Is It Too Good To Be True To Make $2,000 A Week As A OTR Driver?

I dont have a CDL but this sounds enticing. Why would someone want to be an electrical engineer or spend 20 years working in the construction field to become a superintendent when they can spend $3,500 for a 10 hour training course (assuming they obtained the CDL learners permit) and make $1500 a week their first year and then make $2,000 a week after that? No offense but I see there are a lot of low brow drivers out there that can't spell properly or speak English and it just seems absurd that they are all making more than people who studied calculus for a couple years.

It's totally possible and many of us do it. It also involves many nights away from home and lots and lots of hours. A typical trucker's week consists of 60-70 hours of work (on the clock). A typical OTR trucker doesn't have a set schedule either. It's not uncommon for a driver's schedule to completely flip flop multiple times per week. By the time you factor in the unpredictability of the schedule, the work load, the extra time typically spent doing work related activities off the clock, the time away from home, the stress from dealing with traffic and adverse weather conditions, the physical impact of spending so much time sitting, and other things not listed here...it's not hard to see why it's possible to make $1500-2000 a week even with relatively little experience. In my opinion, if it didn't offer the potential to make a decent wage, most drivers would quit. In fact, most drivers DO quit because it doesn't take long in the seat to realize this career isn't worth it for the money alone long term. If you don't enjoy the job itself you'll experience burnout very quickly.

Trucking pays what it does out of necessity

they can spend $3,500 for a 10 hour training course

that's for 160 hour training course, sometimes even 180 depends where. Why spend out of pocket, when there's training companies that supply the job after trained. So ya get a 1 year or 2 contract to repay for training time. Time flies fast, before you know it, you're already into year 2.

It's really the only job where you can earn a 6 figure annual income, without wasting 4+ years in college plus all the costs related to going to college....Lot of the time you don't even need a high school diploma to get into truck driving.

Matt, I love Pianoman's answer!

He points out that many drivers do make that kind of money, but they really do earn it. There's a lot of sacrifices truck drivers make. The statistics of new truck drivers failing and quitting are alarming.

This career requires passion and commitment. The money alone won't motivate you enough. You've got to love this lifestyle to be able to sustain a career doing this.

Companies love to throw out numbers like that. It is a shock maketing ploy. Dig deeper into the reality. Like pianoman said there are numerous factors that work into that equation. Mostly I see the terms “our top drivers” and “up to” in front of the number. They are not lying, but the are hiding the reality in the small print.

Yes top tier experinced drivers are making that kind of money in some instances.

Freight all pays different and there is even a bigger set of circumstances that goes into freight pricing and it can and does change daily. This is a supply and demand business. Trucking is very diverse just like the products being hauled.

I kind of equate it like the driver shortage hoax that has been pushed for many years, even after being debunked many times. Many companies experience high driver turnover, that is far different than a driver shortage.

Pianoman summed it up nicely. In addition, after the 160 to 180 hours of training, you have a cdl , but no experience. It takes a couple years to become efficient and effective. Most drivers crash out, or quit due to basic work ethic deficiencies, things like persistence, communication, common sense.

Construction and trucking share many things in common. Both are performance driven. Most Construction is also piecework pay. You get paid based on how much you do. In trucking, the bulk of it pays you by the mile or by the load.

If you think Construction is a bunch of hourly paid employees sitting around, you'll be in for a rude awakening. It's cut throat, very militaristic and brutally fast paced. If it was only about the money, I'd still be in construction.

Trucking shares the performance dictates your pay, it also shares that you need to have a strong work ethic, basic common sense and both are very ego deflating.

Most of the drivers on this forum are top tier drivers, many make 6 figures doing this because as was said, we love doing it.

So yes and no, its both false and true at the same time. It's the same for construction by the way. If you are intelligent and motivated, you can learn a trade quickly and within a couple years be in the 80 to 100k bracket, most wash out after a few weeks though. It's too hard and too demanding for them. In order to make that kind of money though, your going to make sacrifices for it.