Trucking Is Tough

I guess I have fallen into having the expectations that when people say you'll make a minimum of 900 a week or something like that, that it will in fact be like that. But have heard that it can fluctuate because of bad weeks. I just hope and believe that with hard work if I do have bad weeks that the good ones will outweigh the bad. In construction, you get like 30 hours one week, 20 the next, and like this week I got 8 hours. and then there's no good week that outweighs the bad because when I do get hours I'm still only making 12/hr. I had a conversation with my current boss about me going soon and told him I like what I see with trucking, but I also really love working with my hands and doing carpentry. I just don't have all the experience and therefore no leverage to ask him for something like 20/hr. He agreed and said if I wanted to stay on long term and some day become leader of a crew then he could pay me that. But see, I didn't start out early in construction, and don't have time to pursue that when I need something better to provide for family. So trucking definitely seems like the thing I can get into and in a relatively short period of time make better money than I have ever made from a regular blue collar job. It sucks when you like what you do but doesn't provide enough. I just hope from what I've researched and like about trucking I will actually like when I'm really in it in a few weeks.

Jason, earlier you stated this...

My take-away from the many conversations on this forum and the advise that is regularly given is this:

Most drivers fail because they enter this industry with unrealistic expectations.

Don't let a recruiter have you thinking you are going to make 900 dollars per week. That sounds good, and it may even be realistic if you look at a long block of time and get an average from it. A recruiters job is to make it all sound desirable, they are the sales force that are responsible for bringing in drivers.

We try to teach people to look at their income on a monthly or quarterly basis. As a rookie, you are going to make many mistakes during that steep learning curve of your first year, that will cause your weekly take-home pay to fluctuate wildly. It will even out and become more steady as you gain a mastery of how to conduct yourself and manage your time on the road. I've yet to meet a rookie who didn't struggle with being disappointed with their pay checks at times. You'll also manage to get some that will surprise you at how much you can make. Look for the average over time, and do your best to have a little savings that you can draw on if needed for your family's budget.

You can do well at this, but financially that first year may be a little tough.

Well if it's bad I at least feel better about having benefits soon. In the last month my income has been 200 a week, to 96 this week because of Christmas and so anything at 600 or more is fine with me. With Jim Palmer I'll get 600 minimum while getting my training miles. So once I get to solo and making the regular CPM they give to new drivers, I hope I don't have it where I make less than the 600 a week I'm getting in training. Does that happen sometimes? Like if there are issues of having to sit because of weather or other factors?

Well if it's bad I at least feel better about having benefits soon. In the last month my income has been 200 a week, to 96 this week because of Christmas and so anything at 600 or more is fine with me. With Jim Palmer I'll get 600 minimum while getting my training miles. So once I get to solo and making the regular CPM they give to new drivers, I hope I don't have it where I make less than the 600 a week I'm getting in training. Does that happen sometimes? Like if there are issues of having to sit because of weather or other factors?

It has been mentioned many times on this Forum. Weekly pay is very inconsistent in this business. Pay periods, cut off dates, etc. Can affect your weekly paycheck. It is best to look at it monthly or quarterly and get an average. I'm just goung to use round numbers as an example. You drove 10,000 in a month. At 40 cpm, you made $4000.00. Your weekly checks may look like this. Week 1 3200 miles. $1280.00. Week 2 3000 miles. $1200.00 Week 3 1300 miles. $520.00. Week 4 2000 miles $800.00. The first 2 weeks look great. Week 3 sucks. Week 4 is So So. Expect more Week 4's as a rookie on average. Just keep an eye on the long term averages, and shoot for the Weeks1 and 2. Good Luck!

I'm fairly confident you will have a few weeks where your income will be less than 600 bucks. You're going to learn out here how your efforts and performance will have a profound effect on your pay, whether it is for good or bad. There is so much for you to learn. Even things you haven't even considered yet, like how to get your customers to move your appointment times ahead. I'm sure you will do better than you are now, I just want you to be aware that you will have to learn how to make it work for you.

One of my favorite sayings is that "No one holds your hand out here." I think this is where a lot of rookies struggle with this career. We will do what we can to help you here in this forum, but a very independent spirit will go a long way toward your success out here.

Old School said:

Jason, earlier you stated this...

My take-away from the many conversations on this forum and the advise that is regularly given is this:

Most drivers fail because they enter this industry with unrealistic expectations.

Actually, I said that.

And for what its worth, my only expectation is the potential to earn 30 to 40 thousand dollars per year and to be living in the truck for 45 to 47 weeks per year. Anything that I get in excess of that (more money, recognition of my efforts, etc.) I will consider only as bonuses.

These are all great answers. Thanks everyone.

Sorry John, I was quoting you but attributed it to Jason. I got confused on who said what.

I got confused on who said what.

That's OK Old School, it happens at our age. Don't worry, it'll only get WORSE!

Old School said:

I got confused on who said what.

Sometimes I get confused on what I said,

so it kind of balances out.