Profile For Mike M.

Hi Mike,

You pose a lot of good questions. I’m just going to tackle one of them for now. This is just my opinion, but forget your desire to drive a manual. Your chances of achieving that are slim to none. Manuals for new drivers are not happening and trust me, you don’t want it to happen. I trained in all manuals but when I went solo I was assigned an automated truck. At the time I was kind of disappointed but now I would probably quit if asked to drive a manual. Don’t develop an obsession with manual and if you make that a priority in choosing a company you will probably not get a job.

Bruce K, thanks for the advice. Are the automatics that much better than a standard? How are they in the snow? Do you have the same amount of control on snowy roads? This thought leads to another question...is it better to learn and earn your CDL in the winter or in the summer? Just curious.

First, shout outs to IDMtnGal, James H., Old School, Kerry L, Anne A, Andrey, Bruce K, and Turtle. Thank you all for the replies. I have been delving into this topic quite a bit this past week. I read Brett's book: Becoming a Truck Driver. It has generated a few more questions.

Let's assume I am going to attend a pay to train school. I live in Vermont, Chittenden County just outside of Burlington. How far will I need to travel to attend the school? How many of them train you on Standards? I would much rather train on a standard than an automatic. Next, once you make it through the class and get your CDL-A, do you have to train OTR or can you train as a Regional? Ideally, for me, I will have to become a Regional driver and not an OTR. I would like the opportunity to drive coast to coast at some point; but as of now, I would not be able to be away from home for 8 weeks. A regional position would be best. That being said, why do drivers not like driving in the Northeast? I have read postings stating it is not a favorite(Andrey, you alluded to this). I thought I heard or read that the pay is higher in the NE; any truth to that? I am going to send out an email to some of the NE reional carriers to see if they will tell me which schools they prefer. Anyone have a preference for training schools? Being a driver, do you have much opportunity to take time out of your day to get any exercise? Take a hike, a bike ride, a quick workout? As a NE Regional driver, how far does that region cover? My idea of the Northeast area, may differ from the trucking industry. Once I become a Regional driver, do I park the truck when I head home, or do I take the truck home? Just curious, since a tractor trailer definitely won't fit in my driveway:) I'm sure I will have more questions. I try to get them down on paper as I think of them, so I don't forget them. Thanks again everyone!

Andrew, thanks for the info. I gross over 49,000 right now. If I can gross 45 to start, I can deal with that. Say I go with a large company and the pay to train route. What is the likelihood I could drive Regionally instead of OTR. Honestly, I don’t think I can do OTR at this time. Regional would be best. Many thanks for the info:)

As several people have said, and I fully agree myself, the best option is company training. There is a catch tbough - you will have to stay with this company for about a year which means driving for a very modest pay. Your annual gross will still be about 50k, so if it covers your needs, it can work for you.

Old School strikes again:). Awesome explanation of performance based pay. I wish I had that in my current job. It is frustrating when I bust my butt to get a project done on time or even early and others do the bare minimum for the same pay. PBP is appealing to me on many levels. Awesome information you are sharing. Thank you so much!

Hey Mike, the reason we often use that phrase about performance based pay is because most people are not accustomed to being paid that way. It is something that surprises people about this career. Most of us come from jobs or careers that have a salary or an hourly rate of pay. Trucking is different. We get paid for how much we get done. That is why you see pay rates shown as cents per mile. In trucking you can have two different drivers both earning forty five cents per mile. If one of them averages 3,100 miles per week he will be earning about $1,400 per week. If the other one is only averaging 2,300 miles per week then he will be earning about $1,000 per week. One of them is performing better. He is getting more done. He is outperforming the other driver, therefore he is earning more money.

You can find people on the internet complaining that their company is not giving them enough miles. I never buy into that argument. It is because I learned a great deal during my rookie year about how I could develop a great deal of trust with my dispatcher by being reliable and always getting things done in a timely and safe manner. I always did what I said I would. There were times when he wasn't sure I could pull off something I told him I would. Those were the times I made dang sure that I took care of my business, and he began to put a great deal of trust in me. My performance determined what kind of relationship I had with my dispatcher. He began to count on me for the best loads, or maybe even the loads that were more challenging. I began to get more work sent my way because I had proved myself 100% reliable. That is the kind of performance you want to demonstrate as a trucker. It is hard for the new guys. Everything is new and confusing plus they just don't have the experience or confidence yet to make things happen in their favor. You can do really well at this if you maintain a great service record. A high performance record puts you at the top of the list of drivers who are prioritized for loads. You will get loads while others are waiting. That's just the way it works.

