Working For An Owner/operator Instead Of A Company.

I suppose that title of this thread could also be: Working for a very, very small company sub contracted by a large company (If that's any more clear).

Here's the gist: I know an owner/operator that is considering buying a second truck and may be willing to employ me to drive it. I am at ground zero of my OTR career. In theory I would get my permit, go to school and get my Class A, report to said owner/operator for one on one training until he is satisfied that I'm ready to solo, then later drive a 2nd truck of his ownership under his employ.

To those of far greater knowledge than I: what would be the advantages and disadvantages of this situation for a driver just beginning my career? What are your thoughts? I know I'd lack the group health care discount and 401K options that a big company could offer me. What would be some other pluses and minuses of this situation?

There are so many unknowns that it would really be hard to get behind this situation. Being that I have a co driver who I employ. Actually lease my driver from the company I lease from I would be very careful about going on board. Since I lease my employee heis able to take advantage of all the benefits of a normal company employee. When I recieve my settlement the larger company deducts all his pay and benefits from me. It works well for both of us.

That being said if I fall behind on my lease he is paid first before any money goes to my settlement. If this is not your situation then I wouldn't even entertain doing this. The fact is most operators run in the red quite often and you will be standing there without a check. I wouldn't hire anyone if that was the case with me.

I think I am in the minority due to the fact I want to make sure my co driver is taken care of before I am. I will tell you their are times where his check is larger then my settlement. That's okay though at least I can sleep at night. If it looks he is living paycheck to paycheck steer clear. It's only a matter of time a major repair wipes him out.

The company that I'm with allows drivers to purchase the used trucks, and several of our trainers have put their students into trucks they own after they've completed training.

Benefits (health care, etc.) are a big difference that you'll have to deal with, and may not be anything major for you. You may have fewer restrictions working for him (I.e. Governed at a higher speed, no mobile eye, less restrictive policies, etc.).

Something to be cautious of... What happens if the truck you're in needs a major repair? Will he have the means to cover the repair? Pay you some type of layover pay? Cover your hotel?

This thought carries forward to all the financial related items that could come up. What happens if his truck breaks down and needs a major repair? Will your truck generate enough income to cover your payroll and his expenses until he is back on the road?

These are things that I would consider and maybe talk with him about before making a decision.

Will it hurt me on paper when the inevitable comes, whether it be a year later or five: When I do leave his employ, how will companies be likely to view it? I imagine my history would be a lot more readily traceable and verifiable if I worked for Pam or Knight for three years rather than John J. Smith. Couldn't anyone claim they worked for Mr. Smith for three years and drove 450,000 miles accident free? How much or at all would this end up hurting me when looking for job number two?

Justin, I wouldn't do it if I were you. Brian makes some excellent points about the risk of not being paid if you're not on some kind of plan through a larger company. The lack of benefits is another problem. But there's a lot more than that to be concerned with.

You also have a long list of expectations that go along with doing this job and as a new driver you're not yet familiar with them. You don't know what life on the road will be like, or what challenges you'll be faced with, or how to handle them. You won't know a million different little things that separate the best drivers in this industry from the rest. And yet an owner operator is on a razor thin budget and needs to run that truck hard to make the payments. He might be offering you an opportunity but he's also going to expect an awful lot of you when it comes to keeping his business afloat. He doesn't have the luxury of waiting on you to ease into this new career the way a bigger company will that has a big fleet to fall back on and decades of experience mentoring new drivers. He has no choice but to throw you into the fire and insist that you run that truck hard. You don't want that kind of pressure and you don't want to be saddled with higher expectations than a new driver should be.

Get a year in the industry with one of the major companies that hire new drivers and learn the ropes first. Trust me, there's nothing special about this opportunity if it's being handed to someone who doesn't even have a license yet. You'll have a million opportunities just like it throughout your whole career but wait until you have the knowledge and experience you need to know what opportunities are the right ones for you.

Log books- keep copy's of your logs 1099 or pay stubs receipts etc.