Old pal of mine in the Harley scene is a history teacher, used to do 7.5 driving for JT Recruitment in Derby in holiday time and between contracts when he was on supply. His other passions in life apart from the bikes are collecting Napoleonic militaria and keeping owls, which combine to keep him teetering on the edge of financial disaster hence the extra driving work! 
ISTR our pal Gardun (don’t see him on here much nowadays) is quite well educated.
muckles:
switchlogic:
I’m going the opposite way to most that have posted. Only 5 years left until I’ve a degree, that’s if I’m good enough and can keep it up.but will you be able to keep away from driving?
When I was 30 I took 2 years off work and went to college, got an HND in computing, then spent 18 months working in the IT industry, but still ended up back driving trucks.
I certainly never kept away from driving - as I was cursed from birth I guess (like most). I went to Liverpool Uni and worked for the Royal Mail 4 nights a week whilst there, doing a trunk run down to Hatfield more often than not. I would even take my then girlfriend with me (sneakily) on some nights and it certainly exposed her to a different side of life. I used to take the DAF unit into the campus digs some nights if I was asked to drop a trailer at Streamline down near the Albert Dock and run back solo. Ahh the memories!
The career choice is irrelevant in many respects, but it’s the personal development that counts. Personally I enjoyed my 12 months on an Access Course more than the 3 years following do a BSc. Education in my late 20’s, was far better - I would wager - than going to college/uni for the sake of it after school and certainly almost 10 years of driving armed me with a view of the world younger students don’t have. Some interesting stories/people/replies on here, thanks for your input. It’s a funny old world, really. 
i got a cse in french, but never been to France. 
Blimey. All this talk of loving driving a lorry… I,m definately missing something here.
When i was parts manager at a motorbike dealers, i did feel cooped up all day and yearned to be outside, but I dont know anyone who “loves” the job. Too much red tape these days. 8 years to knock off for retirement, then they can stuff it.
I think i,ve always worked for ungrateful people in transport, and the worst are ex drivers who get office jobs.
Theres worse jobs, i suppose, but I wouldn,t want one.
Im a bit of an odd case, im 19 doing a degree in robotics and have my class 1. Not that ive managed to get bugger all from the agencys. My ucles involed in a training firm so i got the chance to do it for costs so thought why the hell not. Its something im very proud of to have the licences. Just wish the agencys would get me some work as i enjoy driving, but still want to follow my degree through and see where that takes me.
Phil
switchlogic:
I’m going the opposite way to most that have posted. Only 5 years left until I’ve a degree, that’s if I’m good enough and can keep it up.
Switchlogic, driving down your legal costs since 2016.
orys:
switchlogic:
‘… Carryfast has a first class degree and was once visiting professor of race relations at the University of Alabama…’‘…And just recently he wrote highly awarded essay on “Why Tsunami in Japan is Eastern European’s fault”
…’
I have just started a Diploma in Transport and Logistics throught the CILT. I am not going to be driving all my life so am using this, with the other industry related stuff i have, to hopefully get a job related to the operations of transport business.
lilysgranpa:
i got a cse in french, but never been to France.
Grasshopper:
I have just started a Diploma in Transport and Logistics throught the CILT. I am not going to be driving all my life so am using this, with the other industry related stuff i have, to hopefully get a job related to the operations of transport business.
I keep looking at that one, I was offered a place at the University of Huddersfield by an employer which I turned down to buy a lorry 
I thought I may be too old now, but an old mate is studying for a degree in Music and he is 57
i used to teach pascal, and cobol programming. i am also a time served and qualified electronics engineer.
but what use is programming nowadays? they don’t know they’re born.
and who the [zb] wants to work indoors.
well ok, a lorry is neither indoors or out, it’s somewhere inbetween.
Grasshopper:
I have just started a Diploma in Transport and Logistics throught the CILT. I am not going to be driving all my life so am using this, with the other industry related stuff i have, to hopefully get a job related to the operations of transport business.
does that count as a national/international CPC?
limeyphil:
i used to teach pascal, and cobol programming. i am also a time served and qualified electronics engineer.
but what use is programming nowadays? they don’t know they’re born.
and who the [zb] wants to work indoors.
well ok, a lorry is neither indoors or out, it’s somewhere inbetween.
you are really showing your age mate, COBOL and pascal went out with the Ark!
limeyphil:
Grasshopper:
I have just started a Diploma in Transport and Logistics throught the CILT. I am not going to be driving all my life so am using this, with the other industry related stuff i have, to hopefully get a job related to the operations of transport business.does that count as a national/international CPC?
A new one does I think, but there is some doubt about the old grandfather rights issue with CILT due to the changes this month.
