Question:
Thanks to all who post on this site. As I am interesed in a trucking career...I have searched the web intently...and this seems to be the best site of them all.
I would like to explain my situation...and would appreciate all who have comments...good...bad...ugly...whatever...I need advice from the people who know.
I have a college degree...in the liberal arts... it and 50 cents will buy you a coke these days...and I work at a marketing firm...decent...clean...40 hrs a week.
However...I have been at it for 3 years without a raise...and there is not one in site in the foreseeable future...and of course...if you don't increase your income every year...not only are you not progressing...you are falling behind...as inflation has no end...and the corporate world is driven by money...and when those of us in our early thirties who are desk jockey's ask for a raise...well when there are other college boys waiting tables who would love to have my job and would gladly work for what I am making...my raise requests will not be positively received..as good ...stability in the corporate world is a thing of the past...
This...of course...lead me to the sunday paper to check other options...and of cource as you all know...it is full of Accounting, nursing, sales, 9.00 an hour...and trucking
Would getting into trucking be a smart move? Could I...with a degree...start driving to get in with a company...and then have an in for a management position? Or would I just be disappointed?
Some posts say they never get home...other say hometime is good...interested in opinions on this...as it is my only drawback to trucking.
Finally...two more questions...can I go with just about any company...put in a year or so...and then find a good living in the upper 30K range as a local driver for Fed Ex, Yellow or one of the LTL companies?
I am from Arkansas. Would I be better off to go with SRT in Ashdown or PAM from Tonnitown...as oppossed to going with Swift or Schneider or one of the big companies?
Really interested to hear all opinions...and I appreciate the time of all who offer advice
Many Thanks
Chad

Answer:
Since you are so close to Oklahoma, I'd recommend going to Central Vo-Tech in Drumright, Oklahoma for dirt cheap as opposed to carrier sponsored training.
If you'll browse the threads, you'll see they come highly recommended and are the school of choice for some of the better carriers such as Crete, CFI, etc.
SRT seems to get a lot of good pub, PAM not as much.
If you're in a stagnant job, may as well give it a shot. You could probably go back to doing what you're doing or something similar.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Answer:
However...I have been at it for 3 years without a raise...
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In 1997, J.B. Hunt, the nation's second-largest publicly held truckload carrier, decided to raise driver pay
and since then they have cut the starting rate back from .37cpm.5 years no raise.
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According to SignPost Inc., a Hudson, Wis.-based firm that conducts a national survey of driver wages, the typical over-the-road driver for a dry van truckload carrier earns $37,598 a year.
http://www.ttnews.com/members/printEdition/0003773.html
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if you think working 80 hours a week and never being home as some sort of improvement in your life,have at it.
Every raise accompanies an increase in the drivers cost of health insurance and they also seem to come out with new mileage guides that the companies use to base your paid miles on,things keep getting closer togetter somehow.
Paid miles does not equal the miles you drive from point A to point B,they short you about 10%.
While waiting for loading and unloading,you get paid nothing,while waiting to get your truck fixed you get nothing.
Advancement chances almost zero,they don't take people from trucks and put them in the office,people don't need a CDL to work in the office.Office workers are easy to get,drivers harder.
Zigzag a certified failure at OTR trucking.
Answer:
ZigZag pretty well summed up the facts of
having a driving carreer. If you have no friends,Family and are a loner willing to work for less than ideal wages driving could be a great way to see the country. I would prefer first class myself. With any degree you could do better. That fastfood manager is making more money than the average OTR driver today,plus his home doesn't roll. Don't waste your education
find something better. Make sure to read other
forums here before making any decisions.
Spend a day at your local big truckstop,look around,have a meal,listen and talk to drivers
and see if you can live the "lifestyle" as they call it.
Mike
Answer:
________________________________________________
"However...I have been at it for 3 years without a raise"
_________________________________________________
Drivers havent had a raise in over 20 years.
According to Michael H. Belzer in his book "Sweatshops on Wheels":
__________________________________________________
"Today, average real wages in trucking are no better than they were in the late 1950s. For the TL sector, average wages hover around the minimum wage"
_________________________________________________
Welcome to the real world of trucking.

