Who's The Worst Of Them ALL to work for?

Respectfully,You guys are not talking right...

I got out of a truck 12 years ago to get into sales to make the BIG money. Didnt make it. Averaged about 40 grand/year. I live in Indiana. Used to live in Cali. It depends on where you live and your quality of life according to your wages. When I got out of a truck, my wife and I were paying off a $50 grand house with 2 daughters. Moved to southern indiana and built a new house with a mortgage of $135 grand. bought new car every 5 years. Now own 07 Oddessy and a 08 Suzuki. Took 13 years to pay off credit cards. I am now getting ready to go back into trucking because sales is NOT where its at. If you think owning your own truck is where its at, then try the job I had. You got the same worries that a regular business owner has. Its a sobering slap if you try it. I will be a company driver. I want nothing to do with owning a business. After moving up the ladder to Upper management, I want nothing to do with it. I'm saying it took a GREAT DEAL of discipline to pay off our debts!!!! most are not willing to discipline themselves to that extent while denying themselves of the junk we all buy. I could not live on what I make if I still lived in Cali. My wife and I combined make $75 grand a year and thank God we now only have a car payment, a mortage payment and a balance of 5 grand on credit. We are both 40 right now and plan to retire in 15 years. Got about 1.5 mil as a inheritance, but wont see it till parents are gone. If not for that, it would extend our retirement out about another 10 years. All anyone has to do is evaluate their current situation, pay off all debts FIRST while eating beans and rice, rice and beans, save and only purchase what they NEED. Wants dont count when your trying to get ahead. Its tough, but you can get what you want without blaming it on economy and anyone else with the right discipline. I by no means am any better than anyone on this site! It just takes very tough sacrafices, and living in an area conducive to getting what you want to achieve it. I love the Cali lifestyle. I cant afford it! No job is a rose garden. Why do you think Im going back to driving. I cant take the " sure you did GREAT this week, but what are you going to do next week"? I did it for about 12 years and I cant take it anymore. I'd rather know that if I drive a certain amount of miles, I'll make a certain amount of money. And by the way, I'm starting out fresh again due to being away for so long, so I am not going to make that 40 grand in 08' because I gotta pay my dues all over again. But if I apply myself and keep my nose clean, it will get better. I just have to be very disciplined once again. Just trying to share a little experience from the other side of the fence. It aint pretty here either. Attitude IS 80% of the game, and 20% is luck... REALLY.

 

And one more thing... When I was out of a truck in my upper management corporate life, they dont care about me or anyone else either. They care only about the bottom line too! Your not treated any better or respected any more than you. Generally, the higher up you are, the more you make, the faster they get rid of you FIRST! Folks, theres no respect or consideration for hard work from this end either. I thought I could get past the disrespect if I could just get out of a truck. You'll have a big bore rear end if you believe as I used to. I'm back home doing what I belong doing. I'm now free again! (somewhat).

 

The figures were 95% failure rate with 5% either wealthy enough to retire or Rich.

For a Capitalist country that is pretty darn chilling. Yet, who's getting the big picture? Practically no one unless they have lost a job and are losing their home.

Pretty Sad state of affairs.

 

Fact is my friend, you have not figured out where the money is. Most people are afraid to look and if they took the time they would really be surprised. In 2003 between 27 and 28 thousand became millionaires in this country because of small business venture's in the world of sales and marketing, but you won't find them working for a paycheck. They all made it on straight commission duplication efforts.

As for Luck, if you go out to find those like you who are looking for you and strike up a relationship, you can be on your way. However, if you play the usual games of the business, you will fail miserably. Why? Because people don't have their ears, eyes or minds open and just like a parachute, if the mind is not open, it just does not work.

There is a man who wrote a book about how to be successful and the book is not the usual run of the mill "see what I have done' book. He explains the business and addresses the issues with the best companies. I think he is 98% on track, or a little more. I would not change much he has written.

