So you want to drive for Schneider?

Never knew why anyone works for that company. Just the size of the company tells you success will be hit or miss.
I also find it crazy that people will spend 6k-8k on a school for a job that pay most pumkin drivers around 35k in 2015 that is crap pay. especially for the hrs worked
I guess someone has to do it, but the current HOS make OTR a thing of the past for me and should be avoided unless you are desperate by anyone.

 

Your right BigBlue....35K a year is crap pay. My daughter just finished her accounting degree which cost $45k and with her Bachelors degree she makes $12.50 an hour starting out. Wait...my niece recently got her teaching degree...she must be banking right? Nope...two years out of school and she works as a substitute for 28K a year. Oilfield pays great...If you can handle North Dakota in the winter.

Entry level position...School cost me $3995.00 and it was a decent school. Income in this entry level job from July 19-December 31 was $24,889.82 which averages out to $1082.13 a week which included orientation. I am home 6 days a month and sleep out of a truck the rest of the time. Now I can't speak for the driver that spent too much for school or stops at every truck stop on the way to delivery but these were my numbers. If I was a single man I wouldn't even have a home I'd just use the truck as my home and take time off at different parts of the country. I'll do my year in and look for the trucking job closer to the house that takes me home every night. Unfortunately those companies require experience which means crap pay with long hours away from home. It reminds me of the Military so my family is used to it.

 

Hippy, there is a lot of truth in what Blue is saying. In fact, he is "dead on".
You are also making a lot of sense when you mention what both your niece and daughter are experiencing, and unfortunately, what they are going through is happening across the good ole U.S.
My niece got her Masters in Political Science four years ago. Then she couldn't find a job. Guess what? She recently obtained some kind of flunky certificate to become a hypnotist and she is starting her own "practice".
But back to trucking and to Blue's original point; glad you're doing well teaming but that is not an option (and understandably so) for many others. Many solo drivers are really getting screwed; upwards of 100 hours a week to make about $600.00-$750.00 per week and to live like an animal is not a desirable compensation package.

 

What is the solution to the problem? Any entry level job is going to pay crap unless you are politically connected. I worked 23 years to make 65K a year and there were plenty of 100 hour weeks. When I started I made $400 a month but I knew there was a future there.

With a CDL in my hometown in Colorado I can make $15-17 an hour without the year over the road or 125000 miles experience. It would be driving cement or gravel truck or a milk truck. The construction jobs are unpredictable in the winter and the benefits aren't as good but it would be home more often.

I knew coming into this job that it would only be a year for this guy. My son had recently gotten out of the USMC and was struggling to find gainful employment. I had researched truck driving and knew there was shortage of drivers. I figured if he got his CDL-A I would never have to worry about him moving back in. It's worked so far!!

We had 18 in our orientation in Fontana in July. Only 5 are left. One (Softail) gets good miles and we do well. The other two that are left average 2000-2700 miles a week.

I don't have the solutions to how to make this a better fit for people. It seems all Trucking companies try and figure ways to squeeze every penny out of drivers they can to make the most profit. It seems companies either don't know or care what a driver has to deal with to make that delivery on-time. I would expect it is they really don't care about their drivers.

In the end I still say as an entry level job it is not bad. Do your time with a box company (Schneider, Werner, Prime....etc), don't get into a lease, stay safe and move along to something better.

That is all!!

 

23 years to make 65k a year???!!!!
Darn dude, I made that my third year. Yes I had to do some skipping but found good jobs.
My recomendation for newer drivers or those with six months to year is go to a trucking temp company like Trans Force, Pro Drivers etc because those are often the keys to great companies. Sure you might be sent on a few crap jobs but just toss them after a week if they are no good and no pay and something always comes your way.

 

Patriot....I was in the Army. Pay sucked but the retirement and medical now rocks. It's a give and take

 

Ah heck, I thought you were talking about the civi world. I was in myself, did not drive, was a grunt. Loved to get down in the mud and blood. Started driving after I got out as I could not find anything really to my liking in the civi world but driving.

 

My second youngest is a 5'4", 135 pound Airborne Infantry Ranger....he doesn't know it's supposed to be hard. I was a Combat Engineer. Spent 45 months looking for roadside bombs. This is a good fit for ex-military and honestly I couldn't handle having a boss standing over me and don't play well with others.

 

If anyone is seriously going to complain about 100 hour weeks then obviously this job isn't for you. If anyone feels that living on the road is a 24/7 job filled with constant work stop complaining and move on to something else. You obviously aren't cut out for this lifestyle and obviously aren't mentally tough enough to handle it.

 

Exactly how I feel.