Decisions,decisions

I know this is asked alot and there are various answers but I was wondering if someone could give me a true estimate of training pay. I currently make about$1400 every two weeks gross and am just wondering if I could break that driving. ?

Yes you could do that in training with Prime I believe. They 700 a week during training I think, there's plenty prime drivers here who will correct me if I'm wrong. Also, once solo, you could make 1400 in a week if you run hard enough.

Hopefully someone from prime will chime in! I have a honest question if you are limited by hours how do you "run hard" I'm a extremely hard worker and would be willing to do so but what does that really mean in the trucking world?

Not being lazy, not stopping at every truck stop you see, 600 or miles in a day, stuff like that. You do have limited hours yes but it's how you use those hours that determines how much money you make.

Training pay for the most part isn't that great. Also I understand money is a main concern, I mean I didn't become a trucker for nothing, but money out here isn't consistent. You may have a good week and gross 1200 the next week you may barely break 300. This is for otr obviously because local guys get paid hourly, etc, etc.

In the beginning you will probably average about 600 a week after taxes. You have to pay your dues, you can't come out and make the big bucks right away. Expecting good money in the beginning is a recipe for success. The lower your expectations the better.

Don't get me wrong we have rookies on here killing it, shoot I use to make 350 dollars every two weeks. That even a 400 dollar check is nice. It depends a lot on you and the people you work with. If you stick at it, the money and opportunities are endless.

Think of it this way, if you are unhappy with your current situation then trucking may be a good fit. The pay cut in the beginning will pay dividends later on when you start making more.

Also to answer your question, after you put your time in you'll be breaking 1400 a week. It's like most things. You get what you give.

Matt, you titled this post "Decisions, Decisions."

Then you wanted to know if you could make more money than you are currently as a truck driver, but you mentioned "training pay." It would be a bad start to focus on "training pay." You've got to think further than training pay. This career choice requires a huge commitment and you really need to focus on long term goals if you want to be successful at it. Are you aware that only about five percent of the folks who decide to become truck drivers ever make it past that first year baptism into this business? Everybody I have ever known who started this wanted to quit several times during their first month or two, and most of them do. I came very close to walking away several times. It is such an adjustment to make because it is a consuming job that has got to be approached as a new lifestyle, and not simply a new job where I can make some more scratch.

The biggest decision you've got to make is whether or not you really want to jump "all in" to the lifestyle, and the problem with that decision is that there is simply no way to know whether it will work for you or not until you jump in. If you are married, then your wife needs to know what she is getting into also because this career choice usually effects more than just the person taking on the new career. You do have a lot of decisions to make, but I for one think that the money part is the least of them at this point.

Making good money out here is possible, but it takes sacrifice and commitment. Those two things are usually the missing ingredients in most rookie failure stories. Why is that so? They didn't fully realize what it was they were getting into, and/or they had unrealistic expectations. Those unrealistic expectations are what you are going to run up against if you focus on making more money at this. The money will come to those who learn how to earn it. This industry rewards the achievers - it is all performance based. Just having the belief that "I will be a top performer" isn't enough. It takes grit and determination, and those things will have to be developed over time out here on the road. It takes a little time to get good at this, and I think you need to have about two years under year belt before you can expect to consistently make more than you are making right now.

You can definitely make more than you are earning now, but remember it won't happen right out of the gate.

Im trying to keep that in mind. Im just looking at what will happen in the Time frame of less money I understand I will need a cushion which I would like to be able to rebuild in a reasonable time I just hate putting my family in a tough situation as far as money goes while I'm trying to improve our life. I guess that's the personal part of the descion that has to be made

Matt, here's my experience at Swift: I started training at the beginning of December. Finished school early January, no pay for school. Went to orientation almost the next day, got my first paycheck a week and a half later. So I had 6-7 weeks with no income. Fortunately, I had no gaps between school -> orientation -> road training.