From office work to class 1, the wait is KILLING ME.

[Neetsneets]

Hi guys.

My class 1 training and test (straight from cat B) are booked for the first week of March but I'm really struggling to sit tight in my underpaid office job.
I'm dreaming of an opportunity to learn something useful in the meantime, like driving a forklift on the job, and maybe earn some overtime because the training is so expensive.
Does anyone have any ideas if agencies would be of any help here?
My small company (a farm) actually has a fleet of artics but I'm scared that if I approach them about my switch from accounts to lorry driving, they will laugh me out of the room and then probably sack me
Is it far reaching to hope to do some warehouse/loading/forklift work for a company and then move onto their lorries?
At this rate I feel like I'm going to have to pick up a second full time job... damn being on a rubbish salary.

Sorry not sure if I'm asking for help or venting at this point!
It's such a long wait, I lost a lot of momentum since getting all theories done in November.

[carlston49]

Rather than warehouse work/forklift truck driving, etc. a proper driving job would be more helpful.

Maybe you can work 1 day each week driving a 3.5 tonne supermarket delivery vehicle in addition to your office job. If you do 8 hours at £10/hour you should take home £64 as only 20% income tax will be payable on that and no National Insurance. This is because you don't pay any NI on the first £184/week on each PAYE payroll that you're on.

[Noremac]

I find it interesting reading the outlook of potential new drivers.

Driving isn't a well paid profession on the whole. Drivers can make a bit of money by putting in the hours or by getting in with one of the better payers, which by no means is a given for a new starter.

Driving usually does not involve sociable hours and the hours are normally longer than an office job and can include weekend work, making family life more difficult.

Driving has an element of risk and there is considerable responsibility because one moment of distraction and you can end up in a lot of bother.

There are considerable rules and regulations to follow and potential for personal fines for infringing drivers hours or driving a vehicle with defect(s).

Driving is solitary and boring and involves going out in all sorts of weathers.

If you read through the forums, there are many more examples of why driving really isn't for everyone and if you are just doing it because it is better paid than your current job, you perhaps are not taking everything into account.

Having said this, if you think it is for you, it can be a rewarding career choice.

[Terry Cooksey]

I wouldn't bother with any other training like forklift, as you'd be very unlikely to use it once you've passed your hgv so it would just be wasted money.
I'd also say there's no harm in telling your company about doing your training, as they might let you do a few shifts once you've passed to cover holidays and sickness, or you could be next in line to replace any drivers that leave. It's also likely in that case that they would provide some training or send you out with someone else rather than throwing you in at the deep end, which is likely to happen if you find work elsewhere, especially if you do agency work.
Your employer can't fire you or take any disciplinary action against you for doing extra training, if anything, they would probably be glad that they didn't have to cover the costs

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[Neetsneets]

I find it interesting reading the outlook of potential new drivers.

Driving isn't a well paid profession on the whole. Drivers can make a bit of money by putting in the hours or by getting in with one of the better payers, which by no means is a given for a new starter.

Driving usually does not involve sociable hours and the hours are normally longer than an office job and can include weekend work, making family life more difficult.

Driving has an element of risk and there is considerable responsibility because one moment of distraction and you can end up in a lot of bother.

There are considerable rules and regulations to follow and potential for personal fines for infringing drivers hours or driving a vehicle with defect(s).

Driving is solitary and boring and involves going out in all sorts of weathers.

If you read through the forums, there are many more examples of why driving really isn't for everyone and if you are just doing it because it is better paid than your current job, you perhaps are not taking everything into account.

Having said this, if you think it is for you, it can be a rewarding career choice.

I hate the office politics with burning passion, I earn £26k with no overtime potential, live alone in a rented flat I can't afford so I have to look for a second job... I love driving, I drive a lot, get on with the warehouse people better, and love being on my own. Thank you but I know what I'm getting myself into

[Neetsneets]

I wouldn't bother with any other training like forklift, as you'd be very unlikely to use it once you've passed your hgv so it would just be wasted money.
I'd also say there's no harm in telling your company about doing your training, as they might let you do a few shifts once you've passed to cover holidays and sickness, or you could be next in line to replace any drivers that leave. It's also likely in that case that they would provide some training or send you out with someone else rather than throwing you in at the deep end, which is likely to happen if you find work elsewhere, especially if you do agency work.
Your employer can't fire you or take any disciplinary action against you for doing extra training, if anything, they would probably be glad that they didn't have to cover the costs

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Thank you so much Terry, you made some valid points that I haven't considered before.
They have some tramping work available (Herts - Cornwall) which is very well paid and looks pretty tempting. Their fleet is also really new and well looked after. I might need to have that hard conversation.

