I think I'm done y'all. What next?
Posted by TaperingRanger9@reddit | Truckers | View on Reddit | 48 comments
I've got well over a year of experience, and I've hopped around and tried a few different companies. The only ones that would take me were megas and the pay has been insulting. But I stuck it out to get 1 year of experience so I could bounce to another job. JB Hunt was starting up a new account here in Washington, they moved me up here and my first several paychecks were the largest I've ever earned in my life. One was 2300 for one week. Then idk what happened all of a sudden the past few weeks the pay got way worse. I did doubles in downtown Seattle all week and I got $600 for it. Paycheck beforr that was only 860 even though I worked less. All the other drivers are having the same issue. We went to our boss and he showed us our paystubs and ig it matched up (it's activity pay). So i think im done after that. Im pulling doubles, unloading all the trailers by myself, working 10-14 hour days and this is what I get for it. I really thought this career was gonna turn my life around and now I'm 24 with no college degree making poverty wages even though I have a skill i went to school for. So what are my options? I was told I've job hopped too much to be accepted by a decent company. What other careers should I look into then? It's a shame because I love the job itself but this pay isn't worth all the bs.
TechnicianFew7845@reddit
You could make more driving a triaxle… $600 in a week? I was making $25/hr starting out in Indiana. Most physical stuff you gotta do is your pre trip, setting and undoing your chains, and climbing into the truck… home every night. Long hours in spring, summer, fall and weather dependent… but it pays off
TaperingRanger9@reddit (OP)
We drive tri axles, pull doubles, unload the trucks, operate forklifts, etc. This pay is insulting.
PathofEnlightment@reddit
Don't haul Hazmat... Unless you're a day player. OTR is still the way to go
Txctydrver@reddit
Stay overnight at a holiday inn, wake up and you can be a brain surgeon. Sounds like you just don't want to work.
TaperingRanger9@reddit (OP)
I want fair wages you fucking corporate bootlicker.
Constant-Ad28@reddit
At a year experience with barr-nunn I made 1600 a week
Sufficient_Wall5192@reddit
You still young. Ever thought of wielding? It's good money.
PutridContribution41@reddit
What exact welding skill pays good $? TIG? Pipeline? What's your experience? I'm looking for another skill / trade. How would I approach?
xDoomKitty@reddit
I hear underwater oil rig welding does alright
PutridContribution41@reddit
They make good money alright, but I'm looking for a quickie trade. Something not too hard to learn, feasible entry level and decent pay that doesn't kill you physically.
Riiakess@reddit
Honestly, ,and$
homucifer666@reddit
Yeah, you kind of screwed yourself jumping around that much your first year. Companies are looking for consistency and won't bother if they're going to go through the trouble of training you only for you to turn around and leave a few months later.
woodlehog@reddit
Can’t stay at a job that doesn’t pay a living wage just so it looks good on your resume to a future employer
homucifer666@reddit
No, but you can't cry foul when no good employer wants to hire you because you're always jumping ship either. I can understand maybe one company change, but 3-4 in less than a year just shows that you either take anything or that you're a problem employee.
Only someone who's looking to take advantage is going to give someone like that a second look.
woodlehog@reddit
I stayed 6 months at my first company. Couldn’t take team driving anymore. Switched to local. First place was a farm that paid $75 a day and had non-functioning trucks, second place lied and only stuck me in a truck twice and had me doing random manual labor all day, third place was incompetent and exaggerated the pay by 3 times what it actually paid. Current company expressed their concerns about job hopping, but am now finally happy doing regional flatbed for an amazing mid size company, making awesome money. Couldn’t keep team driving when only sleeping an hour, couldn’t stay at companies that paid $400 a week. So that’s 5 companies in a year. I’m a reliable employee and a hard worker, I just refuse to get screwed over.
oasuke@reddit
I believe you brother, which is why it annoys me when people on Reddit act like job hopping in this industry is some cardinal sin. I've had a trucking job I worked at for 2 years working 6 days a week where I didn't miss a single day and never had any issues, yet because I wanted to find something better and got shit luck with a string of bad jobs, I'm now a 'problem employee'. Yes, someone said this. That shit pisses me off.
oasuke@reddit
Many trucking companies lie. You won't know the truth until you've been there for a few months. That is why the turn over rate is so high in this industry. No one is going to stay at a company that promised one thing but ended up paying poverty wages.
homucifer666@reddit
Companies lie, but their workers will give you an earful if something's wrong. You have to do your homework and not just accept what the recruiter says at face value.
oasuke@reddit
Talking to workers isn't that helpful when everyone has different routes, pay structures and so on. Joe could be making great money because he has an easy dedicated route that pays well. Doesn't mean you'll be making that. Prime example, a guy at my old OTR company got excellent miles because he had been there a long time and was great friends on a personal level with the dispatchers. Meanwhile everyone else constantly complained of low pay to the point most new drivers quit after a year. Drivers also love to exaggerate, and it's even evident here on Reddit.
LeveledGarbage@reddit
So I'm going to assume you are on in Western Washington (I love Everett, that is home, but still GROSS LOL)
I'm going to piggy bank off of /u/bentstrider83 .....if you have hazmat tanker hit me up, I'm in Eastern Washington and we are hiring at 30.77/hr to start.
I'm just a driver but I'm very happy with my company. Also KAG is hiring all up and down the i5 corridor, they take newbie tankers.
