New guy, one long question to get things started

[Evan Collins]

Hello everyone, I will do my best to keep this as short as possible. I am 26 and am about to graduate from college in May. I live in central Kentucky where I have a decent job and make about $22000 a year after taxes. However I am tired of the 9-5 and really enjoy being on the road. I am looking into expediting and have some general beginner questions about working for a company like Bolt to get started.

If working for Bolt to my understanding you have to buy your own van, pay for the fuel costs and insurance with a 60/40 split. Also you have to account for your own taxes so if my math is correct as an example someone makes .85 cpm x .60= .51 per mile. At .51 cents per mile you have to account for a 30% tax rate you are left with .51 x .30= .153 so you are left with .51-.153= .36 (rounding up from .357). So at .36 per mile after taxes and the 60/40 split driving a van that MAYBE gets 12 mpg loaded down costs about .19 cents per mile to drive. So now we are at .36-.19= .17 per mile. Even on a good week getting to drive 2500 miles x .17= is about $425 a week. This does not include maintenance, van payments, insurance for the van or health insurance for me. Am I looking at this right? For me it does not seem like a worthwhile venture even though it has been something I have been considering on and off for years. Feel free to tell me I have this all wrong or that I am dumb. Also PLEASE check my math, I was for sure not a math major in college. Again any input would be greatly appreciated, I would love the job itself but it has to be worth while for me to do the work and be away from my friends and family for large chunks of time.

 

[FlyingVan]

The 60/40 split applies when you don't have your vehicle and you are driving for an owner. If you own and drive the vehicle you don't split the revenue with anyone. You keep it all.

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[LDB]

If you have $22,000 to put in the bank after taxes you are doing better than a large number of van operators. As mentioned above, when you buy your own van there is no split so you have all the revenue, but, there always is one, but, you have all the expenses as well.

A rough estimate is 1/3 to operating costs which is mainly fuel, 1/3 to taxes and insurance, and 1/3 to the operator to put in the bank. Rounded off, that's about 28cpm for each based on 85cpm in your example.

Good weeks will be 1500 miles and sometimes more. Bad weeks will be less than 1000 miles down to zero miles, sometimes because you've gone home and sometimes because it's a terrible week.

If you take your $22k and divide by .28cpm that's 78,571 so you'd have to drive that many loaded miles to generate the same money. That's about 1630 miles per week if you work 48 weeks and take off 4 weeks. I don't know what your $22k job is but it probably offers a raise once a year and perhaps advancement to other positions that pay more. Expediting doesn't offer that year to year, just another year of the same ole same ole.

Graduate. Give your new degree a chance to work for you. Expediting is great for some but there's a reason the turnover rate at some companies is higher than 100%.

 

[BigStickJr]

I totally agree with LDB.
Save up some $$$$ and go to school to get a class A CDL. Community Colleges sometimes have affordable courses.
Then you can easily find part time work on your days off.
Keep your day job / benefits and get some Road time.

 

[skyraider]

you can make about the same amount in the military as a new recruit,,, check it out, 30 days vacation a year, free medical, check out the Air Force,, lots of tech jobs there,,, imho.

 

[Grizzly]

What are you studying? What degree will you earn upon graduation?

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[Don2554]

If you drive their truck you are an employee/contract driver or whatever.. getting the 60/40.

If you own the truck, you are an O/O (owner operater) and as such your company (LLC) is leasing its equipment (the van or truck) and it's employee/driver (that's you) to the carrier and your company gets the full rate. In this case, you take what you make (your 1099 earnings) minus your expenses (fuel, maintenance, insurance, and including what you pay yourself), gives you your company's profit. Since personal income tax is much lower at the pay rates in this industry than corporate rates, your company will pretty much never show a profit (0 taxes owed) and you will pay on your personal 1040 whatever you make. That number will correlate directly with how many miles you run and how well you minimize your other expenses.

Your question then should not be how much can I make but will they give me enough miles to make it. You may be ready and willing but that does not mean they are.

I'm new to checking out expiditing myself, but am currently a Simi owner-op and it works the same way...at least that's what I'm being told by the van guys at the truck stops.

 

[logisticsetc]

If you are of normal college age (18-24ish) go drive for an owner operator, avoid the expense of your own truck and give yourself some time to see if you like it and also to understand the business. Take a year or two to decide - your young and you have your whole life in front of you. If you don't like it - big deal - go try something else - again your young you have plenty of time to decide what you are going to do. If you want to avoid the 9-5 swamp then avoid it and take some time to 'FIND' your PASSION.

 

[Treadmill]

My question is why are you throwing a 4 yr degree away to drive a cargo van? There is more money to be made with your degree than being a cargo van expediter. BTW none of my business but is your college debt paid off? Driving a cargo van will just make it worse to pay those off. Just sayin.