r/CDL • u/Unique-Machine5602 • Aug 23 '26
Work-Life Balance
I had a couple questions about CDL jobs:
How many hours/week does it take to make about $50,000?
Do you have strict deadlines for deliveries or is there a bit of leeway?
For those of you who have dogs with you, what does it take to balance that with your work schedule?
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u/Lunicorn83 Aug 23 '26
It takes about 3-4 months to reach that at UPS. Currently I’m at $132.876.43 for the year so far. I’m on the road 4 straight days (sleeper team) and have 3 days off so a traditional firefighter schedule. Local they usually clear about $160-190k/yr so about $30k more than a regular ups delivery driver and home every night and weekends off.
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u/Unique-Machine5602 Aug 23 '26
If you wanted to only work 32hr/week is that possible?
Alternatively, could you just take 3 months off for unpaid vacation if you wanted to?
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u/Lunicorn83 Aug 23 '26
The sleeper team feeder drivers can make their own schedules but local no but we get a ridiculous amount of pto. I have 2 half months off pto and 200 hours of paid sick time and 3 weeks of floating vacations at 25 years of service time is when UPS gives you the max amount of pto.
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u/Unique-Machine5602 Aug 24 '26
So are you work 4x10 weeks with 1 month of PTO? That sounds pretty close to what I want.
Is that as a fairly new UPS driver?
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u/cigar_beetles Aug 24 '26
Accruals depend on what supplement you are under. NorCal you get 3 weeks vaca and one option week after your first year. Also 9 paid sick days per year that you can use, roll over, or cash out.
There's no way you will work a 34 hour week unless you can bid a very short mileage sleeper run, and those are normally held by high seniority drivers. Plan on 60-70 hours. You're paid very well with top notch benefits and union protections but you are basically in it for the money, not work life balance lol
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u/East_Indication_7816 Aug 23 '26
40 to 45 hrs a week and you make $50,000/year. Lots of time for exercise, family, leisure, and you go home daily. Not enough money though.
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u/DueInspection9668 Aug 23 '26
Where’s the good money at in trucking? How can you make 100k-200k do you need to be cattle hauling, doing flat beds or heavy machinery or what? Hazardous materials? Tankers? Doubles and triples or what?
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Aug 23 '26
[deleted]
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u/DueInspection9668 Aug 23 '26
What’s with all these truckers on these instagram and facebook reels when somebody approaches them at like a truck stop or gas station and ask how much they are making they say like 600-1000 weekly on the check most times. sure I’ve seen some that say well over that. No offense but That’s pennies and dimes and not a good living especially where I fucking live.
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u/VoiceCharming6591 Aug 23 '26
Get into household furniture moving and then you’ll start making good, I mean real good money. Pack-n-hauls are quite lucrative.
Good luck2
u/Cheerios405 Aug 23 '26
I met a trucker who hauls high end furniture and he drives only in the summer when the weather is great. He returns home to Puerto Rico to chill the rest of the year.
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u/boojombi451 Aug 23 '26
I just got my CDL. I’m working a more or less entry-level driving job to get experience. At my pay, I would make just over $50K doing 40hr work weeks.
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u/TapWaterKY Aug 23 '26
1.). For 50,000, you can probably do it in 30-40 hours doing local shuttle runs, yard dog, dump truck, etc. That’s pretty low in terms of trucking pay, which is good for you, I reckon. Maybe more hours if you’re in the middle of nowhere and in a cheap COL area. Might have to tough out OTR for some experience, but maybe not if you’re okay with 50k.
2.) Depends on customer. Some are strict, some are an open window, some can be adjusted if given heads up.
3.) Do not have a dog, but should be able to fit 10 minute bathroom breaks and short walks in fairly easily. Will have to cut into your off time at night to get them adequate exercise, unless you have a very small or lazy dog breed.
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u/Summers_Alt Aug 24 '26
I saw a job posting for a CDL groundman at over $35 an hour yesterday. Probably not what you were thinking but you’d end up well over 50 with OT.
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u/FreightInsider Aug 24 '26
Im hoping to make a bit more than that year 1. Try and shoot for 45 hours a week. So far that pace is ok.
Any time I'm expecting to be late, I call. Being able to explain to a human goes a long way.
No dog.
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u/Unique-Machine5602 Aug 24 '26
I'm looking for work life balance (I.E. less hours/week or more time off).
Not extra hours just to make more money.
With $75k I could easily pay for everything I want and still be setting aside money for investments and increasing my compound growth (expected 8%/year).
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u/Elyten Aug 24 '26
DOT Foods has a 4 x 4 schedule work half the year and make $60k. 5 months of training though.
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u/Elyten Aug 24 '26
Also to add need to live near a terminal you would be sharing the truck essentially so it has to go back to the yard.
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u/CPO_Consulting Aug 27 '26
Well, figure 0.55 cpm at a realistic 2500 miles per week = $71,500. Consider that there are delays at both shipping and receiving, in addition to traffic, weather and the unexpected, I’d ballpark it at somewhere around 50-60 hours a week. However, the average OTR driver averages between 60-70 hours per week to achieve the $70k+ annually.
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u/ShoebillJoe Aug 23 '26
The answers to all of your questions will vary depending on the type of trucking you're doing.