Thinking about a return to the biz

[2ligit]

Hello all This is my first post here so please be brutal.

I am at a point in my career where I am the old man in the office and I can feel the push from the higher ups to get rid of me.They want a younger crowd and since I am the dinosaur.....well,lets just say it is not pretty.I always thought I would retire from this company but it doesn't look good.Anyway,since I am not college edjumacated and you need that stupid piece of paper to even be considered for the same job that I hold now,I was thinking about returning to this line of work.

I was in the business a while back(Roberts Express) as a d unit,solo. Roberts was a great company and I enjoyed this line of work.I was making great money with them( avg, $1800 wk,under 1000 miles) but I know things have changed alot from reading these forums.

I am thinking of buying another d unit,building it up the same way I had it before,and hitting the roadWhat scares me is the rates I have been seeing. $0.90-$1.20 for a D?? And this new HOS, how the heck do solos do it?

I still have some research to do(hitting the truckstops and asking around) but is it possible to net 1000 a week in your pocket before personal taxes?

I downloaded the ooda spreadsheet to do cpm but there are to many variables to be even slightly accurate.

I am not asking for anyones numbers but am I in the ballpark?

Thanks

 

[Moot]

Hello all This is my first post here so please be brutal.

I could be brutal, but you beat me to it with your reality check below form at least 10 years ago. So I will continue to be Moot.

I was making great money with them( avg, $1800 wk,under 1000 miles) but I know things have changed alot from reading these forums.

 

[Dakota]

Isn't it sad that we are running for rates lower than 10 years ago, considering our expenses have risen steadily

 

[pjjjjj]

I am at a point in my career where I am the old man in the office and I can feel the push from the higher ups to get rid of me.They want a younger crowd and since I am the dinosaur.....well,lets just say it is not pretty.....

......I was making great money with them( avg, $1800 wk,under 1000 miles) but I know things have changed alot from reading these forums.

.......I still have some research to do(hitting the truckstops and asking around) but is it possible to net 1000 a week in your pocket before personal taxes? I am not asking for anyones numbers but am I in the ballpark?

I think not, but perhaps there are different opinions.

I'm in Canada so it may be different over there... but IMHO, wait until they push you out with a handsome severance package and whatever else they offer up as incentive for your boot out the door. Just be sure to CYA so they don't have 'cause'.

That money will come in handy in the new and improved (apparently NOT) world of expediting.

 

[2ligit]

HEHE Moot,,that bad? It seems to me the only way to make it is by teaming with the wifey.That will not happen since she can barely drive a Civic. I just did not think it was that bad out there.I did hit a truckstop in Pflugerville,tx,met a single van driver.He states he is making upwards of 48k net a year. He also said he knows a solo d and he is pulling in over 52k net a year. This driver was from Panther. Hiya Mike

PJ,if I thought they would offer me a package,then yes,I would wait it out but this is an insurance company.Cheap.cheap.cheap.Its bad enough I have the pension they did away with years ago.They would love to get that back.

 

[pjjjjj]

PJ,if I thought they would offer me a package,then yes,I would wait it out but this is an insurance company.Cheap.cheap.cheap.Its bad enough I have the pension they did away with years ago.They would love to get that back.

Are they allowed to just up and fire you for no reason on a whim over there without compensation?

 

[NightDriver]

Are they allowed to just up and fire you for no reason on a whim over there without compensation?

Well, no, but if they want you gone, they'll use all sorts of tricks to get it done. I was in the same boat as 2ligit, also employed by a large insurance company. They told me my job was being transferred to another office 200 miles away and the relocation expenses were mine to pay. After several meetings with higher-ups, I finally called HR and mentioned the "L" word - lawyer - and was quickly given the option of full moving expenses or a year of severance. Guess which I took.

 

[pjjjjj]

.....I finally called HR and mentioned the "L" word - lawyer - and was quickly given the option of full moving expenses or a year of severance. Guess which I took.

Well yes, of course they're going to try to get it done for free. CYA, givem no reason, givem no options, makem pay, then you'll have at least something to start out in expediting

 

[BillChaffey]

The Van driver from Panther "netting" $48,000 must be the same driver we were told about in Panther orientation in 2007. A retired school teacher who was making $60,000 then. I doubt if you will find anyone here claiming the $48,000.00 figure as "Net"

 

[greg334]

Are they allowed to just up and fire you for no reason on a whim over there without compensation?

Actually YES they can.

Many don't read the employment agreement that they sign when they start and they have the right to terminate employment at any time for any reason which is within the law.

What they can't say is 'you're old' or 'you're too fat' or a bunch of other things but if you are asked to do a task, even impossible one and you fail, then they can get rid of you without hesitation. These limitations also have to do with age discrimination which for the most part has more to do with salary discrimination.

The one thing which people forget is most states have some sort of lax at will employment laws, which means that outside of tenure, union representation and contractual employment, they can hire and fire at will.

Having a lawyer is only a bit part in this HR most likely hedged their bets on seeing who will be the first to complain and if no one did, then game over.

 

[fastrod]

The Van driver from Panther "netting" $48,000 must be the same driver we were told about in Panther orientation in 2007. A retired school teacher who was making $60,000 then. I doubt if you will find anyone here claiming the $48,000.00 figure as "Net"

How about the two Panther office clowns from last year. They left on a monday morning and returned on a friday afternoon and grossed $2000. They proved right there that you can make $100,000 a year gross with a sprinter and should be able to net $48,000.

 

[2ligit]

Pj-they can fire you at anytime.greg is right.I live in Texas and it is a right to hire state. They can basically say my services are no longer needed and boot me out.My company is smart and they are starting to give me a work load that no one would be able to do.That way when they do let me go,they would weasle out of any unemployment benefits I might be entitled to. My fellow employees are actually complaining to management about that.They see the writing on the wall also.

Its a **** shame,I am a very good employee,I have the best rating measured against my peers in 5 states that we report to.They want good customer service.....I am rate a 98.5 %...the next closest to me is at 93.1. Naturally,year after year,I get great raises but that is my downfall.They can now hire 2 bodies for my salary.

Anyway,Thanks for the input guys.I see I still have a lot of research to do before I jump in.I am thinking that I would have to stay in the freight lanes for as long as I can and then go home (20 days out,3 home). I am also reading that no one likes the northeast so I should be spending some time up there

If I set the truck up the way I had it before(sleeper in box),I could make a go of it as a solo.I miss that truck.I had a Mitsubishi-Fuso cabover with the boot between the cab and the box.A full size twin mattress,refer,electric stove,shower/bath and I could still haul 18000 legal.The only thing that stunk was when I was at a truckstop and a hooker would bang on the box door,it would almost echo through the box.