Low wages, high danger. Is trucking really worth it?

[GrandCountyColoradoBoy]

My two cents on pay versus the dangers of this job, is along the lines of how Gman looks at things, it is all in how you look at the big picture. I drive around every day with 9000 gallons of highly flamable/explosive liquid behind me and never think twice about the dangers of what could happen.. Instead I focus on paying attention to detail and my surroundings, I pay attention to the task at hand and try my hardest not to let other thoughts get in the way.. "Perspective"
The pay I receive for this job is fantastic and is more then enough to pay our bills. We have some loads that average on the low end $15 an hour but then we have others that lay out upwards of $30 an hour, the key to the pay is not to look at the hourly picture. Hopefully you will find work that pays enough to cover your bills and plan for weeks when work is slow and your checks will be light with the realization that there will be other weeks that your check is heavy, (the big picture) You will never find the perfect job however there are many good jobs out there just remember life is to short to sweat the small stuff.

Hey Evergreen Colorado neighbor you want to drive local if you can, From day one of my cdl training I have been local, I got trained to pull fuel after 2 pus years of driving and have not looked back since, this is by far the best job I have found, if I could do it so can you it just takes time and persistence..


Timberwolf

Hey, Evergreen Colorado neighbor! How've you been? Things are looking a little better. I at least got a response back from Total; they sound promising. I went down just over three weeks ago to get fingerprinted for HAZMAT and am waiting on them. I'll be fine. Just like you and the other posters have said, just a little persistence. Take care out there and maybe one of these days we'll run into each other (not literally of course)!

[Mr. Ford95]

My two cents on pay versus the dangers of this job, is along the lines of how Gman looks at things, it is all in how you look at the big picture. I drive around every day with 9000 gallons of highly flamable/explosive liquid behind me and never think twice about the dangers of what could happen.. Instead I focus on paying attention to detail and my surroundings, I pay attention to the task at hand and try my hardest not to let other thoughts get in the way.. "Perspective"
The pay I receive for this job is fantastic and is more then enough to pay our bills. We have some loads that average on the low end $15 an hour but then we have others that lay out upwards of $30 an hour, the key to the pay is not to look at the hourly picture. Hopefully you will find work that pays enough to cover your bills and plan for weeks when work is slow and your checks will be light with the realization that there will be other weeks that your check is heavy, (the big picture) You will never find the perfect job however there are many good jobs out there just remember life is to short to sweat the small stuff.

Timberwolf

Here here, have to +1 on that. I'm in that boat right now as a local driver who works for a construction company. As Hobo also stated, driving OTR is MUCH easier than construction. I will gladly give you my job for straight OTR. I don't just drive a truck for my company, I do everything and anything for them. With winter time here my hours have gone down due to the weather. I've already been saving up money to take care of the bigger bills that are coming up in another month during the good times.

[jeff1981]

I don't consider truck driving any more dangerous than driving to work every day. It is all about your perspective. If you want to work 40 hours per week and make $300 then by all means, go to McDonald's or any of the other fast food restaurants and they will fix you up. This is not a business for everyone. It takes a certain type of personality to make it work. Unless you work in one of the specialized segments of the industry, you won't be doing a lot of physical labor. Most drivers don't chain up unless they run in some parts of the northwest during winter. Even then, it isn't always a requirement. You can always wait until the roads are cleared.

Driving relaxes me. I would think that many of those who have been doing this for a number of years feel the same. There are frustrations, as with any job, but the pros have always been greater than the cons in this business. So what if you work 70 hours in a week. It isn't like you are working on an assembly line or standing on your feet all day for those hours. You get to see this great country of ours and someone pays you to see it. This business pays drivers based upon their performance. Those who are the best performers earn the highest income. You are never limited by an hourly wage, unless you choose to work locally. You always have the opportunity to buy your own truck and earn more money. You can build your own trucking company or fleet of trucks and don't need a college degree to do it. Most experienced drivers like the idea of being paid on performance. I don't see that changing. If you don't like the way drivers are paid then there are other professions that you might enjoy better. Go to college and spend 4 years and you can get a decent job in another field. You may or may not make more money than your average truck driver. You will likely have someone looking over your shoulder. That isn't the case with otr trucking. There are many college graduates who have come to trucking as a career. It is one career that you won't be forced to retire as long as you can pass the dot physical and have a clean work history and mvr.

