This Is My Current Career Plan To Break Into The Trucking Trade. Any Suggestions?

I was hoping to get into the trucking trade because I keep hearing that truckers make 6 figures.

But as I explore and learn and talk to truckers I learn that the 75k-100k for first year is bs. I'll be lucky to make 70k on my first year. Will most likely make 40-50k (net pay) for my first year since thanks to this forum and other info sources I learn I'm better off being a company driver than a rental purchase operator, or an owner/operator.

I only plan on being in the trade for 2 years, 3 years tops, then I'm immigrating to another country with whatever savings I can build up. (I have a lot of personal reasons why I'm immigrating and don't wish to discuss them on this forum)

Anyway, my plan is to go with Wilson Logistics to go from the Class-A permit I have now, to having a CDL and becoming a company driver. I plan to basically dedicate my first year towards "learning how to be a trucker" while building up savings as best I can.

I'm hoping my 2nd year will be way more fruitful than my 1st year.

My 2nd year is when I will be looking for a 2nd company driver position. It might be with Wilson Logistics or it might be with a different company...all depends on who will pay me more.

I'm under the impression that once I get my 1st year and/or first 100k miles worth of experience accomplished, that that accomplishment will open the door to company truck driving opportunities where I can make a lot more than .50/mile.

Can one actually find better pay than .50/mile for 2,200-3,000 miles a week as a company driver after you have gained 1 year and/or 100k miles of experience, or is my income going to be basically the same going into my 2nd year as a trucker?

With a 2-3 year time frame, I'd recommend sticking with one company. Earnings in trucking are very performance based. The better you are at your job, the more you make. Drivers tend to not earn much their first year because they are still "learning the ropes". They make more their second year not because they receive a pay increase, but because they are better at their job. That tends to repeat itself each time you change companies. When you go somewhere new you now have to "learn the ropes" at your new employer.

I was at Prime for a bit over 3 years. Each year I made more than the previous year. At no time did I receive a pay raise of any kind.

When I left Prime and got into fuel tankers I did pretty well my first year. My 2nd year I made an additional 16k more. And my third year I made 10k more than my second year. My pay system was the same, I just got better at my job.

Stick with one company and strive to be the best driver possible. Keep your expenses low and put all that money in the bank. You'll have a nice amount saved up when your ready to leave.

Awesome, thanks! that makes a lot of sense.

I too had a "plan" to drive 3 years, retire at 62, and move to Asia! 1st company was team, and started at 31 cpm worked up to 46 cpm by 1st years end. Then got a big bump up to 60 cpm to retain drivers. 22 months later, I quit, and took 5 months off, I did earn around $30k first year, then $38k midway thru 2021.

Then December 2021 got a driving job with another company @ $59 cpm, a brand spankin' new 2022 truck. January til March 23rds retirement day of 2022... I was taking home from $1,500 to $2,000 per week, saving over $20k+ of it for my start here in Asia....

Of course I had NO debt or bills either, and stayed out 3-4 weeks before taking home time...Of course this was before the industry took a dump with freight and pay. Gone are those signing bonus's being handed out to attract drivers !! I feel for the newbies coming in now, with the market in the toilet like it is now.......FJB lol

Wow, Paul, your plan is very unusual. But I can’t criticize it because I know nothing about your circumstances.

What I can say is that your first year earnings will probably be in the 40 to 50 grand (gross) range. I drove my first 8 months and could have made more at McDonalds if I worked the same hours. However, I got paid for learning. Last year, my 3rd year, I grossed 90 grand, but I drove lots of miles. I started dry van and switched to refrigerated, which has proved to be a good move. If you want more physical work, you can try flatbed. Dry van is very depressed right now.

You are fixed on the 50cpm but aren't looking at any accessory pay. Prime lists pay at 50cpm but fails to mention most make 59 to 60cpm the first year when u add fuel, on time, safety and wellness bonuses. Breakdown pay $175 per day plus hotel, detention pay, We get increases based on the miles we drive. If you team and can run effectively, you can make more. As Dennis said, in a Prime lightweight you could make 63+ cpm and get a dedicated route to give more steady miles.

I have it posted on a thread here.. i think my 2nd year I made $71,000. In 2016 to 2017.

Some years with training, i had doubled that as a company trainer. However... i dropped significantly between 2022 and 2023.

My first 2 years, i paid off $70,000 in debt. I solidified an outstanding reputation to get the miles. It is about time management and performance. Run hard, communicate and dont hit anything and the loads will come.

Last year Prime paid $8,000 for my benefits and put $7,500 into my 401k.

Also, you are asking about "net" which is deceptive. NJ has high taxes, Florida has no state income tax. If i have a high option family plan and put $500 per week into 401k, the "net to bank" will look low but my income would be higher. Some people have county and city taxes taken from their pay also. Always ask for gross to understand true numbers.

Assuming you don't go through Amazon as said in your other post, a few kernels of experience for you.

Lengthen your time-line. You'll need to be a company driver for about 3 to 5 years before you try lease op. This is the time it will take you to begin to understand the industry, how to efficiently move freight, develop relationships that will get you loads and understand freight lanes and movement patterns.

Cart before the horse. Concentrate on getting your permit, then getting hired by a company that provides school and training, then surviving training, then making it a year with no accidents, incidents, no safety issues and no service failures.

Don't worry about the cpm. There's more to pay than that. I made a hair over 80k my first year at .50 cpm due to bonuses, ancillary pay and a well developed understanding of piecework pay. You most likely won't be able to put down more that 2100 miles a week starting out. It will take you time to learn how to be efficient with your clocks and your loads. It's not something that can be done faster, you have to experience it and learn through mistakes.

You have to learn to become a safe effective and efficient driver thats easy to work with in order to get loads. Especially now that there are so many drivers and so few loads.

It takes time to develop the relationships so that your dispatcher will consistently give you the loads instead of the 4 or 5 other drivers in the area looking for them too. The only reason the load planners and dispatch will is that you have proven that you can safely get the load done on time or early again and again. Keep in mind that you will be competing for loads with drivers like us here. That means you have to constantly up your performance and be reliable.

I'd say to go through the cdl diaries section. It is full of people who washed out early. Many of them bright and intelligent. Trucking is different than most other industries. Mark what they did wrong. Find the diaries of us that are still here, mark what we did right.