Help Me Help A Friend

G-Town, valid point about getting him on the site. Already tried once but will give it one more try.

It’s the old lead a horse to water but....

We've got another thread going where people are whining about not making enough money because they're stuck in the Northeast.

If you're referring to my post, I'm only talking about this specific week. Because the area they kept me in, doing short hual runs. I make good money in the North East but that doesn't mean I would prefer to run in the South or try going West once to see how it is. I'll do fine anywhere at the end of the day but have my own preferences.

Hey Jamie, I guess the way I worded that kind of sounded as if I took a jab at you - I apologize, it wasn't meant that way. My point was that we are always responsible for getting ourselves to the level of pay we want to be making. I'm not talking about CPM , but rather, the ability to get things done. Street smarts play a huge role in this ability. Knowing how to make things happen in our favor will boost our overall income more than anything.

Being at the top of our class in CDL school is irrelevant. Bruce's friend is a rookie, and he's experiencing rookie issues. The only way to get past that is to press through, gaining valuable experience, while focusing on improving his results. This is at the heart of the reason many people fail at this career. They get discouraged with their pay, and then they turn their focus to how bad their employer is, or how unfair the whole industry is, or maybe how their current company doesn't pay enough. You name the issue they focus on and you can find instant access to a ton of support for their complaints online. The problem is that they're all beating the same old dead horse. The way you get better results in your paycheck is to produce better results in your performance.

When I wasn't seeing good paychecks as a new driver, I would often say to myself, "Man, I've got to figure out how to get better at this - I'm not going to be able to live on this amount of money." I started at 27 CPM, and never really thought about it being low. I knew I had an opportunity to make it work. My low pay rate actually contributed to my accomplishments of taking on the learning curve and learning to be productive. I didn't blame my low paychecks on my location, my employer, or any outside factor. I figured they handed me the ball, and it was my responsibility to do what it takes to score. There is always this reckoning we deal with in trucking. If our focus is on the wrong things we will very seldom advance our careers.

Show Me The Money

Do I Have What It Takes To Make It In Trucking?