Question:
Hi,
I am thinking of getting my CDL and beginning driving for the first time in my life. I'd ulitimately like to go O/O later on but I want to learn the business first. Any suggestions on who I should start with? What can I expect salary wise my first year? How about home time? Home time is important as well. Thanks guys.
Anthony

Answer:
Why?
It's easier to tell you who to avoid. That would be any company that advertises for new trainees in every single magazine they can. If you see their name often stay away.
With school and otr training, under 30K.
Not to trucking companies. But you can expect 1 day home for every 7 on the road.
Your welcome
Use the search feature above. Your questions have been asked numerous times.

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I'll be brief.....Avoid all,Poverty Level and never.
Answer:
I'm sorry these guys aren't telling you what you'd like to hear. The nerve.
1st off: $75k is the usually first year driving wage OTR.
2nd: Shiney new truck is usually given to the newbie because they're more cautious and haven't picked up bad habits.
3rd: Hometime will be on your terms. You just tell dispatch when and you'll be home.
You mentioned O/O. Just forget all this and get on with CR Englands lease purchase plan. I heard a guy on the net say he was doing good. Best of Luck, you will do fine touring this great country of ours while getting paid.

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Don't forget Prime too!!! Last Prime driver/newbie (1 week on the job) I talked to said the job was easy all you are is a steering wheel babysitter and just cruise on down the highway and make the bucks.
Answer:

Surely you can think of more profitable and healthy things to do.

That is what I said when I started. What I learned about the business is that there are far easier ways to make more money than by being a truckdriver.

Nope. You'll get jerked around about equally with any of the training companies.

$25K. Which if you add up all the hours you will be working and divide that by your paycheck, will often come out be right around minimum wage.

You cannot have both hometime and a halfway decent paycheck. You have to choose - money or hometime. If you value your time at home and want a considerable amount of it, you will put aside any ideas of OTR trucking.

Anytime.
Answer:
Ya'll aren't being too rough on him are you??
I love it when someone comes on here and asks questions like that when all they have to do is lurk and read for a while.
His questions: Gee, where do I start? ..........
Probably won't like the answers he gets. It won't be what he wants to hear.
Sometimes you have to dig through a lot horsesh#t to find the pony.

Answer:
This does get old...but if you guys are tired of hearing these questions there are plenty of other forums to browse around here. Am I surprised by the caliber of answers that he got...no. The guy asked a simple question without any arrogance or sarcasm, he deserved better answers than what he recieved.
Having said that I am sure that this thread will go even more off topic but that is what you gus want isn't it? Let's start a debate about who made how much, and who did it legally, and who got scammed, and who threw their life away, and who know best, and what color the trucks are. What a sad bunch of old bitter washed up men sitting around waiting for someone to come along so they can all pounce and make themselves feel better for a little while.
if you don't have somthing constructive to say, don't. Is that so hard?
When he starts asking for a hard-luck story, feel free to pipe in.

Answer:

Hello Antony and welcome to the TruckNet Drivers Roundtable forums. There are two paths you can take to get your CDL. One is privately through a local community college or PDTA certified program. Usually towards the end of the program, carrier recruiters will come to the school to review the new recruits and make their pitch after which you go with the carrier of choice and finish your training with a trainer for a set number of weeks. The other is through a carrier program where the whole process is done through the carrier, from the CDL course and in truck training with a trainer and then as a solo or team operation. In either scenario the carrier usually requires a signed contract for a set period of time, anywhere from 6 months to one year depending on the carrier and whether you took their CDL course or finished your training with them.
Your starting pay will vary widely. It is not unheard of to start at .25 per mile, +/- a few cents per mile. Going OTR right out of CDL School will most likely have an affect on home time. Once again, it is not unheard of to be out on the road for 2-6 weeks at a stretch, +/- depending on the carrier.
You can check out different carrier profiles here:
Here's a thread of discussion which may prove very useful to you also. Questions to ask the Recruiters
Here's a list of CDL schools nationwide:
All-American Truck Driving School Guide to CDL Training, License & Test Information
You are headed in the right direction, doing your homework ahead of time. Best of luck to your success.

Answer:

He got answers devoid of arrogance or sarcasm from me.
I guess they didn't live up to your standards of decency.

Or we could make you happy and have a circlejerk about how wonderful trucking is, and how anything negative is just ramblings of bitter old men.

Who were you calling arrogant?
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Yes he is and getting straight forward information will make the road allot smoother.

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Back at ya pot. I was underwhelmed by your drival.
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Whatever fellas...Highway man, what was your first response first response? "Surely you could think of more profitable and healthy things to do." He never asked what you thought of his decision, he simply asked for some advice. Void of sarcasm huh?
Rabelam, I could care less if you were "underwhelmed". Impressing you with my drival is not something I strive to do.
If you all have a probelm with "over the road" why not offer some alternantives? There are options for people with no experience. Mixer drivers, rolloff, refuse, union gigs, local P&D, vendor routes, mom and pop outfits etc.etc. Or maybe ecourage him to get 4-6 months in safe OTR before starting to look for a local gig.
Why not try to offer some insight or ecouragement on how to make it in this industry instead of just spreading your negative attitudes?

Answer:
bunker108 why did you choose to comment on what other posters said instead of simply giving your opinion?
My first answer, "Why" was asked because I don't know him. What are the circumstances causing him to want to become a driver? Without any knowledge of that I couldn't offer any any advice on different directions he could take. The only other alternative is to get an education even if it is in a trade. There are plenty of trades where a person can make more money and actually have a home life and a secure retirement. But that would depend on his interest. So "why" does he want to become a driver. Is it the only thing he can think of or does he have visions of great money later on? What is his motivation?
Where should he start? The standard answer, Roehl, Millis, TMC, or Maverick. They have the most positives for starting companies and given the most hype in newbie trucking forums. But for every positive story there are a dozen more negative one's. They also endlessly recruit.
How much can he make, under 30K without a doubt for the first couple years. How much after that depends on what he does the first couple years. But 40k might be a possible except for the fact there are allot of 20 year drivers still working for training companies. There isn't much advancement in trucking.
Home time? Average 1 day home for every 7 on the road. Some companies offer weekends home. But there is a catch. Weekends usually mean getting home Saturday morning and leaving out Sunday evening.

Answer:

Insight? Trucking sucks today. I wouldn't encourage anyone to pursue a low paid dead end job.
You "trucking pimps" are the negatives.