What is the average salary of a truck driver. Good? Bad?
Asked by Jack F
And how does someone come about driving trucks cross country for a large company. Could some one with this kind of job support a family? And what kind of college would someone need in this industry to get better paying positions, i.e. could having an associates degree or bachelors make you a manager as opposed to an 'infantryman' (driver). Thanks

Best Answer:
As someone else mentioned, there are companies that will train you in exchange for you driving for them for a year or so. You can also check out any local community colleges or vocational schools- many of them offer commercial vehicle driving. If you have kids- ask their school bus driver if there is a commercial vehicle school in town, they might know. I would reccomend avoiding schools like Roadmaster or any place that operates as a stand-alone "business" rather than a state-run vocational school. The "business" CDL schools aren't regulated, charge an arm and a leg, and the quality of education you'd recieve is not guaranteed. A state run vocational school will have it's curriculum & tuition set by the state. "Average" salary for an OTR driver hauling dry freight, for your average large company, ranges between 30,000 to 55,000 per year. It all depends on who you drive for, how many miles you drive per week, and how often you want to be home. There are opportunities to make 70-80,000 per year in this industry as a driver; sometimes more. Wal Mart, UPS and Fed Ex, along with some of the other "linehaul" companies, all pay in this range- and the hometime is pretty regular & flexible. Of course it requires some experience before you'd be eligible for hire with some of these folks. If you really want to 'specialize'....Car haulers, movers, trade show/concert tour truck drivers, etc. can make six figures. These types of driving jobs aren't as hard to find as you might think- however, they require over 5 years experience and a LOT of hard work, manual labor and a spotless safety record. As to whether you could support a family- there are folks out here that do it. It all depends on your monthly expenditures. Your first year, you may not make much money, especially if you expect to be home very often. Companies will promise hometime every 14 days, but if you actually take this type of hometime, don't expect to bring home much more than 30,000 that year. The biggest problem with being a truck driver and having a family, is not the financial support. It's not ever "being there"....you WILL miss birthdays, school plays, ballgames, holidays and other special occasions. It is a major stressor on a family- it takes a very special and understanding relationship between you & your spouse. Even then, the divorce rate among truck drivers is extremely high. As for college- like someone else mentioned, an Associates degree in business or some such thing would likely make it easier to get on as a driver manager, dispatch manager, something along those lines. I once heard of a Bachelor's degree program that actually focused on "transportation and logistics"....something like that would surely earn you a high paying management job in the trucking industry. I have also heard of drivers who became dispatchers with no prior schooling, and worked their way "up" to a dispatch management position. If you're a quick learner, computer literate, and you actually pay attention to the logistics of keeping a fleet of trucks rolling, you'd likely be able to get a job as a dispatcher with any large company after being a driver for a while. The best dispatchers are those individuals who used to be drivers....they actually understand what it's like in a truck. They know the limits of a driver, what is possible and what is not. Many companies are more than eager to hire & train former truckers as their dispatchers.

I heard they get paid well BUT the downfall is that you're rarely at home w/ the family. You should try out and work for an insurance company. They pay well too. Maybe not as much as a truck driver but you will get to spend time with your family. You may want to google the college part. I wouldn't know what kind of degree you would need for that kind of manager position. Best of luck to you!
Answered by Coco

I looked into this awhile back, and I found that the big companies (Swift, Schneider, etc) will hire and train you, then pay for the training if you stay on for a period of time (Usually 1-3 years). After you get a few years experience, the smaller, more local and regional outfits will take you. When I was looking, you could make (they claimed) 45K your first year. The trouble that I saw was that you COUNDN'T have a family life. Cross-country truckers are gone for weeks at a time, and home maybe once a month for a couple days. Killer on the social life too. Remember, the trucking industry has somthing like a 90% annual turnover rate. Management is different than drivers. Totally different parts of the company. Driving is a trade, management is a business degree. Also, remember that local drivers (at least here in CA) make like $12/hour.
Answered by TheWholeEIght

Check this out. http://www.digcent.com/job_truckdriver.htm
Answered by E Pareto