"Sticking Around" And "getting Paid"

Hey friends, i got my license and finished training and am on my second week on my own. Im very dissatisfied. The whole experience up to the present has been filled with lies. I was told getting my license would take three weeks it took four. Time with a trainer would be three weeks it was a month and a half. And worst of all the pay. It could be worse... I was told first year pay isn't great but to not even make half of what my recruiter told me i could is disappointing. My pay rates are good for mileage and unloading but im not getting enough miles to make a decent paycheck. The pay so far has got me looking for other options although i will then be responsible for most of the loan the training program provided to train. Staying with a company for a year may be the thing to do and get me my experience and hopefully the mileage will get better looking for input on what to do in the meantime.

Hey Chris. You're letting yourself get all out of sorts over little things. You have to give it some time, man!

i got my license and finished training and am on my second week on my own

Geesh! Two weeks and you're ready to find another job. You've been a member of this website for quite a long time at this point. I don't think you've been hearing what we're saying though.

First of all, the best thing you can do is listen to a couple of my podcasts. They'll help you understand your situation better and develop the right strategy to get those big miles and big paychecks:

• Episode 1: The Bootcamp Approach To Trucking
• Episode 4: Why Stick With Your First Company One Full Year?
• Episode 13: Three Problems Rookies Struggle To Overcome
• Episode 18: Stop The Fear And Doubt, Focus On Your Own Success

Listen, you're totally nitpicking over little stuff. The training took an extra week? So what? It's one week. It makes no difference. Don't get hung up on trivial details like that. You're brand new to this career. Focus on the long term. Focus on learning your trade, developing a great reputation with dispatch, and getting to that one year mark with a perfect safety record. Those are huge, difficult objectives. The fact that you're nitpicking over little stuff tells me you really don't understand the scale of the challenges you're facing out there. The last thing a brand new driver should be worried about is how much money you made two weeks into your career or that training took an extra week.

Take a step back, take a deep breath, and refocus on the long, difficult road you're facing right now. Do you know how few people ever make it through their first year in this industry? Very few. Most of them become overwhelmed by the difficulties, homesick, exhausted, and plain ol' beat down.

Please listen to my podcasts and refocus your thoughts and energy on learning this trade and becoming an awesome driver. Your company is going to give you all the miles that you prove you can handle. This industry doesn't hand anyone anything. You have to earn it, and that's going to take some time. But I can assure you that if you keep a perfect service and safety record and keep pushing dispatch for more miles you'll make at least $40,000 your first twelve months, and possibly quite a bit more.

Best of luck man. Things will work out. You just have to stop sweating the details and keep putting in hard work.

Thanks brett i hope so.

Chris, give it several months. Make your delivery and pickup appointments on time and early when you can. After that, if you aren't getting more miles, ask your dispatcher what you need to improve on to get more miles. Rinse and repeat. Get to know your dispatcher if at all possible. Ever stop by the terminal he/she is located at? --- be sure to stop in and say hello!

I'm not sure who you are driving for, but get to know the people that can get things done for you. Doing that takes time. As you gain more experience, you'll become more efficient with your time management and you'll be able to handle more miles. When they know they can depend on you to get the job done, they'll give you more miles.

Chill and don't whine or complain. Just focus on getting it done on time and safely. The squeaky wheel doesn't get the good miles. Quite the contrary, the complainers get known as "problem" drivers and then nobody will want to help you.

The same advice goes to the maintenance shop. Get to know them. Be NICE to them. Let them know how much you appreciate everything they do to keep you rolling (and earning $). By doing this, when I have an issue with my truck, I rarely have to wait and always get bumped ahead of the terminal rats hanging out in the driver's lounge waiting for their truck to get serviced or repaired.

Last week I needed routine service. What did I do? Instead of hanging out in the lounge, I hung out in the shop. The oil change tech said gee.. you mind helping me adjust these brakes? Not at all! Heck I might even learn something. I help move trucks in and out of the oil change bay and repair shop too whenever they ask. Sure the guys can do it, but if I do it for them, they can get more done and I'm on my way faster.

I don't care who it is at my terminal and what job they perform. I go in with a smile and thank each one of them that I happen to see for everything they do to keep me rolling and paid correctly. I tend to get anything I want asap because of these relationships I've built. You can do this too.

Good luck and hang in there.

Just seeing your reply...thanks alot susan!

Just seeing your reply...thanks alot susan!

Has your situation improved?

Hey guys. Just an update. I just started otr for U.S. Xpress. My first week. I was doing dedicated for them. I did start getting what seemed to be the better loads and didnt really realize that account or style (dedicated) wasn't meant for miles. It wasnt bad exactly but i originally intended on seeing the country and getting around so i just recently switched to otr..same company. There are some key differences but im glad i made the switch. I got to say i do have a gps but i love looking at maps and now i feel i can do it more, well on a larger basis since ill be going farther.

Glad you stuck it out. You learned a great lesson. You learned that kind of driving was wrong for you. I hope you enjoy OTR. You will probably find you are a better backer after doing a dedicated account. Good luck.

Hey guys. Just an update. I just started otr for U.S. Xpress. My first week. I was doing dedicated for them. I did start getting what seemed to be the better loads and didnt really realize that account or style (dedicated) wasn't meant for miles. It wasnt bad exactly but i originally intended on seeing the country and getting around so i just recently switched to otr..same company. There are some key differences but im glad i made the switch. I got to say i do have a gps but i love looking at maps and now i feel i can do it more, well on a larger basis since ill be going farther.

Continued success Chris! It’s been stressed on here that we should try our best to stick it out with a company for at least one year. I’m glad you found a good solution within your present situation. God bless & stay safe out there.