On The Fence About Staying, Maybe Not For Me?

I agree 100% with Old School. Here's an example. When I first got my company truck it needed many things fixed. It took 4 days at the terminal. Two of those days, I couldn't sleep in the truck. The company put me up in a hotel for those two nights. After all was said and done, I relaxed for four days, got my truck fixed, and got paid for waiting. If I was a lease driver, I would have paid for the repairs, hotel and not been reimbursed at all. Hmmmmm. Which is the better stress free option? You will do better to go company, prove yourself and watch the loads come in. I'm with CFI and will have over 10,000 miles for the month of September. Rainy is with Prime and gets all the miles she wants. Old School is with Knight and started with Western Express, with both companies he has all the miles he wants. All of our Swift drivers are doing the same. In this job, one must go solo and prove themselves before they really start to see the money. I have been solo since the end of June and just got my best paycheck. I am finally getting into a flow. It takes time. When you first go solo your backing will suck. That means more time at shippers and reseivers as well as drop/hooks. That translates into less miles. As you improve the miles will come. Good luck

I wish I had more time to go into more detail, but I'm on a reset and the wife wants to go to lunch, so I'll just leave you with this for now:

Don't listen to the fools who say you won't make money as a company driver.

I'm a company driver. I started TNT Jan. 6 of this year. As of my Sept 15 paycheck, my year to date gross earnings are 38.5k. There's still 3 1/2 months to make more $ this year.

No lease payments to make. No fuel costs. No maintenance costs. No headaches. Uncle Sam gets his share and I get the rest.

Old School shares his wisdom

... How many miles a driver gets has absolutely nothing to do with whether you are a lease operator or a company driver. Nothing! Your ability to be productive and creative out here and be the type of driver who gets a lot done while being safe, productive, and easy to work with will be the way in which your miles are measured out to you. There is no random or fair spreading of the miles out to drivers in this business. It is a very selective process, and the folks who understand how you get to the top of the list are the ones who are making the money.

I was talking with a Swift graduate before he left for the Syracuse Terminal. He stated that he will drive 400, then his mentor will drive 400, then they will take their [at least] 10, but only leave no earlier than 7am. I tried to explain to him the system, and how it works. "His response, they need me, I don't need them, my mentor will train me my way, or I will get off the truck."

He will be sitting a lot, or out of the industry really fast.

Buttercup, you have already endured a rigorous training phase, you know the basics of how to run your truck, so far. If you decide to go lease, wait at least a year, before you decide. Learn the details, and finer points of trip planning, time management, backing, and enjoying this lifestyle, And the other tricks that old school shares with us. If, at the end of that first year, you still want to give leasing a go, then go for it. Some may not agree with your decision, but it is yours to make. Help is Always available here.