What is YOUR income, any/all experience?

I do see what you are trying to get at with your quere'.
Even though you are away from home you do not work for a minimum of 10 hours per day. Even though you are not home you are not working....
in theory.
Their are times I have spent when layed over have gone to the movies, gone to the park, had lunch/dinner in a nice place, even been to a couple of amusement parks, heck even one weekend I got to a consignee on friday afternoon they were closed until monday I went and rented a motorcycle and rode through the area for the weekend.
The only real aspect of relaxing as you mentioned is not being able to have a drink under DOT reg.'s.
This is not admittingly just a job or even just a career. It is a LIFE.....
we give up alot to make a living and provide for our families but most of us do it not just for a job but becusae we love what we do and the job requirments fit for the individual.

Now looking at your analogy yes all hours away from home it will come out to less than $10.00 p/h. But now consider this as well.........In the big picture..........$40k-$50K-$60K is still 40-50-60k per year. If you file your taxes properly with your deductions of perdiem thru the IRS you will come out good.

Their is so much to take into consideration when looking at financial numbers across the boards. We all want and need to make money, but it truly is not all about the money after you have been working for awhile.

Starting out in any career/job.......you are at the lowest pay scale. In time you will get seniority and make more, this does apply in this industry as well. Their are some bad companies to work for and bad ones to not work for.

For the newbies, take your time in deciding on a company to start with, don't just take the first offer available. Training companies are just that, "training comapnies". they are here to get your experience and then move on. Use that time to learn how to drive professionally, no tickets, no accidents and you will have a good career somewhere else.

Their are plenty of company drivers making above $50k per year. This is not going to happen the first year and will come close maybe by second.
Good driving records and experience are the determining factors of this industry.

I love and ENJOY driving.............I also train new drivers that I am not so sure about doing long term but iit is working for me for now. I emphasize to all, get your experince keep your driving records good and you will have a good career/life on the road or just behind the wheel. OTR is not for everyone, unfortunately you need experience to get most local jobs and most regional, so OTR is the only way to get the experience.

Sorry, I see I may have went beyond what I was talking about but hope I added some insight or just my thoughts............

 

Now THERE'S a good outlook, now that i think about it, i wasn't LOVING it everyday, but when i ran OTR there actually WAS some good times. i never did the motorcycle thing ,where were you that weekend?

had a friend in phoenix that would pick me up and take me out for some red devil pizza (i'll bet inthewindaz knows that place, good stuff) saw a d-backs baseball game one time.

or there's the breathtaking countryside you see on a fairly regular basis, the virgin river gorge, the columbia river gorge, the salmon river in idaho or going south on 1-15 and coming over the hill to see the light of las vegas, heck, i was even lucky enough to have crossed the hoover dam in a big truck a few times before they closed it to commercial traffic.

sometimes you have too look harder to see the good stuff, but it's not ALWAYS bad.

 

That depends on the driver and the co. Some newbies make over 50 their 1st year. The avg is probably 30-40, but it can be done.

 

Who was this thought directed to? $900.00 back in the 70's? I highly doubt it unless you were an O/O. Are you still working for the same company? That looks to be close to 30 years in the industry. But from your lack of information, nobody can even tell if you were a trucker. What are you hiding? This post is to help drivers see what kinds of money can be made out there with a good company. Step up and post some relevant useful info that can be shared to others!

 

Just trying to help others see that there are better opportunites out there for them.

 

Depends on what you call work. I just drive around and deliver freight. I get paid well for what I do. After fuel and truck payment and taxes, it's around 1,200 a week. When you have a lot of friends and you consider the road your home there is really no work involved. To me it's sort of like being on vacation. I live in Tulsa and get through there about twice a month for a couple days each. No biggie, no pressure, no hassels and I get to do what I love to do which is drive. Lots of people will tell you there getting screwed, that every second out here should be included in time invested and put it to an hourly wage. H

 

I do understand and agree with you to a point..................

Just adding another point/view...............Jobs.....careers are really not all about money...............

Look at what people say here..........Some will sacrifice money for hometime, benefits, etc.

The aspect of OTR is wide, it incompasses a (LIFE)............people have to understand that portion first. The students that I have experienced believe so much that the recruiters say, it is difficult for them to manage and deal with.

Times have gotten so difficult for so many people that anyone will at least try driving for an income.

Also consider this................acknowledging not having the choice.

When you/most are working a 9-5 what really happens..........Go to work come home, sit watch tv, go to bed, maybe get some, go to work the next and do it all over........monday to fri..........This is all if you are lucky to only work mon-fri 9-5............weekends.............go to the bar maybe, go to the movies, hang out not doing anything really interesting.

We get to be in a ndifferent city everyday. Almost have to have the option eating somewhere different, meeting people from different places,
learning different cultures of different places.

The only job better as far is this is a flight attendant. At least when they get a loayover they are in a 4-5 star hotel.........

The thing that matters is do poeple understand what the life entales.

It is not for everyone...................Nothing but value and appreciation to everyone who drives..........especially OTR..........We give up so much of our lives to this life, the companies do not value it enough and society does not.

This opinion is only as a whole...........their are some companies that treat their employees well and I respect and wish it more than fewer.

 

OK yeah I see you ride.................It was in Salt Lake City,UT

Eagleriders.........Motorcycle rentals.........look on their website and they have places all over the country to rent.............

 

Absolutely correct..............high five to NOTARPS..........