Answer:
Would getting into trucking be a smart move? Not really if you already have a degree. But getting into the business may be a good move.
Could I...with a degree...start driving to get in with a company...and then have an in for a management position? Or would I just be disappointed? I doubt if you would move up very quickly if you start as a driver. But with your degree you may be able to start as an employee, dispatch, driver manager etc.
Some posts say they never get home...other say home time is good... That of course depends on where you started at. Some companies give ok home time others don't. Trucking is not known for it's great amount of time off. Two weeks out would be minimum with most companies.
can I go with just about any company...put in a year or so...and then find a good living in the upper 30K range as a local driver for Fed Ex, Yellow or one of the LTL companies? It's very competitive these days. Lots of drivers wanting to find the same jobs. So with your degree why don't you see if you can get in one of those companies first.
I am from Arkansas. Would I be better off to go with SRT in Ashdown or PAM from Tonnitown... SRT use to be good. They did offer home every two weeks and plenty of miles. They have taken some very big loans from Covenant and are changing quickly. Not for the best.
Swift or Schneider The bigger the company the bigger your driver number will be. More of the corporate BS you have now. Smaller is better in trucking.
Because your just looking and kind of interested I would not invest everything in a driving career. Trucking companies have openings. Most of their web pages not only list driving jobs they also list company openings. It might be worth while to look into.
"Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of all who threaten it"

Answer:
i would not go through a trucking companies school most of the companies schools make you sign a contract to drive for them. most are at least a year. If you want to be home often look around at local companies. when i started driving i got on with a local company. i was out 4-5 days for a regional run and a 7-10 days for west coast runs. Most companies where you get home every night want 1-3 years experience. I used to turn wrenches on trucks and theres alot of office personnel were once drivers. Friends of mine have gone through company sponsored programs and they said they got the crappy loads. The companies know that your not going nowhere until your contract runs up or you have to pay for training. When i first started driving i was making in the low to mid 30k range. The more you want run the higher your pay will be.

Answer:
Man, Stuffiu summed it up perfectly. Don't waste your degree driving a truck. Yes, I know that things are slow right now and not many companies are hiring but the economy will turn around. It always has and it always will.
Funny you should mention restaurant management, Stuffiu...
My sister graduated with an English degree and she now manages a Pizza Hut in Nevada. With bonus and incentives, she cleared around $44,000 last year working generally a day schedule with weekends off and very good benefits. When I drove for CR England I cleared in the lower $30,000 range working 70+ hours a week being up all night doing hand-unloads at grocery warehouses. The benefits were a joke and I had to fight tooth and nail with England to get my checks to work out right. Plus, living on the road got expensive after awhile and it began to eat into my pay very quickly.
Plus if you drive a truck and then try to go back to a straight job, the words "truck driver" under your previous jobs will hurt you because of the bad image truckers have.
http://www.subway.com

Answer:
Doesnt prepare you for what you will experience as a OTR driver.
Maybe the "Real" outlaw biker lifestyle, farming. armed services, merchant marine or any at sea work MIGHT get you close to having the tools necessary to be a truck dweller.
Go to work next week with a packed duffle bag and stay for a month. Eat at fast food restraunts, shower and all your bathing needs done only in a public facility. No visits from friends or loved ones and you can only hang out with the biggest morons you know and hate!
Then you will have a taste of what you are contempating.
The contempt and disregard from your fellow workers wont touch on what you'll get as a driver though.
Otherwise its a great lifestyle!!!So you don't need to get paid much right
You sound like you will love to driver for 10-13 hrs as nonstop as possible, deal with traffic and your dispatcher. And the fact that you can quite easily die for $30K or less your first year is quite a significant plus too.
Their are postives to trucking, but you need to understand the negitives of living the OTR life. Its not just a job its a way of life. And trust me, this isnt the country club and super model set you'll be hanging with!!

