30 Years Young With No Kids Or Wife: Can I Make A Decent Living?

Hey Ya'll,

As the subject says, I'm a 30 years young guy from Atlanta and looking to get into the trucking lifestyle. I know that I need to look at it from all angles and I've done a ton of research on CDL driving (and continue my research as I write this). I recently separated from my wife and will be divorced before the end of year. My wife ruined my financially and blew my entire life's savings (we're talking 10's of thousands of dollars saved since my teens). I have no children (just an old dog that I love, but I know she isn't my flesh and blood), I'm looking to sell my house before the end of the year, and my family and close friends are supportive of me staying with them for free or a modest cost on my home-time in the future.

I've wanted to get into trucking for years now but my wife wouldn't have it while we were together. Now that I'm about to be officially single and worried about just my own well-being I'm strongly considering trucking as a viable way to re-gain my financial stability. I don't know if its a career I want to stick with long-term since I've been working toward a degree in healthcare but I need to get back on track financially since I'm currently working a dead-end job with no benefits and live paycheck to paycheck. I'd prefer to go to college and get a degree in nursing or radiology but that takes a lot of money and I already have a degree so its hard for me to get loans. In other words, its time for me to put my nose to the grindstone and pull myself up by my bootstraps!

I figure since I don't have any children and won't have a spouse, along with not owning a home then I should be able to save a good bit of the money I make from trucking. The only monthly bills I would have would be for my car (which has one year left to be paid off), car and health insurance, cell phone/wifi, and food. I know that food will be the bulk of my monthly expense since it has a higher cost with living on the road. I know that I won't get rich and the first couple years are hard, with lower wages. However, I do figure by putting in 5 years of trucking then I can get back into a very comfortable place financially, being able to put myself through college if I want. Or, keep trucking as a career if I really enjoy it as much as I think I could!

Does this sound like as much of a logical plan as I keep telling myself it is? Are there any missing key components I might be overlooking? Any suggestions on first year companies I should pursue vs. those to stay away from?

Thanks in advance for your advice and helpful input!

Yes it is a logical plan. But you didn't define what you consider a "decent living."

Look at as many companies as you can. They all have their pros and cons depending on what YOU want/need. Do tons of reading through the material Brett has put on here.

This isn't a bad living like some claim and it isn't cruising around the country seeing the sights. You'll see shippers distribution centers and some truly beautiful countryside.

Do the High Road Training Program. See if there's anymore in your past who has driven and can give you their opinion.

For me it is a job. A good job because it pays well (not terrific) and I can count on me, the best employee I've ever had.

Good luck.

Hey Butch, welcome to the forum!

You can definitely earn around 30 - 35 thousand dollars your rookie year, and if you are a go-getter with a good head on your shoulders who doesn't mind working some crazy hours and putting in some long work weeks, you can earn more than that. Living on the road carefully without having a lot of expenses at home you should be able to save around four hundred bucks a week, maybe more if you are carefully disciplined about it. After a few years of good safe driving you can get up around the fifty thousand per year mark, but right now that is about the peak salary.

As a rookie your pay will fluctuate considerably from week to week due to the fact that you are still working on getting yourself established with your company as a dependable driver who can be counted on consistently. Performance counts in this business - the top performers make the top pay and get the best loads.

Yes it is a logical plan. But you didn't define what you consider a "decent living."

I would consider a decent living to start in the mid 30k range. I figure if I can put in at least a couple years making about 35k and then three years making 50k then I should have plenty money stocked away to go back to civilian life to pay my way through college and still have retirement savings.

As a rookie your pay will fluctuate considerably from week to week due to the fact that you are still working on getting yourself established with your company as a dependable driver who can be counted on consistently. Performance counts in this business - the top performers make the top pay and get the best loads.

That seems logical enough since being reliable and performing well as a rookie has been a good measuring stick in other occupations I've worked. What do you consider to be the key qualities of "top performers" in the trucking industry?

Does that mean always saying yes to new loads? Obviously getting to your destinations safely and timely. Does having a good rapport with dock workers and management at the warehouses and businesses that you deliver to make a difference?

BTW, thanks Old School and Steve for your responses!

That seems logical enough since being reliable and performing well as a rookie has been a good measuring stick in other occupations I've worked. What do you consider to be the key qualities of "top performers" in the trucking industry?

