Can Truck Drivers Make More Than Web Developers?

Thanks Rainy and Turtle! I didn't know you can be trainer while driving company. I'm sure it will be something to consider. It's good to hear that Prime increased their CPM as their website still showing .42 cpm.

I'm still having hard time to gauge performance. I thought once you hit the road, the dispatcher tell you to go to destination A, you just keep driving, take break in between and sleep when the ELD tell you you run out of time soon. As long as I'm being nice to customer and dispatcher, no speeding or accident, I would have done my job. I think I need to do more research about "what's consider as high performance trucker".

I'm giving myself until June before I commit to switch career to trucking. What's stopping me from doing it right now is the fact that during orientation and training, I don't know what to do with my dog. None of my friend would want to look after my dog for 2 months (TNT phase etc). So my worse case scenario would be attending Prime while boarding my dog for 2 months, which could cost a lot money.

Moses, there's considerable effort that goes into being a top performer in this business, and it's hard to understand it all as an outsider just considering this career.

Drivers have a lot of influence over how they are dispatched and handled by their managers, and therefore how much they actually earn. Their performance recommends them as a driver who can be counted on, and there is a lot more to what establishes them as top performers than just driving all they can each day.

Here's an article that might help you understand it a little better.

Show Me The Money!

There are alot more tricks to the trade than your explanation that you can only learn with time on the job trip planning and time management means everything taking it upon yourself to call shippers/receivers about parking and delivery times sacrificing a meal or shower to get the job done with the time your clock allows knowing routes checking ahead for traffic jams accidents and such and adjusting your route accordingly this is def not a job for lazy people that settle However proactive hardworking people can do phenominal in this carreer i personally since becoming a trucker have not made less than 75k but that was through very hard work and dedication and doing so through the huge learning curve that exists in this industry

Since money seems to be your biggest goal (nothing wrong with that) have you considered linehaul? If there are any in your area.

Last year was my first full year and I made 75k, and didnt work as much as I could. Generally linehaul is among the highest paying trucking jobs we have a lot drivers over 100k some into the 120s, it may take 3-5 to get to that point but you should have no problem bringing in 70-80k.

Since money seems to be your biggest goal (nothing wrong with that) have you considered linehaul? If there are any in your area.

Last year was my first full year and I made 75k, and didnt work as much as I could. Generally linehaul is among the highest paying trucking jobs we have a lot drivers over 100k some into the 120s, it may take 3-5 to get to that point but you should have no problem bringing in 70-80k.

Thanks Bob, yes I briefly looked up LTL , I think the company I was checking out is XPO Logistic. Regardless, I still need to pay my due of getting my CDL , have 2-2.5 years of OTR experience before I can consider the next gig where the money is. Once I have the 2+ years experiences, sounds like the money is there ($80K-$120K) whether is working for Sysco, Walmart, FedEx etc.

Most LTL companies hire right out of school nowadays if you went the private school route. Which I know isn't the recommended path here but it worked for me and others I know.

But it is good you are willing to put in the work and not expect to make top dollar right away. A lot of newbies think they should earn 100k just because their license says CDL on it.

This all depends on your location and how close you are to a terminal.

Understand this, a 10 hour break is all you have to meet your personal needs. Local means going home every night, but being back 10 hours later. So if you live an hour from the terminal 2 hours of your 10 hour break will be spent commuting to work. Then shower, eat, sleep, repeat. You will probably be working 14 hour days with weekends off. My friend at Old Dominion can work Saturday for overtime, however he has to make sure he is back in time.to get a full 34 hours off.in ordrr to give him a fresh 70 clock for monday. He got hired after one year of OTR. That isnwhat his terminal required. Even within the same company ,different terminals may run differently depending on driver availability.

Regardless, this is definitely not a just drive then park business. it takes a lot of information and dedication.

Moses, after you get some experience if you decide to train please only do it because you want to help others succeed. There unfortunately are far too many trainers who are only in it for the money and the trainees don't get treated the way they should and trained the way they should.

Bobcat the biggest hurdle moses will have with LTL is where he's at. According to GPS tracker he lives near palm beach/ft Lauderdale. When I lived in FL and was researching entering the field I noticed that the local jobs required more experience than they do in other areas. Once I moved to iowa there were a ton of jobs that just stated their experience requirement as "some tractor/trailer experience". I remember in particular Southeast freight lines and another ltl company "Wilson trucking" required 3-5 years experience, atleast for the Tampa terminal at the time, 3 years ago. The job market down there for drivers is a lot more competitive as it seems most major OTR carriers wont hire people south of I-4.

Thanks Rainy. I read through all 12 pages of your pay discussion thread and it helped.

As for LTL , it won't fit my current lifestyle. Like I said, I have a 12 years old dog. I don't think LTL will allow pet in truck, and LTL may require overnight from time to time which could cause issue with arranging dog boarding and get home in time to let the dog out.

It gets me emotional to think about this, my dog doesn't have much life left, if he get to live until 15 years old, great. If I become OTR driver, I would like to spend his last few years be with me 24/7. He has been with me the past 10 years, helped me through tough time and keep me company so he's important to me.

Thanks again for all the support and education. Hopefully things will work out eventually with my current unemployment situation.

Here s another hurdle...most boarding facilties will not take a pet more than 30 days. i checked this out too. In NJ they wanted $700 for a month of boarding my cat and limit all animals to 30 days.

they say it is for the "mental and physical well being of the animal".