USA Truck or PAM Transport

[dobry4u]

I started out at .28 cents per mile but I've heard the pay for beginners has been cut.


As for what it's been like? Well I can't give you figures for earnings that are meaningful because sometimes I'll run hard and sometimes sit or get stuck in their shops. I will say that I've made progress in my personal financial recovery at least. I've knocked down my debt and should pay off my last credit card if things go well.


I will also mention something I heard from someone else who went to my school though. Supposedly of the 20 or so people who were in my class only 4 including me are still doing their job. Everyone else has quit.

my friend (PAM dedicated team driver) got word today that PAM is cutting pay 5% (pretax) across the board.... drivers, DM, admin... everyone.

[Videodrome]

my friend (PAM dedicated team driver) got word today that PAM is cutting pay 5% (pretax) across the board.... drivers, DM, admin... everyone.

I haven't heard that on my Qualcomm but the word is out on the PAM driver forum. Oh well at least I have some kind of job for now. Also glad I'm not in debt to a school.

[freebirdrfd]

if my company started cutting my pay, i would start looking for another job. why work for a company that can't pay it's bills? chances are they wont stay in buessness (sp) for too long.

[P A Frederick]

I know all about the physical aspects of driving a truck. My dad drove for 30+ years...he also drove a local truck and I doubt it was anywhere near as nice as most trucks on the road today. It took its toll on his back and wrists to say the least. Good thing for him though is that he was home every day..8-10 hours tops.
I am willing to endure the possible pain, and the loss of hobbies, etc. All of my kids are older, 2 graduating high school in a week. The home time would be good, but not a necessity per se.
I don't care about hanging out with coworkers and friends, I'd rather be alone most of the time anyway..and I have always liked driving. If we go on long trips, etc. I am always the one to drive..everyone else sleeps while I drive between 4-10 hours per day. Nothing to me really.
The part I have a problem with is this - I am trading what I have for 25K.? I am not 21 years old any more..I need some financial security. You'd think with all you give up that you be handsomely compensated..AND, that 25 is only if you happen to hit 100,000 miles, which seems like a crap shoot from what I am hearing. 25 is poverty level, and it is not even a guarantee!! AND, after uncle sam gets his, plus the school takes out another 45 per week, you are lucky to bank 1200 bucks BEFORE expenses. I can live fairly cheap, but not that cheap. So, I end up with maybe 900/ month for my home expenses/bills. That is less than I am getting from unemployment currently. So, I take a harder job, with less benefits, and put strain on my family just so I can make less than I do sitting here at home doing nothing. The only thing I get out of it is the experience and the ability to say I actually have a job. That is it. BUT, I do want a job..and I don't care that I have to take a pay cut from my previous job, but I cannot take that big a cut with the possibility to ruining my life/marriage. The benefits do not out weigh the costs. Not for 25K. If it were high 30s I'd think about it.

Your weekly numbers are actually a lot higher than you say they are going to be. If you make 25K driving a truck (this is your gross pay, not your net) your talking $25000 divided by 52 weeks a year= $480.77 a week. Minus taxes, insurance, whatever C-1 charges per week, and road expenses.

And you still run into some people who think truck drivers make a killing...

[Phreddo]

Your weekly numbers are actually a lot higher than you say they are going to be. If you make 25K driving a truck (this is your gross pay, not your net) your talking $25000 divided by 52 weeks a year= $480.77 a week. Minus taxes, insurance, whatever C-1 charges per week, and road expenses.

And you still run into some people who think truck drivers make a killing...

My own personal example.
Within a year of driving for Schneider, I came into a local dedicated account, salary, home most nights and weekends. I probably spent 2 nights a week max in the truck, but it was all in state. The pay for that was $710/week. Not stellar, but good pay for the time put in. The point is that you may start low but you don't have to stay at the poverty level. If you are willing to put in the time, you can make it pay better. Basically, if you are the type that doesn't like trucking, no amount of pay is worth it.

[nctrucker1]

Posted: Mon Jul 10, 2006 6:18 am Post subject: Newbies+wanabe's...don't say, you weren't warned.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ardmore Farms Forever
I know, I know.............it will be different with you........"you'll be the exception to the rule."

Disclaimer: I am NOT trying to persuade or dissuade anyone from getting into trucking.....I personally LOVE driving a truck....but, I am extremely fortunate,....because I retired from another profession at a fairly young age and am financially sound....... I drive a truck because I want to......NOT, because I have to.........there is a huge difference.

