Question:
Hi everyone,
I've been reading the forum for about a week now and I'm a little confused on what the pay is.
I live in Las Vegas and right down the street there is a company that trains you to get the license. On the truck it says "Make $35,000+ Your First Year" (exact) According to the department of labor, in 2003, 1st year truckers made $30000-$35000 and after looking online at other schools and salary reports all say no less than $30,000... so that may not be a lot to some people, but I'm almost 21 and have been interested in trucking for a while now and of course part of it is the money (looking for a fresh start), so can some of you please take the time to confirm or deny that $30,000+ is very realistic in my 1st year?
Thank you very much.
DC

Answer:
Yes, no and maybe. That is about the most honest answer you can get to the question of "Can I really make 30-35,000 my 1st year of driving".
At 26 cpm you need to drive about 2250 miles per week or 375 miles per day for 6 days for your weekly total to earn 30,400 per year, or almost 2600 miles a week to bring in $35,000 per year. Please note this is once you are out of training and running as eiher a solo driver or as a true co driver in a team.
While there are certainly new drivers who do this there are many who do not. There are many factors that can make or break a week real fast.
A driver's inexperience
Break downs
Delays at shipper/recievers
layovers due to no loads available in the general area you unloaded.
Illness
Traffic backups and accidents
Having to have the truck or trailer serviced
Hours of Service regulations
A run of bad loads or even a single one...(example is doing a 240 mile run that will not deliver for a day after you can have it there and you can not drop it anywhere)
Dispatchers that are having a bad day or that just do not like you.
and the list goes on.
A more realistic general expectation for 1st year earning would be more like $24-$28,000 per year.
Answer:
uturn2001, Thank you very much for your responce and all the situations you pointed out to me that could happen. I hadn't thought about all that, so thanks for bringing that to my attention.
DC

Answer:
Most drivers get paid weakly. Very weakley.....
Answer:
Alexx: As compared to what? How much more do you make as compared to the average driver in your company? Tell the truth. I already pretty much know the answer to that question....but I'm sure you'll disagree. If your company pays you more than their drivers to sit there and answer the phone...their priorites are really screwed up. I have an idea for you...rather than being a naysayer and trying to dump on someone wanting to maybe make improvements in their life.....try focussing on the positives. Maybe what "bothers" you in life is a complete "non-event" in someone else's world.
DC: For some people....drivers make alot....especially if you come from a county or town/city with limited job prospects. For some people minimum wage jobs are at a premium... for others not so much. But in the absence of a college degree in a demand field....OTR driving can provide a good wage and good benefits. Much higher than the average high school graduate makes in a local job.
School teachers, nurses and other professionals have left their prior chosen fields to take up OTR driving because they can make more money driving. There are a tremendous number of college graduates out here as well. In as much as a degree can help secure a good job...its no guarantee, and not all jobs requiring a degree pay all that well. The question of how good the pay is, is entirely dependent on what one considers is good. For someone who has had to work for less than $30,000 a year....its good, for someone who never made over $20,000 its very good. On the other hand, for someone who makes $75,000 a year....not necessarily so good. Remember....one persons opinion is alot like, well you know, and everyone has at least one.
Realistically speaking, $30K is average to begin....unless you want to go home all the time, and as longevity increases....pay goes up. My company does not pay on years, raises come with mileage increments, and my safety bonus increases on mileage increments.
How much you make will depend on many factors, the company, their traffic lanes, their success in business, and your willingness to work. And other factors as well. If you haven't done it already....go into the newbie archives and spend some time reading there.....you'll find alot of information that is valid.So I like what I do, you don't, too bad, get over it. Get on with your life, I am.

Answer:
I bet skywalker can't deny there are 168 hours in a week. OTR does require at times, all of these hours. Even at 5 days/nights on the job = 120 hours.. 30k/yr---$600/wk = $5 bucks a hour.. 168 hours gets real funky. Like $3.75/ hr. Gross sounds good but it goes much deeper. You sacrifice your complete life to sit in a truck night and day.______
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I'd rather die on my feet like a man than live on my azz hiding in a truck.........Sir James Brown

Answer:
Looks a bit like skywalker lives in the clouds. All those professionals leaving their daily jobs to go Over The Road. He only leaves out one fact. The majority of those new professionals end up leaving trucking with a nice loan they have to pay back and very disalusioned by the job. It isn't any wonder the majority that enter the industry leave in a very short time. All those good time drivers they talked with were mostly full of crap. Driving is not what most people think it will be.

Answer:

That's a very interesting statement.
Yes, if you stay out on the road 90% of the time (versus home 10% of the time, or probably slightly less) you can make $30K in your first year.

Answer:
Well, FWIW, I earn about what a driver does, but I'm home every night (or day...), so it's not like I'm getting rich here. But I do see a lot of guys who don't get very many miles, and I see a few who are constantly getting stuck when their truck breaks down on the road. I have yet to see anybody making more than I was making back in 1991, though.
Answer:
My first year of trucking proved to be good, I made 44k first year that was 2000, and being mostly OTR. Then after that switched to Regional and that kept me just below 40k for a little over a couple years. When I worked OTR I was home every other wkn, regional every wkn. Last year probly made the least but also took the most time off only worked 9 1/2 months. This year my exp and productivity have paid off and I am set to greatly surpass my first year pay. I have pulled Tanker since April and it is showing to be the best deal all around home everynight quick to load and unload, great pay. The key to my story is I did get to suffer pulling Vans reefers and end-dump first to get enough exp to get hired, to do now have reached trucking UTOPIA... The answer is, the key to trucking is to survive the first year or two as it always gets better after that.

