How to become a truck dispatcher

Is it hard to be a dispatcher? Truck dispatching requires a high-level of organization, focus, attention to detail, and patience. Dispatchers constantly manage a high volume of requests — somewhat like an air traffic controller of the trucking world. It can be a stressful and challenging position.

Like any other job, that depends on experience level, location and the type of freight being monitored. On average, truck driver dispatcher jobs come with a salary of $39,860 each year, or about $19 an hour. That’s slightly higher than the average salary of all non-emergency transport dispatchers.

While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $130,500 and as low as $15,000, the majority of Work From Home Truck Dispatcher salaries currently range between $29,000 (25th percentile) to $68,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $104,000 annually across the United States.

Landing a job as a police dispatcher can be a great entry point for other work in criminology, or you can spend a full career in dispatch. In either case, working as a dispatcher is a great way to serve your community and help other people.

Unlike freight brokerages that represent themselves, dispatchers represent owner-operators. Dispatchers are paid by the carrier, either on a flat-fee arrangement or as a percentage of the total invoice to the shipper.

A freight dispatcher, or truck dispatcher, handles radio and phone calls that direct drivers and trucks based on scheduling and ordering needs. As a dispatcher, you manage orders and oversee the logistics of an organization’s vehicle fleet.

Freight brokers work with both shippers and carriers but do not represent either one. Dispatcher represent only the carrier when negotiating freight. A dispatcher may not deal directly with shippers on their own behalf. They must act as the representative of the trucking company or owner operator.

How do dispatchers find loads? Freight dispatchers usually work with brokers or scout load boards to find freight. However, many dispatchers also represent shippers directly to book loads for you.

In fact, you may never get rich from a truck driving career.

As a new truck driver, I invested my time to get the experience I needed. As a result, I was hired by the trucking company of my choice. I truly loved the job, too. Eventually, I did end up getting paid a very hefty driving wage.

Pros: Many people love being behind the wheel all day and find great satisfaction in hauling the freight that people use on a day-to-day basis. This pride makes truck driving worth it. For a lot of experienced drivers, what makes the job hard is the stress.

Low wages.

The cost of living has greatly increased but wages have not kept up with the cost of living. In fact, wages are so low with some trucking companies, that it’s simply no longer worth the sacrifices the drivers make for the job. Interesting to note this started with Deregulation.

According to the BLS†, most trucking companies pay drivers between $0.27 to $0.40 cents per mile. You may find some companies paying more because of the high demand for Class A licensed Truck Drivers due to the ongoing truck driver shortage.

Unlike recent years, 2020 saw an annualized shortage of truck drivers, based on data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That year-over-year shortfall is greater than the 59,000-driver shortage claimed by the American Trucking Associations in 2019.

Trucking Industry Job Growth in 2020 And Beyond

Percentage Change or Growth Projected for 2018-2028 for Tractor-Trailer Drivers: Along with heavy truck operators as an occupation is expected to grow by 5%. This represents an increase of 99,700 drivers from 2018-2028.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics, more than 3.2 million Americans worked as truck drivers in 2011, and the number of heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers is expected to grow 13 percent by 2018. From 2010 to 2020, jobs are expected to grow a faster-than-average 21 percent.

Under the current hours-of-service regulations, a trucker can be on the road for: No more than 11 hours of daily driving with a 14-hour work day cap. No more than a minimum average of 70 hours a work week. If the weekly limit is reached, they can continue after 34 hours of consecutive rest.

The percentage of drivers who cheat is probably less than the percentage of husbands in general who cheat. In my experience most cheaters don’t work at all, or at least not nearly as many hours a week as a truck driver does. And the odds are greater for the wife of a trucker to cheat, than for the driver to cheat.