Very well said

[Copperhead]

Yes, but would they do it and be on the road for three to six weeks, come home for a few days and then be hustled back out on the road for another lengthy period? That is one of my issues with the industry. I could work (and I have) two and a half $10 an hour jobs (with no overtime) and make $50k a year and still see my family more than the average OTR job allows. Don’t get me wrong, obviously I’ve stuck around in this business for some reason, but trucking leaves a lot to be desired in a lot of areas. I don’t think I could ever work for one of the larger carriers and put up with their BS demands.

Perspective is everything. I bet they would be more than happy to net that or more like I did last year and that was being home every weekend and holiday and taking 2 weeks off. Also, am usually by the house once or twice a week. Sure it didn't happen that way early on in my driving career, but once you develop the connections and figure things out (read: get experience), you can fit into the niche you like doing the type of hauling that fits your pistol. And all this in a bad economy. And unlike some, I generally have around 10-15 hrs still available to drive when I hit the house for the weekend. I do a reset at the house, then go at it again. Just plain old dry box freight too and nothing dedicated.

Yeah, it is true that some stay out that 2 or 3 weeks and go home for a couple of days like you describe, but after getting past the 1st year at this game, it becomes primarily a choice they make. No one is forcing them. They could change carriers and go with something that fits closer to a lifestyle they want. Some actually thrive on being out for 2 or more weeks, others find it a drain. One good thing is that once someone gets that first safe year under their belt, their choices open up dramatically. And they don't have to always suffer a pay loss by being home more. Many smaller, regional type carriers pay as close or even more than the big national carriers and still allow a driver to turn as many miles on average. I keep my truck in the Midwest regional area and I turn an average of 135,000+ miles a year while still having weekly home time.

And this job also allows a person to pretty much do the job as they see fit. As long as they get where they need to on time, they can do it as they please and stop when they want. And how many jobs allow you to listen to your favorite music (and crank it up) or listen to your favorite radio personalities, mostly uninterrupted while at work? You don't have to wait for a "scheduled" break time on the job to stop for a few minutes and stretch your legs and get away for a few minutes. Just make sure and factor in ALL that the job is and not just a limited view of things. Trucking can take its toll on a person, for sure, but it offers a job environment much different (and less restrictive) from the factory assembly line type of work.

[Musicman]

Perspective is everything.

It seems that the industry standard is and has been for a long time, one day home for each week out. That is at least what I’ve read. I wouldn’t know personally because I’ve never worked that way, even when I was starting out, and certainly don’t work that way now. You and I and other owner operators are not the rule, we are the exception. I actually stay out for long periods because I choose to. I find that even when I’ve been out a short time, it takes me a day to transition into the “home” frame of mind and then it takes me a day to get ready to hit the road again. I don’t know how anybody could comfortably be out for two or three weeks and then home for two to four days. I prefer to stay out three or more weeks and then come home for ten days to three weeks. My average is probably four weeks out and two weeks home. I know, I’m lazy, but I just can’t seem to do it any other way. I’m satisfied doing what I do, but a driving JOB? Perish the thought! Like I said though, I’m not the industry norm, and it is that norm that I was speaking to. So many drivers are basically owned by the companies they drive for. Fifty thousand dollars a year isn’t much money given how much of a person’s life can be eaten up on the road. You’d be much better off working on an oil derrick or other similar work. .. the same or better money and a heck of a lot more home time. Factor in the $200 to $300 a week that a lot of drivers spend on the road on food and entertainment and that fifty grand doesn’t go all that far.

[Copperhead]

Now that is dangerous work... working on an oil derrick. That almost doesn't pay enough for the danger, even though it is darn good money. I would agree if one goes that route, it might prove to be better than being out in a truck. But you will earn every dollar you make on that derrick. Really hard work with the high risk. One thing goes wrong with that job and you may be at home more than you had planned.

Perspective still applies. You can sit on your back side and comfortably drive a truck around and make ok money. Or you could work your rear end off and risk losing an arm and get more money. One you might not be home as often as you like, the other you would. When looking at the whole picture, the driving for a little less isn't so bad.