[stu675]

Hi
My small company (a farm) actually has a fleet of artics but I'm scared that if I approach them about my switch from accounts to lorry driving, they will laugh me out of the room and then probably sack me .

I'd like to believe, that if you told the right person in the company all the steps you had already taken to become an Artic driver, they would not laugh and they would help

[driveress]

Hi
My small company (a farm) actually has a fleet of artics but I'm scared that if I approach them about my switch from accounts to lorry driving, they will laugh me out of the room and then probably sack me .

I'd like to believe, that if you told the right person in the company all the steps you had already taken to become an Artic driver, they would not laugh and they would help

^This…definitely

Do you want to leave the company or just the office? When you say you think they would probably sack you, I think you were joking and it was an expression of your fear of anyone knowing of your plans, but in case that is a real fear, they can’t sack you easily unless you have worked there for under 2 years. Even then, they have to be careful how they do it.

If you would stay with the company if they could offer you a different role, I would think you are in an extremely enviable position already working for a company with a fleet.

Just to give you my perspective as an employer, I tend to think everyone is happy in their role unless they say. Employees seem to think I’m psychic but I have no idea their circumstances have changed/that they want more hours/fewer hours/different role unless they tell me, or they have complained to someone else and it gets back to me, and when they do/it does, I can usually meet their requests. It very often happens that someone will come to me asking to take on someone else’s hours after they have left, about 2 minutes after I have posted a job advert that I have spent hours crafting. If one of my front of house staff told me they wanted to work in the kitchen I would bite their hand off and get them trained up ASAP! Recruitment is costly and risky. I would think most employers would look to keep members of the team in the company if they could. I bet they would rather recruit a new office bod to train up to replace you than a new HGV driver.

I know what you mean when you fear people will laugh you out of the room. This is a complete change for me too. I still have not told some close friends of my decision because I need to be emotionally strong enough to manage any negative responses. I am emerging into that place now, partly because the people who I have told have been positive and supportive.

So be brave, value yourself and what you can offer, whether you choose to stay or go. Good luck.

Ps the beginning of March really isn’t that far away, it will fly by

[DSMRookie]

I find it interesting reading the outlook of potential new drivers.

Driving isn't a well paid profession on the whole. Drivers can make a bit of money by putting in the hours or by getting in with one of the better payers, which by no means is a given for a new starter.

Driving usually does not involve sociable hours and the hours are normally longer than an office job and can include weekend work, making family life more difficult.

Driving has an element of risk and there is considerable responsibility because one moment of distraction and you can end up in a lot of bother.

There are considerable rules and regulations to follow and potential for personal fines for infringing drivers hours or driving a vehicle with defect(s).

Driving is solitary and boring and involves going out in all sorts of weathers.

If you read through the forums, there are many more examples of why driving really isn't for everyone and if you are just doing it because it is better paid than your current job, you perhaps are not taking everything into account.

Having said this, if you think it is for you, it can be a rewarding career choice.

I hate the office politics with burning passion, I earn £26k with no overtime potential, live alone in a rented flat I can't afford so I have to look for a second job... I love driving, I drive a lot, get on with the warehouse people better, and love being on my own. Thank you but I know what I'm getting myself into

Would you consider house share or you have too much stuff? I don’t exactly know where you live, but renting a room might save you massive amounts


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[Neetsneets]

I just wanted to drop a quick thank you to everyone who replied.
I'm sticking to that office job for now and just picked up a few shifts with a temp agency in the evening.
My reversing test is on Friday, then if all goes well the training will commence as planned.

Can't wait to be let loose on the road!

[Tailschwing]

I quit a £30k office job four years ago because I also hated the office politics and having to present a 'professional image' etc. I now earn just shy of £40k driving a mixer and I don't regret my decision.

I do somewhat longer days than my previous 9-5, often 10 hours, sometimes slightly more if accident on motorway etc, but I also have days like today where I started 6am and finished at midday with full pay. Driving whilst listening to music doesn't feel like work to me. Totally different to my previous office job where it was getting increasingly harder to motivate myself.