This is going to be a long first post, so please bare with me… I’m looking for a bit of advice!?
I currently work in Lincolnshire in a fairly comfortable 9-5 office job with the odd Saturday thrown in. The truth be known I really hate my job and have done for some time, promotions are unlikely to be on the horizon any time soon due to constant restructuring within the business, when they do become available more often than not someone is lined up for the job so while an application can be put in often its just a formality for the candidate they already want in there.
For years I have wanted to be an LGV Driver, in 2010 when in a bit of crossroads (21 years old) I took a 5 day Class 2 Rigid course and failed the test, I was pretty devestated to say the least having splashed out £1100 to do the course but I was so concerned with throwing good many after bad I never took a re-test.
I’ve had a couple of jobs since then. It all comes back to going out with my dad in his lorry, at the time I didn’t realise how much I loved it, it was just only option as my mum was also working full time and back then you were still able to take passengers in the cab with you. Looking back we had some great memories… from the QA’s at McCains in Scarborough coming out with a tray of chips to sitting in a cargo bay at Heathrow watching the planes take-off and land. I do understand that the job is not very glamorous and is often just miles and miles of tarmac and faceless distribution centres and ■■■■■■ transport planners.
I am now at a point where I want to chuck in my job that I do at the moment and take a punt and spend the £2500 required to give me the job that I crave. Equally a family member jumped from an office job into PSV Driving and says its the best thing he ever did.
What I really want to know from the Trucknet forum community is a bit of “What would you do?”. At the moment I have a 4 year old daughter and a partner and a mortgage. My income is fairly low but that is typical of the area that I live. I feel like if I were to go driving I would be free of the shackles of going into a job I hate and more comfortable financially. Of course I am aware this is not the best job for a young family but I just want to be able to have a job I love and a bit more money in the back pocket to take my family on holiday rather than living off my current salary which pays my mortgage and gives me enough for 1-2 days out with the family a month.
Having spoken to my own Dad who is beginning to wind-down towards retirement he urges me to stay away from the industry, as he says “its not the job it was” which I understand but my Dad is also 67 and didn’t begin his HGV career with trackers, automatic gearboxes, mobile phones etc… so I tend to take this with a pinch of salt as even in my current job the levels of micro-management are ridiculous.
Has anyone in this forum made the jump from 9-5 to professional driver, if so i would love to hear your experiences and advice. If not I am still really keen to hear some views from the professional driving community.
If it’s what you want to do then go for it, but maybe quit the 9-5 after you’ve passed just incase things don’t go as smooth as anticipated (delayed test dates, DVLA slow to get you your license back, etc).
Have you thought about where you’d get a job? Maybe give them a call and see if they take new passes? I always see lots of LincFresh and Fowler Welch on the A16, also i think last time i was in Immingham i saw a drivers wanted sign outside somewhere.
I moved from a decent managerial position to hgv driving and I am a lot happier now than I was sat behind a desk. Just think how it will effect your personal life before you make the decision as it can be long hours away from home - even if you get a job that’s similar to your hours now there is no guarantee that you will be home the same time every night.
Did my decision affect my life? Yes it did, but iwouldn’t change it and it is working well so far. Im much happier driving down the motorway with my own company compared to sitting in meetings discussing figures and being bored out of my mind.
Apart from being a newbie where many company insurers will not touch you for X amount of time there is the issue of getting a full time permanent job because most jobs out there are agency which gives no guarantee of ongoing employment
ROG:
Apart from being a newbie where many company insurers will not touch you for X amount of time there is the issue of getting a full time permanent job because most jobs out there are agency which gives no guarantee of ongoing employment
I don’t know where the OP is, (lincs is a big place!) But I live near Spalding and when I passed my test last year I applied for 5 jobs and got offered 3.
I won’t say they were great jobs but were full time, direct with a regular income whilst gaining experience.
If a new pass is local to a Stobarts, Turners or Downtons I don’t think there is a reason to doubt getting a start
ROG:
Apart from being a newbie where many company insurers will not touch you for X amount of time there is the issue of getting a full time permanent job because most jobs out there are agency which gives no guarantee of ongoing employment
I don’t know where the OP is, (lincs is a big place!) But I live near Spalding and when I passed my test last year I applied for 5 jobs and got offered 3.