Answer:
And it depends on what you really want to do compared to what you make. Me I would rather be shot in the head than do restaurant management. Heck I would rather drive a trk for a dollar an hour than do restaurant management.
The main reason why I drive a trk is I cant stand to work around the same people everyday. If I took a job in a factory that paid fifty dollars an hour I would quit it in about a year. The money would be great but the people would just drive me crazy.
You will see a lot of post on how this dosent pay this or that, well I make good money, but it dosent pay well.
Sometimes it isnt as clear cut as to what some job pays. If your going into it for just the money then you better keep your day job.
"A choice between doin' ten years, and takin'out some stupid !@#$,ain't no choice at all."
Mr.White (Reservor Dogs)

Answer:
Alot of comments here from so called underpayed employees. I drive because I love going to different places everyday, eating at different restaurant ( Im single, I can afford it ) and I have alot of control over how I conduct my daily business. Go from point A, to point B, get there on time and dont crash into anything. Its not a hard concept. All other time in between I consider my personal time to do as a please. I guess its all how you look at it, if you let things get to you they will, if you dont let things get to you then they wont. If you really wanna know what its all about then just go for it. Im just glad that I am single, with zero for bills, and no kids.

Answer:
Originally posted by chad from arkansas:
However...I have been at it for 3 years without a raise...and there is not one in site in the foreseeable future.
Truck drivers have not seen a significant wage increase in over 20 years. In the early 80's, my cousin was making $.18/mile as a company driver. Today, there are companies starting out new drivers at $.23/mile. Accounting for inflation, todays new driver is making almost half of what a driver did 20 years ago.
My uncle who used to be an Owner Operator 25 years ago, can't believe anyone would be one today. He says he would regularly haul loads for $.80/mile or more. Owner operators today, 25 years later, are still hauling loads for $.80/mile or less.
I started driving in 1996. My wage then was $.22mile. There are experienced drivers today making $.25/mile. Doesn't count as a raise in my book.
..and of course...if you don't increase your income every year...not only are you not progressing...you are falling behind...as inflation has no end...and the corporate world is driven by money...and when those of us in our early thirties who are desk jockey's ask for a raise...well when there are other college boys waiting tables who would love to have my job and would gladly work for what I am making...my raise requests will not be positively received..as good ...stability in the corporate world is a thing of the past...
Same in trucking. Truck companies are not going to give a driver with 10 years or more experience any more money than they would a new driver, because they have no incentive to do so. What happens to the experienced driver if the compnay won't pay him more? He quits the company. Then the truck company puts a new driver in that same truck who will drive for $.20/mile, instead of the $.50 that the veteran wanted. Same truck, same freight, same route, but a savings of $.30/mile for the compnay by putting a rookie in the drivers seat.
You will start at a certain rate,and after 10 years of driving, you will likely find that you are only a nickel a mile higher in pay rate than when you started out.
This...of course...lead me to the sunday paper to check other options...and of cource as you all know...it is full of Accounting, nursing, sales, 9.00 an hour...and trucking
If you count all the hours a driver is at work, his income comes out to about $9/hr. On top of that, he is away from home for a week or more at a time.
A long haul driver is paid by the mile. That means anything he does when he is not moving is being done for nothing.Time spent loading and unloading is not paid time.Time spent sitting in a truck stop waiting for dispach to find a load for you is unpaid time. Time spent sitting in traffic is unpaid time. Time spent broken down on the side of the road is unpaid time. The load pays the same whether it takes a day to get there or a week.
On top of that, your expenses are greater on the road than if you were at home. Anything you need on teh road, you buy at higher truckstop prices, because you do not have the luxury of shopping around. All your meals are in restaurants, unless you prepare your own in the truck, which after 10 hours of driving, and several more hours unloading 40,000 pounds of canned beans by hand, is something I never wanted to hassle with. I would pay any price the restaurant wanted just to be able to sit down and eat a hot meal and read my newspaper.
