Owner Operator or Company Driver, which is a better option for you?
This is a dilemma as old as the trucking industry is, and so there is a time when absolutely every trucker asks the question: What to choose as a career path: buying your first truck and becoming an owner-operator or continuing working as a company driver?
In the past 10 years, I’ve been in the industry, I met people from both sides and I can tell you this: there were happy people on each side of the truck.
Let me ask you a question: What is best, Coca-Cola or Pepsi?
Both companies are trying to prove their own truth, and neither of them tells you there is only one: it depends on your taste.
The driving skills and knowledge set is pretty much the same for each of the jobs, as is the beverage more or less the same. In order to choose, one must take a few sips from each of the two cans before deciding.
Though you might have tons of experience driving a truck for a company, taking that step forward is hard. Getting your first truck is highly expensive and risky. Let me spare you time, money, and sleepless nights:
I did both and to be honest, I loved each of them. Even if there were times I struggled, I never doubted my choice. I continued to work my ass off so I could fulfill my dream and own a trucking company.
I’ll cover in this post all aspects of what it takes to be an owner-operator vs a company driver. What are the pros and cons of each of the jobs? What are the differences? In the end, I’ll let you decide what is better for you.
Let’s start with simple things.
What is a company driver?
A company driver is a truck driver, under the employer’s authority. Usually paid per mile driven, and provided with tractors and trailers to haul freight.
What is an Owner Operator?
An owner-operator is a self-employed commercial truck driver or a small business. They own and operate trucks for transporting goods over highways for their customers.
Owner operators usually earn higher per-mile rates, or a percent-of-load rate (A2C logistics offers 86% of haul line). It might seem that you can earn more income because of it, which might be true. It is important, however, to keep in mind that as an owner-operator, you must cover all the expenses of operating your business.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) doesn’t define the term owner operator.
O/O’s are independent drivers that don’t work for a specific company, but haul loads for one or multiple clients.
An owner-operator would typically own or lease a truck and equipment. It is not uncommon for them to have multiple trucks and employ other drivers.
Like with any other job in the world, being a truck driver has its own pros and cons.
Pros of being an owner-operator truck driver
You might find bigger lists, but essentially there are 2 pros of being an owner-operator that stands out:
Freedom, independence, self-employment, call it whatever, you have your right.
Being an owner-operator offers you the status of a free man. Up to a point though, where the responsibilities of operating your business kick in.
The good part?
You choose how to deal with them and can blame nobody.
You have the flexibility of playing it by your rules. By setting your own terms, you choose what, how, when, and how many loads you want to haul.
Bad part?
You still need to be doing it, and be doing it right.
From choosing and owning your own truck to making your own schedule and picking the best loads to haul.
Better pay, more income – in other words, owner-operators are more profitable
It is not untrue that owner-operators usually earn a higher rate per mile or a percent of the load. It is the most appealing aspect of being an owner-operator.
As Naval Ravikant once famously said: The reason you want wealth is because it buys you freedom.
By planning hauls and negotiating rates you’re able to squeeze the best out of that lemon. If you have experience as a truck driver, you’ll be able to plan better and furthermore make more money, but don’t hurry to spend all of that, your expenses are higher as well.
You can lease onto A2C Logistics, and either benefit from our full support or book your own loads
Cons of being an owner-operator:
Don’t fall into the trap of believing that by becoming an owner-operator life immediately gets easy. Operating any kind of business is far from being easy and if you’re not familiar with the terms ownership and responsibility, better forget about it.
You need capital to start your own business
The start-up costs are pretty high, and there are drivers that choose to get started by leasing a truck from a company with a buy-out option.
Owning your truck sounds good, but you first need money to buy it.
You have to plan all by yourself
Freedom, right? Of course, but then you need to act, find the loads, schedule them, negotiate the rates, and many more, which basically means that you sign up for an additional full-time job besides driving.
You can lease onto a trucking company that will help you with most, if not all of these, but if you want to operate completely by yourself you’d need to learn to do them solo.
You cover all of the expenses
We already have seen that owner-operators earn a higher income, but out of that, you need to cover all the expenses that are unknown to a company truck driver. You need to consider running costs and never take the full check home, otherwise, you get screwed.
You never finish your work-day
Remember about your new full-time job or jobs. After you finish driving and go home, you still need to maintain your truck and do all the paperwork.
You can definitely outsource parts of these duties, hire an accountant, drive your truck to a shop, write them a check, and sleep well… with less money. It’s up to you how much time and effort you want to put into this and how much you’re gonna earn.
A few words before goodbye
For those who have just received their CDL, becoming a company driver is generally the best option. At least in the beginning, it will allow you to decide if operating a semi-truck is really where your interests lie. It will also help you gain work experience and build a reputation for being a reliable truck driver.
Truckers might seem to have the rare pleasure of being able to work independently and flexibly. You know what they say, you choose when you take breaks, what music you listen to or what movies to watch (please, don’t do that!) during a drive, what you wear or don’t wear on the job, but it comes at a cost.
If your primary responsibility is to focus on the road, you probably don’t want to carry the burden of operating a trucking business. On the contrary, if you love the hustle of it, do it, but please don’t fool yourself by believing it’s gonna be easy, it won’t.