There are a lot of tricks that we learn as we gain experience at this career. One of them is being able to move your appointments forward. I do this all the time. If I have an appointment that is going to cause me to have unnecessary wait times then I will contact the customer and work on setting a more convenient appointment for my schedule. That doesn't always work out, but once you get the hang of it and understand how some of your customers operate, it becomes an ace up your sleeve to help you outperform your peers. Efficiency is key to being a top performer. Trucking has built in problems and issues that affect our ability to be efficient. Learning how to smooth out those problems is a hallmark characteristic of high performing drivers. Most drivers like to moan and groan. They will spend countless hours complaining about the problems that are associated with trucking. Top Tier drivers will figure out how to deal with those problems on their own and make things happen.

I'm just scratching the surface here about how to understand performance based pay, but I hope I have helped a little with trying to explain how it affects your trucking career. Rookies haven't built up any trust because they have no track record. There are some drivers with years of experience who don't even understand how important it is to build up this level of confidence and trust. They are content to operate as mediocre drivers who work for an average level of pay. There are other drivers who may earn almost twice as much as those drivers while working at the same rate of pay. To get paid well in trucking you have to produce very well. If you want to get paid good you simply have to be good at this job. Our levels of productivity determine our levels of income.

Thank you for the input. In order for me to do this, there is a minimum I would need to earn. I have to be able to cover my fixed expenses. Once I leave my current employer, I won’t be able to come back in 6 months and return to my former position if this were not to work out. Based on what I have read so far, I am leaning towards a pay to drive scenario as my first option. Second, would be a local driving school and try to earn while working at my current job. We‘ll see how this progresses. Still a ways off from making a decision. Every bit of information helps. 😊

What you're describing can be done and has been done, although I have no idea how common it is, or whether it's available in your area. Why not contact local driving schools and see what they offer, and ask where their graduates get hired. You might need some flexibility in work hours at your current job to make it work.

I attended a school where I was able to arrange my driving sessions around the instructor's and my availability. I made a bit over $40k my first six months working ~12 hour shifts 5 days a week with a local, home daily job. Whether you can do the same will depend on who's hiring where you are.

But this is the part that concerns me

Cannot take a cut in salary due to mortgage, family, etc. So what are my options?

There's no guarantee that you'll make it as a truck driver, or that you'll even want to. The attrition rate in school and in the first few months of driving show that this work clearly isn't for everyone. Will you be able to return to your old job and salary if you wash out as a driver? How much of a financial cushion do you have if it takes a while to get going in terms of income?

Many thanks for the honest answers. I am only beginning to look at this. I am not one to leap into something without researching it fully. The more I know, the more I will be able to decide if it is the right thing for me. This will require time away from family, which I can handle. Whether the family can handle me being gone for extended periods is another question entirely. Advice that is given, I am reading and soaking it all in. If you refer to other articles, etc, I read them. Thank you for that.

I would respond to your reply’s, but I haven’t figured out how to do that. I don’t see a “reply” icon.

I could make this work if I can earn 40-45 in my first year. Your replies say that success is “performance based”. Can you elaborate on what that means?

I just know that I need to make a change in my work-life. I am no longer happy in my current position. Anyone have any books or articles they recommend I read to get a better grasp of the profession?

Again, many thanks for the information!

Hi. Turning 55 and thinking of making a change. Considering getting a CDL and driving full time. Cannot take a cut in salary due to mortgage, family, etc. So what are my options? Can I get a CDL part time on the weekends? What type of schooling is available? I have heard of pay while you train type places, but I have my doubts about those. If I can maintain my current pay while doing this, that would be great. Thinking if I do this, to start out driving locally. Looking for real answers, no sugar coating. I need straight answers. What is realistic pay starting out? How much does training cost? At 55, is this a good move? What is the outlook for jobs? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!