Swift wants to give me 26 cents a mile.Am I getting screwed?
 

I earned my Class A CDL back in in late March.
Since then I've been looking for a local trucking company that would hire me but silly me came to find out that nobody will hire you locally unless you have some experience under your belt.
So I've came to the decision that I will go OTR. I've applied for the Chicago Transit Authority to drive a bus for them. I already interviewed and im waiting to hear back from them. Truth is though that I would much rather be driving a big rig. Im tired of Chicago, I want to see the rest of the country while making money. I want to spend my days on the road, I want to sleep in a sleeper, I want to get away from everything and everyone around me for a while.
I called Roehl to apply but its been more than 90 days since I received my CDL so they wont take a chance on me unless I go through a refresher course. I already dropped 2grand for my CDL, I think thats more than enough, Im not paying anymore for a refresher course.
I also applied with Werner yesterday online but I have yet to hear from them. Called Schneider and they are sending me an application through the mail.
The only company that has called me so far is Swift. They were the first company I applied with a few days ago. Im considering going to their orientation.
So I guess what im trying to get to is that I really need some advice on which of the bigger companies I should really consider.
Im willing to go OTR, I WANT TO go OTR.
Im a new guy to trucking obviously and im hoping to get started with the best company with the best equipment and the best pay.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Are you getting screwed with 26 cpm, yes you are, but on the other hand beggars can't be choosers as they say and since it has been 3-4 months since you got your CDL you are approaching the begging arena.

If I were you I would stop messing with putting in an application here and there and start submitting online multi apps and give it a couple of weeks and see who responds and what they have to offer.

are you sure you want to drive a truck?
sounds like your not willing to do what it takes to get a job.
3 months from CDL to find a job?
wont take a refresher?
willing to settle for Swift?
i think you will be dissapointed in this career path.

it is not easy to find a driving job when you are new.
it is even harder to find a good company with good pay.
this is a very frustrating industry to be in for many drivers, especially a new driver.

I hope you find what you are looking for.
BOL

i hear every one says that roehl is one of the best starting companies around.. that's where i'm going if i have to do OTR... 30 Cents for van and 33 cents for flatbed... but for werner and swift, yeah 26 cents is the highest your going to see!!! if i was you since i've waited this long you might as well wait for Schneider's to send you the APP!!

Not willing to do what I have to do?
Come on man, this whole time I've been going to interviews albeit they were all for driving straight trucks, no trailers. But everyone told me the same thing, that they couldnt hire me because I have no experience. Some of them even wanted people over 25 for insurance reasons. I dont turn 25 till late November by the way.
Initially I was looking to stay close to home, come home every night.
But now I just want the road.
Why the hell am going to drop another 2grand on a refresher course when I spent everything I already had getting my CDL.
If I have to i'll drive for Swift for their 26 cents a mile, I understand im going to have to put in my work for that experience that I need.
So dont sit there and ask me if I really want to drive a truck. I spent 5 years working in an office enviroment sitting in front of a computer all day. Im sorry but I just cant do that type of work anymore.
Dont talk to me about frustration as if truckers are the only ones who can ever go through it.
Whats wrong with going with Swift if this much time has passed since I got my CDL and Roehl wont take me?
I need to make a move dont I? And I need to make it fast.
I need to gain experience dont I?
If Swift is the only one who is willing to take a chance with someone who got their CDL over 90 days ago, then i'll take it!
Put 6 months or a year with them and find myself something better.
Your not the only who has to deal with stupid people. Your not the only one who goes through frustrations.

Welcome to the OTR coolie trucking.

i too came from an office environment. it was a breeze compaped to driving. i wish i was back there again.

do what you have to do. 26 CPM? yeah, thats what your gonna get.
and youll be working you A$$ off for 500/week.

but unless you catch a lucky break, thats what you have to do to pay your dues. so really, your not getting screwed. you are given a chance to gain experience. the reason why these starter companies pay so little is because they take a chance on you with higher insurance premiums and costs when you screw up.

if you have a chance to get into flatbed, do it. it pays good. at least it does for the place i work for. although if you work for crete, crst, or roehl, they will probably want you to drive van for at least 6 months first before you transfer to the flatbed division.

BOL

ptl, will hire you .31

if swift an werner are your options call and ask what dedicated positions the 2 offer based on your home location

I started with swift, they aren't that bad, will keep you moving, and you won't stay at .26 for long. The only thing with swift is you have to bug the crap out of em for a while to get what you want. Often new drivers will get crap loads, and if you bug em enough they will give you good ones, after about 2 months it gets much better.

