Key up
Fill the profile. License class, endorsements, verifiable experience, home state, the haul you want. That's the whole ask. No résumé upload, no account, no password to forget in a truck stop parking lot.
Driver Dispatch · Channel 19
Truck driving jobs, dispatched straight.
You've been listening to Joann Marie tell you the road is out there. Fine. Here's the road. OTR, regional, local — Class A, Class B, still on the permit — one honest driver profile, hand-routed to carriers hiring your lanes. No fees. No blast to forty recruiters. No pretending the CPM on the billboard is the number on the W-2.
- One profile, routed by hand. Your class, your endorsements, your home state, the haul you actually want.
- Real numbers first. Federal pay data and the fine print recruiters skip, right on this page.
- Zero cost to drivers. Carriers pay to meet you. You pay nothing to say yes, no, or "call me in March."
Joann Marie is a produced character. The dispatch desk behind her is human, and the recruiters who call you work for the carriers, not for a character. Breaker Breaker Baby is not a motor carrier or an employment agency.
Key up
Tell the desk what you're hauling for.
Two minutes. Nothing here goes on a public board; it goes to the partners hiring your profile.
10-4
You're on the board.
Your profile is at the desk. If a partner is hiring your class in your lanes, expect a call or a text from a real recruiter — not a robot, not Joann. While you wait, the radio's on.
Listen to Channel 19Desk is off the air
The form couldn't reach dispatch.
It happens. Your profile is copied below. Send it by email and a human will route it by hand.
Email my profile to the deskHow the board works
Three steps. None of them involve a chatbot pretending to be your best friend.
The desk routes it
A human reads it and sends it to the carrier or recruiting partner hiring that exact profile in those lanes. Not every partner gets every driver. A Class B local driver in Ohio does not need six OTR calls from Texas.
You decide
The recruiter calls or texts you directly. Ask about miles actually dispatched, home time in writing, detention pay, and what happens to the sign-on bonus if you leave at month eight. Then say yes, no, or not yet.
Read this first
What to know about becoming a commercial truck driver
Every driver on Channel 19 has a story about the thing nobody told them before they signed. This is the short version of the things nobody tells you, in the order they'll bite.
The license comes in classes
Class A is the tractor-trailer license, the one most of the money is attached to. Class B covers straight trucks, dump trucks, buses and most local work. Class C is smaller vehicles carrying hazmat or 16+ passengers. If you don't know which one you want, you want A. You can always drive a smaller truck with a bigger license.
Training is federal now
Since February 7, 2022, every first-time Class A or Class B applicant has to complete Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) from a provider listed on FMCSA's Training Provider Registry before taking the skills test. A school that isn't on the registry isn't a school. Check the list before you pay anyone a dime.
Endorsements are your raise
H (hazmat, with a TSA threat assessment), N (tank), X (both), T (doubles and triples), P (passenger), S (school bus). Tank and hazmat freight pay more because fewer drivers can haul it. Get the endorsements while you're still studying and they're cheap.
Twenty-one to cross a state line
Federal rules require drivers to be 21 for interstate commerce. Most states will license you at 18 for intrastate runs, which is where a lot of local and Class B work lives until your birthday.
The Clearinghouse remembers
Every carrier must query the FMCSA Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse before they hire you and once a year after. A violation follows the license, not the employer. The return-to-duty process exists, but it is not quick and it is not quiet.
"Free" training has a contract
Company-sponsored CDL training is real and it works for a lot of people. It also comes with an obligation period, and if you leave early the tuition becomes a debt. Read the repayment clause, ask what the number is on day one and on day 300, and get the home-time promise in the same document.
The number, not the billboard
How much money does a truck driver really make a year?
Recruiters quote the ceiling. Drivers live on the median. Here is the federal data, and then the four things that decide which of those two numbers you'll see.
$58,640
Median annual wage, heavy & tractor-trailer drivers (May 2025)
< $40,140
What the lowest 10% earned
> $79,380
What the highest 10% earned
2.2M
Jobs in 2025 · projected +4% through 2035
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook. Drivers employed in the truck transportation industry specifically had a $60,320 median.
Cents per mile × miles actually dispatched
Sixty-five cents a mile is a great rate for zero miles. Ask the recruiter what the average driver on that fleet ran last quarter, not what the truck is capable of. Paid miles and driven miles are not the same number either; ask which one.
