Depending on how you do it, long haul trucking is a worse job than McDonald's, if McDonald's is paying enough.

> The average truck driver salary in the USA is $61,843 per year or $31.71 per hour. Entry level positions start at $45,970 per year while most experienced workers make up to $85,000 per year.

McDonald's is approaching $20/hr around here, which is getting close to those entry-level positions, no special training needed, and you get to live at home with family instead of being OTR all the time.

Would be curious to know what general area you live in to understand how McD's can pay close to $20/h. Presumably a very high COL.

No, it's a low COL area but there are just no workers. Closing shifts are $18/19 starting (at least according to the sign they've had stuck up since before COVID).

McD's won't start everyone at $20/h, but in an environment where starting wage is $15-$17, shift managers will be at least within striking distance of $20/h. This is not necessarily in a high COL area.

I was just in rural Idaho and the McDonald's sign said pay starting at $15/hour. COL index is about 5% higher than national average, based on a quick search.

Here in Canada, truckers have an entry wage of about $18/h. Starbucks pays $15-16 and from what I’ve heard anecdotally, has excellent benefits and flexible hours, neither of which are guaranteed as a long-hauler.

I used this as a literary device, because apart from many other unregulated professions, trucking requires special licences that most people don't have. Anyone can clean toilets, most just don't want to for the money offered. Not anyone can drive a trucks... so i was wondering is this a "not enough licenced people" issue to cover the work, even with "infinite pay", or just a "not enough pay" issue for people with licences and other job offers.

But considering the other comments, McDonalds-like jobs pay similar amounts of pay for a lot better working conditions (less responsibility, stay at home with family, less dangerous,...).

$30 an hour driving might be more than $12 an hour at Macnaldo's or Prince Hamburger, you're only getting paid for the eight hours you're driving and not for the time you're away from home.

My understanding is that it really depends on how you calculate pay. Trucking is often paid pr mile driven rather than pr hour 'worked'. So if you divide your total wage by the number of hours you are in or around your truck then hourly wage can come out much lower than McDonald's.

Retail and food service management can be pretty lucrative. For an entry level position though I can't imagine this would be true.