They lied to me,gotta move on!

Most companies are more concerned about a 98.6 degree temp than they are about a 98.2 percent average.

 

I'm not sure trucking sucks for a rookie. I was pretty happy at Swift when I started. Ran hard, learned a lot and they gave me a start. Stayed with them for 3yrs and don't count it as time misspent.

 

It amuses me the number of people that think that this is "okay" or that "rookies" should not have a dedicated account or be home weekly. If you read this forum and listen to the XM radio you would think that the only way to be a real truck driver is to stay out on the road for months at a time.

Though im not on a dedicated account, for the past 2 years that I have been driving I have been home all but one weekend, and usually a night or two during the week.

 

I agree with you. What difference does it make what your experience level is as long as you do the job, rookie or not. If they recruit any driver for a specific position then thats what he should be doing when he gets there. Its a shame that some companies resort to bait/switch to get drivers in the door.

 

Why would they change? It works for them and drivers continue to fall for it. When smarter drivers enter the industry fleets will have to change their ways, until then.....

 

I don't think its ever gonna change Ralph. They've been doing this before you and I started, but it has definitely become a lot worse.

 

I wasn't posting this to brag or run anyone down.I was replying to a post about all trucking companies lying and being dishonest.There are companies that treat drivers well.You have to research.As for experience all our company requires is 2 years.We have over 1000 drivers and our turnover is 18%.We have many drivers over 20 years.

 

To all the rookies or wannabes thinking of dropping several thousand dollars on school. If I could back up to 1997 when I went to truck school instead of staying in the restaurant biz. I would have kept cooking. I have been through more jobs in trucking tha I can list, the minority of guys I have seen in 15+ years now that stayed at one company and did well are few and far between. I have only taken 2 paid vacations in 15 years. the rest were unpaid(between jobs) time off or laid off. The majority are job hoppers trying to find a good niche for themselves. This is the only career choice I can think of where just one inspection at the scales can end your career in trucking, racking up fines tht could equal a years salary depending on the situation and cargo you are hauling, not to mention the points on your record that effect your ability to even be employed anymore Not to mention even possible jail time if you take a life.

Wages have been the same since 1998 pretty much at about .35 cpm, but the big loss comes with the increase in the cost of medical benis which ultimatley add up to less money than we made back in the 90s when benis were cheap or even free. This is a job of minimal growth and advancment. And I only see it going on a no growth or even backwards trend towards drivers for many more years.

Treatment has gotten better as far as a dispatcher threatening you to run illegal or make you run when your truck has a red tag issue. They cant force you anymore and threaten you with your job like they used to due to elogs and qualcomm and a safety department that you can actually call and get results nowadays. If you havent made your decision yet to get into trucking, think real hard about it and explore other options as well. If you are at a steady gig making $10 to $15 an hour already with a steady shift and benis and being home everyday then you are doing better than you will do the first few years in trucking. Just a thought.

 

If you do the math you are making less then a $1.00 a hr.

 

What?

$45,000/year divided by (48 working weeks/year * 6 days/week * 12 hours/day) = $13.02/hour. And with ~$13,500 in per diem deductions, you are only taxed on $31,500 of your income (even less when you factor in the many other available deductions).