[rank]

I'm not going to weigh in on the hourly wage or the away from home debate because IMO, there is no wrong answer there. Nobody has touched on the other danger. The very real possibility that you will work as a driver for a few to several to many years only to have one mistake or at fault accident take your career away. And 15 years of driving a truck doesn't leave you qualified to do much else. The sad reality is that this is a temporary job.

[Kentla93]

I'm not going to weigh in on the hourly wage or the away from home debate because IMO, there is no wrong answer there. Nobody has touched on the other danger. The very real possibility that you will work as a driver for a few to several to many years only to have one mistake or at fault accident take your career away. And 15 years of driving a truck doesn't leave you qualified to do much else. The sad reality is that this is a temporary job.

All jobs are temporary as is life, that is the reality of life period.. As far as working all those years and one little mistake can take it all away from you is indeed a danger, however that can happen in any other job as well, Just ask Joe Paterno he thought "in his mind" he did the right thing and 50 years was just wiped out... In my mind he deserves what he got as do the others who are involved. There are many jobs that carry the danger of being let go for one mistake so trucking is no worse then other professions when it comes to your theroy..


Timberwolf

[Musicman]

According to the Department of Labor, “Truck Driver” is the ninth most dangerous job in the United States.

http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/archive/...1997brief3.pdf

[Instigator]

Hahahahahaha hey I was using what the DOT explained to me that they use for log book violations! You and I know that 62 mph is a joke and you can average much higher then that, but hey< I do agree that the industry paid much better back in the 80's then it does now. I can't believe the rates that some of the owner operators will run for with fuel at almost 4 bucks a gallon. Driver pay will only improve by next year when there is a bigger shortage of drivers and companies realize that they can not attract anyone in to this ridiculous industry that pays crappy wages and one to three days a week home time per month. They should be lining up at there doors right?

As far as the original post on here, all I can say is that if you want a career that pays you better and you are home with your family then stay away from this industry because you will work your ass off for little wage and little home time, but thats what this industry is all about.

[jeff1981]

I get paid an excellent wage, and spend a lot more time at home than I did when I was working construction. Yes, you have to pay your dues when you start out, but there is the potential to make excellent money, and have plenty of time at home, vacation, etc. You will get out of this what you put into it, as in many things in life.

[Copperhead]

According to the Department of Labor, “Truck Driver” is the ninth most dangerous job in the United States.

http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/archive/...1997brief3.pdf

I guess the perspective on whether trucking is dangerous depends on what you have done in life or where you come from. I grew up on a family farm where I could get kicked by a steer, bitten by a hog, get caught in the power takeoff of the tractor. Then I got to enjoy an all expense paid trip to Southeast Asia, courtesy of the government and got to enjoy little streaks of light flying around my head, hoping that none of them impacted me. So is trucking all that dangerous to me. Not really. And has been stated quite eloquently, every job in life is temporary to one degree or another.

I guess another way of looking at it is how dangerous is trucking compared to those that crossed this country in wagon trains trying to build a better life for themselves? Or the when the original people that left England on wooden ships and landed in this land with no Quik Trip convenience store to go get a snack. How about those that took on long cattle drives from Texas to the railheads in Kansas for a whopping $30 a month? All while risking life and limb with no Trauma Center to go to if they got shot or bit by a snake. We have definitely become a pampered people.

[golfhobo]

Copperhead said:

I guess the perspective on whether trucking is dangerous depends on what you have done in life or where you come from.

This is what I've been trying to say. See my sigline.

I grew up on a family farm where I could get kicked by a steer, bitten by a hog, get caught in the power takeoff of the tractor.

Does part-time on a farm count? How about chased by a bull, negotiating with a HOG... and "grounded" due to a fatal accident of the helicopter you were to ride on next week? How about 18 months of flying on a military plane trusting your life to a "driver" you don't really know?

Then I got to enjoy an all expense paid trip to Southeast Asia, courtesy of the government and got to enjoy little streaks of light flying around my head, hoping that none of them impacted me. So is trucking all that dangerous to me. Not really. And has been stated quite eloquently, every job in life is temporary to one degree or another.

Thank you VERY much for your service in Nam. So glad you returned to be a part of our industry... AND our forum. I have enjoyed your posts in MANY different sub-forums. I certainly can see how trucking is not scary to you... as it is not for me.

