After recently being informed that I am to be made redundant from my career in IT ( 3rd time in 10 years), I believe it is time I realised that this career path isn’t actually leading me anywhere. (I retrained in IT after leaving the RAF with 15 years service). As my current IT certifications are now out of date, I am faced with a choice of should I update my skill set to Windows 2008 (no experience) which will soon become out of date as soon as Microsoft release the next latest greatest version of Windows or should I invest in a HGV licence (no experience) but lasts more or less as long as I live, I’m coming down on the side of HGV as a more likely efficient return on investment. As I have only been with my current company for 18 months I’m not entitled to any redundancy pay so any courses/training will be coming out of my savings (not that I have much) so I need to be very careful and sure about what I spend the money on.
I am fortunate enough to have available to me (via my employer) a career transition company who will assist with looking for a new role for me, CV writing, soul searching and whatever else touchy feely stuff it is they do. (they say that there is currently a shortfall in HGV drivers in UK at the moment). Is that just blag or is there some truth in it?
My biggest concern is that should I pass the required tests etc, how can I get I get potential employers to take me seriously when I am a newly qualified HGV licence holder with no experience?
In a nutshell, I think my dilema is should I invest my savings in obtaining a certificate to say I’m great with windows 7/Server 2008 etc even though I have no experience…only to have it replaced in a couple of years by the next edition, should I use this opportunity to invest in C+E training (no experience) but it’s ‘something useful to have on my licence’…or should I just keep my savings in the hope that something comes up and use it as a safety net which keeps the wolves from the door for a few weeks more if it doesn’t?
Smudge.Smith:
(they say that there is currently a shortfall in HGV drivers in UK at the moment). Is that just blag or is there some truth in it?
Complete tosh I’m afraid, although it is possible for a new driver to find work, there are many hundreds of users on this forum, including many with over 20 years of experience who simply cannot find work.
There isn’t a general shortage of drivers. Times have been extremely hard for newbies for a while now - but things are beginning to look up. You have a small advantage of assistance with the job search which is good. I’m certain you have the skills to produce a CV and covering letter and it sounds as though you may have the personality to go banging on doors - literally. This is the way of getting work. Rarely advertised. Why advertise when people are knocking on your door?
It really is a gamble whichever way you look at it. Expect to part with the thick end of £3k to achieve CE (HGV Class1 in old money) which should include either initial driver cpc or the required periodic training.
Stock advice: always visit the trainer before parting with money. Only exception is rock solid recommendation. Beware of brokers - - another one has apparently gone bust last week. If you’re unsure whether the ad is for a broker or a real trainer, put the name on the forum and you’ll find out very quickly!
Any questions - fire away. O yes, and the best of luck with your decision and any training that may follow. Pete
Firstly the quote that Harry has highlighted above is a very common one from a broker site. These should be avoided at all costs if you decide to go down the HGV training route. Go to a local school found in the yellow pages / online. Make sure they are legitimate before parting with your funds.
Secondly, I used to have my own IT business and retrained to do LGV driving. I found that even with my Server Admin skills, there just was not enough money to go around. However and it’s a big one, Lorry driving is not going to make you rich either.
I suggest you weigh up your options and think carefully before making the jump. Think about whether you could hack 15hr days for not much more than £7.00 per hour initially. Also you only need to read through the threads on this forum to see it is very hit and miss for jobs at the moment.
So yes… In answer to your question, IT IS A LOAD OF TOSH ABOUT DRIVER SHORTAGE
Whichever option you choose, you have to make sure that you get a decent return on your investment, I’m not sure about IT as I’ve been out of it a few years now, but when I left it was flooded with kids with BTEC, ECDL and MSCE’s all scrambling for ■■■■ poor wages.
The same is now true for truck driving, the important bit is getting your foot in a door after you’ve got those entitlements on your license, There generally aren’t any jobs at £35k pa for newbies, nor are their x0,000’s of vacancies that some websites like you to think there are. BUT when you do land a job, despite all the moaning that goes on here, I personally have found it the best choice I ever made.
Hello there, one thing I think you take into consideration is the fact that, compared to what you are used to, this would not be just a job change, it’s a lifestyle change. About as far removed from an office based job as you could get.
One thing, as already stated, is the fact that you will have to pay out cash with no guarantee of any return, nobody owes you a job just because you have laid out a couple of grand. As for getting work, unless you know someone who will give you a start, it will be agency work. When they are short they will, in my experience, ring anyone regardless of experience to get the job filled. Also, as I have said before on this forum, it can be right place - right time when looking for work, my place has taken on 3 drivers this year that just called into the yard at the right time and were kept on. Good luck.
Slackbladder:
Hello there, one thing I think you take into consideration is the fact that, compared to what you are used to, this would not be just a job change, it’s a lifestyle change. About as far removed from an office based job as you could get.
Thanks for all the replies, guys. I’m no stranger to lifestyle changes… I spent 3 years as a soldier in the Army, 2 years as a CNC setter/operator in a factory, 15 years again as a soldier with the RAF Regiment, then the last 10 years have been a mix of IT roles - field engineering, desktop support, server admin and network engineer. I also volunteered as a Special Constable recently so not really sure about being typecast as an office worker.
OP - Don’t waste your time and money on training as an LGV driver because:
a) It could cost you up to £2500 to get your license
b) There are almost no jobs for people WITH experience, let alone people with NO experience
c) The money is rubbish
d) The amount of government interference in the form of regulation and red tape is crippling the industry
e) There is NO career path
f) When work does eventually come to you, it is seasonal
g) You will become obese and get diabetes
h) You will get piles
i) You will turn into an old ■■■■ moaner like me
My positive advice to you:
Stay within IT and reskill yourself.
