Your post will serve as an excellent primer to people who don't routinely succeed at things and, let's face it, this business attracts more than a fair share of failures.

2000 people starting out at Walmart are going to make the same amount of money for the first year or two unless they get promoted, quit or get fired. If they've been promised 30k, it's going to be 30k. 2000 people taking the Swift route aren't going to be promised anything. They will be told that 30k is the upside but it's a realistic, attainable income in the first full year of DRIVING, not schooling or training.

Then, reality kicks in. The majority of new recruits are not going to make the money or make it in this business for any number of reasons. Quick learners who are good drivers and like the work have a very real shot at making 30k happen, plus. Slow learners, rotten drivers and fence sitters are going to fail. It doesn't matter what company you start with. This is not an easy business, period. If you haven't been trained how to make the money or you can't or won't learn on your own, it doesn't matter how good a driver you think you are, this job is going to suck and you won't be long in it.

Your mileage numbers are way, way out of whack. I'm not saying absurdly low numbers don't happen but they're rare. In five years I can recall one 1200 mile week and that was this year, in the depths of the gloom and doom forecasts which otherwise seem to have escaped me.

Here's my advice to wannabes: Some of you are going to be killed or maimed and you definitely won't like that. A lot of you are not going to like the job and you'll walk away from it . . a lot poorer and a little wiser. A lot of you are morons and why you think this job will be your salvation is beyond me. Some of you will hate it but still hang on because you have nowhere else to go.* A few, and I mean very few, of you are going to like it, prosper in it and find yourselves asking why you didn't get into it sooner.

*And every nickle you don't blow on fast food will be spent on tweeked CBs and you won't hesitate for a second to let the world know just how miserable you are.

I have no idea of how many miles most of these training carriers are getting right now. However, in normal economic times you should average about 2,500 miles per week for the year. During slow times your miles may drop between 1,800-2,200. When freight is moving better then you could drive somewhere between 2,700-3,200 miles per week. Occasionally your miles could be better but I would not count on it during the slow economy. Your miles can vary from week to week but should have a decent average. One reason some don't do well in this business is their work ethic. If you do your job to the best of your ability then you should be able to earn a good living. If you want to find out about a carrier you should speak with those currently running for the company with which you are interested in working. They are your best source of current information. Ask about pay and miles. Make a list of questions that you would like to have answered. I would not rely on a recruiter if you want to have good information on a carrier. Other drivers are your best source of information.

It is what it is:
Long, lonely days/nights.
No friends, family, or social life whatsoever.
Poor diet from sitting on your ***** all day.
Drive 1000 miles, paid for 900.
Lots of hurry-up and unpaid waiting around.
Hometime a roll of the dice.
No overtime after 8/40 hours.
Nights, weekends, holidays spent in the big truck.
Top 10 most dangerous US occupation.
Worthless health bennies with high co-pays.
Too many freebies performed/expected of you.

The turnover rates are high in this biz for a reason:
It's because the money earned is chump-change for all the hours you put in the job, time away from home, and general BS you have to put up with.

Don't believe me?
Just look around the truckstop diner
Look at the guy sitting in the booth all by himself
Lonely, missing his friends and family
Listen to guys pissed off on the CB
They are bitter...everything is negative in their life.
Look around again in the truckstop, do u notice something?
Almost everyone is severely overweight, morbidly obese, edema of the legs, high blood pressure, sugar problems, etc.

It is for many a job of last resort.
Whereby if it weren't for the big truck, they'd be sleeping on a picnic table.
Then of course you have your ex-cons, parolees, towelheads, thieves, drifters, kooks, social misfits, 40-year old adolescents, people who don't speak English, people who don't shower, etc.
These folks tarnish the industry and give it the black mark that it enjoys today.

Like I said, it is what it is.
And that's all it ever will be...

You and justruckin should start a club.