I guess another way of looking at it is how dangerous is trucking compared to those that crossed this country in wagon trains trying to build a better life for themselves? Or the when the original people that left England on wooden ships and landed in this land with no Quik Trip convenience store to go get a snack. How about those that took on long cattle drives from Texas to the railheads in Kansas for a whopping $30 a month? All while risking life and limb with no Trauma Center to go to if they got shot or bit by a snake.

A "man" after my own heart. The fact that you can find "perspective" between your own experiences and those of a "trucker's life" ... and DEAL with the life as it is without constant complaint... speaks volumes to me.

We have definitely become a pampered people.

I hope you are wrong... at the same time that I know you are right. There are FAR too many overweight steeringwheelholders out there who wouldn't have a CLUE if they got stranded in a snow-storm and their fuel froze up and they ran their battery down supporting a GPS "app."

Is trucking really WORTH it? That's a personal decision, and not one we can "inform" prospective drivers about. But, I think the majority of my fellow drivers on here would say that... for them... it was or IS.

For ME... it is. I have always wanted my job to be a challenge. I would probably do this job for half the pay. ... And I would STILL be making more that I did as a "civilian."

But, if the thought of a Class 8 truck pulling 80k pounds or MORE is a "scary thought" for any of our readers... you might want to re-think joining the club.

The myth that ANY man/woman can drive a truck and make a career out of it is nonsense.

[mitchno1]

it a easy job sit down all day get out of truck un load then go get another one ,ha what about the breaker outs in the bush ,flat out all day up and down the hills stropping up and block changes,mate we got it easy ive done both jobs

[Musicman]

I guess the perspective on whether trucking is dangerous depends on what you have done in life or where you come from.

I didn’t say that I personally thought trucking was dangerous. I’ve done many jobs that were far worse than anything I’ve done in a truck. I do find it interesting that trucking made the top ten list. Apparently it IS dangerous to some folks or the bean counters wouldn’t have ranked it where they did. I spent my time in the Army jumping out of C130s and 141s and I can assure anyone who hasn’t had the pleasure of that experience that there is a far higher injury rate in the 82nd ABN DIV even when in garrison than at Swift or JB Hunt. I lucked out, but I couldn’t begin to tell you how many guys I saw with busted knees and backs in the short few years I was at Ft. Bragg. I’ve done water well drilling, underground pipeline exploration and repair, climbed 500 foot and taller towers to replace or install electronics…. all of those were far more dangerous (or at least it sure seemed like it at the time) than trucking. In fact, after looking at the list, there’s only a few of the “most dangerous” jobs on it that I haven’t done at one time or another.

I guess another way of looking at it is how dangerous is trucking compared to those that crossed this country in wagon trains trying to build a better life for themselves? Or the when the original people that left England on wooden ships and landed in this land with no Quik Trip convenience store to go get a snack. How about those that took on long cattle drives from Texas to the railheads in Kansas for a whopping $30 a month? All while risking life and limb with no Trauma Center to go to if they got shot or bit by a snake. We have definitely become a pampered people.

Here is where I think you go astray from the topic. I think there is no doubt that life in general in the 21st Century is safer than it was in the 19th or 18th or 500 B.C. for that matter. To use the fact that the average life span of a man born in 1850 was around 38 years is to miss the point. I don’t think too many 50 year-olds today wake up in the morning surprised and exuberant to be alive at age 50. Life and the common experiences we as humans share over a lifetime change from one century to the next. Yes, I know my grandfather walked fifty miles to school in five feet of snow, uphill both ways, but my son has no point of reference to even begin to comprehend what the life of a common Indiana farmer in 1920 was like. To have any meaning, apples must be compared with apples.

[silvan]

If you want to work 40 hours per week and make $300 then by all means, go to McDonald's...

You're grossly over-estimating what you can make at McDonald's, Walmart, and the like my friend. At least around here. For one thing, what makes you think you're going to come anywhere close to getting 40 hours?

I can offer the perspective of someone who pretty much got burnt out on trucking, hung it up, and tried everything at my disposal to find another way to earn a living. The unpaid time was definitely part of my thinking at that point in my life. I was driving for an O/O who had a truck leased on with Nationwide Express out of Shelbyville, TN. They were a fantastic bunch of folks to work for, but they got an F in the maintenance department. Because I actually gave some kind of a crap about what kind of equipment I would pull, I was donating 20+ hours a week sitting in this shop in the middle of nowhere, waiting on some fat, slow moron to hurry up and fix the laundry list of problems. I tried not giving a crap once, and I got cited for three bad wheel seals, four bad sets of brake shoes, a bad brake valve, a leaking airline, and a broken spring; all on the same trailer that had just gotten a federal sticker a week previously. Thank God that was before CSA 2010!

