I’m sharing this mostly for people looking into truck driving. It’s so hard to get salary info from people. First some basic background on me…
- At the conclusion of 2010, I had a total of 21 months experience from the date of hire (I already had my CDL coming in, but I’m still with the company I started my career at).
- I am a solo company driver for a major refrigerated carrier.
- For the first half of the year, I made 34cpm, then increased to 35cpm the second half.
- I go home about every 4-5 weeks and take 4 days off at a time, not including my arrival or departure days.
- My truck is governed at 62mph, but I normally only drive 58mph to meet our strict fuel mileage requirements.
- I’m on electronic logs (in other words, I always drive legal).
- I am forced dispatched so I take every load including HazMat (extra $50 per HazMat load).
- My company gives me extra money for shorter loads or loads with a lot of time on them, but I don’t receive detention pay.
I think that covers all the major stuff. I make a few extra dollars here and there or lose money here and there, but it all seems to even out over time. Any questions, just ask. I don’t mind.
Drum roll please!
My 2010 Salary was: $41,137.22
That’s gross income of course. Actually slightly lower than I thought it would be, but not by much. In addition to my salary, I also earned 7 days of vacation time at $500. I also continue to put money into 401k which my employer matches 40 cents on the dollar. I also get the usual benefits of company employees….Life, “discounted” Health (not very good), Dental, Vision, blah blah blah….
Each year I stay with this company, I’ll receive a 1cpm raise. That’s pretty much negligible due to fluctuations in mileage, etc. But if my miles in 2011 stay exactly the same as 2010, a 1cpm raise will equal about a 1k / year increase. In other words, one of the negatives about trucking is I’m pretty much already capped out. Sure, I could move into other areas of the industry. I could drive locally, I could team, I could train, I could get a regional gig, find a dedicated account, etc. But I like what I do now and don’t have any intention of leaving my current position anytime soon. So if I continue to do exactly what I’m doing now with the same company I’m with, I’ll probably never break $45,000 / year. Maybe 2011 will surprise me though. I’m off to a good start, that’s for sure!
Anyway, I’m fairly happy with the money I’m making, and more importantly, I like my job. Just like all other jobs, I have my bad days and wonder why the heck I’m doing this. But on most days, I wake up and I’m ready to get to work. It’s kind of hard to explain, but it doesn’t really feel like a “job” to me most days. It just feels like life. A far cry from my last job where I’d wake up every morning depressed that I had to go into the dang office again. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it many more times….trucking is a lifestyle. Don’t do this for the money. Not only will you never get rich driving a truck, but if you don’t enjoy the lifestyle trucking offers, it’ll drive you mad.
And there you have it.
About Author TruckerMike
TruckerMike embarked on a career in trucking late in 2008 after deciding that life in a cubicle might not be where it's at. He's been trucking since early 2009 and is TruckingTruth's most popular blogger. You can find more at
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Most Recent By TruckerMike
my first year I made 30K for a lousy company .. my second year and for the next four years until I got hurt I made 58K .. if you want to make money you have to work for it in trucking .. imo .. I worked for a small company and was the only female driver and second highest paid driver .. unloaded and loaded everything, racked up the miles .. had 1 1/2 days off over the weekend. I worked for an owner operator for north american van lines, he owned several trucks.
I a woman who is very interested in this field as a way to save money and I thank you foe sharing this info with me . I have osme student loans and I thought if i drive trucks I could pay them off in 4 years yeah that’s a lot of money but I have to so pray for me and that I amke it on through. thanks and you blessed and safe out there!!
Hey truckermike, i had a few questions about loadind and unloading, how much do you get paid for that? what is the best trucking company to get your CDL from in texas? which company are you working for? because you said you started your first half of the year making 34cpm, thats really good! the school im looking at starts you off at 26cpm, and dont get up to the pay level in 5-6 years. Thanks again for your post and would like to hear back form you soon.
Thanks for the info Mike. Not a trucker (at least not yet, no telling what the future will bring), but it’s always interesting to read. Anyway, while it may seem somewhat anti-climactic for you to have pretty much “capped out” your salary so early on, it’s actually not so bad when you think about it. 45k is pretty great money if you can keep it going steadily and not lose your job. It’s even better considering how much savings potential you have, assuming you just spend time at home with relatives (it’s only a few days anyway) and don’t have to pay for your own place. You work a lot, but as long as you are enjoying yourself then that’s great, and if you invest most of your income into a savings account and retirement plans then you’ll have huge financial freedom when you decide to stop. So keep your head up because it sounds like you’ve got a good gig, despite being capped out. Fact is, many people never make that kind of money, and even most 4 year college graduates aren’t making that much straight out of school. Again, you work more hours than they would, but if you’re enjoying it, so what? Stay safe out there.
Hey! I have a licence and a certificate of driving trucks and i am 22years of age(male) and i am from Zimbabwe.Will i be able to find employement there as a truck driver because i love driving as a career. To me its like a hobby,so help me pliz!.
You would likely need to be a U.S. citizen and hold a U.S. driver’s license for at least one year before anyone would consider hiring you. You might be able to get by with a work Visa instead of full citizenship but I’m not sure what the policies are with that.
Very good wages for anyone in any job. Each trucking company is going to be a little different in pay, but money is not everything if you are truly happy with current job. Some may not be able to pay any more than you are getting now. And I know others who get more than $60,000 a year and the years of experience does not matter. The money you are saving now with your employee match and your personal savings too is more than others can do so you will be ahead of us in that department. And who cares about being capped out as its still income!!!