Newbie looking to start training soon

NEW AND WANNABE DRIVERS (INTERACTIVE)
1

Hi Guys

First of i’d liketo introduce myself

my name is Ross, just turned 23, Live near Great Yarmouth in Norfolk

Currently working in an office but have decided its not for me. I only passed my driving test in october 2005 but I just love driving. True I only drive my girlfriends Corsa but I just know on the road is where I want to be. I am under no illusions that driving a truck is easy I just wanted a few opinions, especially from people in the East Anglia area.

Who should I look to train with? , I must say I have had some leaflets through from Sterling and thought they looked pretty good but after discovering this site I think I could be wrong!

Also are they as many opportunites around here as somewhere such as London or the midlands? I wouldn;t want to get my licence and then find it bloody hard ot get a job.

Any comments welcome

Ross

2

Have a look in your local rag and see whats out there for you, rates of pay etc…

driving a truck is not like driving a desk either. I am sure you are aware of this. When five o’clock comes along you can’t just get up and go home.

have a look then and have think, and if your still up for it. Go for it!!!

All the best in whatever you decide.

:smiley:

3

As said before, have a look around and see what is available in your area. Can’t help myself. Andyroo is not to far away, he might have some idea’s. try sending him a PM.

It is more difficult to get work “out in the sticks” but persistance does pay off.

Good luck with your training if you decide to go for it.

as a thought, have you thought about trying van driving to see if it is the right move before you splash the cash on your training

4

I think I can give you a local opinion. I live in Yarmouth and I was 23 when I did my HGV three years ago.

You’ll have a difficult time finding a job here, I was already an agency driver driving vans when I passed my test and they got me some class 2 work in Norwich and Thetford. But agency work isn’t for everybody.

I would imagine unless you are lucky you’ll probably have to consider going to at least Norwich for work if you are going to do this. I work in Yarmouth at the moment but the firm are so bad to work for I’m leaving at the end of next week and my new job is in Norwich.

As for training, I did mine with Peeks in Lowestoft. They are very good and training is one to one, however they are expensive.

Other options are NTS in Norwich, DTT in Norwich or Compass Training in Dereham (who I’ve heard are pretty good and reasonably priced).

5

Appreciate the replys guys.

I work in Norwich now so that wouldn’t be a problem. COuld be a good idea to try driving a van first, its just finding the opportunity to do so :frowning:

Anyway my bro in law has recently passed his C+E so I will be speaking to him when I see him at the weekend.
Thanks all

6

“I work in Norwich now so that wouldn’t be a problem. COuld be a good idea to try driving a van first, its just finding the opportunity to do so Sad”

Do van driving work 1st. It will get the driving idea out of your head very quickly.

For van work try the major supermarkets Adsa, Tesco etc.

I worked for Adsa home shopping last year and I know there always looking for drivers. They will take anybody on. I mean ANYBODY. 17 years and just pass your test. NO problems.

They work 7 days a week. Days and evenings. You could try doing van driving at weekends to see if you like it.

Very GOOD LUCK to you. You will need it.

7

Hi and welcome to trucknet!

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I used to work in an Office and Passed my HGV C+E a year after getting my car licence, that was when you could go striaght to artics.
I used NTS in Norwich for both car and truck as did my Brother. They were very good, but it was many years ago so I can’t comment on if they’ve maintained their training standards.

As for work in the Norfolk area, or at least near you. Pay is lower than the national average and mostly it does seem to be small hauliers, running Artics on traditional General Haulage and agricultural work, but there are other running rigids on local and national work.

I think all new drivers have problems getting work especially when they are under 25, but then small hauliers are more willing to take somebody on because they seem keen than because they fit the company recruiting policy.

9

hiya…

well im in the initial setting things up in my hgv training and the company i have decided to go with is DTT in norwich. i found them to be extremely helpfull with all the questions i had.
and they really have helped me with getting the ball rolling
how good they are at training remains to be seen but judging by all the thanyou cards on the wall they must be doing something right hehe :laughing:

good luck mate

10

trucker Jimbo

Sound like you made the wrong career move?!!. Are you still driving then?

11

YES!!!

THE BIGGEST MISTAKE OF MY LIFE!!!

Yes Im still driving because I cant fnd another JOB(Non HGV)

Having HGV/LGV driver as your current employment on your C.V. is worse than saying your a axe murderer.

I dont stand a chance!!!

Truck drivng is the [zb]of [zb] jobs!!!

Yes Ive had a bad day but stay well away from truck driving!

Kev AKA Jimbo

if you have to alter the spelling to get past the autocensor it’s a clue its not allowed :wink: …Denis F

12

well u only bin doin it 2yrs how can that affect your cv wot were u doin b4 that?

man u seem to hate it bigstyle why?

wot made u do it in the 1st place?

av u anything gud to say??

it cant be all that bad

regards Lee

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BLADE:
well u only bin doin it 2yrs how can that affect your cv wot were u doin b4 that?

man u seem to hate it bigstyle why?

wot made u do it in the 1st place?

av u anything gud to say??

it cant be all that bad

regards Lee

SORRY DENIS!!!

Hi Lee

I worked as a Business account advisor for a well known high street bank (Begining with LL)

I worked for them for about 2 years. I earned a good wage and worked 35 hours a week.

i got fed up siting at a desk and throught I would like to drive for a living. Against the advice I got off my trucker friend I decided to go for my Hgv class 2 licence.

Then I passed. Great there`s a big shortest of hgv drivers. NO THERE ISNT. I knew it would be hard to start with but ITS A JOKE!!

