Advice Needed For Finding Work After Failed Drug Test

I backed myself into a corner and it seems that if I want to get started in this journey, CR England is my only option right now. I've tried CFI, among many others, but I'm coming up empty. Prime won't take me back for 3 years. CR England doesn't have the greatest pay. But, they do have paid training. I could wait a year and go to CFI, wait 3 and go to Prime, or go to CR England in a few weeks. Is the pay that low? I need to make at least $800 a week after taxes. What are your thoughts?

Ugh... CR England. My bad.

The question is how bad do you want This? Yes, CR England has been known to be one of the lower paying carriers due to taking the "less desirable" candidates. I do not intend any disrespect, but they're willing to take a chance on those who other carriers won't touch. The STARTING pay is lower than others, but if you prove yourself you'll raise up the payscale. There was a husband wife team here a year or so ago that drove for them and loved it. One thing to consider for CR England is I believe they're forced team driving for first 6 months (?). As far as the pay what is pay rate they told You? We could help give you a general idea of how many miles the truck would need to run to get you near that but can't give you too specific help as we don't know tax liability, benefit costs, etc. For instance, in my job I gross $1200 off a 48 hour week (paid hourly) after taxes (claim 4) and medical/dental for family I gross about 800. Your situation will be different but we can try to give a rough estimate.

I read .35 cpm on their site.

What's to think about?

You have one viable choice to currently enter into a trucking career. Remember, and this is true of all companies, starting pay is just that. If you learn your job, work hard, project a positive attitude and manage to operate in a safe manner...your pay will be raised and so will your mileage.

You either get in the game now, or remain on the bench indefinitely. How bad do you want this?

Good luck!

All these places won't take you now because of the failed drug test that Prime discovered?

What substance showed up on the failed drug test?

As for CR England, I know someone who went to their school about 10 years ago and drove for them for a few years. . He didn't really say anything negative about them. And now he is an independent owner operator , who seems to be doing pretty good.

Best of luck.

What substance showed up on the failed drug test?

It was marijuana. 0 tolerance policy.

You either get in the game now, or remain on the bench indefinitely. How bad do you want this?

Bad enough. It's the indefinitely part I don't like at all. I'm gonna go for it.

I read .35 cpm on their site.

Just did a quick calculation using my example of grossing $1200 with my tax liability and benefit costs. For me to make the 1200 gross, and still bring home 800 a week I would need to run over 3400 miles a week. If your a team truck the truck gets paid .35 cpm and both drivers split it evenly meaning you guys would have to run roughly 6800 miles a week. (1200÷.35 solo 1200÷.35×2 team). That seems like quite a challenge, especially for a rookie. One thing your CPM doesn't account for is any bonuses they may offer such as fuel, safety, or on time bonuses. Old School began his career at Western express. They are another company that is more lenient in their hiring criteria and known for low starting pay. He has often mentioned that he grossed over 50k his first year despite starting so low by proving himself. I worry that if you financially can't survive off less than $800 a week take home every week trucking may not be for you. Many times drivers here have posted checks where due to their appointment times they only have a paycheck for $500, then next week because of when paperwork was submitted for previous weeks loads they get a check for $1700. Fluctuating paychecks is unfortunately pretty common for OTR drivers. With needing to make that amount you may put additional pressure on yourself and get into some pretty bad situations by trying to rush too much. I hope experienced OTR drivers can chime in with additional help.

Misty, I say just do it. What have you got to lose?

You’ve already jumped through hoops to get as far as you have, don’t stop now. I mean, first it was a go but then you had to wait to get the CPAP and medication things sorted out. Then you sold your Jeep, gave up your job (!) and spent 2 days on a bus travelling halfway across the country to get to training only to find out two days later NO-GO (oops) but ‘Hey! There’s a bus leaving at 2 AM, if you run you can probably still catch it.’ OK, then. Thanks.

And so here you are a week later and still trying to find a way in, right? You got back on the phone and somehow managed to find a company that said they will still take you, which tells me that you really want to do this thing. Or at least have a chance to try, which I think is about where most of us are at that are just starting out on the journey. As they all say, you really won’t understand what life as a trucker is really like until you experience it for yourself. So do it. For the year commitment, minimum. If you work hard, are smart about it, and just stick with it one week at a time regardless of how bad it may seem in the moment I think the miles and pay thing will work out for you.

Just PLEASE—do not be one of the people that comes back in six months to tell everyone that you switched carriers because C.R. England wasn’t giving you enough miles or being nice, blah blah blah, and now you’ve REALLY backed yourself into a corner! I think it’s pretty clear what all the pros here say about that one, right?

I’ve already read I think at least five or more of those kinds of posts this past week alone and it’s not even Friday yet. That’s at least one a day. And probably by the time this reply posts there will be yet another sad tale of woe and sorrow popping up. I can’t take any more.

Say strong and carry-on. You'll do what's best for you and yours. Everyone’s rooting for you. At least I am.

-T