.....This in my opinion is one of the best post I have ever seen on any trucking board........I pulled it from another board (which shall remain nameless) and in my humble opinion it hits home, is hard-hitting, to the point and not full of the cushy, cushy make-you-feel good political correctness crap. .........Read it, take from it what you want and leave the rest.......in my opinion, an excellent post, not based on hearsay, but his and others personal experience and opinion........It might NOT be what you want to hear, but, it IS the truth........written by a person who has seen more white lines and miles (well over 1,500,000), than most of us will ever see, via his many, many years of professional truck driving....................Josh


================================================== =======================

Newbies: You see me write a lot about the importance of craftsmanship and responsible profession behavior, and the going-rate wages and benefits for new drivers. Here's another side of the story:


OTR takes you away from your family and home for weeks at a time, and when you subtract even minimal expenses living on the road, there's precious little left for the wife, kids and home expenses.

You can make more net money for your family, work fewer hours, and at least sleep in your own bed every night with TWO full-time fast food jobs. The novelty of being a trucker and living on the road will wear-off pretty fast, and what's left is a disgraceful wage for the responsibility and risk, and in most cases, a family and home left abandoned and broke.

If you've got a wife and kids that need you and your support, DO NOT get into OTR trucking with Werner or anyone else. The number of tragedies -- guys who end up in divorce and living hand-to-mouth on the road while most of their paycheck goes to child support -- is staggering. They thought they could be a dad and husband with only a few days home a month and could eat baloney sandwiches most of the time and send most of their money home....WRONG! It rarely turns out this way.

No matter how much your and your family is dedicated to making this plan work, the fact is it will turn your relationships and finances upside-down. Few can make the stress and pitiful financial work -- and even if you do, you're missing the baby's first steps and the little league games and everything else you supposedly got married for. If you got married and started a family, stay home and be a husband and father.

OTR trucking isn't a "mission" to protect the public or your country like being a soldier or cop or firefighter. We're not heroes -- that's just what the industry tells us to take their crappy jobs. We just move paper towels or produce or little boats from one location to another -- just a low-wage worker doing relatively dull, mind-numbing work. Your body will get soft, your mind will suffer from the irregular sleep/work cycles, and your life will fly by with nothing much to show for the sacrifice. There's no retirement, no sick leave, no significant recognition for your efforts, and the trucking labor pool is increasingly dipping into the "working poor" class. This is no longer the middle-class job it once was,and the moment you make a poor decision behind the wheel that gets you in trouble, you're out on your azz facing possible criminal charges and civil action. The company will cut you loose and let you hang.

I could go on and on and on..... But the point is: This is a terrible career choice for a married guy with a family and home life.

You effectively disqualified yourself for living on the road in a truck when you started a family. If you're going to go on the road for weeks in a truck, you might as well just sit down with your wife and tell her you've changed your mind and are leaving for good. Hire a lawyer and get it over with before dragging her and your kids into this charade.

For a single guy...? That's another story. You can give-up your permanent residence, live out of a post office box and put away some money for a few years while living relatively comfortably on the road with all the cool gear. But there's no point in having a "real" home if you're never home to enjoy it. Your car will sit 26 days a month for all the payments and insurance, etc. And you'll effectively lose most of your friendships as you disappear from their lives.
But hell -- if you're single, want to destroy your health and set your course on slow suicide, who cares. At least you're not dragging anybody else down with you. And if friendships don't come easily anyway and you don't care much about a "normal" life -- OTR is actually a pretty good way to escape that reality. That's MY reality - to be perfectly honest - and I love this life. I'm a social misfit and a perfect match for this nonsense. But I wouldn't even consider it if I had the slightest responsibility beside my own admittedly self-destructive selfishness.

Got it? This job SUKS unless you're a little crazy and have nothing to lose. It's an irresponsible career choice if others depend on you, or you want anything like the "normal life" so many truckers come to miss after the novelty wears off.

40k may sound like pretty good money, but it's crap for the quantity of work, the responsibility and risk, the toll on your mind and body....and most of all, the family who'll see precious little of it from the dad who abandoned them to go live on the road.

Stay at home where you belong. Pretend you're an illegal immigrant and get into construction...ANYTHING but abandoning your family trying to be some hot-shot young buck again. Open your eyes and see the reality. The turnover is way over 100% a year -- even higher among newbies -- because most first-year drivers realize they've made a mistake and leave the industry, a little embarrassed and a lot poorer having been fleeced by a truck school and everyone else along the way.....

"...fair and balanced - you decide."



Here is a link to the actual thread; http://www.classadrivers.com/phpBB2/...=18642&start=0

There are also local driving jobs that can be as bad as otr. Some of these local companies can be as cold hearted as the worst of them. Long hours, low moraL.When economy is bad, they will find ways to cut your income, and believe they will get away with it cause there are no other jobs to go to. You will be as tired as otr when you get home. If I had to do it all over again, I would get into another field.