The good thing about truck driving are:

Being treated like ____ by other road users

Being treated like ____ by companies

Being treated like ____ by transport mangers

Delivering 22 washing machines to 22 different households, carry them in to the house and fitting them. Oh yet a bit of driving between them.

Losing 5 minutes paid becasue I took a 50 minute rest and not 45 minutes, I kidd you NOT!!!

Unloading 800 items of clothers off the truck in to a shop while there is 5 staff members looking at you and drinking tea. It took 2 hours.

Working 15 hours and only driving 5 hours.

Agencies paying you 6.50 P/H when they said 7.00 P/H.

Agencies calling you at 4am in the morning to do a shift at 5am.

“av u anything gud to say??” NO!!

“it cant be all that bad” YES IT IS!!!

I now work longer hours and earn less than I did in my previous job.

I hope that helps Lee.

Good Luck mate

Oh yeah. One last thing I paid just under 1000 british pounds of my own money for the Pleasure.

14

Truckjimbo I’m sorry that you feel that getting your HGV’s was the worst day of your life, even I’ve had days when driving a truck has been the worst job ever and I’ve regretted the day I ever decided to get my licence. Before driving truck I was working as a Digital Cartographer at the cutting edge of computer technology and the change of jobs was a real culture shock, from the relaxed drawing office atmosphere, where people turned up for work when they wanted and left when they wanted and the boss would wander round in shorts and t-shirts.

I absolutely hated my first few weeks as a truck driver, I couldn’t stand the hours, the pressure of trying to get round when I didn’t know my way, the treatment from other including other trucks drivers and generally being treated like a pleb. I even got out of truck driving at one point and found having HGV Driver on you CV wasn’t a big problem, in fact it was a bit of a talking point during interviews. But I missed truck driving and hated being in an office, so went back on the road.

As I got the hang of the job, I began to enjoy being out on my own, seeing different parts of the country, meeting different people and I found out that although there are plenty of right numpty truck drivers, there are other drivers who are top men and women, who will spend time helping you out or just make you smile. I’ve met lots of interesting people, but haven’t had to spend so much time with them that they become boring. And yes there are bosses who are total [ZB] but there are bosses who treat you right and understand what you do because they’ve done it themselves.

And there are good jobs, but it takes time and a bit of luck to get them. I’ve done tramping, tilts, delivering to building sites, agricultural work and agency work, which included the “white goods work” but persevering with the Agency got me 9 months work for the USAF and Mildenhall. I drove allsorts of stuff there and got a chance to work in a completely different environment from the profit driven world of commercial haulage

I now work as a truck driver in Motorsport; I get to go all over Europe and even other parts of the World with the team. I am part of the pit lane crew during the race. When on the road all my accommodation and food is paid for, No sleeping in the cab on this job. If we haven’t got time to get the truck back but there’s a break between races, they’ll fly us back. I don’t really want to tell people what I earn, but it is above average for a Driver round here and more than I’d earn in many other jobs, plus we get a bonus depending on how well the team does.

I do understand the job isn’t for everybody, but what isn’t right for one person is the perfect job for somebody else, the only way to find out is do what you’ve done and give it a go.

15

I’m with Muckles on this, it is not possible to make such a sweeping statement about such a career, job or whatever you want to call it.

I was running a small but succesfull family run timber merchants for 6 years before starting the driving. I had an easy life and wasn’t badly paid, the trouble was I used to clash with the owners about their antequated way of working and their reluctance to implement new ideas etc. It led to blazing rows and I cam to the conclusion that it was pointless me being there and I decided to get out.

Now I fancied a change and had always fancied it, so I booked up Class 2 to gain another skill. One of th emain reasons was although the basic job (driving) was the same there were so many variants.

You could do Dustcarts, Skips, Multidrop, Trunking, Tankers, Cranes, or any number of other derivatives. Each one is so different from another, now I know that there are plenty who wouldn’t want my job paddling about in mud all day, loading and unloading unfamiliar machinery but it’s a job I like and would hate to go back to Multidrop food again.

For sure it might take a while to find your niche, but chances are it’s there somewhere.

16

Hi

I’m a new driver - passed class 2 in December, went straight back to do class 1 in January. I’d previously worked in sales and just had enough of it. I’d never done any kind of ‘manual’ work or driving previously and I funded the training myself so it was a bit of a gamble. But…

So far, so good! I’m doing agency work and I’m fully prepared to take the rough with the smooth - I need the experience. I’ve done furniture and white goods deliveries and shop multi-drops. I’ve done nights and 4am starts and been called in the early hours for work but I say, yes please, and get going. It’s hard work but it’s getting easier every day.

Yes, it can be slightly excrutiating when you don’t know what you’re doing, but I just maintain a sunny disposition and ask for help if I need it, and always seem to get a positive response.

Overall, I’m well pleased with the change I’ve made. I get to drive a big truck all day and get paid for it. Result!

(Just itching for some class 1 work now, but it’ll come.)

I can’t help with training in Norfolk, I trained with CTT in Leighton Buzzard (who are excellent btw) but I wish you all the best Ross.

Steve

17

well im gonna have to take a considerable paycut when i become an hgv driver and sell a succesfull buisness which has taken me 8 long years to build up, but im hoping the money i sell the buisness for is going to cap my wages untill i start making sensible money as a driver…

and to those people who really hate their jobs and say its all crap etc why work their ? use it as a stop gap untill u find better paid driving work for better companies . i know it must be esier said then done but hey the jobs are about.

i think people get their license and think hey presto i can instantly get an awsome paid job but u gotta work at it and start at the bottom just like u wud any other job