so maybe its me being picky but its been 8 months since i passed and ive not wanted to rush into a job. Mainly due to the financial side of things. As it stands I earn around £25,300 and it doesnt look like initially I will be earning anywhere near that. Most jobs and especially those that take on newbies are offering around £8.50 here in Manchester so i would need to hit around 55 hours per week and if im correct I wouldnt be allowed to do this every week. I have a few biker mates im hoping are truckers too and maybe one of them would let me move the truck around in the yard to keep me going over manuvoures ect but I may well end up having to cough up £200 for a refresher course just wondering thoughts on this?
next year as i finish paying of me debt I could take a lower wage it get in but at the minute outgoingd are fairly high. Ive tried agency but no one seems to offer weekend work, ive even offered free weekend work to keep me in a truck 
but to no avail! My jobs safe at the minute but the park i work on is being flattened over the next couple of years so at some point i may have no choice but to take a gamble.
biker10:
so maybe its me being picky but its been 8 months since i passed and ive not wanted to rush into a job. Mainly due to the financial side of things. As it stands I earn around £25,300 and it doesnt look like initially I will be earning anywhere near that. Most jobs and especially those that take on newbies are offering around £8.50 here in Manchester so i would need to hit around 55 hours per week and if im correct I wouldnt be allowed to do this every week. I have a few biker mates im hoping are truckers too and maybe one of them would let me move the truck around in the yard to keep me going over manuvoures ect but I may well end up having to cough up £200 for a refresher course just wondering thoughts on this?
next year as i finish paying of me debt I could take a lower wage it get in but at the minute outgoingd are fairly high. Ive tried agency but no one seems to offer weekend work, ive even offered free weekend work to keep me in a truck
but to no avail! My jobs safe at the minute but the park i work on is being flattened over the next couple of years so at some point i may have no choice but to take a gamble.
There are plenty of legal ways of making sure you can earn more than 55 hours money per week driving a truck. whether you would want to or not is another matter entirely! there will be a few on here doing hours closer to 70-80 per week…
Don’t go shelling out for a refresher course for the sake of not having driven a truck for 8 months! That’s way too keen! keeping your hand in by doing a bit in a yard is not a bad shout, but paying £200 is nuts!!
thanks for your comment, I do have a potential interview lined up soon so hopefully that will go well. Good to hear theres a way to do 55 hours each week. Ive never been shy of work so dont mind grafting im just not super knowledgable on WTD and drivers hours yet. I know the basics of 60 hours wtd and 45 driving/90 in two consecutive weeks, breaks and what not but I think theres a bit more to it than that. Im always one to plan for the worse so maybe being a little OTT with doing a refresher already.
biker10:
thanks for your commnet, I do have a potential interview lined up soon so hopefully that will go well. Good to hear theres a way to do 55 hours each week. Ive never been shy of work so dont mind grafting im just not super knowledgable on WTD and drivers hours yet. I know the basics of 60 hours wtd and 45 driving/90 in two consecutive weeks, breaks and what not but I think theres a bit more to it than that. Im always one to plan for the worse so maybe being a little OTT with doing a refresher already.
Once you know the regs intimately you can then manipulate your time so that you can maximise your working wage if you want to. theres plenty of good threads on here, especially the stickies at the top of the forum.
will take a look at the stickys thanks! 
I had my class 1 for a year before i used it. You don’t need a refresher course just jump in and go for it.
thanks Dave! just takes that first job I guess. Itempted to go agency as others have said I wont struggle for work but going for agency is a bit of a gamble ive done it before in a different career although I suppose this is a different ball game.
Dave000:
I had my class 1 for a year before i used it. You don’t need a refresher course just jump in and go for it.
get paid by any agency and refresh yourself at their expense…jump in,wing it…wreck it…walk away,use another agency…their 10 a penny and your only a bum on a seat when it suits them. 
You should be fine, as others say go for it, just don’t rush and don’t be too ‘big’ to ask for help, advice or someone to watch you reverse if your unsure? Once your behind the wheel it will all come flooding back.
I was over six months between pass and drive, it’s been fine.
Good luck!
thanks for all the positives everyone. Im signing on with an agency on Thursday after that i believe “driver hire” are good for work so I will try them. I have found it odd that there is nothing going for just weekend work? will keep trying though!
I thought weekend work would be easy to get, but it’s not. Maybe because it pays a premium, maybe because I’m not C+E?
There are companies that do take on newbies in & around manchester ok don’t pay much but you can easy do 55 hr per week ok you may have to do night out as well but will earn 25k easy
I live in the North East & earn more than that
will keep trying! signed on for an agency the other day ans they have a potential Job with Muller that seems good. Early starts but i like that a long as I can hit around £25,000 im fine, next year its not so bad as some of debt ends giving me lower outgoings. Couldn’t do stay outs at the minute due to family commitments but night shifts are fine and pretty much any other time. Going to try driver hire I think next week there another agency but they did have weekend work at one time.