My First Real Paycheck

Sometimes jumping ship is worth it. My solo pay at CR England was 25 cpm. Even doing 3000 miles in a week my pay was still under $500 after deductions. After six months I jumped right over to JB Hunt and my average pay instantly shot up to $800-$1000 after deductions.

Yes true if I stayed at CR England after those first six months my pay would have increased to 26 cpm , but I said to hell with it, Chance the Consequences!

I was not comparing apples to apples because in that post I was responding to the use of the term "start company" and it's almost always used is a slightly negative way to describe companies that give rookies a change.

While the term starter company in and of itself is not negative when it's used in conjunction with the topic of pay in any form it takes on a negative aspect as if the larger companies don't pay a fair wage based on experience and my post was going towards even the starter companies do pay a fair wage based on experience. Not that you should not look at other companies if they offer higher wages. By all means if you can get better pay for the same job responsibilities then go for it but you can also get a fair wage at any company and make just as much or more money based of your history of productivity at the larger companies.

So no my post was not directed at... Don't leave a company to look for better pay nor was it meant to be a slight towards Driver..... Just the use of the term "starter company" and how it was connected to pay.

I'll jump back in the discussion a bit. If you average my 2 checks, I'm bringing home $675 a week. That's after taxes, insurance, repaying for school, and contribution to my hsa and 401k. For my first 2 weeks solo, it's not bad at all. When I deliver this load tomorrow, I'll have 3000 miles for the week with another day left.

There is a big difference between "starter companies." I'm perfectly happy with mine so far. I agree with Guy, though. Work ethic and attitude make a big difference in earning potential. I'm sure experience does as well, so I have nowhere to go but up.

I am truly fortunate. I spent a lot of time researching (2 years) and found the best company for me. Plus, I lucked into a top notch dispatcher. Even here, a lot of drivers want to put in their year and leave. I'm not really that anxious. I don't see much reason to hop somewhere else.

And there really is no reason to if you are happy where you are then stay right there. In trucking the grass is never green on the other side of the fence. It's the same poop colored grass that is on your side.

Drivers make a lot of impulsive decisions based on how they feel at the time. And because we have nothing to do but think while we drive we stew in out own misery and tend to make things bigger than they actually are. In other words we have a bunch of grown 5 year olds out here on the road the same as every work place except we don't have a boss or HR department looking over our shoulder every minute of the day.

Ok there are some very interesting things that came up in this conversation....

First of all, for people who aren't clear about the expression "starter company", it refers to any company that will hire students straight out of school. There aren't a whole lot of companies that do because of the high insurance costs and training resources they have to dedicate to it. So most of the starter companies are the largest, best known companies in the nation.

There is a big difference between "starter companies

Indeed there is. Some of the best paying companies with the nicest perks in the nation are starter companies. Also, some of the lowest paying companies are starter companies. But there's usually a reason for that. The higher paying companies normally have more stringent requirements when it comes to hiring. The lower paying companies are usually taking a higher risk by hiring people with a few more background issues than the other companies so they pay a little less.

Also, once you're out there running solo you should average out about 4 weeks worth of paychecks before determining how things are going. As was mentioned, your paychecks will be wildly inconsistent. You might bring home $150 one week and $1500 another. Breakdowns, home time, shipping delays, fluctuations in freight, and even things like a change in management, logistics software, or dispatching infrastructure will all affect your pay. I used to shoot for about 3,000-3,200 miles per week after I had gotten some experience and knew what pace was sustainable. Not every week will be there, but overall I normally averaged that. So don't get upset by a bad week or two. You'll make it up down the line somewhere.

Sometimes jumping ship is worth it.

Indeed it is. Once a driver gets some experience they'll normally find other companies or other types of freight that sound interesting. Nothing in the world wrong with trying to put yourself in the best position possible of course. But a lot of people jump ship and wind up getting nowhere. They get mad and quit (like Guyjax mentioned) or they think a certain type of truck might be better to drive or they talk to a driver with another company who seems really happy. There are impulsive moves and then there are those that are well thought out. Most moves fall under the impulsive category and in the end you won't necessarily wind up in a better place, you'll just have a different set of likes and dislikes.

I always made it a policy to never make important life decisions during a time that's less than ideal. For instance, say I have a couple of slow weeks, I'm stuck in the Northeast most of the time, and my truck breaks down twice. I'm about fed up with everything at this point. That is not the time to make any major decisions. I would wait until freight was strong, the weather was beautiful, and things were going great. If I still wanted to make a major life change of some sort like switching companies or even careers then I knew I was making a logical decision, not an emotional one. So don't let your emotions get the best of you out there. Not only will you be a safer driver when you stay calm and keep a positive attitude but you'll make smarter decisions also.

Yeah I think that is an important distinction with starter companies. .26 cpm might seem like chicken feed for an experienced driver but not many places will beat that for a driver fresh out of school to ride with a trainer anyway. I've only researched and an going through the process of choosing a school now. Once you write it all down and compare they all pay pretty comparable through the first year and that's what you need to concentrate on anyway is getting through first year. Every company has people singing it's praises and everyone has people claiming it's the worst.

So is making $60,000 out of the question in your second year?

This is about the 10th check that I've received since I started with the company, but most have been training pay. I ran 2487 miles my first week and 2625 the second since I've been solo.

Unfortunately, due to my mistake, one of my loads didn't make it on the check for the first week. That check wasn't much different than my training checks.

It made it on this week's check though. I haven't been this excited in a while. Finally seeing my hard work pay off.

Nice!! Mind if I ask what company you're with?

This is about the 10th check that I've received since I started with the company, but most have been training pay. I ran 2487 miles my first week and 2625 the second since I've been solo.

Unfortunately, due to my mistake, one of my loads didn't make it on the check for the first week. That check wasn't much different than my training checks.

It made it on this week's check though. I haven't been this excited in a while. Finally seeing my hard work pay off.

Nice!! Mind if I ask what company you're with?

Yeah I'm with Millis. Medium size company that mostly runs east of the Mississippi. I ended up with 3096 miles this week, so the checks should keep getting bigger.

Getting paid is soooo nice. Congrats, Dude.

-mountain girl