Would getting into trucking be a smart move?
As a driver? Not at this time.In some other position in the industry? Yes. Trucking is always going to be around. Everything everyone owns was on a truck at some point in time, so by getting into the trucking business, you should always be able to find work in some capacity.
Could I...with a degree...start driving to get in with a company...and then have an in for a management position? Or would I just be disappointed?
You would likely be disappointed. Most companies hire drivers as drivers, and that is where they stay. Were I you, I would see what truck companies could offer me with my degree in terms of a position in the office. If you still want to drive, just to see what it is like, some companies will allow you to do so periodically. That would be great, because then you would have an idea of what the drivers who are affected by your decisions in the office go through.
Some posts say they never get home...other say hometime is good...interested in opinions on this...as it is my only drawback to trucking.
When I started out, I got home for 3 days every 5 weeks out. Many companies today will keep a driver out for one or two weeks, then give a driver a couple of days off. 1 day home for every 5-7 out is common. But that time at home is spent sleeping, because you will be so strung out from irregular or nonexistant sleep during the week, so by the time you are finally relaxed and rested, it is time to get back into that truck. Your social life will take a big hit,as will your family time. You will have to get used to missing birthdays,anniversaries, kid's ball games, family get togethers, etc. There is little planning for the future in trucking, because there are no guarantees about when you will be home. You may be planning to be home on a certain day, only to find out that you cannot get a load going that direction, or your truck breaks down, or your load is delayed until the following Monday, and you have to wait for it (unpaid time, too).
Finally...two more questions...can I go with just about any company...put in a year or so...and then find a good living in the upper 30K range as a local driver for Fed Ex, Yellow or one of the LTL companies?
This is a possibility, depending on where you live. I have done this. I am a local LTL driver now, and I make the same or usually better money than what I made OTR. My trucking income this year from my local job ought to be in the $45K range. Some areas and companies pay more,many pay less. I have seen local driving jobs for $8/hr. Total BS in my opinion. But keep in mind that trucking is exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act, which means even if you are paid by the clock, a truck company is not obligated to pay an overtime wage, or even the minimum wage. A truck company is not obligated to give you breaks, or lunch time, or anything that you might be accustomed to working in an office.
I am from Arkansas. Would I be better off to go with SRT in Ashdown or PAM from Tonnitown...as oppossed to going with Swift or Schneider or one of the big companies?
I prefer smaller, locally owned companies simply because you are a human to the upper management. The big companies know you as a number, and don't care about anything you have to say,just as long as you deliver the freight. Smaller companies are more likely to be receptive to ideas from you about how to improve the job,family concerns,etc. The downside is that they will likely not be able to give the low cost benefits that the big companies have.
Usually, the more you find out about something, the more questions you have, so by all means keep asking them. There are people here with experience in just about all aspects of trucking, and several non truckers as well. Someone ought to be able to answer just about any question you can come up with.
Hope this helps, but it probably just makes you have even more questions!
"I consider myself a good judge of character, and that's why I don't like nobody."
-Roseanne
Answer:
Reply to Kramer :
yeah thats the way I see it..No bills..No family...No more rent..car payment..this could be banked..couldnt it ? I think alot of these people complaining have family. Whelp, I would too and if I had family...i would have enough sense not to go into trucking if I had a family..but I don't So I am.

Answer:
Go from point A, to point B, get there on time and dont crash into anything. Its not a hard concept.
You'd be surprised at how many drivers today can't seem to figure that out.
http://www.subway.com

Answer:
Carpunky,I dont pay squat for bills. Except for car insurance, but since my vehicle sits in the lot all the time,even that bill is not much. The rest is mine to spend as I please. Trucking is a single mans job ( or a job for someone who wants to get away ). I spend my days off wherever I want, well sort of.