That kind of thing put me of a mind that going back to Wally World to make $10 an hour would put me better off than sitting around all that time for free, earning nothing. So I went back, and worked in the tire shop for three years. Now I have a fresh perspective on why trucking is about the best job you can get unless you have a degree in astrophysics or engineering or something. Believe me, I looked at going to grad school for a second/better/improved degree, because my first university degree just isn't marketable, and I could find nothing to gamble my time and money on. I think our universities would be going out of business a lot sooner if we had a larger number of experienced people crunching the numbers before signing the dotted line on all those loans. I'm no genius with business stuff, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to plug some titles and certifications into job search engines, and find out that nobody is hiring anybody with those letters appended to their name, so it's pointless to pay for them.

You want to know what people are hiring? A lot of useless scam offers where you can make $500,000 a day in your underwear selling Chia pets by mail, retail/food service drones, and truck drivers. That's what.

At the end of the day, even if trucking only pays $8 an hour, you're never going to get 70 hours working anywhere else. Wally World will write you up and eventually fire you if you accidentally work 0.01 hour of overtime, and you have to be in a pretty important position there to get remotely close to 40 hours in the first place. 40 * $10 is $400. 70 * $8 is $560. Trucking wins, my friend. If either of these incomes seems to suck, you need to take a look around at what wages are doing in this country. We're a lot worse off than we were 10 years ago in terms of how much the average earner is bringing home when compared with the cost of living. Wages are plummeting for everyone everywhere, and expenses are skyrocketing.

What's that, you say? You'll just get a second job, and work 40 hours at one job, and 30 at the other, and make $700 a week? Lots of luck with that, my friend. Everybody wants you to have open availability, and they'll damn well schedule you whenever their business needs dictate, or you won't get the hours. Try juggling two jobs that flip your schedule around constantly, and never work you the same hours two days in a row, or give you the same days off two weeks in a row. Try getting two employers to coordinate with you on your schedule here and there, and they'll both decide you just aren't worth the bother of keeping on. It's an employer's market right now, and if you want to stay employed, you have to take even the most crappy joke of a job very seriously, or they will can you so fast your head will spin. Call in too many times, can't work these hours because of a conflict with another job? Buh-bye.

At the end of it all, I'm pretty glad to be back trucking. Working (or commuting 110 miles a day; ouch) 500,000,000 hours a week and having utterly no life whatsoever really sucks, and the only advantage to being home every day is that I never have to sit around in some truckstop or factory somewhere waiting on dispatch to find me a load. Even so, I'm good at this, and it's the most money I can get in a week doing anything legal, even though I have a four-year degree with a 3.43 GPA.

I get where this guy is coming from in terms of the job not seeming to pay that much for the level of danger involved. I get that much more than the average truck driver, since I pull a gasoline tanker now. This is pretty much on the upper end of being as dangerous as trucking gets, but it really isn't in the very top tier in terms of the pay scale. The pay is good, but not great, and it definitely feels a bit light when LTL pays a good bit more for work that's dramatically less dangerous.

I like my job though. LTL rhymes with hell. This gas haulin' thing is alright, and I've pretty much found a new home after wandering in the woods since 2007. The pay isn't great, but you either love this stuff or you hate it, and I'm pretty amused so far. Especially when somebody reminds me to turn in a pay sheet for some trivial thing I wouldn't have remembered to charge them for, like waiting on my day driver to get back.

I didn't have much of a life when I was working at Walmart anyway. You can take the trucker out of the truck, but you can't take the truck out of the trucker. I'm a solitary person who hates punching a damn time clock, and I like to go do my thing and go home. Most days are kind of screwed up for one reason or another, but on those rare days when everything clicks perfectly, I can earn my money in 7 hours and kick back, instead of trying to find some way to try to look busy for another 5 hours so I don't lose pay. Punching a clock sucks.

YMMV, but making $X an hour really just isn't everything.

[Mr. Ford95]

Good insight Silvan, gives younger potential drivers something else to ponder before making a decision of whether to be or not to be a trucker.