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The national shortage of truck drivers in America does not support your argument. I heard from someone at 160 Driving Academy that you can make six figures wit

The national shortage of truck drivers in America does not support your argument. I heard from someone at 160 Driving Academy that you can make six figures with a CDL and the trucking companies will pay you to get one. That's not even as hard on the body as other physical jobs. It is not a well regarded and the community of peers you interact with means that it isn't a very desirable job.

speedplane 8y ago
> I heard from someone at 160 Driving Academy that you can make six figures with a CDL and the trucking companies will pay you to get one. I remember visiting the Daily News (a NYC local newspaper) in the early 2000s and on the tour learned that the unionized delivery guys could make six figures. That was almost 20 years ago. The fact that the same salary as 20 years ago is still possible doesn't really say much.
deleted 8y ago
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slavik81 8y ago
The guy at the driving academy might not be the most neutral source of information. Is that $100k before or after you buy a semitruck? How much does a truck cost? How often do you see your family?
tfehring 8y ago
That’s for union jobs, which are limited and totally nepotistic. Non-union truckers make substantially less.
baroffoos 8y ago
Truck driving is the most mind numbing job I could imagine. But if someone was offering to pay $200,000 in my city I would take the job until I made enough to pay off my house and then unless they could significantly increase the pay or reduce hours I would leave for something else. Also everything I have heard from truck drivers makes it sound not so great at all. They are under constant pressure to keep driving even while tired and are constantly gps tracked for performance metrics.
AngryData 8y ago
Yeah sure, you can make that after you are in the business for years, own your own truck, have a flawless record, and all that. What they don't mention is you not going home at the end of the day, or the hours you don't get paid waiting for other people to unload your or load your truck, or the social isolation, or the fact that a small misstep could cost you your entire career with your CDL and driving experience becoming useless. The reason we lack truck drivers is because of pay, it costs a lot of money to get people to forgo a family, or a home, or sleeping in their own bed, waiting around in the middle of nowhere not getting paid just waiting, plus the costs of road food, the cost of maintaining and insuring your own truck, ect.
wehadfun 8y ago
It is possible to make 6 figures driving a truck but not very likely.
astura 8y ago
No, just no. I have a couple truck drivers in my family and the average truck driver does not make anywhere near that. The median salary for truck drivers was $42,480 per year in 2017 per the BLS. It's also a pretty shit job. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/transportation-and-material-moving/mobile/heavy-and-tractor-trailer-truck-drivers.htm https://www.bls.gov/ooh/transportation-and-material-moving/m... There also is not a truck driver shortage https://www.businessinsider.com/truck-driver-shortage-not-real-bls-2019-3 https://www.businessinsider.com/truck-driver-shortage-not-re...

speedplane 8y ago

> I heard from someone at 160 Driving Academy that you can make six figures with a CDL and the trucking companies will pay you to get one. I remember visiting the Daily News (a NYC local newspaper) in the early 2000s and on the tour learned that the unionized delivery guys could make six figures. That was almost 20 years ago. The fact that the same salary as 20 years ago is still possible doesn't really say much.

deleted 8y ago

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slavik81 8y ago

The guy at the driving academy might not be the most neutral source of information. Is that $100k before or after you buy a semitruck? How much does a truck cost? How often do you see your family?

tfehring 8y ago

That’s for union jobs, which are limited and totally nepotistic. Non-union truckers make substantially less.

baroffoos 8y ago

Truck driving is the most mind numbing job I could imagine. But if someone was offering to pay $200,000 in my city I would take the job until I made enough to pay off my house and then unless they could significantly increase the pay or reduce hours I would leave for something else. Also everything I have heard from truck drivers makes it sound not so great at all. They are under constant pressure to keep driving even while tired and are constantly gps tracked for performance metrics.

AngryData 8y ago

Yeah sure, you can make that after you are in the business for years, own your own truck, have a flawless record, and all that. What they don't mention is you not going home at the end of the day, or the hours you don't get paid waiting for other people to unload your or load your truck, or the social isolation, or the fact that a small misstep could cost you your entire career with your CDL and driving experience becoming useless. The reason we lack truck drivers is because of pay, it costs a lot of money to get people to forgo a family, or a home, or sleeping in their own bed, waiting around in the middle of nowhere not getting paid just waiting, plus the costs of road food, the cost of maintaining and insuring your own truck, ect.

wehadfun 8y ago

It is possible to make 6 figures driving a truck but not very likely.

astura 8y ago

No, just no. I have a couple truck drivers in my family and the average truck driver does not make anywhere near that. The median salary for truck drivers was $42,480 per year in 2017 per the BLS. It's also a pretty shit job. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/transportation-and-material-moving/mobile/heavy-and-tractor-trailer-truck-drivers.htm https://www.bls.gov/ooh/transportation-and-material-moving/m... There also is not a truck driver shortage https://www.businessinsider.com/truck-driver-shortage-not-real-bls-2019-3 https://www.businessinsider.com/truck-driver-shortage-not-re...