After 6 months I was up to .32cpm with them starting like you did at .26

Finding a "niche" within the Mega and Large carriers is the key to be successful with them. Like Big Jeep said...ask about the dedicated account. Dont ask what is available in dedicated as they will generally not volunteer a dedicated account if the account has its quota of drivers. Even in the dedicated account there is a turn over rate. It generally is lower than the industry standard. When you find out about the dedicated accounts, if possible find out the phone number of the Fleet Manager or Account Manager for that account. Contact them directly to put your "request" to drive for that account.

Generally 48 state OTR is not a niche, some enjoy it others dont. If you desire a dedicated account...you may have to run 48 state OTR for a period of time waiting for a position to open on a particular account.

Dedicated accounts will keep you moving, generally always under load and preassign for you next load, well in advance.

Did you go to a reputable and certified CDL school?

If so, they should give you a refresher course for free.

If not, ooops.

Dan

.26 a mile for 90 days. It climbs early and often from there.

With all due respect; at 90 days, you'll still be at a very low point in the learning curve and it wouldn't be fair to complain too much even though, by now, you've convinced yourself you're a BBR and bought the wallet to prove it.

Now, type "turnover" in the search and read that thread. It will give you a pretty good idea of what to expect with pay per mile.

Beyond that, my only real gripe is the treatment I get from the support staff. SWIFT is a huge training company and a lot of the "managers" (also in training) get a little bit jaded by the constant and recurring, moronic questions they get from the students. SWIFT is a huge training company and a lot of the "Drivers" (also in training) get a little bit jaded by the constant and recurring, moronic answers they get from the managers. There is a two way tendancy to be treated like shit from a bunch of people that don't know the first thing about shit.

Beyond that, SWIFT is a good choice. Very current equipment, very strong customer base, excellent support until you need it or learn how to run without it and all the miles you can run if you don't get caught until you figure out how to do it legally.

truckermandude, this seems like solid advice from Uturn. Have you posted your resume on CAD and had it sent out yet to multiple companies? If not, I suggest you give it a whirl. Can't hurt. BOL

Try Baylor Trucking out of Milan, IN. They have a lot of freight that goes to Chicago. You'll be trained for a measly wage for up to 8 weeks (tops out at $400 per week).

They start you off at $.34/mi. practical miles after training. You will get a lot of experience driving NE, NYC.

I'll PM you with some more info.

I started with Schneider at like 26 cpm.
it's more than I earned anywhere else.
at 120000 miles/year that's over $30000 starting.
Ya gotta start somewhere.
Everyone says you need more experience, that should be the priority. Many people do a lot of gratis work to break into their desired fields.
You want to earn the money, you gotta pay your dues and make yourself worth their money.

$500 a week for how many hours?

My advice is if the pay is too low then don't take the job AND tell the recruiter the pay is too low. Let the company know why you rejected their offer. Maybe they will increase future offers.

The whole "paying dues" thing sounds like a BS way for a company to get cheap labor. Either you can drive or you can't. If you can get the job done then you should be paid.

.26 cpm multiplied by 60 mph comes to $15.60 an hour. But what happens when you're stuck in traffic and only move 10 miles in an hour. You would get paid less than minimum wage. I was on the highway yesterday where there was construction work and the highway was more like a parking lot. Move a foot and stop. Move another 5 feet and stop.

[quote="classB"]The company has to find out for itself if you (the collective 'you') can do it or not. Or maybe more specifically the company's insurance carrier. Until you prove yourself the company will see you as much as a liability as an asset.

From that perspective it is not BS, it is a fact of doing business. For the driver it is 'paying dues.' The way the industry is going now, Swift is a good choice - a large fleet with modern equipment and lots of contracts.

I do find myself curious as to why the OP went to school with no plan, though. Many coolie carriers will co-pay school if you apply with them first.

13 years ago i really needed a job. no computer. never heard of swift but i signed on and run my tail off in 45 states and 3 provinces. spent the first two months team driving with a creep who showed me the ropes.i stayed 2.5 years. when i quit the wrong way i was at .26 cpm and stepped into my current job before swift could black ball me.
if you need a job go. good oppurtunity for an inexperienced driver. if you are single it could be a great adventure or you could wait for that great paying job in a worsening economy

Heres my 2 cents. When you start a new job, we ALL had to start somewhere. If you think working for .26 cents a mile sucks, then guess what. You are correct! Its crap money without a doubt. However, with that being said.

