I am stuck in a job I loathe, but which pays stupidly well. However, I am miserable, stressed and fed up. For months I have been thinking about alternative careers/jobs, and one thing always keeps cropping up - my love of driving. I’ve long thought about a job spent on the road - van driving being the obvious point of entry as I have a licence to drive up to 7.5 tonne vans. However, I am starting to think why not give it a go, and go down the LGV route.
I have a few (very probably naive) questions (many of which may be a bit open-ended) that I hope some of you might be able to help me out with, so that I can reassure myself that this is a good move. Any help gratefully received.
Here goes:
(1) Are there any good training providers in the Oxford area?
(2) Who is considered to be the best of the training companies nationally?
(3) Do most newbies take both the rigid and arctic options straightaway, or do people get experience with rigid trucks first?
(4) Realistically, what are the employment options like? Most of the training companies emphasise the shortage of drivers, but is this just a hard sell?
(5) What are the employment opportunities like in Oxfordshire?
(6) Is the agency route the best option for newly licensed drivers?
(7) Roughly, what could I expect as a starting salary in a rigid truck as a new driver with no experience?
I have loads more, but they are the most pressing in my mind at the moment.
Can’t help with your location but I would advise doing both C and C+E at the same time while you are in the driving test passing mode.
As for whether it’s worth it, to earn a fairly average living of something like 17-20 grand a year you’d need to work pretty long hours truck driving, perhaps even as much as 48 week or so as opposed to the usual 37.5 office hours. If you’ve got responsibilities like mortgages and kids then agency work will probably be difficult for you as you need a steady income. Class 2 agency work pays about £6.50 to £7 an hour (£10.50 an hour after 8 hours). So if you got 5 days - which can be the exception rather than the rule - you’re looking at £280 gross. Overtime could bump that up a little.
On the other hand if you’ve no kids, a small or no mortgage, the freedom of agency work and being able to pick and choose when you work will probably be the greatest and most enjoyable adventure of your life. As long as you’ve got a few (cheap) hobbies to occupy your time like keeping fit, reading, dog-walking etc it could be the greatest move of your life.
But it all depends on how well you can cope with a lot less money. Going from an office job to agency driving work dropped me around £8000. If you’ve got kids to feed that’s going to be an awful big drop.
On the other hand, I know what it’s like to see the rest of your life stretching out in front of you with nothing to look forward to but the complete and utter misery of a so-called “good” office job.
I am stuck in a job I loathe, but which pays stupidly well. However, I am miserable, stressed and fed up. For months I have been thinking about alternative careers/jobs, and one thing always keeps cropping up - my love of driving. I’ve long thought about a job spent on the road - van driving being the obvious point of entry as I have a licence to drive up to 7.5 tonne vans. However, I am starting to think why not give it a go, and go down the LGV route.
I have a few (very probably naive) questions (many of which may be a bit open-ended) that I hope some of you might be able to help me out with, so that I can reassure myself that this is a good move. Any help gratefully received.
Here goes:
(1) Are there any good training providers in the Oxford area?
(2) Who is considered to be the best of the training companies nationally?
(3) Do most newbies take both the rigid and arctic options straightaway, or do people get experience with rigid trucks first?
(4) Realistically, what are the employment options like? Most of the training companies emphasise the shortage of drivers, but is this just a hard sell?
(5) What are the employment opportunities like in Oxfordshire?
(6) Is the agency route the best option for newly licensed drivers?
(7) Roughly, what could I expect as a starting salary in a rigid truck as a new driver with no experience?
I have loads more, but they are the most pressing in my mind at the moment.
Any help gratefully received.
All the best
Scott
Welcome superspurs08
If you click the link in my signature it will lead you to an index where you can access a lot of info which may be of use to you
Answers to your questions…
1 try RollRight
2 there is not a particular one that stands out but choose a company that has their own lorries and instructors - do not go through a training agency who only act as ‘middlemen’
3 two thoughts on this - in training mode so do both - get experience on C but do a few hours each week ‘test style’ to keep fresh with DSA procedures.
4 re:- answer 3 most employers are reluctant to take on non-experienced C, let alone CE.
5 dunno
6 usually as per answer 4
7 varies around the UK
hello mate, firstly your comment is quite ironic for me cos i am a hgv driver and i too am stuck in a job that i loathe but which pays stupidly well and i feel stressed and fed up! mainly due to working nights
dont know about oxford area
i can give you my experience of finding a job. i passed rigid on the first attempt and before i even had time to think about finding a job my phone rang, it was an agency that my training school had given my details to, could i come for an interview? ok, so i did they said can you go out as a passenger for one day then start work after that so i said yes then they called me back change of plan can you start immediately and i said yes. i earned 8.50 per hour 12 per hour overtime. usually 5 days a week but if it was quiet sometimes only 3.
so i just walked into a job with no effort whatsoever. in london and home couties there seems to be a real shotage of drivers. but reading this site, other areas are very difficult to get started. oxford, i havent a clue
i think its best to do both tests quickly but depends on finances. you should expect to fail and have enough cash for some retests. the test is very hard i think this is a good article http://www.qualitastraining.co.uk/articles/lgvtest.htm
finally if you see certain compaines “special offer” that involves passing a CPC to get free class 1 training know that this is a con because the CPC is for owner drivers and most pepople will not want to do this so you have just paid over the odds for a rigid course
welcome to the board superspurs08, i was working using my own van when i decided to take my class2 (class c) and i passed that and the very next day i was offered class 2 rigid work by someone i did work in my van for so i took the offer and put straight in for my class1 training, passed that and less than a week later i got offered class1 work, in the experience i have had the companys are more interested in how many points you have on your license more than what experience you have, i have a friend who isnt the most careful driver in the world but since passing his class1 he has been busy as hell doing agency work and has worked for morrisons and eddie stobart through his agency and has gained experience as he goes along, most companys give you a driving assessment anyway so they can see if your a safe driver or not, i would say do your class2 then your class1 and give it a go, if you dont like it then at least its been an experience and something you will always have should you need to fall back on it in later life mate.
Hi Scott, dont know if ill be a great help but im a newbie to this game, just thought i’d let you know how I’m getting on. Like you, I didnt fancy the 9-5 game so got my licences in Nov/Dec 07. I did rigid then artic one after another, there are a few replies here about doing both whilst still in ‘training mode’, and I would agree with that.
After passing my Class 1 (CE) I went down the agency route and was on class 2 (C) or 7.5 ton. After 4 weeks I realised I was unlikely to get class 1 work anytime soon so started sounding out companies. Maybe I got lucky, but the first company I went to gave me an immediate start and two months later Im loving it, the money is excellent (compared to my other jobs). Also as I work a 4 on 4off pattern, there is the chance for loads of overtime to boost the earnings too, as well as getting regular nights out etc.
I cant help with regards to training and jobd etc in your area as im in Scotland, but I hope ive been of some help,