Check the internet for this mans name. Contact him or order his book. If you have questions ask him or ask me. Doesn't matter. "Daren C. Falter"
Success is earned and has nothing to do with handouts, welfare, or get rich quick schemes.

 

If you have a good job, you have the politics. Keep the job, but open your mind and you will find a better way.

 

Let's do the math. Taking into account that I've been laid-off several times in the last couple of years which means I've been living on less than 30K/yr gross, and that if I made $35/hr I'd make $35 x 40hrs a week x 52weeks = $72800 in one year... I come up with an extra 42800 per year. Of course there are additional taxes which make that extra 42K per year seem smaller (let's say it's only 30K extra take home). Systematically put it in a mutual fund and after ten years I'll be able to retire easily. This assumes you believe in "personal responsibility" and that the world doesn't owe you a new car or a mansion simply because you exist.

On a more helpful note, here's how to make ends meet on less than $17/hr.

1 Create an emergency fund (When the car breaks down or you lose your job you'll be OK)
2 Don't buy an expensive home (Your payments will be less and your taxes will be cheaper too. You can make improvements as your budget allows.)
3 Buy cheap healthy food (Flour, oatmeal, rice, beans, eggs, powdered milk, frozen vegetables. Bake your own bread. Make your own pancake mix. Don't eat out more than a couple times a month. Fresh fruit and vegetables are expensive but important. You can still save money by watching out for what's in season, or on sale.)
4 Don't buy a new car. (I've found that for around 5000 dollars you can get a reliable used car or truck. You'll save a ton of money on insurance for a used vehicle as well. Our household has a car which gets reasonable gas mileage so we can save on fuel costs. We also have a full size truck to do the heavy work.)

Life isn't so bad.

 

Well I got a Job in Nashville this past week. I found a temp Driving Job Hauling products for Cracker Barrel Stores. Pays not bad i`m back into the house every 4 to 5 days . So thanks to any that said a prayer for me or had hoped I would soon go back to work.So far this company i am with is ok .I will give you a report after several weeks. Thanks keep on Jamming Blownscoot, Good day.

 

Approximately two years ago as I was heading through the Columbia Gorge towards Portland, OR a sleeping Swift driver tagged the side of my tractor & kept on driving. I called their safety office & reported the incident. However, what caught my attention was the phone tree. If you are interested in becoming a CDL driver press 1, if you are an experienced driver with at least two days experience press 2. I dialed this twice to make sure I heard it correct the first time. My team partner & I had a great laugh as it truly explained why Swift drivers drive the way they do.

 

So his base wage per mile has been the same for 4 years? Has he switched routes, like OTR to regional to dedicated. The recruiter said different routes pay different wage, but beggining OTR drivers make 26 cents per mile, same as Swift.

I hate to tell you but I was making that a decade ago driving a truck, and that was with less then a year of driving OTR.

My friend who trained at May Trucking 7months ago is already making .34 a mile and started at .32 after 2 weeks with the company. He will make around 7k more in his first year compared with the average Swift,Werner, and even IDC driver.

I made over 32k driving a truck a decade ago and ten years later there are still companies paying the same? Thats sad.


A trainee does not have to settle for low pay because they work for a company that has to pay a kings ransom to maintain insurance coverage and will haul any load no mater how much it pays. And that is what both Werner and Swift do.

Check around people, there are other companies that will train you and give you the miles + pay to go with it.

 

Yes, the pay for the industry is very sad. The amount of time a driver give a company away from home and family, for the pay received in todays high cost of living world just does not add up.

There are no State Representatives who give a #### about drivers or their families. They don't care that many are failing and that Leased Owner Operators are going bankrupt every day. Companies that take on the responsibility of insuring an owner operator has a profitable business should be held liable for not making it happen. Yet, who cares as long as company execs and owners are living good.

1980 deregulation without protection was a serious mistake, but that is the way we do business in this country and have for far too long. Greed, graft, corruption and special interests are the rules of the game; not honesty, fairness, wealth building. Sad indeed.