OK, I am 33 years old and have worked in IT since the age of 16. I have done ok, and have carved out a decent career.
I am however completely unfulfilled by it and want to change, money is not so important to me as long as it pays the mortgage etc. Realistically i would need to come close to 25k a year to cover all my bills.
Would that sort of figure be achievable? I was contemplating just doing my C licence to begin with ensuring that its for me etc and adding the E at a later date.
What should i expect from a career on the road? anyone else had a similar career change and what was your experience?
If its a go-er anyone got any recommendations for driving schools in the south east (Kent or Sussex)
It is possible to earn that much on a class 2 license but be prepared to start from the bottom. Agency work usually multi drops which is hard work. I’ve just passed all my tests and joined an agency which have sent me to do drops for spar, almost done a week, pays good and I enjoy it. Until you get 2 years experience then it’ll be hard to find anything easier for better money.
I would like to do my class 1 but am not holding my breath for class 1 work until I get 2 years experience in class 2.
I’m from East Sussex and did my class 2 with sussex and Surrey hgv training and my CPC at lancing hgv training. Both were equally good.
I have taken your advice and have been reading up, Other than the fact that there are two differing sets of rules at odds with each other i don’t see anything that will be a massive source of frustration, there are rules and regs in almost every industry now and remember i will be coming in to this new as well so all of these rules will be the norm for me.
I get the impression that i’m probably missing something…
Your not missing anything. I think perhaps nick was trying to tell you that taking and passing your license will in no way prepare you for applying the EU regs or WTD to your new job.
You only need to see just how many hours based questions there are on TNET.
And no, Mod 2&4, don’t prepare you for the real world either.
Good luck. By the way, I am a C only license holder, achieve anywhere from 25-30k dependant on overtime worked. Held my license for 5 years, loved both my HGV jobs.
Read and understand the BASIC tacho regs and rules along with the Working Time Directive for mobile workers.
Its not just about driving forwards and backwards A2B
I’m pretty sure someone in IT can read up and understand the tacho regs , WTD rules - driving a truck requires zero qualifications, and I’m doubtful that the ability to speak good English is that necessary either.
Medical is booked up for the 27th now. I used the post on here about cheap medicals to find one nearby it will cost £45. my nearest GP wanted £135!
Hope everyone has a brilliant Christmas and a prosperous new year, going to be an exciting one for me!
I was in a similar situation - a little older at 43 though.
The money question - you should be able to earn around 25k, depending upon where you are and how lucky you are finding employment as a new driver. What you need to be prepared for though, is the long hours you might need to do to earn that 25k. I went from 9-5 IT job earning about 50k to doing 60+ hour weeks, with 2 am starts for that 25k salary. Like you though, for me it isn’t about the money - it’s about enjoying the job (which I do, mostly ) and not being away from the family for weeks at a time. The nice R470 Scania with manual transmission & plenty of lights and toys helps
From my experience over the last 18 months a few helpful pointers
Avoid agencies if you are depending on having regular work - they are great for getting experience, but you might be waiting a while between jobs as a new driver.
You will likely get better (and more sociable hours) in a job using Class C only, like builder’s merchants etc, though you’ll need HI-AB ticket for these.
Class 1 (CE) - I enjoy a lot more, but I’m working more hours per week than I ever did on Class 2 work…
DO the legwork round the places that have wagons (that you’d like to work at) and have you licenses/CV with you. Got both my first and present job this way, did agency work (co-op. class C) inbetween.
Thanks Steeps that’s really useful and gives me plenty of encouragement. good to hear that it worked out for you in what sounds like a very similar situation.