I won’t say they were great jobs but were full time, direct with a regular income whilst gaining experience.
If a new pass is local to a Stobarts, Turners or Downtons I don’t think there is a reason to doubt getting a start
Good to know there are some half decent jobs out there for newbies to get a start with
ROG:
Apart from being a newbie where many company insurers will not touch you for X amount of time there is the issue of getting a full time permanent job because most jobs out there are agency which gives no guarantee of ongoing employment
I don’t know where the OP is, (lincs is a big place!) But I live near Spalding and when I passed my test last year I applied for 5 jobs and got offered 3.
I won’t say they were great jobs but were full time, direct with a regular income whilst gaining experience.
If a new pass is local to a Stobarts, Turners or Downtons I don’t think there is a reason to doubt getting a start
Good to know there are some half decent jobs out there for newbies to get a start with
ROG:
Apart from being a newbie where many company insurers will not touch you for X amount of time there is the issue of getting a full time permanent job because most jobs out there are agency which gives no guarantee of ongoing employment
I don’t know where the OP is, (lincs is a big place!) But I live near Spalding and when I passed my test last year I applied for 5 jobs and got offered 3.
I won’t say they were great jobs but were full time, direct with a regular income whilst gaining experience.
If a new pass is local to a Stobarts, Turners or Downtons I don’t think there is a reason to doubt getting a start
Good to know there are some half decent jobs out there for newbies to get a start with
A start is a start. I think some are to fussy about things when they can’t be. Get some experience then start being pickier
ROG:
Apart from being a newbie where many company insurers will not touch you for X amount of time there is the issue of getting a full time permanent job because most jobs out there are agency which gives no guarantee of ongoing employment
I don’t know where the OP is, (lincs is a big place!) But I live near Spalding and when I passed my test last year I applied for 5 jobs and got offered 3.
I won’t say they were great jobs but were full time, direct with a regular income whilst gaining experience.
If a new pass is local to a Stobarts, Turners or Downtons I don’t think there is a reason to doubt getting a start
Good to know there are some half decent jobs out there for newbies to get a start with
A start is a start. I think some are to fussy about things when they can’t be. Get some experience then start being pickier
Thanks for all of the responses so far!
I would certainly not leave my current job until I was certain that I had a new job lined up, my biggest concern is cost tbh. I am aware obviously of how much it costs to do everything but I just worry that if i failed I’d lose all that money again. But on the other hand if i packed in work and went to get a degree that would cost me a minium of £9000 a year and I might not even pass that so £2500 is a drop in the ocean.
Also the test can now be done in Boston, and all the vehichles are automatics which in my head would make it slightly easier as i know the roads and I can concentrate 100% on driving and not on the splitter gearbox. When i did the test in Peterborough is was in an old Scania with 14 gears and they never went in first time, literally had to force it into gear which often took a lot of my attention up when already nervous, I should add I failed my first test by clipping a curb coming off a small roundabout
I had wondered about doing the Stobarts Driving Academy that has recently opened in Crick? I think and booking myself into a hotel down there for a few days then that would be my primary focus, also seen Peter Smythe of course, would people recommend local test centre or somewhere different. Anyone have any experience of Stobarts academy etc.
In terms of first jobs I had considered Stobarts as they have a depot at Newark which is only 30 minutes up the road from me, I would want to stay away from Turners, Gist etc as I hear that they treat the drivers like S***. I had also considered driving for one of the more local firms like Pocklingtons, G H Kime etc but obviously would have to cross that bridge at a later date. Longer term I have a friend working for Moy Park near Sleaford earning in excess of £11.50ph and often much more when he does nights as opposed to some of the more local companies that are paying little over £8ph (mentioning no names).
Seems to me you’ve thought this through quite well. I would remind you that you can probably forget being able to put little person to bed at night on a regular basis (though this may not be the case).
When you’re looking for trainers, remember I’m happy to price match on a like for like basis.