Accessorials
Detention, layover, stop pay, tarp pay, breakdown pay. This is where a dry-van job and a flatbed job with the same CPM end up thousands apart. If it isn't in writing, it isn't pay, it's a rumor.
W-2 or 1099
A company driver is a W-2 employee with a truck someone else pays for. A lease-purchase makes you a 1099 contractor paying for the truck, the fuel, the tires and the slow weeks. Some people make it work. Plenty of drivers who tried it have a story with the word "repo" in it. Run the numbers on a slow month, not a good one.
The bonus with a leash
Sign-on bonuses are paid in pieces over months and clawed back if you leave. Treat them as retention pay, not a gift. The honest question is: what's the base without it?
Pick the life, then the job
OTR, regional or local truck driving jobs: the honest comparison
| OTR (over-the-road) | Regional | Local | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where you run | Anywhere. Coast to coast, 48 states, sometimes Canada. | A multi-state area, usually a quarter of the map. | Roughly a 150-mile radius of the yard. |
| Home time | Out 2–4 weeks, home a few days. | Home weekly, often weekends. | Home every night. |
| The pay shape | Highest annual gross. Per mile, plus accessorials. | Middle. Per mile or per load. | Hourly or per stop. Lower ceiling, steadier floor, overtime is real. |
| Who it fits | New drivers building miles; anyone who likes the road more than the driveway. | Drivers with a family who still want the truck. | Drivers with kids, a dog, or a bad back. More dock work, less sleeper. |
| The catch | The sleeper is your apartment. Detention time is unpaid time unless it's in writing. | "Home weekly" can mean 34 hours in a parking lot 90 miles from the house. | Physical. Touch freight, tight docks, city traffic, early starts. |
Rule of thumb from the channel: OTR pays more per year; local pays more per hour of your life. Regional is where most drivers land once they've done a year of OTR and remembered what a kitchen looks like.
Questions from the channel
Straight answers
If it isn't here, key up on Channel 19 or write the desk. Someone human answers.
Does it cost a driver anything?
No. Drivers never pay a fee, on this page or on a call. Carriers and recruiting partners pay to reach qualified drivers. You pay nothing to be introduced, nothing to talk, nothing to say no.
Is this a job listing site or a recruiter?
Neither, exactly. Think of it as a dispatch desk. You submit one driver profile and the desk routes it to carriers and recruiting partners that are hiring for that profile in those lanes. They contact you directly and make any offer. Breaker Breaker Baby is not a motor carrier, does not employ drivers, and does not guarantee a job.
How much money does a truck driver really make a year?
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median at $58,640 for heavy and tractor-trailer drivers as of May 2025, with the bottom 10% under $40,140 and the top 10% over $79,380. Your number depends on cents-per-mile, miles actually dispatched, accessorial pay and whether you're a W-2 driver or a 1099 lease operator. The full breakdown is above.
What should I know before becoming a commercial truck driver?
Permit first, then ELDT from a registered provider, then the skills test. You must be 21 to run interstate. Every employer queries the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse before hiring. And any "free" company training carries a repayment clause. The long version is in Read this first.
What's the difference between OTR, regional and local?
OTR is long-haul, out two to four weeks, biggest annual checks. Regional stays inside a multi-state area and is home weekly. Local runs about a 150-mile radius and is home every night, usually with more dock work. The comparison table has the catch for each one.
I don't have my CDL yet. Can I still submit?
Yes. Choose Permit or Not yet on the form. Some partners offer company-sponsored training or hire straight out of ELDT-registered schools. Read the contract twice.
Is Joann Marie a real recruiter?
Joann Marie is a produced character, the host of Channel 19. The dispatch desk behind her is human, and the recruiters who call you work for the carriers or recruiting partners, not for a character. Nobody on this page will ever pretend otherwise.
Who sees my information?
The desk, and the carrier or recruiting partners hiring your profile. Nothing is posted publicly. You can opt out of contact at any time, and the Privacy Policy spells out the rest.
Last call
Rosalinda's heard you sigh at the fuel island for a month now.
Two minutes on the form, and the next voice you hear about work is a human with an actual opening. Until then, the radio's on and the coffee's bad everywhere. Come sit.