The Department for Transport (DfT) has authorised CILT(UK) to award alternative certification of professional competence. Certificates will only be awarded subject to specific conditions agreed with DfT.
To demonstrate professional competence, CILT(UK) will issue a separate Certificate of Professional Competence which may be awarded on request to those members who have passed a written examination in the subjects specified by the EC. A membership certificate from the Institute, in whatever grade, does not provide proof of professional competence.
Several different versions of the certificate have been issued over the years by CIT, CIT(UK), ILT and now CILT(UK). All of the earlier versions remain valid and there is no need to replace older versions with the current CILT(UK) certificate. Members in possession of an older-style certificate who wish to exchange it for the current version may do so on production of the old certificate and payment of a small handling charge.
Hombre:
limeyphil:
i used to teach pascal, and cobol programming. i am also a time served and qualified electronics engineer.
but what use is programming nowadays? they don’t know they’re born.
and who the [zb] wants to work indoors.
well ok, a lorry is neither indoors or out, it’s somewhere inbetween.you are really showing your age mate, COBOL and pascal went out with the Ark!
they don’t they’re born. young buggers. 
where’s my worthers origional.
Hombre:
limeyphil:
i used to teach pascal, and cobol programming. i am also a time served and qualified electronics engineer.
but what use is programming nowadays? they don’t know they’re born.
and who the [zb] wants to work indoors.
well ok, a lorry is neither indoors or out, it’s somewhere inbetween.you are really showing your age mate, COBOL and pascal went out with the Ark!
Who knows. Some old programming languages are still used here and there.
Astronomers for example widely use Fortran. We were asking our lectures whats the point to learn so antic language and he told us “because you are not programmers, you are astronomers - and your task is not to waste three days to write a modern program which will calculate it in 15 seconds, but to write in 15 minutes program which will calculate it in two hours”.
Well, I have to say it makes sense for me. (Wchich does not changes the fact that my favourite commands were there to rewind or forward “virtual tape” to find the record I needed
orys:
Hombre:
limeyphil:
i used to teach pascal, and cobol programming. i am also a time served and qualified electronics engineer.
but what use is programming nowadays? they don’t know they’re born.
and who the [zb] wants to work indoors.
well ok, a lorry is neither indoors or out, it’s somewhere inbetween.you are really showing your age mate, COBOL and pascal went out with the Ark!
Who knows. Some old programming languages are still used here and there.
Astronomers for example widely use Fortran. We were asking our lectures whats the point to learn so antic language and he told us “because you are not programmers, you are astronomers - and your task is not to waste three days to write a modern program which will calculate it in 15 seconds, but to write in 15 minutes program which will calculate it in two hours”.
Well, I have to say it makes sense for me. (Wchich does not changes the fact that my favourite commands were there to rewind or forward “virtual tape” to find the record I needed
FORTRAN was originally developed in the 1950’s.
Hombre:
orys:
Hombre:
limeyphil:
i used to teach pascal, and cobol programming. i am also a time served and qualified electronics engineer.
but what use is programming nowadays? they don’t know they’re born.
and who the [zb] wants to work indoors.
well ok, a lorry is neither indoors or out, it’s somewhere inbetween.you are really showing your age mate, COBOL and pascal went out with the Ark!
Who knows. Some old programming languages are still used here and there.
Astronomers for example widely use Fortran. We were asking our lectures whats the point to learn so antic language and he told us “because you are not programmers, you are astronomers - and your task is not to waste three days to write a modern program which will calculate it in 15 seconds, but to write in 15 minutes program which will calculate it in two hours”.
Well, I have to say it makes sense for me. (Wchich does not changes the fact that my favourite commands were there to rewind or forward “virtual tape” to find the record I needed
FORTRAN was originally developed in the 1950’s.
All this modern computer speak confuses me, now where did I put that sounds of Christmas on 8 track?
As they say in COBOL:
000100 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000200 PROGRAM-ID. HELLOWORLD.
000300
000400*
000500 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000600 CONFIGURATION SECTION.
000700 SOURCE-COMPUTER. RM-COBOL.
000800 OBJECT-COMPUTER. RM-COBOL.
000900
001000 DATA DIVISION.
001100 FILE SECTION.
001200
100000 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
100100
100200 MAIN-LOGIC SECTION.
100300 BEGIN.
100400 DISPLAY " " LINE 1 POSITION 1 ERASE EOS.
100500 DISPLAY “Hello world!” LINE 15 POSITION 10.
100600 STOP RUN.
100700 MAIN-LOGIC-EXIT.
100800 EXIT.
Well, I am not good at programming, I hated that Fortran classes. Last program which was fun for me I wrote when I was about 7 and it was going like that:
10 PRINT “ORYS IS SUPER”
20 GO TO 10
In Basic 