Trucker Vs. Computer Programmer? Two Jobs Lined Up.

. . . . a growing industry. There is a critical shortage of drivers so I would expect salaries to climb..

Some things that just make one go 'hummm' . . . the reason there's a 'shortage of drivers' IS shortage of pay!!

It's kinda like 'self-driving' cars. The more time, effort and money we put into it THE LESS a family orientated, freedom loving person will get out of it!!

When you say shortage of pay, what does that mean exactly? When I look at glass door, I see an average of $43,464/year. That is pre-tax average of $835/week. It sounds like you get there pretty quickly (within a year or 2 from my reading) Is that accurate?

That sounds about right for a solo driver. However that pay isn't hourly pay unless you are a local driver. If you work it out OTR driving as hourly pay, it gets pretty ugly. Say you are an experienced driver, and chase your 70 with 10 hours on duty every day, 7 days a week. This will give you roughly 8.5 hours per day of driving time after PTI's and fuel.

With traffic, construction, and other slowdowns, lets say you can average 60 miles per hour during your drive time, over the whole week. That means you are running about 500 miles per day, every day. 3500 miles per week. To make $1000 dollars a week, you need to get paid 0.29 per mile.

Now, you should get paid more than 0.29 per mile at most companies, even as a rookie. HOWEVER, you are very unlikely to get really consistent miles to allow you a schedule like I used in my example, unless you bust your tailbone. Even after road delays, time at shippers and receivers is going to mess with your driving schedule. Repairs on the truck and trailers you are hauling will eat into your time. I have made $1000 weeks earning 0.30 per mile as a Stevens Rookie, but I do bust my tail for it, driving as much as I can. I get rewarded for my hard-driving by getting more miles.

In the end, as a rookie driver, $44k per year is very doable, but you won't get it only working 40 hours per week. If you calculate your wages out, like you were in an hourly office job, it isn't pretty. And if you try to only drive 40-50 hours per week as an OTR or regional driver for a big company, you're likely going to start getting crap loads, and eventually might get released as unproductive. Local driving is a completely different animal. That does normally pay hourly, but from what I've seen, you are unlikely to get local jobs with the bigger companies unless you are highly experienced.

I've been meaning to post my annual message, but keep forgetting. I wanted to chime in on the pay, though.

In training, I made nothing until I got my cdl , then got 25 a day until I got assigned to a trainer. I can't remember exactly how much it was at first but I remember i was bringing in about 400 a week for a few weeks until I went to the next phase of training, where I got 12 cents a mile for a few weeks, which wasn't bad, I'd bring home between 400 and 700 depending.

After I went solo I made 35k My first year and about 40 my second. Been about 44k a year after that. Would have been more this year but I've taken a lot more days off than usual.

ButtonUp posts extremely helpful information. I am really tired of BS and it is incredibly helpful to hear straightforward examples of what is to be expected. Some of us expected that we had struck greener grass in IT only to find that it isn't so.

There are two sources that come to mind relating to a decision like changing careers, and they both relate to war (perhaps that is irony given this is Independence Day): The (Hebrew) book of Proverbs and the (Chinese) Art of War.

Proverbs 20:18 - Prepare plans by consultation, And make war by wise guidance.
Proverbs 24:6 - For by wise guidance you will wage war, And in abundance of counselors there is victory.

The Art of War (translated by John Minford) - Master Sun said: War is a grave affair, it is a place of life and death, a road to survival and extinction. A matter to be pondered carefully... for this deliberation, for the making of comparisons and the assessing of conditions... which army is the stronger? Whose officers and men are better trained? In which army are the rewards and punishments clearest? From these can be known victory and defeat.

The counsel of successful truckers on this forum is a necessity to those of us weighing the cost. Shout out to ButtonUp for being clear. It is what it is. It is necessary to weigh the cost and make a decision.