TatteredPrince:
I see no reason why you shouldnt go straight to C+E after passing C. I’m on the same route. Passed my Class 2 in March, done ADR in April and Class 1 is on the way at the beginning of June. Once that is done I will start hunting. Preferrably few months on rigids - more to get used to driving anything bigger than a van, tacho, driving hours etc then move to artics.
I took my c and then straight to c&e test and then job on arctic. This was largely due to the limited cat c jobs in my area.
It is area dependant of course but I had no issue getting a start. I won’t say it was brilliant but it was a start which is the main thing