I have the money to do my class 2, but i am a little cautious about job prospects once qualified. All jobs in the paper require experiance!
I am single, with no ties and would be more than happy to work all hours under the sun (within the regs of course) living out of the cab. It is gonna cost a few hundred notes to pass the test, I dont want it to be money down the drain! Driving big trucks has always been my dream job
Agency work would be a bit risky, as i do have loans to settle and work aint guaranteed. Could any of you shed some light on getting into the job. I live near Portsmouth, is there much work about?
Donāt know about Portsmouth but if you plan to only do class 2 I think you will have problems finding a job doing all hours and nights out!!
Go on to do your class 1 then you wont have a big problem plenty of jobs about, but you will have to have a bit of experiance before you will have a chance of making a decent wage!
If i whent for class 1, i would have to slap it on credit card!! Risk worth taking? Another thing is my age, im 24 with 3 points on my license for refusing to supply info to police when car got caught in speed camera. will this be a problem for employer insurance wise?
Similar to yourself,having recently passed my class2 and class1, I did have reservations about finding work, but found the fears to be unfounded. On each assignment you get try and make a good impression, generally youāll be kept busy. Itās usually tricky over holiday periods/christmas etc, only the established drivers tend to get work, but you soon become one of the established, so good luck!
Thecritic:
Donāt know about Portsmouth but if you plan to only do class 2 I think you will have problems finding a job doing all hours and nights out!!
Go on to do your class 1 then you wont have a big problem plenty of jobs about, but you will have to have a bit of experiance before you will have a chance of making a decent wage!
Ahem !..good money can be earned with a class 2, when you apply for jobs & they give you the āexperienceā line point out that we all had to learn at some time so why shouldnt they give you a chance?.. Truck insurance companies will now accept drivers with 9 points & no experience.
Get your class 2 then give Canute a ring (I was taking home Ā£400 a week [AFTER deductions for tax & N.I.) on an 8 wheeler (with crane) for 50 hours a week & 4 nights out guaranteed every week.
They will put you through their āmickey mouseā hiab certification (I already have CITB so didnt need it) but if you are prepared to get your finger out (& stay within the law) you can earn some good money.
Cav I never said good money couldnt be made on class 2 I said he may have problems doing all hours and nights out!
They are of course companies that do take on new drivers and so they should but its not very often that new drivers get the good jobs and best pay
IMHO thats the way it should be! more experiance more you should earn!
I dont think they will be many people involved in the Transport industry will argue against my point that if you have class 1 and are prepaired to work the long unsocial hours with nights out you will more often than not earn much more money than a class 2 driver!
Oh and as your Ā£400 take home working 50hrs with 4 nights out. I earn more than that for less than 40 hours and no nights out. I know thats not the normal but unfortunatly neither is yours!
TwoPack
As for your 3 points I dont think that would be a problem but you may come accross problems with your age! and as for credit to pay for your training that would be very much depending on your own circumstances!! please take into account that you may not pass your 1st test and retests can be very expensive!
good luck on what ever you decide and welcome to trucknet
please keep us informed
I had better state here, I am not a new driver.
Neither do I work for Canute (havent worked for them for quite some time, I drive an artic for less money than they were paying on an 8 wheeler but thats life!).
It is becoming a fact that you can earn as much on a rigid as on an attic or drag (often more).
If you are on such wonderful wages for less than 40 hours then I am very happy for you, far too many of us dont get enough but to reflect on the pointer I was giving āThe Silent Oneā, its good wedge on a rigid & easy work tooā¦why should the lad struggle (learn by others mistakes, life isnt long enough to learn by your own mistakes!), if he can be pointed at a reasonable earner I for one dont see why he should claw his way up.
He is going to have a very steep learning curve as soon as he gets out on the road āproperā
The Silent One, you may also want to look at groupage work in this country on a 6 wheeler, that can pay reasonable & have you tramping around the country most of the week.