Something for you to think about. Do you think that someone with no experience, just getting their license and absolutely no experience is going to come on board making .40 cents a mile. Well maybe. But, ask yourself this. If you were a boss or owner. Would you hire someone with no experience and offer them top pay? No, you would not. Now I know you are not looking for top pay. you just want an honest days pay for an honest days work. Which I think is all that anyone wants. But, unfortunately in the beginnings of this industry it sucks. Numerous drivers here I am sure will confirm that.

We all got to start somewhere. If Swift is what you got. Then you go with what you got. If this is something you want to pursue.

I started at .30 cents a mile with Roehl back in 2005. Money sucked. However I had a plan to go local after 1 year OTR. After 14 months I found what I thought I wanted. Is it my dream job? Hahahaha, NO WAY. But am I where I thought I would be and where I thought I should be. YES.

Heres my thoughts and outlook on jobs.

Every job has BS. Whether or not YOU stay depends on what BS you are willing to put up with.

I hope that makes sense. The money and opportunities you have in the beginning suck. But if you stick it out with a plan. Your goals financial and MENTAL!!! Will be met.

Good luck and plan it out. Dont just be a fish out of water. I knew I wanted to do LTL when I came into this industry. Thats where I am at now. YOU have to know what YOU want!!!! It all stars from crap beginnings but if you make a plan and lay it out, you will be where you want to be. Just remember, its not gonna happen overnight.

Good luck on whatever your decision is going to be!!!!!!!!!

Swift, Schneider, US Xpress, USA, PAM....most all of the big training companies are going to be about the same.

Alot of people have said .26 is too low to start...it is low, but like others have now said you will only be at .26 for a few months. After 6 months or so you'll be at .32

Personally I think Swift isn't the best company you could choose. If I were you I'd go on over to www.schneiderjobs.com and put in an online application instead of waiting for one to be mailed to me! If for some reason you don't like doing the online app you can still go to their website and print an application to be faxed or mailed to them.

Do some research on US Xpress, USF Glenmore and all the other companies that have been named on this thread. Find the one that YOU think will work out best for YOU

BOL

I believe part of the reason the starting pay for rookies is where it is is because the insurance rates for them are alot higher. This is also why many companies require 1 year OTR experience. Their insurance carriers require it. Do what you need to to get some time in the industry. We all had to start somewhere.

Something for us all to consider, these days, is the fact that with the number of companies going out of business, we can expect that things like "hire-on bonus", and starting pay may go down because the drivers that were working for companies going out have to go somewhere. I read one article that said recruiters are now actually looking at records, and hiring drivers, rather than "steering wheel holders". They are able to tighten up their requirements because they do not have quite as many empty seats to fill.

I've been thinking about your situation....have you looked into CFI/Conway Truckload? My understanding is your paid .28 during training (7,500 miles...about 3 weeks) then after training they bump you up to .30


just a thought

I hope some other people looking into getting their CDL stumble upon this thread. Everything the OP is going through right now may have easily been avoided with a little research and planning prior to going to school.

Bingo!

Most of the big training carriers like Swift self-insure. Part of your low pay is to pay the insurance premium on the accident(s) you will have statistically speaking.

When I worked at CWX I got to see the accidents broken down by driver experience, the less than 2 yrs guys accounted for 60%+; this is at a good company with lots of veteran drivers. My old barn had ~15 million milers.

Yeah....the big companies like the cheap labor. When I applied to drive OTR I told them: I have my CDL (in Germany since 1991) and in the US I had the CDL then 6 month. How will you start my pay rate???? At the LOWEST, of course. Yepp....they liked the experience I had but were not willing to pay for it!

gee whiz, swift offered me 23cpm last year and i had 3 years safe driving and all endorsements.

Re: Swift wants to give me 26 cents a mile.Am I getting scre
 

As a new, inexperienced driver, you will have no choice but to take what you can get...there is no getting around that.....you have to get in at least 6 months of OTR driving experience before insurance carriers will cover you....all you can do is tough it out and after you have the required experience, doors will open for newer opportunities with other companies with a higher CPM pay....beginning out, we all had to do it.....Good Luck!

i remember starting out at .19 loaded miles... for pay wise your going to take a beating for abit...swift has nice trucks but set at 62mph,but then they all are turning the trucks down.you can also try lct in fl but i can tell you dont belive one word they say.im on my last days there now they start at .30 but i hear they dropped to .28 not sure but BOL to ya!

Roehl isnt bad
 

You can go to work for any newbie company.

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD USE YOUR BRAIN DONT WORK FOR SWIFT OR WERNER. Or pam. Or prime. Or schneider etcetc...

Do you really want to live in a box and make 500 a week for 24x7= 168 hours a week? And then have THOSE companies on your resume?

Try Roehl. Either Star. You'll get home and make passable money.