Fresh out of school...Budweiser Dist?

Tom,

I'm not an old timer, but if you need to stay close to home (wife, kids, aging parent) it might be a good option. After a while it might lead to some other local job, that is better paying. I have done that work when I was much younger in college summers, and I can tell you it whipped my arse.......its hot heavy hard labor.

If you go on the road with these mega fleets, you might earn $600-$700 ave a week (till freight levels come back), but you will not be sleeping in your own bed everynight, no option for another part time job like you could do with this position (doubt you would have the energy), and your stuck with that truck 24/7 and aways from family and friends. Just look at this as an intermship your getting paid for.

If your goal is over the road, grab a good student training company and get started on your career.


P.S. I think even after some time doing this local job, you would still need to go with a student type company and spend sometime with a trainer, as OTR driving in multi states is a completely different deal, Qualcom, logging, routing, dealing with many different customers, weather issues, etc.

P.P.S. I think $7 an hr is a little light, I was making like $6.50 and hr back in 1983 at a non union 7up distributor. man I hated those kelly green uniforms.....felt like Gumby!

 

dont you get paid by the case on top of that base rate of 7 an hour? up here in buffalo, the starting rate is 5 an hour, but .25 cents per case. so if you can move 80 cases of beer in an hour, which should be doable to anyone who is young, you would be making 20 on top of your base rate......

 

That's why I try to deter guys who want to drive local from going to school. $7hr huh! Is that worth the $6000 for school?

Try checking out the Jacksonville section of Craigslist. You may also want to look into getting your TWIC card. A lot of jobs up their will require it.

Also if you do not go over the road directly out of school then if you ever want to they are going to require you to go back to school. I think now that you went through school you should suck it up and go over the road for a couple of years. This will greatly increase the odds of landing a better paying local job down the road. Let me know if something comes available, I live in the same area and 15 years experience, with a clean MVR and DAC!

 

Tom,

One of the most dangerous parts of job in unloading in the street, I got tagged a couple times, nothing that bad.........also watch out for those rickty dark old steps in the bars, often you have to stock excess down stairs. I got like a nickle a case back then, and they paid commission on up-sells on new products.

 

That's what my nephew does in PA. He's been delivering beer for a few years now and don't quote me, but I think he's bringing in somewhere around $20 an hour, plus he's union. I know he busts his hump, but he's 25 and in great shape. I also know that he didn't spend thousands of $ on a school either.

 

I spent a year working for a local independent coca cola bottler as a delivery driver followed by 12 years for a liquor distributor as a delivery driver,...

If you want to be local there is no better way to start,...

It sounds like your pay would go up in time and it is a great way to network and meet other local drivers,...........Sometimes the best local jobs are found by word of mouth,.....

 

$65K an yr to deliver side load beer is about top end. My first job when I got out of school was delivering 7Up, sideload in Downtown Denver. Yeah, you'll work your ### off, my day started at 4:30am and ended sometimes as early as Noon or as late as 8pm. The first week or two can be rough as hell on your body, but you'll get used to it. I worked there almost two months til I got in a tif with them when I broke my foot. The week before I quit they changed the pay scale. Previously it was soley by the hour, I took home $1,050 for first two weeks and I was working with a trainer. Then they went to a flat rate of $99 bucks a day starting then work your way up to $250 a day flat rate. They had a 50% turn over when they did that. With Budweiser, you'll be union, so you'll pay union dues, but you'll make very good money.