UllysesS.Archer
Gold Member
- Jul 3, 2014
- 1,803
- 303
- 130
There is no employment forum, so the brass here can move this thread as they see fit.
Do you think you can drive a big rig? Do you want to make a decent living, with a little hard work, and time away from home, you can learn to drive a truck, if you have the ability to safely maintain a passenger vehicle, then you can probably drive a truck for a living.
I have been in the trucking industry for over 25 years now. I have been a dispatcher, a planner, but mostly a truck driver. I started off driving a dump truck on a class B CDL(commercial driver's license), I got my class A's within 6 months of that, and started pulling a dump trailer. I've pulled covered wagons, tankers, low boys, and mostly dry box trailers. I've worked on local jobs, where I was home every night, and paid by the hour, and on jobs where I'm paid by the mile and now a job where I am paid by the mile and by the hour. I average bringing home over a grand a week, that's after all the taxes, and health insurance, and 401k comes out, and that's a bunch of money there. My gross check averages over 1400 a week, and I'm usually gone from home for an average of 5 consecutive days a week.
Getting a job in the trucking industry is as easy right now, as it has ever been. Here are the major guidelines.
1. Be 21 years of age.
2. Have a clean driving record.
3. Have no DUI's.
If you can answer yes to all the above guidelines, then you can get a job as a truck driver, with the right training.
How can you get trained? It's so easy nowadays. A couple of well placed phone calls, and you can get a job driving a truck. My first suggestion is to call SWIFT, Schneider, and JB Hunt. From my understanding, they all now have programs which will pay for your training, if you sign a contract to work for them for a certain number of years. Not only that, but they might pay for your training, and pay you at the same time.
You are not going to make a thousand a week to start with. In this industry, you can't beat experience. The insurance companies insure that. Most good companies won't even look at your application unless you have at least 6 months experience, and the best companies require a year or 2. But, if you are willing to put in the time, then in 2 years, you can drive for a good company and average a grand a week, or even a few grand a week.
Some drivers buy their own trucks and bring home several thousand a week, there's a lot more work involved, And you must be willing to set aside a majority of your profits just in case you have a major malfunction.
What can you do to be more successful than others in the truck driving industry?
This is where I set myself apart from the majority of truck drivers on the road.
1. Drive safely, don't speed, and don't get tickets.
2. Keep your truck in good working order, in other words, do your pre trip inspection, and don't slack on tire pressure, and checking everything.
3.Wear decent clothing. You don't have to wear a suit, but wear pants and not shorts when at a customer.
4. Respect other truck drivers, how can you do this? Have you ever come to a traffic jam, and seen two trucks side by side, holding up one lane of traffic, while the other lane slowly moves, well, that is respect for the other truck driver. Your time is not more important than someone else's, no matter how conceited you might be.
5. Keep your cell phone out of reach, if you need it, then pull over and use it.
6. Respect 4 wheelers. They are for the most part, idiots, and will drive you crazy, but no, you can't run them over, even though you think that most of them will not make it home tonight.
7. Respect your DM's(driver manager), I bring mine fruit or donuts at least twice a month, as a thank you for their hard work in finding me loads.
8. Respect the customer.
There is a lot more to it, but the keyword is respect.
If you have any questions, please ask. And if you have trouble finding training, then please ask. There are hundreds of training places nowadays. And a driver shortage of over 30k, with an estimated shortage of 100k in 10 years. So get your foot in the door now, because driver pay is about to go thru the roof. In 10 years I expect to be bringing home over 2 grand a week, as a company driver.
Remember, if minimum wage goes up, everything goes up, and the one true rule of trucking. 'IF YOU HAVE IT, THEN A TRUCKER PROBABLY BROUGHT IT.'
Do you think you can drive a big rig? Do you want to make a decent living, with a little hard work, and time away from home, you can learn to drive a truck, if you have the ability to safely maintain a passenger vehicle, then you can probably drive a truck for a living.
I have been in the trucking industry for over 25 years now. I have been a dispatcher, a planner, but mostly a truck driver. I started off driving a dump truck on a class B CDL(commercial driver's license), I got my class A's within 6 months of that, and started pulling a dump trailer. I've pulled covered wagons, tankers, low boys, and mostly dry box trailers. I've worked on local jobs, where I was home every night, and paid by the hour, and on jobs where I'm paid by the mile and now a job where I am paid by the mile and by the hour. I average bringing home over a grand a week, that's after all the taxes, and health insurance, and 401k comes out, and that's a bunch of money there. My gross check averages over 1400 a week, and I'm usually gone from home for an average of 5 consecutive days a week.
Getting a job in the trucking industry is as easy right now, as it has ever been. Here are the major guidelines.
1. Be 21 years of age.
2. Have a clean driving record.
3. Have no DUI's.
If you can answer yes to all the above guidelines, then you can get a job as a truck driver, with the right training.
How can you get trained? It's so easy nowadays. A couple of well placed phone calls, and you can get a job driving a truck. My first suggestion is to call SWIFT, Schneider, and JB Hunt. From my understanding, they all now have programs which will pay for your training, if you sign a contract to work for them for a certain number of years. Not only that, but they might pay for your training, and pay you at the same time.
You are not going to make a thousand a week to start with. In this industry, you can't beat experience. The insurance companies insure that. Most good companies won't even look at your application unless you have at least 6 months experience, and the best companies require a year or 2. But, if you are willing to put in the time, then in 2 years, you can drive for a good company and average a grand a week, or even a few grand a week.
Some drivers buy their own trucks and bring home several thousand a week, there's a lot more work involved, And you must be willing to set aside a majority of your profits just in case you have a major malfunction.
What can you do to be more successful than others in the truck driving industry?
This is where I set myself apart from the majority of truck drivers on the road.
1. Drive safely, don't speed, and don't get tickets.
2. Keep your truck in good working order, in other words, do your pre trip inspection, and don't slack on tire pressure, and checking everything.
3.Wear decent clothing. You don't have to wear a suit, but wear pants and not shorts when at a customer.
4. Respect other truck drivers, how can you do this? Have you ever come to a traffic jam, and seen two trucks side by side, holding up one lane of traffic, while the other lane slowly moves, well, that is respect for the other truck driver. Your time is not more important than someone else's, no matter how conceited you might be.
5. Keep your cell phone out of reach, if you need it, then pull over and use it.
6. Respect 4 wheelers. They are for the most part, idiots, and will drive you crazy, but no, you can't run them over, even though you think that most of them will not make it home tonight.
7. Respect your DM's(driver manager), I bring mine fruit or donuts at least twice a month, as a thank you for their hard work in finding me loads.
8. Respect the customer.
There is a lot more to it, but the keyword is respect.
If you have any questions, please ask. And if you have trouble finding training, then please ask. There are hundreds of training places nowadays. And a driver shortage of over 30k, with an estimated shortage of 100k in 10 years. So get your foot in the door now, because driver pay is about to go thru the roof. In 10 years I expect to be bringing home over 2 grand a week, as a company driver.
Remember, if minimum wage goes up, everything goes up, and the one true rule of trucking. 'IF YOU HAVE IT, THEN A TRUCKER PROBABLY BROUGHT IT.'