Answer:
The gross is what most claim to make. What they net after their expenses is their income. yeah, I know the supertruckers only spend $5 aweek on the road or some such nonsense, but the average driver is going to spend more than that, as well as having to always hold back some cash for tolls and crap. Some luck out, but the truth of the matter is most newbies aren't going to make squat, they are going to go through unpaid training, who knows how long with a 'trainer' being a cheap lumper, so at least 3 or 4 months of their 'first year' is already shot to hell as far as income goes, plus debt, and expenses, before they ever see a check. After that, the 'raises' come in pennies, and the turnover at good carriers is almost nil.
Read Dan's post over in the RoundTable, he got out to go back to being an electrician, which pays as well as trucking is ever going to pay ,and can offer more to a young guy than trucking ever will, career wise. IF you got the time and money to waste getting into trucking you got the time and money to do a lot better.
Answer:

30g plus is fairly realistic in your first year. How much you make is comprised of many factors such as pay rate, miles you get in a week, and how you manage your time. If you are a new driver it will take a while to get used to things so that you can run efficiently. Once you get experience you will do better.
Answer:

That's funny. My ex wife drives a forklift at a non-union factory. She works 8-10 hours a day, and makes more money than I do running regional home on weekends.
My cousin is a shipping/receiving clerk at a factory. He doesn't make as much money as i do, but he would if he worked the same hours. As it is, he only works 60 hours a week, so his pay is less.
I used to drive a limo. I made more money doing that than I ever have driving a truck. Long hours sometimes, but home to sleep in my own bed every night.

And many of them have regretted that choice.

People who get the right degree get paid very well, and aren't hurting for work. One of my good friends has a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering and bachelors degree in Mechanical engineering. His first job out of college paid $50k. He now makes well into the 6 digits at 33 years old. He has never had to worry about being unemployed.
Answer:
highwayman.....I didn't say it as an "absolute". It was a generalization, all of it was. There are "exceptions" to just about everything in life. Much of it depends on where you live, and the job market there. If you live where I do in SW FL, the local jobs "suck" and so does the pay. Its "bluehaired lizard country". I live there as a concession to my wife of 25 years....and her concession to me is that I can do this. I make one helluva lot more than my peers in that area.
Yes....garvin, I can "cipher"....and since I sleep not less than 56 hours a week, well...that leaves alot less time to work, then I do my work., and that leaves so many hours to me. Maybe its not important where I am to do what I want. And truthfully....I'm not at all prepossessed with the need to be at home all the time or every night. If thats the life you choose....great, I'm happy for you. I'd rather you be honest about it than be out here ranting & raving on the CB.
Folks, some people don't have the opportunities that others have, some don't want to move, or can't move for one reason or the other.... But to me that does not constitute a valid reason to stay in Podunk and compete for a part time job at a burger joint or elsewhere. And then maybe some people don't want to do some kinds of jobs. To a certain extent.....you have to get a job doing what you really want to do....not what is forced on you....unless you just want to settle for something.... But at the bottom line...its each to his own.
The teachers and nurses I've made have stuck with it....been doing this for awhile...and like it. Some will make the change, and some will go back. Everybody is different, and I will be the first to say "trucking is not for everyone".
Its certainly not "Utopian" in nature...but the bottom line is this I make a good living doing this. My net earnings make me happy.
I really don't mind getting paid to sleep, eat, read, scratch my head or take a bathroom break......thats looking at it from garvins point of view.... I gotta do it somewhere.
Like I've said before....every job I have ever had except one required massive amounts of travel....and I dealt with far more boredom and inconveniences with them than I do now.
All I can say is "to each his own".....and I don't think I have a right to rain on someone's parade....especially if I think they are looking for "a hand up". I'd rather give an overall view of the good and the bad......
highwayman....my stepson doesn't have a degree....but Oracle wanted to hire him about 12 years ago when I sent him to their school.....I don't know how much he makes....but I'm pretty sure its one heckuva lot. He certainly has no problems financially...and he's got a pretty good portfolio as well. Just goes to show anyone can achieve what they set out to do.....just some excel in different areas than others....and others have different levels of comfort in life.
I think if you have something negative to say, there are better ways to say it, cuz' sometimes if its presented in the wrong manner....it just falls on deaf ears.
Why not put things in their proper frame.....So I like what I do, you don't, too bad, get over it. Get on with your life, I am.

Answer:

They are in their proper frame. Surely you aren't advocating that I put up a disclaimer, "Mine is a unique experience, yours may vary"?
I have been at this crap in some form or another for almost a decade. The negatives started outweighing the positives early on, and they have only been getting worse lately. Be that as it is, I have found that if I expect the worst out of this business, I'll rarely be disappointed, and when things do go good, it will be a very pleasant surprise. I stuck it out, telling myself things will get better - they never did. So I am done.
Why should I sugar coat anything I say? If what I say falls on deaf ears it is because the listener already has their mind made up. Not my fault or problem. This is how it is, believe it or don't, makes no matter to me.