*****

holly crap :clap: that's what we need a positive attitude like that.:bow:

I'm glad to hear yall say that. I've read some threads on here where some of the guys mention how much they make. Someone else would reply and say, "man, I couldn't live on that- etc etc". That made me think, "good grief, he wouldn't like my paychecks then." I take home around $550 a week, but with the insurance and benefits that Sysco offers, I'm thankful to be where I'm at. Sure, some have better paying driving jobs, but here in Wichita Falls, there isn't very many good jobs, with good insurance, benefits. My wife also works. We are on a budget, but we make a good living. I also do farm work, but that's just part-time. Those paychecks usually are enough to "fill the tank" on my pickup.
I'm not making doctor's wages, but I'm blessed, and thankful to be working in this bad economy.

AMEN! That's about what I did, except it only took me two months on 48-state before I got on a regional dedicated board, where I now average 1,500-2,000 miles per week. Granted, stop pay and unload pay make up for the lower mileage numbers.

I can't agree with you enough about the lease part... That's just a whole other can of worms.

This is a good post but I ran your numbers and they do not add up.

$30/week school over 26 weeks comes to $780 which is over the $500 figure you said was charged. Does Swift charge interest on this "loan"?
$37/week for School X 56 weeks (13mths) comes to $2,072. $2,072 + $780 = $2,852 which is neither the $3,700 school or $4,400 which is school plus lodging.

Even at $67/week for the full 56 weeks you still come up to $3,752 not $4,400.

Your base when training is a flat $450 - $67 training + $383/week. This should put you in the 15% bracket so I would lower my with-holding to that amount. $383(.15)=$57.45.

$383 - $57.45 = $325.55 takehome. Actually, I would figure out how much I would make over the year and at this amount of money would lower my withholding to 0 as my tax liability would be 0 at the end of the year.

Keep in mind that schooling is tax deductable as a job retraining expense (correct me on this but I'm pretty sure it is) so you will get this amount back at the end of the year. That won't help you now, though.

$325 - $100/week on the road leaves $225 for you. I lived on the road in my truck for 3 years and never spent $100/week. You can get a footlong sub deal at subway for $7 and eat half for lunch and half for dinner plus a small meal breakfast. This will lower your daily meal cost and keep your from gaining 100lbs. I also bought fruit and canned food like tuna to eat one meal a day and further lowered my meal expenses but I'm not a fussy eater and didn't mind doing this. However, if you like to go to movies or whatever then, ok, $100/wk expenses. Keep your meal receipts and itemize and you'll get it back. Again dosn't help you now.

I never paid for a shower on the road when I started out and can count the number I paid for out of my pocket over the last 18 yrs or so on one hand. Fueled everyday and got a free one and used it. Shower expenses are deductable also.

Is $225/week enough to live on? depends. If you have a wife and kid at home and she dosn't work then of course not unless you already own your home and have no debt. Single kid out of high school or college then probably.

You have a great post. Forget the numbers, all of this is something new drivers should consider before signing up. The trucking companies always tell you about the "big money" your going to make and few newbies sit down to run the numbers of how they are going to get there. Can you afford to start in a new field and pay for this? And make little money doing it? Yes all the expenses are deductible and you might even find a government program to pay for your schooling but its not much money at any rate to start.

When I started I was single, had no debt and no wife/kids/girlfriend. I went to a training cdl mill and they wanted something like $7,000 and I said "why the hell would I pay you for this when Swift pay for the school and lodging and give me a job? I didn't care about the money as I didnt need it and looked at it with that in mind right from the get go. It was re-training in a new field and I did not expect to make a lot the first year and I never believed anybody that tried to tell me something different. I was not disappointed when I didnt make much either. Everyone should think long and hard and run the numbers like you did before deciding to switch fields and go into trucking.

You are right about the wages in the last 30 years. I'm making roughly the same now as I did 10 yrs ago which with inflation is less than that. Sucks and very few can argue that Drivers are not due for a raise.

Forget the money which in the beginning and for years afterward really isn't that much but is something and ask yourself "will my marriage survive my being gone 3-4 weeks at a time"? Thats the bigger question and for far too many drivers the answer is no it will not.

Well, once you get past paying the school tuition and such, I just up and tell people that if they don't want to get involved in a regular life(wife, kids, picket fences, boring things like that, to me anyway) then this will be a perfect job for them regardless of the price.

Another reason I do it, I've never been good at establishing roots anywhere.
Lived in the same CA city since I was four and still feel like a stranger.

My thoughts on the matter.