Does anybody else , like me hope not to work driving a truck till retirement ? Don’t get me wrong I love the job , but , I’m looking at another 33 years before retirement . Do I fancy this till then , do I eck . I meet plenty of drivers who proudly boast of 'when we used to do this and that ’ that seem to of had the life sapped out of them , then there is those that are just bitter and angry that they’ve wasted a lot of there life’s driving …, what I’m trying to say is , is there an ounce of ambition to better ourselves or do we just face the reality , keep driving , yes sir no sir etc …
Had what I thought was my dream job a while back … working for a computer games company sat in a comfy office etc. After 6 years the shine wore off and I couldn’t wait to get the hell out of there … middle (incompetent) management bs being the main reason.
Ambitions change over time. Important to do something you enjoy, helps to maintain a semblance of sanity.
Work to live not live to work. 
Give me a job with a sense of achievement and job satisfaction for the same money and i will hang my work boots up right now
I spent the first 19 yrs of my working life scaffolding and now truck driving is my job till I retire ? I could not of done scaffolding to retirement but I can do this and I know the hrs are not what I would wish for but I love driving my truck with nobody telling me when to stop for a toilet break and breathing down my neck all day long , the job is as good as you make it and most of the drivers that moan about the job wouldn’t change it for the world …
I aim to be at least semi retired by fifty anyway. I’ll probably still be driving by then.
My intent is to carry on driving until my garage can support the three partners full time then get amongst that
Had almost 10 years off running me own business, sold it to get back on the open road coz I missed it so much. If its in your blood your buggered, grandad was a train driver so couldn’t escape the call of the diesel. This ad blue stuff spoils it a bit though.
Anyone ever been in a laybay and an old chap approached with the opening gambit of ‘I used to drive trucks’-- que a long walk down memory lane.
If its in your blood theres no escape for long, even the sound of trucks handbrake still gets me all a quiver 
I would leave today if I could, not because I don’t like the job but because of what he job has become. Thing is I have only got 10 more years so how do I find something else to do. I have had interviews for jobs but I am sure that when they find out you drive a truck they lose all interest in you.
Be very careful of what you wish for !
I have a Ph.D in physics & I used to be a captain of industry.
I’m not the only one who considers this is a much more enjoyable life than the cut & thrust of commerce.
Quite a few of the chaps where I work have already retired… but started lorry driving afterwards!
Personally, I worked in IT and software for 17 years, had a good salary and everything, but I would not go back.
P.S. I am 35 years old.
Chas:
I have a Ph.D in physics & I used to be a captain of industry.
NTSA
My ambition is not great but I would like to live long enough to see what lorries are like in 30 years. Looking back the last 30 years changes have been massive lorries have gone from
reasonably reliable if not overly comfortable to unreliable electronic, expensive pieces of junk which I will admit offer slightly more room but have never really offered a driver what
he truly deserves for the work he does.
After the army I drove buses from the age of 21 in 1986 thought that was my lot after but after a very serious accident I was about to pack in as I just couldn’t hack it.
I was offered a cosy office job for the same company and quite liked it but made redundant after 7 years.
This led to a couple of years on agency doing office jobs in Social Housing and stuff then I had an opportunity to become a garage labourer (for want of a better description) so started with my current firm.
The boss knew I had a dormant class 2 and asked would I do the medical, I thought long and hard (months) about it and we agreed the finances 
with the proviso that I liked the job and that we could make the truck pay its way, otherwise I get my old job back.
From a very nervous leap only a month or so ago I love the job and am not put under any pressure, I average a night or two out a week and enjoy the peace.
I could do this for 17 years to retirement and enjoy it.
But the job is only as good as who you work for, lets hope the company stays good
Glad things worked out for you Drift.
Its amazing what skills truck drivers have- for instance I’ve been in the office and someones moaning about their computer (which I could take apart and put back together, fingers crossed it would still work) but now choose to just pretend I’m ‘just a driver’ mainly because once someone knows you have a grasp of computers they pester you all the time.
Dipper_Dave:
Glad things worked out for you Drift.
Its amazing what skills truck drivers have- for instance I’ve been in the office and someones moaning about their computer (which I could take apart and put back together, fingers crossed it would still work) but now choose to just pretend I’m ‘just a driver’ mainly because once someone knows you have a grasp of computers they pester you all the time.
I fix cars for a hobby (don’t tell anyone 
) but I couldn’t do it as a job, even our engineers cant understand why I don’t apply for the workshop.
As said earlier, driving must have a hold
Think its the call of the open road and the wind in our hair (or bald patch) that does it, a relaxed existence with a purpose.
Could try taking your class 1 (C + E) on the quiet if you haven’t already, there easier to drive than rigids (better lock and cyclists aren’t as brave round artics) but don’t tell anyone I said that.
Hmmm, Being only 21 I have no idea if I will be driving till I retire but I hope to carry on driving for a good few years yet! Sitting on my arse listening to the radio all day, beats workin’
Dipper_Dave:
Think its the call of the open road and the wind in our hair (or bald patch) that does it, a relaxed existence with a purpose.
Could try taking your class 1 (C + E) on the quiet if you haven’t already, there easier to drive than rigids (better lock and cyclists aren’t as brave round artics) but don’t tell anyone I said that.
I think I may get lucky on the C+E front if things work out, we have three artics in our place that are all pretty new (renewed every three years or so) and my rigid is a 53 plate but refurbished, but we do need something bigger with a lower deck
Post by maga » Fri Nov 22, 2013 8:34 pm
Hmmm, Being only 21 I have no idea if I will be driving till I retire but I hope to carry on driving for a good few years yet! Sitting on my arse listening to the radio all day, beats workin’
Maga, you sussed it
Show me another job where you look out the window, watch the scenery change whilst listening to whatever you want to and you get reasonable money for it.
That’s when I might consider a change of job.
Nope, i’m quite happy behind the wheel, clocking the totty etc.
Don’t have to play office politics or kiss anyones arse, few miserable sods at work so i just avoid 'em get me keys and bugger off out the way, and then go home every night.
Yes things have changed, but you don’t have to be like all the other bloody sheep.
You can still take a pride, drive properly (even though the lorry fights back), keep your motor and equipment in top condition, be polite to customers even other road users, be pleasant and cheerful, the jobs still good like that we are still individuals.
Just because thousands of others licence holders are miserable as sin, wingeing and whining about every little thing, take no pride nor care of their vehicle and equipment, drive like numpties etc doesn’t mean we have to, its good to be different…as a bonus it winds 'em up reall badly if you’re not miserable like them and they can’t stand it if someone takes a pride.
You can still try to be a Knight of the Road if you want to, Chav behaviour isn’t compulsory in road transport yet, the choice of who and what you are is yours.
Anyway, on those silly bloody forms you have to put your social class/work, you know the ones where those who actually work for a living are way down at the bottom of the heap, well i’ll let you into a little secret, i’ve been crossing out all those boxes for nearly 40 years now and been writing in their stead…‘‘Scum of the earth lorry driver’’, so if i packed in driving i might have to tick a box as someone higher than a snake’s ■■■, and that would never do…