Thankyou Cav, Critic and others for your advice, much apreciated
I think ill stick with class 2 for now, i will let u know how i get on, thinking of using crosspoint for training. Btw (forgive my ignorance!) what is groupage work?
the silent one:
Btw (forgive my ignorance!) what is groupage
Freight forwarders like DFDS & other companies near docks tend to have plenty of 6 wheelers taking stuff out of their warehouses (this stuff usually comes into the country on ferry trailersā¦unnacompanied trailers from abroad) to destinations all over the country & returning with stuff that will be shipped out to Europe & beyond (usually by ferry trailers), there is tremendous variety in this work, I did it for a while years agoā¦really enjoyed it.
Cav203k:
Freight forwarders like DFDS & other companies near docks tend to have plenty of 6 wheelers taking stuff out of their warehouses (this stuff usually comes into the country on ferry trailersā¦unnacompanied trailers from abroad) to destinations all over the country & returning with stuff that will be shipped out to Europe & beyond (usually by ferry trailers), there is tremendous variety in this work, I did it for a while years agoā¦really enjoyed it.
Getting together a full truck load from several smaller loads is known as āGroupageā. The smaller loads have to be collected and taken to the Groupage warehouse, like DFDS for eg, then the full load goes out and the trailer coming in, loaded with groupage, has to be split down and distributed.
if you donāt take the plunge you will never know.bang that class1 on your credit card.
i did 6 months agency work with no experience and after that i was taken on by the company i work for now.the insurance as already said is not a problem ivāe got 6 points on my licence (which im really greatfull for ) and luckaly 3 come off in august .
go on go for it you know you want to (plus you can do us a diary of your training
hi jon, simon
unfortunately my car has cost me alot of money over the past year so using more plastic is a bit risky! although i have seriously thought about throwing caution to the wind and doing class1, it aint my money after all, ill just go bankrupt!
Would people be interested in a training diary? I would be willing to do one.
Is agency work good? Manpower driving force advertises every week in southampton, must be plenty of work.
Can agencys find sponsership for class1?
Last year i did my Class 2 in May, limited work about, then in August did my Class 1.
Ive never been out of work, and have enjoyed every bit of it, mine went on the plastic and it didnt take long to earn it back mate and pay it off !
My advice is, if you can fund it, do it, even if it means using your flexible friend
Agency work. Iāve been doing it for about a month after having chucked my (Class 1) job that Iād done for 15 months and did about 3 months worth after Iād done my Class 2. Itās better paying and easier work than the previous job with no "can you just " and itās got me a lot of experience this month as Iāve been in different trucks all the while and most of them will take new drivers.
The trouble with it is I got to Gainsborough last Thursday afternoon and the transport office turned me round. Their client had cancelled the contract. That was me stuffed for work the rest of the week . This week Iāve only worked Monday and Tuesday, sat here twiddling my thumbs today (Wednesday) as apparently: āThis is a slow patch for us. It will pick up in a couple of weeks.ā Thatās what he thinks, if he doesnāt ring me sharp tomorrow morning with something then Iām going to register with another couple /alterntavley start presenting myself at yards with my night out gear and see if I get lucky .
Holidays and sickness arnāt paid but if you think about SSP, then I think Iām not a lot worse off as the last place I worked at gave crap hols. The only major downside seems to be your not entirely sure if your going to have work the next week 'till they ring you/you hassle them .
TheBigOne:
Holidays and sickness arnāt paid but if you think about SSP, then I think Iām not a lot worse off as the last place I worked at gave crap hols. The only major downside seems to be your not entirely sure if your going to have work the next week 'till they ring you/you hassle them .
Even Agencies now HAVE to pay Holiday pay its the LAW!!!
) and luckaly 3 come off in august 
although i have seriously thought about throwing caution to the wind and doing class1, it aint my money after all, ill just go bankrupt! 
" and itās got me a lot of experience this month as Iāve been in different trucks all the while and most of them will take new drivers.
. This week Iāve only worked Monday and Tuesday, sat here twiddling my thumbs today (Wednesday) as apparently: āThis is a slow patch for us. It will pick up in a couple of weeks.ā Thatās what he thinks, if he doesnāt ring me sharp tomorrow morning with something then Iām going to register with another couple /alterntavley start presenting myself at yards with my night out gear and see if I get lucky