Does that mean always saying yes to new loads? Obviously getting to your destinations safely and timely. Does having a good rapport with dock workers and management at the warehouses and businesses that you deliver to make a difference?

Butch, those are all good things that you mentioned. It is important to realize that you are always competing in this job. I think a lot of people by not realizing this lose out on making some good money.

You will be competing against other drivers in your fleet, competing against the clock, the traffic, the inevitable delays and problems that will arise. After some time on the road you should begin to develop a certain amount of savvy behaviors and patterns that will help you to succeed. Here's an example: One of the ways I try to get ahead of the game is by making my deliveries early so that I can get put on another load, thereby increasing my miles I turn in for the work week. When you have multiple stop loads there are times where you may be able to get to the next location in the afternoon, but they stop receiving at noon. That means you will have to be sitting all the latter half of the day and through the night before you can get unloaded. Let's just say the average driver sees the notes on his dispatch telling him that he has to be at this location before noon or he will not be able to get unloaded, and his appointment is set for the following day at seven a.m. I recently found myself in this situation, but instead of resigning myself to settling in at the truck stop for the afternoon, I went ahead and was proactive by calling ahead to the receiver and explaining that I could be there by 2:30 in the afternoon, and was there anyway they might be able to unload me? I was told no. So, stubborn as I am, I went ahead and showed up anyway with a smile on my face and a great attitude showing when I waltzed up to the receiving clerks desk and said I just happened to come by to see if they might want to unload me today, and by the way I've only got six bundles on here for you which can be easily unloaded with two lifts of the forklift. Guess what? They were glad to do it and it put me a day ahead because now I can get the next two hundred miles to my next stop out of the way so that I will be sitting in their driveway waiting to be unloaded a full day ahead of my schedule.

Remember to be competitive in your approach to getting ahead of the game and you will begin to figure out how this all comes together for success.

The main advantage you can get over the other drivers is to know how to manage your time wisely. Any time you can get in first and out first you are gaining an advantage. Often times this requires some sacrifice on your part. You may need to sleep right outside the gate or blocking out other trucks from being able to get to the loading docks instead of having the conveniences of the truck stop available to you.

I hope that gives you a little insight into what it takes to get ahead in the game.

Also; I get up early. If my10hr break ends @ 0200, I'm usually up and driving by 3am. Mostly for the reasons Old School gave. Also there are more traffic jams later in the day.

You'll have to be flexible though. I Wanted to deliver yesterday but couldn't. I just so happened to find a truck stop 40 miles prior to my delivery where my son picked me up and we had dinner together. Of course I figured it out Saturday and made the plans.

Much like backing your truck it's about how you set yourself up. Attitude is probably one of the biggest keys to success. Old School nailed that.

I am in my first year and on track to make between 45000-50000 this year. Its definitely an industry in which you get out of it what you put in it. If you are lazy and do things half way you will make crap, if you work hard and show you will work hard you can make money.

Here is a for instance, i came off home time yesterday and i have gone 1200 miles in a 62MPH truck. I have 47.5 hours left on my 70, i will have to do a restart before the end of the week going the way I am.

I have a guy i know that makes lots of "demands" and he gets 2000-2200 miles a week. So i just did half his week in 2 days.

Here is a few numbers for you. As of my paycheck i get tomorrow i will have earned $14,788 so far this year. Thats in 4 months so thats the overall. Some weeks are good some not so good.

When i got my new truck there was no freight near my terminal so i sat for 3 days then went on home time, so i had a 500 mile week, then last week i had 3200 miles. There are good weeks with bad but if you show you will work you will make money.

I agree with Eckoh. I just finished my 3rd week out of 4 with 3,200 miles each. The week I didn't was 'cause I was home three days. Since January I've averaged over 2,200 miles per week.

I've only been driving since January.

Go get 'em tiger!

Like Eckoh, I'm in my first year of driving. With similar results in regards to pay (14k to his 14.7k) and it comes from being willing to take the not-so-fun loads. Show them you are a team player and they will start giving you some really nice runs.

Always be willing to help out. As an example, I always take re-powers. Even if they are short miles. You build goodwill. I've had O/O's come up and say they've heard good things about me. Be the guy all other DM's wish they had on their boards. Help fellow drivers, doesn't matter if they are your company or not. I'll always lend a hand to a new driver having trouble with their tandems.

Doesn't matter if you're new, set the example.