Forget being an MSCE, - you and I both know that everything Microsoft is total s h i t e.
Go towards the Unix arena or even IBM land.
Reskill yourself as a database designer, database analyst OR teach yourself some SQL or C++ or even read about .Net etc
Look at some SPROCS from where you work now , reverse engineer them to see how it all works out. Its so easy to do.
Learn about ODBC etc.
Install an instance of MSDE or even SQL Server (free edition) on your own PC and mess about with it.
In 5 weeks time you will be able to get a job within IT, in the industry you know and understand as long as you lie about never having done it before. In that industry, nobody will die if you get a piece of software a little bit wrong first time.
Don’t leave an industry that is still moving along, just retrain yourself within it.
Its just that MCSE work is flooded with tosh for now, so nobody needs you in that role.
But everybody needs database people and programmers etc.
FFS, you could even go out to India or China and teach those buggers what you know already. They’ll pay you a fortune mate!
not really sure about being typecast as an office worker
Clearly!! Shows the danger of making assumptions!
Some folk consider training for LGV in the full knowledge that they may not get an LGV driving job straight away. eg you could end up just driving a white van for a while. It’s the same as most industries - you have to be prepared to start at the bottom and work your way up the ladder. IME the progression is quite quick once it’s started though.
I may be shooting myself in the proverbial, but I never, ever suggest that a new driver will walk into a job on £700 a week steering a shiny new Scania. But it seems that many newbies get a start, if only on agency, driving something.
The other side of the coin is that I have managed to put two drivers into class 1 work straight after their test in recent weeks. One is on £29k and the other is on £25 and a bit k.
So it’s not all doom and gloom. But it’s far from consistent.
Don’t know if that helps or confuses. Just being honest. Pete
I have also been in the Army. The Royal Artillery for 4 years in Germany. I started as an LGV trainer in the early 80’s and have seen many people qualify and go on to long term driving careers. I have also been an I.T trainer for 9 years during that time, training people for the MCSE (NT4 and Windows 2000) Novell netware, Cisco CNA, Access programming and even the poor old ECDL. In the 90’s work was plentiful for the I.T brigade but i dont think so anymore.
However you will earn more in I.T than as a driver but as you have correctly identified it requires constant retraining as newer versions of software / Operating systems are released. This gets more difficult as you get older. With driving work opportunities get better as you get more experienced.
I believe there is a career path in transport up to either owner driver or transport manager although extra qualifications are needed for this.
In short you have to decide what you want and how important a big wage is. if you can afford to take the LGV and perhaps use it as a backup there are a lot worse things to spend your money on.
If you do decide to have a go at the LGV. GO AND VISIT A FEW COMPANIES BEFORE CHOOSING A TRAINER. Do not take a stab in the dark and hope for the best. It might not matter where you buy a tin of heinz baked beans from, they are all the same. LGV training companies are definately NOT the same.
Just to let you know that I also had a career in IT industry in a previous life but decided to get back into driving for a living as I actually enjoy being out and about with nobody looking over your shoulder constantly and not having the possibility of getting rubbed up the wrong way by people you see day in day out all week. I certainly don’t earn as much as I could have if I had stayed within IT. Back in the year 2000 I was earning £20 an hour plus any expenses and staying in nice hotels like the Hilton all over the country, but I am happier now due to the freedom that driving gives you. But, as others have already stated it will not be easy, but it is not impossible either. I only recently got my licence upgraded from cat C (old class 2) to the C+E (old class 1) and just through being in the right place at the right time, have managed to secure a nice C+E driving position with a local company.
Whatever you do mate, I suggest you just follow your heart and go for the job that you think you will actually enjoy more than anything else. Forget about aiming for the big bucks for now. I have recently started on £8.84p an hour without any prior experience of C+E driving, so that will give you a clue as to what you could expect if you get your C+E licence, but again, like others have said, you will need to outlay about £3K in order to get it, then there are no certain guarantees of getting a top job straight away. You will probably end up only getting 7.5T or cat C multi-drop work at first, but hey, we have all been there and who knows, you might just get lucky and land a great job straight away. I certainly done my share of long days handballing everything off at each and every customer. When I done some work for 3663, we even had to put the ■■■■ stuff away in cupboards for some customers!!
Whatever you choose, I wish you success and if you do choose to get re-trained as a driver, then don’t forget to let us all know about it, and how you get on. We all love to hear the stories on here of people coming through the training, tests, and then getting that all important job at the end.
should I use this opportunity to invest in C+E training (no experience) but it’s ‘something useful to have on my licence’…or should I just keep my savings in the hope that something comes up and use it as a safety net which keeps the wolves from the door for a few weeks more if it doesn’t?
Hello and welcome. Just a quick point which you may be aware of already but if not, you can’t go straight into C&E you will have to do cat C (class 2) first. Just be aware of that when working out your budgets.
Just to add, there aren’t very many well paid jobs in driving for anyone, not just newbies…Some yes,but they are rare and everyone wants them.
Depends what you want really. If you want a career take the advice suggesting re-training within IT. If you want a job, maybe driving will suit you.
You could even do both…I do two jobs (and get stick on here sometimes! ) and am self employed. I reckon you could do both and you’d get the best of both words and be better off financially. The beauty of not having all your eggs in one basket is you don’t have to take the crap wages…you can be fussy. Plus, you should earn at least as much as a decent driving job but for working around 25 hours a week less…
Only you can decide what’s right for you mate…best of luck though whatever you go for…
) and am self employed. I reckon you could do both and you’d get the best of both words and be better off financially. The beauty of not having all your eggs in one basket is you don’t have to take the crap wages…you can be fussy. Plus, you should earn at least as much as a decent driving job but for working around 25 hours a week less…