The following quote came from another thread. I moved it here so as not to get off topic in that thread.
I'm not sure I get your meaning. When Diane and I entered the business in 2003, we did so as drivers of a fleet owner's truck. We had no trucking experience whatsoever.
From the very first day, we got paid the same (gross to the truck) as anyone else contracting with that carrier. In our first thirty days our gross-to-the-truck numbers exceeded those of many seasoned veterans. There was no working your way up to that rate of pay because of experience. A newbie and a 20-year veteran got the same rate per mile.
That might be a little different in line-haul companies where the drivers are employees, but even there, the advertised rates I see for experienced drivers vary by only a tiny amount over inexperienced.
Looking at it another way, we have eight years of experience and a pretty good track record now. If we moved to a carrier that does not require experience, our experience would count for nothing in terms of commanding a higher rate per mile. A newbie would have the exact same opportunity to earn the exact same money, and being more motivated than us may well outperform us, just as we outperformed many old salts when we were new.
Looking at it from the shipper's point of view, there is no premium paid for experience. The load boards do not advertise an extra five cents a mile for experience drivers. No contract I have ever heard of between a shipper and carrier provides a premium price for experienced drivers.
From still another point of view, if two newbies start on the same day and a year later one has a perfect record and the other has one accident, two freight damage claims and two service failures for being late, if the carrier keeps both people on board, both will be paid the same.
No one gave us a pay raise after we had been in the business one year. No one gave us a pay raise after we had been in the business five years. No one will give us a pay raise after we have been in the business ten years.
It does not matter how long you are in the expediting business. You will always work for entry-level pay.
Experience, schmecksperience. Just haul the freight.
I'm not sure I get your meaning. When Diane and I entered the business in 2003, we did so as drivers of a fleet owner's truck. We had no trucking experience whatsoever.
From the very first day, we got paid the same (gross to the truck) as anyone else contracting with that carrier. In our first thirty days our gross-to-the-truck numbers exceeded those of many seasoned veterans. There was no working your way up to that rate of pay because of experience. A newbie and a 20-year veteran got the same rate per mile.
That might be a little different in line-haul companies where the drivers are employees, but even there, the advertised rates I see for experienced drivers vary by only a tiny amount over inexperienced.
Looking at it another way, we have eight years of experience and a pretty good track record now. If we moved to a carrier that does not require experience, our experience would count for nothing in terms of commanding a higher rate per mile. A newbie would have the exact same opportunity to earn the exact same money, and being more motivated than us may well outperform us, just as we outperformed many old salts when we were new.
Looking at it from the shipper's point of view, there is no premium paid for experience. The load boards do not advertise an extra five cents a mile for experience drivers. No contract I have ever heard of between a shipper and carrier provides a premium price for experienced drivers.
From still another point of view, if two newbies start on the same day and a year later one has a perfect record and the other has one accident, two freight damage claims and two service failures for being late, if the carrier keeps both people on board, both will be paid the same.
No one gave us a pay raise after we had been in the business one year. No one gave us a pay raise after we had been in the business five years. No one will give us a pay raise after we have been in the business ten years.
It does not matter how long you are in the expediting business. You will always work for entry-level pay.
Experience, schmecksperience. Just haul the freight.
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