I may, at some point, consider a change. After the pattern I'm already familiar with, I will remain an I.C. (That's "Dirty Capitalist" to you, Josh.)
I've been looking over the field, and there is a possibility that I will contract to a different outfit than the one I presently work with. It comes with serious changes though, and it's not to be taken lightly.
Right now, I work in "Turn and burn". I pick up freight here in the Chicago area, then deliver it over thataway, then head back home clean. The pay while loaded isn't shabby-- 1.07 a mile at present-- but I take it in the shorts headed back since dead-head miles don't pay at all.
Then there's the OTR lifestyle that many expedited drivers have. They take a run, and don't get home again for weeks or months at a time. You make more money because there's less dead-head, but the other side of that coin is that you live in the van for that time. I mean, sleeping, eating, watching TV or "working" on the computer, and using truck-stop facilities for basic necessities between runs. At the end of three months on the road, even the relatively huge Sprinter gets a bit small when it's been your "home" for that time period. Expedited has some serious down time too, you can be three days between paying loads. Question: Do you think you can live in a metal container that's 12 feet long by 6 feet wide by 4 feet high when you're not having to share that space with freight? I wonder how the big-rig guys do it, their sleepers aren't noticeably bigger than a van is and they manage to crowd a lot of stuff in those things.
So-- if I decide to make such a change, it's a serious change.