A-TownDown:
Thanks for all of the responses so far!
I would certainly not leave my current job until I was certain that I had a new job lined up, my biggest concern is cost tbh. I am aware obviously of how much it costs to do everything but I just worry that if i failed I’d lose all that money again. But on the other hand if i packed in work and went to get a degree that would cost me a minium of £9000 a year and I might not even pass that so £2500 is a drop in the ocean.
Also the test can now be done in Boston, and all the vehichles are automatics which in my head would make it slightly easier as i know the roads and I can concentrate 100% on driving and not on the splitter gearbox. When i did the test in Peterborough is was in an old Scania with 14 gears and they never went in first time, literally had to force it into gear which often took a lot of my attention up when already nervous, I should add I failed my first test by clipping a curb coming off a small roundabout
I had wondered about doing the Stobarts Driving Academy that has recently opened in Crick? I think and booking myself into a hotel down there for a few days then that would be my primary focus, also seen Peter Smythe of course, would people recommend local test centre or somewhere different. Anyone have any experience of Stobarts academy etc.
In terms of first jobs I had considered Stobarts as they have a depot at Newark which is only 30 minutes up the road from me, I would want to stay away from Turners, Gist etc as I hear that they treat the drivers like S***. I had also considered driving for one of the more local firms like Pocklingtons, G H Kime etc but obviously would have to cross that bridge at a later date. Longer term I have a friend working for Moy Park near Sleaford earning in excess of £11.50ph and often much more when he does nights as opposed to some of the more local companies that are paying little over £8ph (mentioning no names).
If price is a concern and you’re willing to travel a bit and stay in a B&B I would strongly, strongly recommend Belfast. The courses there are half the price of the Uk mainland for the same UK licenses. A five day course with test on the last day in an automatic lorry with an easy-going ex-tang costs under £700 so you can feasibly get to Class 1 for £1400. Add in your travel and accommodation costs and you’ll still save a grand on doing it locally. I travelled over from Scotland to do my training (which is admittedly less travelling than Lincolnshire) and couldn’t believe how much I was actually saving by doing so.
In terms of getting work don’t be afraid of going on agency for a few months to gain a bit of experience. Ok ,it’s not strictly as solid as a full time job but you should be able to pick up enough to get you going. Be savvy about it and try and find an agency with the same regular work on the go, show up on time, take things slowly and carefully early doors and be polite to people and you will be asked back. If you get things in gear now and get to Class 1 by, say, July there should be plenty of agency work to get you your first six months under your belt then you’ll have the confidence to apply for positions where they’ll be assessing your ability. The likes of Fowler Welch at Spalding will always have work going.
Hi mate. My advice for what it’s worth is to go for it.
I was in a similar situation albeit slightly different. I blame my dad
He got me in to HGV driving because I used to go with him as a kid. He then joined a bus firm doing coaches long distance so after I sat my Class 2 and did that for a few years I followed him again, got my PCV and ended up driving through Europe every week. I loved it.
But then I got the “I think you should go for this” from a boss when a promotion came up so I did as I’d be at home more for the wife and son. It was the most miserable few years of my life. I wasn’t who I was. I couldn’t just finish work and switch off, phone constantly pinging etc etc even when I was on holiday abroad.
So I jacked it, went back driving working allsorts of hours, any day of the year but did my Class 1 on rest days. Once I passed that I jacked it in and here I am now a while later. Much happier in mysekf according to my friends and most importantly my family.
As for unsociable hours the job I’ve got now is far more sociable. I work Monday to Friday, optional five hours on Saturday morning as overtime. I do some nights out but not full bore tramping and most days I start at 5am and finish by 5pm. Sometimes earlier. I do general haulage but I’ve been navvef to work on a specific contract so mainly deliver to garden centres.
If you’re looking for more family friendly hours look at pallet network type jobs. They aren’t the best and can be graft but the guys at my place that do that side of work start about 7am and get done about 4pm.
I would do the training and test and give a few local companies a shout offering an odd shift on a weekend, you don’t say what your 9-5 job is. Do you have any contact with hauliers?
