I was a foreman for a long time, and I used to tell my crew that chit rolls downhill,and I ain't going to be the splashpan. :lol: In otherwards, if I catch hell on account of you, I'm definitely going to pass it on...

 

BMiller, I believe OOIDA does have a section on their website to make comments on brokers and carriers. You may want to check it out. I think they could do a better job of telling drivers some of the services available to them. I have found them to be receptive to at least listening to concerns. They are not a union, but do provide some sort of representation of our interests, whether a company driver or owner operator. Many of their primary concerns don't directly affect me since I am not leased to a carrier. There are quite a few of us who are members and have our authority. Some have used OOIDA to do the paperwork. The only way they can be aware of your needs is if you contact them or express them on their forum. There is a section specifically for company drivers. You must be a member to participate on their forum. You may want to take a look around their website. There is usually someone at their offices you can talk with to ask questions or voice concerns.

 

Took me almost 5 years to start making the money i was making in retail managment, and now with the fuel jockey job i can make maybe 15k more. I have never looked back. The headaches of retail were really bringing me down after 20 plus years. Money is not everything, liking what you do for a living is. I know it can be hard for someone that has a family to think about.

I sometimes wonder how people do it. Always chasing a lifestyle above thier means. I live in southern california where a new house runs 350-450k. Most of my neighbors are just average working class people without some sort of college degree. how do they pay that big mortgage???

If my wife didn't have her masters degree we would be living somewhere else without a doubt.

anyway, back to the topic, yes, it was worth it for me, less stress, less headaches, less moronic customers, less babysitting, less answering to the boss, less wearing a tie and slacks, less bullsh** equal a longer and happier life for me!!!

 

Doesn't have to be rough at all. I started in March of 06 and made just over 44K in about 9.5 months. This year (my second) unless I fall flat on my face in the next 3 weeks, I should pull in over 65K driving a truck.

You're correct that a lot of people seem to not make much, especially in the first year or two. I just talked with a guy in a truckstop the other day who has been driving for a few years now. He makes 38 cpm and gets around 1800-2000 miles per week. If he's content with that, fine, but I sure couldn't make it on that.

Of course it doesn't have to be this way at all. Find a company that will give you the opportunity to make money and do what it takes to make it. Have a Plan B in place just in case you find out that you are one of those people who just thought that they were making a good move. The last thing we need is to hear about how some company screwed you and now you're gonna lose everything.

 

I knew coming in that I would be taking a pretty significant pay cut, but for me it was the right move at the right time. In my first year driving I made right around $47,000. That was starting at a training wage and progressing upward every few months. As I understand it, I was very fortunate concerning the number of miles I ran. I came in expecting maybe $35-40,000 in the first year, which seems to be the norm.

Different strokes for different folks I suppose. I find a great deal of satisfaction these days in simply being left alone, and that's exactly what this job has provided me. For years upon years, I had to be the guy with all the answers. I did my job and everyone else's when I was a restaurant manager, earning a very comfortable living in the process. Then I did my job and doubled as a babysitter/psychologist when I was a financial advisor, earning an even more comfortable living in the process. Now I just have to go somewhere and pick something up and then go somewhere else and drop it off. As long as I don't crash, the constant day-to-day issues belong entirely to someone else. Whenever I want to take a week off, I take a week off. When I want to work hard, I work hard. When I want to slack off and take it slow, I slack off and take it slow.

The day may come (could be tomorrow for all I know) that I've had my fill and move along to something else, but I haven't regretted the move for one minute in the year and a half I've been out here on the road.