Hello!
I am a 20 year old with a PCV cat D licence in the west midlands, and just looking for some advice really…
Firstly just to explain my situation a bit, I got my licence last year (paid for by the company) but due to an incident I am no longer working on the buses, but also to be honest it had not taken long for me to get bored with the same routes all the time, dealing with passengers etc…
And so I am very interested in taking training for a cat C licence as it is something I have been thinking about for a while and I think I would enjoy a lot more than driving buses. I would just be looking at doing class 2 work for now, and I’m not looking to work mad hours and have false expectations of earning massive amounts, I would be happy with earning around the same as I was on the buses (about 18k) to live fairly comfortably whilst still having a relatively balanced work/home life.
I have spent a lot of time looking through the posts on this site the last few days and I have pretty much made up my mind about doing this in terms of the negative and positive points I have seen about the work itself. What I am looking for is advice in terms of whether or not my experience driving buses would help me in terms of time needed to actually train for the class 2 test and if I would possibly be looking at being able to do it slightly cheaper than those who start from a car licence. I do already know that I need to take the initial CPC modules again for LGVs so I don’t need any advice to do with CPC.
Also due to my age and inexperience, how likely am I to be able to find work initially if I go through with this? From the research I have been doing I have read a lot of posts on numerous websites about how under 25’s without 2 years experience won’t be able to find anything, however a lot of these posts have been from 2-3 years ago and I am hearing that now things are a bit different due to shortages of drivers. Is there truth in this and will it still be worth me getting the licence?
Sorry for the long post, (and if anything doesn’t make sense, I am tired and too lazy to check properly now) Any advice would be much appreciated!
Hi and welcome to the forum. You should be able to crack CAT C quite quickly if you use an auto. It’s a bus without seats and windows and it’s not rocket science. I suggest you find 2 or 3 reputable trainers and book free assessment drives with them. The offerings vary widely so don’t book the first one you find until you’ve compared.
Odds are stacked against you, to a point, because of your age/ lack of experience. But you are a fraction further forward than anyone else your age and things are getting a lot better for finding work. Ignore the “over 25” and “2 years experience”. When they cant get a driver, these things don’t matter any more.
I was the same cat D at 19 years old and then cat C at 24. I had no problem getting work and didn’t get any knock backs because of age or lack of C experience.
I do wonder that you may be just as bored doing class 2 work as you were with the buses because if you want to be home daily, you’ll probably end up with a job which is the same round and repetitive but you do seem aware of that reading your post.
Good luck
Passed initial PCV dcpc but not done the 35 hours periodic means that passing LGV initial dcpc will mean that a DQC will have 2 different expiry dates but on completing the first 35 hours periodic both PCV & LGV will align with the later LGV expiry date and not the earlier PCV expiry date
Thanks to all of you, I understand what you’re saying about me getting bored just as easily, but I feel that I would enjoy class 2 work more still.
I don’t know if this makes as much sense to you but I was getting bored so easily because the routes were relatively short and simple, and doing the same ones over and over just got too repetitive. As I understand it by delivering to different places I shouldn’t have as much of a problem with driving the exact same routes every day. Also I do enjoy a bit of a challenge and the routes I was doing were ‘easy’ really with no difficult turns and only the odd tight road.
Also I know this isn’t going to be the same, but my current job is as a delivery driver in a 3.5t van and I enjoy this a lot more, but the problem is I’m on less than £7 an hour and it’s just not enough.
With regards to CPC I also have 21 hours of training under my belt too that the company had paid for, which is a bonus. I think starting out for buses is a lot easier in terms of not having to pay anything up front (and actually being paid for the training), but it does take a particular mindset to be able to actually do the job without finding it completely mind numbing.
And thanks Pete, once I sort out my medical and get my provisional back I will definitely book a few assessment drives to get a better idea of what I’m looking at. I’m seeing a lot of class 2 jobs advertised fairly local to me and so do you think it would be a good idea to contact some of these now and ask them if my age would have stopped them considering me if I had a licence now?
Thanks again!
cman:
With regards to CPC I also have 21 hours of training under my belt too …
Do not complete the 35 hours before passing initial LGV mods 2 + 4 as that will work against you regarding DQC expiry dates
Examples -
(A)
pass PCV initial in 2013 - get DQC with PCV expiry 2018
Complete 28 hours periodic
Pass LGV initial in 2015 - get new DQC with expiries of PCV 2018 and LGV 2020
Do the final 7 hours dcpc in 2016 - get new DQC with both PCV + LGV expiries in 2025
(B)
pass PCV initial in 2013 - get DQC with PCV expiry 2018
Complete 35 hours periodic - get new DQC with PCV expiry 2023
Pass LGV initial in 2015 - get new DQC with both LGV + PCV expiring in 2023
Thanks yeah I’m not planning to do any more training any time soon, but thanks for making me aware as that would have been a waste!
One more question I would like to ask, is it common to be able to get part time class 2 work? I am planning to go to university next year and I feel like getting the licence would be a worthwhile investment if it also could mean I would get better part time wages to support going to uni compared to jobs such as just stacking shelves.
Hi Cman.
I also got my PCV through the company (First) and like you got very bored with the same old routes and same old passenger BS. I took the plunge and got my C then C+E and would strongly urge you to go for it. It’s so nice actually getting somewhere and not going around in circles, plus you won’t have passengers giving you a £20 note for a two quid fare
I work part-time on agency at the moment and haven’t spent a night out as yet, but once you’ve driven a wagon a few times you’ll get the bug. A lot of drivers moan about this job, but then tell you they’ve been doing it 20, 30, 40 years Yes it can be dirty and tiring and you can meet some right knobheads, and you won’t be able to guarantee your finish times, but it’s STILL far better than the buses.
The best advice I can personally give you is this. Give it a go, and if you find out after a while it’s not for you, you have always got your PCV licence to fall back on, better to go out and do it rather than sit back in 40 years and wonder “what if…”
It’s great to hear from someone who understands what I mean! I think you’re right, I’ve got nothing to lose as I will soon be able to earn back the costs of training compared to the wages I’m on now, so I may aswel at least give it a go or I’ll just end up regretting it later!
