Poor pay

Remember this - you make it what it is for you. If you want to be a victim all your life and blame others, then you will never know what it means to enjoy life and get ahead but if you put in some thinking, strategist your career to move forward, even if you are put back by some unforeseen thing, you will end up happy and live a good life. It comes down to the fact that this industry is really big and there are all kinds of opportunities for someone to stop being just a driver.

Blacky, you remind me of those frustrated people we used as contractors, they were just good enough to get the job done but not employee quality.

 

Ridgeline, this is the kind of personal insult post that belongs in politics, not here. When folks come out of the woodwork to take personal pot shots at OPs who want to change the status quo, you're just attacking the messenger, not discussing an issue.

This type post is below the standard we need here at TTR.

 

From reading this interesting thread, with all of the good back and forth from both points of view, I think that perhaps driving OTR is not for you. My guess is that you would not be happy because in the back of your mind- each and every minute that you are out here- you will be constantly thinking "I am not getting paid enough to put up with all of this" and it will weigh on you so much that you will be miserable. That thought enters each and every one of our minds throughout any various day/week/month whatever. Those who do not really have the willingness or even the enjoyment of the "Lifestyle" are most likely to hate this occupation-because there are SO MANY stresses that come with it. I have been doing it now for two years, and from my limited experience, I have to say, it is most definitely a "Love/Hate" relationship with the job that most have.

 

OTR has a 99% departure rate in the first six months, jx. Lots of unhappy drivers there. I would rather blacky got something local where the money's better, you get more backing, docking skills and some exercise. (Just read another thread where the poster made a nice little pitch for LTL and how many LTLs would rather train from the start out of CDL school.)

 

Let me put my two cents worth in here, of course that is worth more like $36.97.

Everyone in this nation believes they are underpaid. No one is. If you do not like your wage, find another job. We see the signs all the time that tell us not to haul cheap freight but some do. I never worked for Swift or CR England or any of the starting companies. I started off in 2005 working for 45 cents a mile on a run that was KC to Houston round trip. 3 times a week. I turned down lower offers.

The idea of paying McDonald's people $15 an hour is put out there by unions as union employees have a thing in their contracts call COLA's which is cost of living raises. That number comes from multiplying the minimum wage by a factor. Minimum wage goes up cost of living goes up and the union worker gets an increase much higher then the person getting minimum wage gets.

Nothing changes. A doctor will always make more money then a garage mechanic. Even though they are both the same job. Finding out what is wrong with something a making it feel better. We value the doctor higher because he is dealing with a life.

How about a job where you only have to work 9 months a year, don't have to pay Social Security taxes, only have to deal with folks younger then you, no lifting, off by 4 everyday with weekends off and make $80000 per year. Great. be a teacher, and they complain about wages all the time.

Anything but SUPPLY and DEMAND gives you a false wage. You want to lower health care cost? We need more doctors and we need to be able to use the internet to treat ourselves for most issues. Have problems sleeping, go online and order some ambien. Noooooo the doctor has to give you a script.

Low paying jobs will always be low paying jobs as long as there is someone who will work for that wage. I do not work for a company that doesn't pay me what I think I am worth. I drive a truck now. 4 days a week KC to Indianapolis and back. $73,000 per. My co driver does the same job for $52,000, He has 6 months in, I have 8 years.

This income redistrubtion thing might be great. What kind of life do we all get? Do we all get $1,500,000 houses? Do we all be beach front property? The only way we can be equal is to make sure we are all slaves. Give me freedom and keep your social justice.

 

Other parties have gone away. The Wigs used to be the big dogs in American politics. The GOP didn't even exist before the mid 1800's. Change can happen.

as for PETA, public citizen, and tea baggers in the same sentence - the point is we've gotten to the point that the loudest, most extreme positions are getting all the attention. The art of finding solutions that benefit the common good through common sense and compromise have been lost in a sea of ideological demagoguery.

 

Wish I could click thanx on this 100 times

 

Um, Welcome to trucking... One trucking job, is like having two regular jobs. As even on the computer, you do work with on truck every day before you even get busy driving. These hours for the most part are not paid for, unless you have a union gig and are punching a clock. Fun Huh?