So to cut a long story short, Ive been sitting behind a desk for 9 years… time I got out behind the wheel I feel. Ive been in telecommunications for over 10 years. looking for something new to do. a new job… a fresh start.
Its been a long time since I thought about trucks… but theres always been something else.
I love driving… and ive been looking around to see what options are available for training to become a trucker… that includes training and employment with Eddie Stobart…or any other companies. I then came across this forum and I am so glad I didnt look any further at some of the websites that I came across out there.
Secondly, Eddie Stobart… would you train with them to take up employment? I think I can compare them with the AA of Driving schools right? charge you an arm and a leg for training so that they cover their over heads and then you join them as an ADI (approved driving instructor)…by this time you’ve spent 3k and need work desperately to make up what youve lost…
Thirdly, is there anyone in the London Borough of Hillingdon who is on this forum that could recommend anyone local for training and test.
Know this… I know nothing about this industry and nothing about driving a truck… heck never sat in one either. The closest ive ever got to it was doing Furniture removals back in 2000 with my cousin because I didnt have a job… and that was a Man and a Van. lol
Final question, which im sure has been asked plenty of times already so pardon the repetition… Is it worth it? does it pay well? or is that just a rumour that truckers get paid good money… and what is good money exactly? 30k annually for 60 hours a week? or are you restricted… gosh i just realised, ive asked more questions in that one sentence than the whole thread lol. hope you guys dont mind.
Nothing much wrong with Stobarts and I’m not aware that they are particularly expensive. There’s no comparison between them and the AA set up. You may or may not get a job with them at the end of it. Some say they wouldn’t want a job with them - but a lot of folks work for them so there must be something in it!
Few people get rich driving trucks; the vast majority earn a reasonable living but have to put in the hours to get it. Easy enough to earn similar money for less hours in other work if you happen to have the skills required.
It would be wrong of me if I didn’t mention our residential training course. You can check this out on our website www.truckdrivertraining.co.uk or pm me. Any training you do with us is discounted by 10% as you are a Trucknet user. But claim this when booking anything as it causes havoc otherwise with the accounts folks.
Thanks for the responses. My job currently earns me a decent wage for sitting behind a desk monday - friday 9am to 6pm. Unfortunately, because its a tiny company i do alot to keep things ticking. Obe tiny fault and i get the blame. And now the boss has brought his kids in who earn a salary too without doing much work and drive a Mercedes A class AMG and an Audi A1 Sport…within a year. Ive been with them for 9 years and i still gotta catch the train.
So yeah i am looking at moving and staying in the same field, but in the last 3 weeks of searching…i can say with confidence that employers are extremely picky. They could require 10 criteria and you fulfill 9…but the 10th one just needs a refresher…and you dont get the job. Extremely frustrating and demoralising as well.
So looking at all options i have for a new career. Not afraid to work hard and put in the hours.
Had anyone on here used Dhoot in Hayes? Or Wallace in uxbridge …i think…
And Pete…do you have your own trucks or are u a broker lol.
(Just kidding)
Also how long will it take to get qualified. …from start to qualification and getting a job. Can i train around my current working hours?
mrkazman:
Also how long will it take to get qualified. …from start to qualification
I can only comment on my experience. I sent off for my Cat C provisional mid april I think. Took a few weeks to come back. I still had a job so wasn’t worried, then lost it at the end of may without warning due to my boss not maintaining his bigger truck properly. So I only properly started booking tests etc at the very beginning of June.
I feel fortunate as I was willing to travel to get it done asap. Did the mod 1 and 2 in Manchester Wigan and Blackpool. Training in Darwin and Atherton. Mod 3 and 4 tests in Atherton.
I only passed my last test on the 20th of July and I have to wait now for my entitlement to clear before the agency will send me out. And I was fortunate, all my test slots and training slots I got as soon as I did simply through cansalations.
