Hi folks!
Been spending a lot of time last few weeks reading up on forum. Going to be sending of for my provisional and get all paperwork in check and finally learn to drive trucks. Something I have wanted to do since a kid. Just saying hello really. I have a stressful job and it can’t be as bad as lots of you folks say… your still doing it
Hopefully chat to many and get tips and advise if you will help
Cheers Jimmy
hi jimmy.
i’m new on here as well. looking for career change. although not stressful in my case cutting grass. actually quite relaxing. my late dad was in foreign legion nothing spectacular mainly admin role. always my plan to join. few years after leaving school. went and did it. got through selection on my way to ambition of becomming pioneer and few weeks into basic training diagnosed with blood clot. career over. jump many years later ■■■■ jobs thought of hgv could be an option.
seems like it could be stressful job though looking at some posts on here. bloody expensive as well. but won’t know unless we try it.
I think sometimes you should just crack on and do stuff you want to do. I have an opertunity to work carrying chlorine gas and other chemicals to treat water at treatment sites. Wouldn’t lose my pension and would stay with company I have been working for for nearly ten years.
If it all went belly up I could even drive sludge trucks 
Hope it all goes well for you bud! Keep me updated on how it goes
thanks mate. you too. sounds great. are they paying you through it as well? saves a lot of hassle doing agency work once qualified. probably the worse part of it getting through the first few years at the bottom unless your lucky and land decent job straight away.
the variability appeals to me. not many jobs where you get so much choice. everyone can find there place.
They would pay if I handed my notice in and took the job based on a pass success. Think it’s better for me to get the licence on my own terms in holiday that I have. I could be giving up a ok job if things didn’t go to plan… one that I know I can do but don’t enjoy is better than having none that I enjoy is how I’m looking at it.
Either way it’s something I would like to achieve anyway. 1 guy gave up a solicitor job to do the driving job I’d be doing and has never been happier! Big money doesn’t make you not stressed in life is his attitude 
I don’t get that either, there’s a bad reputation with this career, yet the ones complaining about it are the ones giving it a bad rep, and yet they are still doing it as a career day in and day out. I mean… if you really don’t want to do the job, don’t bloody do it! Think about how many careers there are out there and people change their jobs all the time.
On the other hand I think it’s a great job and if you enjoy driving and the responsibility then you’ll love it.
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peacejudah:
I don’t get that either, there’s a bad reputation with this career, yet the ones complaining about it are the ones giving it a bad rep, and yet they are still doing it as a career day in and day out. I mean… if you really don’t want to do the job, don’t bloody do it! Think about how many careers there are out there and people change their jobs all the time.On the other hand I think it’s a great job and if you enjoy driving and the responsibility then you’ll love it.
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The ones complaining are the ones who can remember how the job used to be, the average age of drivers is late 50s so what else could they go and do. If you get a good job with a good firm it can be a wonderful job but if you are working 80 hours every week and 5 nights for the miniumum wage then it’s not so good.
mac12:
peacejudah:
I don’t get that either, there’s a bad reputation with this career, yet the ones complaining about it are the ones giving it a bad rep, and yet they are still doing it as a career day in and day out. I mean… if you really don’t want to do the job, don’t bloody do it! Think about how many careers there are out there and people change their jobs all the time.On the other hand I think it’s a great job and if you enjoy driving and the responsibility then you’ll love it.
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The ones complaining are the ones who can remember how the job used to be, the average age of drivers is late 50s so what else could they go and do. If you get a good job with a good firm it can be a wonderful job but if you are working 80 hours every week and 5 nights for the miniumum wage then it’s not so good.
I guess you’re right. Things change through time, and it’s not going to go back to how it was in ‘the old days’. And as for the pay, you’ve really got to go with a company that pays more, and surely with lots of experience (50 year olds) then the pay should be quite good! I’ve seen jobs out there that are £15 an hour, that’s not a bad rate at all…
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You do get jobs paying £15 per hour but because it’s high drivers don’t leave so how do you get started? You will see more jobs paying less than £10 than £15
mac12:
You do get jobs paying £15 per hour but because it’s high drivers don’t leave so how do you get started? You will see more jobs paying less than £10 than £15
Agreed, and you also need to look at the T&C’s, as that intially appealing rate may be the same even for overtime.
I’m not on £15 
but I do get time and a half after 8 hours. None of this overtime where you have to do X amount of hours per week (or maybe month) before the overtime kicks in, as you can guess what the firm does as you approach that! 
Evil8Beezle:
mac12:
You do get jobs paying £15 per hour but because it’s high drivers don’t leave so how do you get started? You will see more jobs paying less than £10 than £15Agreed, and you also need to look at the T&C’s, as that intially appealing rate may be the same even for overtime.
I’m not on £15
And you know that because you have now done the job for a year and learnt how haulage firms act, when newbies look at driving they have no idea about the job and think it’s like any other job
mac12:
Evil8Beezle:
mac12:
You do get jobs paying £15 per hour but because it’s high drivers don’t leave so how do you get started? You will see more jobs paying less than £10 than £15Agreed, and you also need to look at the T&C’s, as that intially appealing rate may be the same even for overtime.
I’m not on £15And you know that because you have now done the job for a year and learnt how haulage firms act, when newbies look at driving they have no idea about the job and think it’s like any other job
Is lorry driving really that bad though? Can someone say the benefits of it?! There must be something good about it surely…
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As i put before if you get with a good firm it can be the best job going but how do you get a good firm? If you think you will be working 40 hours a week think again you could be at work 144 hours before going home. You could get a day job when you first pass carrying food into shops but you have passed a test to drive so why become a labourer with a license.
mac12:
As i put before if you get with a good firm it can be the best job going but how do you get a good firm? If you think you will be working 40 hours a week think again you could be at work 144 hours before going home. You could get a day job when you first pass carrying food into shops but you have passed a test to drive so why become a labourer with a license.
Your absolutely right, most places ask for one years experience so I guess doing the hard work first will hopefully pay off… we all have to start somewhere
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You do have to start somewhere and that’s what i mean about the job changing, i passed my test roughly 20 years passed on a Tuesday saw a job in the paper on the Wednesday rung up Thursday morning went to see the boss at his house that night and started driving a 2 month old truck doing non adr chemicals on the Monday. I stayed 8 years and only left because the wife got fed up with me being away 4 nights aweek. Would that happen now?
So anyway I only started this thread to say hello
Hello Jimmy
hello jimmy 
At our place, overtime on artics kicks in after 9 hours. A tip and reload at Sunderland normally takes about 12 hours. Last week I had 13 hours of overtime but the rate is poor but hey ho, experience is what I really need.