Question:
I will be starting my driving school in March with Roadmaster here in San Antonio. What can I expect my first year driving, I'm hoping the pay will be better than the $24,000 a year I make now. I will probably apply with Roehl, Crete, and maybe USxpress. Traing, pay, miles, hometime. Any input would be great. I'm nervous but I think I've chosen a good career.
Thanks
Answer:
After school, these companys will pickup where the school leaves off. You'll do more classroom work, and a good amount of on the job training with another driver -- you'll live in the truck with them for a month or two helping them perform the job till you can do it yourself.
You'll make 35-40 thousand your first year after you've completed the training and get your own truck. You won't make much until you're assigned your own truck, so have some cash on hand to help you through this period.
You'll be home about one day for every one week away from home. So count on an average of 4-5 days at home per month. Not much. These companys and most like them who take new drivers want you to live in their truck on the road, whether they've got work for everyday or not.
You'll get basic medical and dental coverage for you and your depenents/ The company will pay about 60% of this -- some more, some less -- but it's better than paying for it all yourself.
Your ability to move around to other driving jobs as you become more experienced will mostly depend on keeping your driving and accident record clean, so pay attention and study hard. Learn everything you possibly can and resist the temptation to take unnecessary chances by speeding, etc. There's lots of peer pressure to cut corners and take chances, so learn your craft well and set your standards high. That way, if you're still interested after a year or two, you'll have a better than average chance of competing for a job that maybe pays more and has more desirable conditions that you've decided are important to you. Good luck and be safe.

Answer:
One more thing........
Stay on your toes and do your homework checking out EVERYTHING the school or the trucking company "Recruiter" tells you. This is a mine-field of exhaggeratiopns, misleading promises and out-right lies. You shouldn't trust anything ANYONE tells you without verifying it. Don't assume anything, especially the obvious. Ask lots of "dumb questions". No one will be offened -- they'll actually respect you more if you don't just fall for anything they try to tell you. Homework, homework, homework......an did I mention checking everything out and really doing your homework when talking to the truck schools or company recruiters? Seriously, protect yourself and don't fall into hearing what you want to believe. These folks are slick. Be very careful.