Afternoon all.
Well basically I’ve been driving HGV’s for a few years now and I do enjoy it but lateley been thinking about making the switch from the driving seat into the garage.
The company I work for has an onsite 24hour garage with a fleet of around 80 trucks. Now been a mechanic was always the job I wanted to do but as I left school with no qualifications I never managed to get on any kind of apprenticeship or such like.
I’m now in my early 30’s and the desire to be a mechanic is still as strong as ever! I would love to switch to the garage but having nothing more than a keen interest in mechanics I think I may struggle. One thing I can’t afford to do is have my pay drop significantly or much at all if I’m honest.
Has anyone made the move without the qualifications, or offer any advice on what I would need? Or have I left it too late to start learning a new trade without been on an apprentice wage!
Any advice would be great 
You have not left it too late just look at a few drivers coming into this business a lot older than you are now
You could go speak with the company you work for see if they will let you switch or do a bit of both part time driving as & when & part time in the garage while you learn
Yeah I was thinking a bit of both would be ideal way to go to get started, but it’s the college/qualifications side of it that worrys me, only down to like I say I can’t afford a drop in wages.
I know you said you cant afford to take a drop in wages but who can 
you might have to rethink & look at where you could drop a little ok what would happen if you lost your job tomorrow due to ill health & couldnt work you would then be on £71 per week approx then what would happen
So take a close look at what you need to spend & what you do
animal:
what would happen if you lost your job tomorrow due to ill health & couldnt work you would then be on £71 per week approx then what would happen
Then as a homeowner I would be in serious trouble, but I don’t live day to day thinking what if in that sense. I live by my means and my means are fairly basic. Dropping a few quid a week would be fine if it meant I couldn’t go drinking one night a week for arguments sake. But if it meant I couldn’t pay my council tax then that’s a different matter.
Im a qualified tech although ive not been on the spanners for 15 years. When I left school I had sod all idea what I wanted to do. I was left with 2 options, be a apprentice electrician or mechanic - I chose the latter as It what I was more interested + trucks because it paid more money. I chose the wrong option, The words of my Dad still haunt me to this day ’ Be a Fitter son its a job for life ’ Cheers old fella 
I had the chance to get out of fitting and get a cushy office job using my skills. TBH I wasn’t sure what to do at the time until I asked myself this question. When im 65 do I really want to be under a truck on the M6 at 4am at -5 degs = who the hell would !
TBH you might get a job doing it and these days some places pay a higher hourly rate than you would get driving upto £17 PH depending where you live and how good you are, although while your training which was 3 years for me the wage would be rubbish.
If I was in your shoes no way id do it. A lot of people go from fitting to driving I think that says it all really.
Happy to answer any questions you might have.
If you go to uni you can earn upto 9k as a mature student & still receive all your loans / grants etc if that helps