Dont sleep on Fuel Hauling, yeah you're going to work, but first year, bro its only June and I'm already at $50k working 10-12hrs a night with the very very occasional 13 or 14 because shit happens.
ddressen808@reddit
31 and hr hauling fuel? Yikes. Minnesota is way more than that. I think the lowest I've seen is 35 for a smaller company. I get zone pay hauling fuel and if you break it down to by the hour some days is $45hr Sundays with the bonus I average $65+ an hour. All depends on how hard you wanna run though.
LeveledGarbage@reddit
That’s cool but completely irrelevant to my comment and where OP is at geographically speaking.
LeveledGarbage@reddit
That’s cool but completely irrelevant to my comment and where OP is at geographically speaking.
Sufficient_Wall5192@reddit
Learn how to weld then get on with a drilling company. They pay great or try for shutdowns. They use different types for welding. I got on with boiler makers of America. When they started about wanting me to go over seas I couldn't do that. But they pay very well. 6 months work pay for the year. Kinda like seasonal work
Last_Cable4726@reddit
I’m interested, feel free to PM.
What’s the best way to start? I have zero clue.
Sufficient_Wall5192@reddit
Find a school that offers training for welding.
Sufficient_Tooth_949@reddit
24 is still young, not too late to go to trade schools, its completely normal to jump from one career to another
Hell go to college if thats what you want, you'll be making 100k a year by the time your 30 if you pick a good skill
ononymouz6@reddit
I have 2 years experience all endorsements I as well have up this year. Being in California there is no money in trucking
chico-dust@reddit
You're still very young, if you aren't feeling trucking go hit up the nearest electrical company see if they're hiring apprentices. Most will even pay for your required schooling if they do hire you on. Takes about 4 years to become a journeyman and another 4 or so to become master.
This process works with a lot of trades, you'll get shit work at first while you pay your dues but eventually you can get the 6 figure salary you're looking for.
GlitteringBoat8425@reddit
If you like this job try to work with foreign companies like Russian, Kazakh or Uzbek ones
gitprizes@reddit
you just need to suck it up and eat a full year at one employer. lots of drivers actually get trained by their company and end up making 200 bucks a week until their indentured servitude to that company ends, so your 600 dollar paycheck could be a lot worse. once you prove you can function as a driver, you can look into something higher paying
even if you are over trucking, i'd still say get a solid year in. i can't tell you how many people i know have bounced back into trucking because they got laid off from another industry or got burnt out. trucking is always there for you if you treat it right
banana_commando@reddit
JB Hunt fucks with driver pay all the time. My paychecks dropped by $500 to $600 per week and my managers wouldn't acknowledge it. So I quit. I'm not going to take that big of a pay cut even with an explanation
connorbu19@reddit
If you are willing to move to another state, my company is hiring for another regional driver. It’s flatbed and really easy work honestly. Home every weekend. Shoot me a message if you’re interested.
Billy_Bigrigger@reddit
A whole YEAR of paying dues. 🙄
Yeah, you should be pulling 150K a year and home every night with 6 weeks of vacation to start.
Dude, you've been changing jobs like socks.
Anything that is basic infrastructure is steady ( food, fuel, etc. )
Cryo is where the money is at, but if you have 32 jobs on your resume acquiring the experience they want, they ain't gonna invest in your training.
ahurt44@reddit
Food service my dude
TaperingRanger9@reddit (OP)
Already doing that.
APizzaWithEverything@reddit
Apply at Estes, in Everett WA, they top out at $39.50 per hour, I can give you my referral information if you want, that should help get you hired
TaperingRanger9@reddit (OP)
Yes please
power2pc@reddit
Try to stick it out so you have one year experience with just one company. In your case, that would be your current employer. It will suck, but probably the only way. If you can find another employer, you have to stay at least one year. This is just how the freight market is right now.
lyke2hyke@reddit
I drive for nuco2 we are hiring in Lakewood
redsn0w10@reddit
You can look at the transfer portal and see if they have any other openings on other accounts
TaperingRanger9@reddit (OP)
They do but they said since they don't have enough drivers on this one they won't let me transfer until they have enough. And everyone is already quitting because of the pay. So im trapped. The account i want to transfer to pays insanely good too
Vanstrucker2222@reddit
You have 1 year experience with several different jobs? How many jobs we talking?
muck2profit@reddit
Anything more than 2 is an issue IMO
Gonzotrucker1@reddit
Go local.
TaperingRanger9@reddit (OP)
I am already
7fi418@reddit
Lots of other options man just know you’re not alone. Im 26. I was a software engineer for 3 years before this, got my cdl and went otr for several months (massive mistake), said fuck the trucking industry and quit, and now I’m back in college for an associate degree in the healthcare.
In 2 years I’ll be in a completely different place than I am now. 2 years really isn’t that long in the grand scheme of things. Don’t be afraid to do something else. In my opinion that’s what you’re 20s are for, trying different careers until you find something that’s best for you.
Trucking life is tough bro. Big respect to everybody out there doing it, but it ain’t for everybody. I knew within the first year I wouldn’t be able to do it for the rest of my life.
bentstrider83@reddit
If you've already got your HAZMat and tanker, I'd definitely see about fuel hauling. You're in a major metro area with many jobs of that type, and other HAZMat tanker outfits in the immediate area. The market's slow, but the job hopping issue shouldn't be a thing for all companies.