of the most successfull trucking companys out there

 

is that your KW in your avatar? if so sweet ride!! Looks like the BJ and the Bear rig. Always loved that show as a kid. LOL

 

A tanker is for an experienced driver. You can but I don't recommend it. I have a brother in law as far as I know is still a trainer for J.B. Hunt. Laugh if you want but everyone has to start somewhere. Now the bad stuff. Our wages are not even close to what your used to. Now the good side. Truckers take care of their own. Were a huge family. From drivers wet behind the ears, to old road ticks like me. We will help you anyway we can. That's the truth.