Is My CDL Only Worth .20 Cpm?

Long Story Short - Started trucking in march. Passed cdl test in may. Passed cdl test again in August. Got 1 month solo experience and 6 month driving experience. CDL issued date is August 22nd. This is how much I make... So whats next? I live in the truck since there was no life back in Nashville. I eat can food since I don't make any money. Any suggestions besides sticking it out a year? It's kinda of hard to stick it out at .20cpm. Age 21 btw. I'm mainly looking for the next promotion. Meaning how long do i need to suffer here before i can get to maybe .25cpm?? Any oilfield work for kids my age? Yes, i know I'm very ungrateful for not accepting my low pay. moms use to tell me that everyday till I finally decided to move out into a truck

Jack, welcome to the forum, and welcome to trucking!

I'm not going to play with words too much here, but I hope you didn't think that when you got into this that having a CDL was worth a lot of money. I mean, they don't pay any thing to your CDL, they pay you for what you do. Now I must assume that you knew how much you were going to get paid and agreed to it or you would not have taken the job. I've never gone to work for someone without knowing what they were going to pay me, and I never had anyone come and work for me that didn't know before they started what they were going to be making.

I'm confused on several things from your post, but I'm going to assume that you were in a company sponsored program, because it looks like you've been driving a truck since March, but you say your license was issued in August. Were you driving on a permit all that time? And if that is so why did it take so long to get to the point of getting the license? Can you clarify some of this with a little more information?

I'm mainly looking for the next promotion.

How about just mainly looking to improve myself as a driver and working on proving myself to this company so that they will recognize my worth and be inclined to reward my performance with a more generous pay package? That is the way you move up in the salary ranks in this business. It has nothing to do with how long you've been here or there, but all in how efficiently and professionally you can take care of your business out here on the road.

I would love to give you some more advice on how to improve your level of pay, but I'm not even sure how you got your CDL, and that will make a difference in what doors are open to you. If you do not have a training certificate that indicates 160 hours of training it is highly unlikely you will be able to land a job anywhere until you get a year of experience behind you. So, please help me out with some more information so that we can offer some suggestions.

My CDL is apparently only worth 27 cpm. But I'm looking at the big picture. One I'm making more money than I was at a temp agency, 2 I have to get through my year safely then watch the doors I want to walk through open up. Yeah it sucks hearing and reading people making so much more than me, but I'm looking at it as an investment in my and my family's future.

It's kinda of hard to stick it out at .20cpm

I agree with Old School. We need a little more info. To be honest, I can't recall ever seeing a company that pays only 20 cpm.

Celadon wanted to start me at .18 cpm!!!!

Celadon wanted to start me at .18 cpm!!!!

That's if you team drive. You'd get 18cpm for every mile the truck rolls. Or your training miles are also 18cpm.

Celadon wanted to start me at .18 cpm!!!!

That's if you team drive. You'd get 18cpm for every mile the truck rolls. Or your training miles are also 18cpm.

Yeah, so that's actually like getting 36 cpm for the miles you are actually driving. I can also see getting 18 cpm - 20 cpm if you're in training.

I was just thinking you guys were referring to solo miles after training.

Celadon wanted to start me at .18 cpm!!!!

That's if you team drive. You'd get 18cpm for every mile the truck rolls. Or your training miles are also 18cpm.

Yeah, so that's actually like getting 36 cpm for the miles you are actually driving. I can also see getting 18 cpm - 20 cpm if you're in training.

I was just thinking you guys were referring to solo miles after training.

My 27cpm is solo until my contact is over. Assuming I stay after that, it would go to 33cpm.

That makes sense.

What I'm about to ask is mostly rhetorical... but somewhat serious. I don't think it's any of my business so don't answer if you don't want to.

Based on this line from your post:

I live in the truck since there was no life back in Nashville. I eat can food since I don't make any money.

Where the heck is your money going??? at 18 cpm if you even did just 500 miles a day 6 days a week that's still about $540 gross which should still be more than $450 net. I can't figure out how you could not have any money since you said you live out of the truck. You must either not be driving much or you're not managing your money very well. I'm not saying 18cpm is good pay cause I think it's horrible (unless your training or something) but really with no expenses there should be no reason to be living off can food. Do you know how to cook? get yourself a toaster oven and or skillet (assuming your truck has apu / inverter) and start cooking!

maybe i'll make a youtube show about cooking in a truck when I start trucking... I could see that being popular.

CPM:

Cents Per Mile

Drivers are often paid by the mile and it's given in cents per mile, or cpm.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.