Get your medical and provisional ASAP. Start revising for you theory tests NOW, don’t bother with the CPC guide book. Just get the highway code and the HGV drivers Manual from the DVLA and read ALL OF THEM. I did mine Mod 1->3->2->4 big mistake. Do Mods 1 & 2 asap. You can’t book mod 3 before you pass mod 1 and you can’t book mod 4 before you pass mod 2. Do mod 3 (practical driving test) LAST. You’ll get your licence and professional drivers card (CPC) back faster. Waiting times to book for training and Mod 3 and 4 tests seem to be at least a month and you need to pass the respective theory’s first.
I did everything solo so didn’t get any advice about what order to do everything in and I feel I did it about as fast as I could have considering the order I did it all in. If you hit it running and do it it the right order you might be able to do it faster.
My boss brings in his girlfriend’s daughters to “work”, and they are the same. Complete parasites who are just there to earn some easy money, and are stretching out 5 hours of paperwork per week, to 25 hours. Because one their cars is broken, and she refuses to drive a company van, she’s liberated the company’s 15 plate Mercedes S-Class. She’s only 19 and passed her test for less than a year, it’s a complete joke. Like people say, it’s not what they are, it’s who they are. It makes me want to get away too, but my driving opportunities are within the same company, so at least I’ll not be sat next to them
Like said, get your medical and provisional sent off for ASAP.
Good luck, and it’s probably going to be the old argument between doing what you enjoy, and money.
mrkazman and all other possible newbies if you have watched the stobarts tv show and believe wont you see then you will be in for a shock if you join this industry. Most companies work vehicles on 12 hr shifts that way the vehicle is constantly working. Shift start times at stupid times (for 3 years I use to start work between 1 am & 6 am the latter was referred to as a late start).
Some companies will try and push you to run bent or use vehicles that are not for the road, remember its your licence on the line when your on the road.
Nights out make sure your wife g/f wot ever is happy with you being away from home. Relationship breakdowns is really high in this industry due to the unsociable long hours.
Not trying to put you off but be aware this is not a 9 to 5 job.
Hank Hill:
mrkazman and all other possible newbies if you have watched the stobarts tv show and believe wont you see then you will be in for a shock if you join this industry. Most companies work vehicles on 12 hr shifts that way the vehicle is constantly working. Shift start times at stupid times (for 3 years I use to start work between 1 am & 6 am the latter was referred to as a late start).
Some companies will try and push you to run bent or use vehicles that are not for the road, remember its your licence on the line when your on the road.
Nights out make sure your wife g/f wot ever is happy with you being away from home. Relationship breakdowns is really high in this industry due to the unsociable long hours.
Not trying to put you off but be aware this is not a 9 to 5 job.
understood mate. yup, thats why im lookin into it rather than jumping in both feet first. Am aware its not a 9-5 job as well.
…stobarts tv show and believe wont you see then you will be in for a shock
*what?
As in their TV show doesnt represent the true Stobart? so you’re suggesting not working or applying to stobart? forget other companies, I wouldnt come near em without thorough research first.
I have had friends and family that seen that show and told me i should apply for a job with them. So yes some people do think its a true reflection of the road haulage industry
I am in a very similar situation to you mate and , as I have just mentioned on another thread, I am being slowly put off the idea of going down the lgv route …
Truth:
I am in a very similar situation to you mate and , as I have just mentioned on another thread, I am being slowly put off the idea of going down the lgv route …
Don’t be put off by the HGV route as there are some good companies out there im looking at being interviewed on Thursday for a job that’s paying 32k so theres good money in it and there will be some companys that pay you poor and treat you bad but its like any company some are good some are bad you just gotta find the right ones
Baines will charge: around £1500
Dhoot: £1400
Stobart: £2000
My thing is that I am still working full time and need to be able to do the training part time. My notice at work is a stinking 3 months! Ive been advised that the from start to finish it could take around 2 months. I can and will only give notice once I have qualified.
Stobart is a massive company with their own training centres and vehicles etc.
Ive seen Dhoot and Baines vehicles around quite alot locally.
So still trying to decide which company to go with. Baines / Dhoot or Stobart.
What about keeping your job, doing the qualifications/tests part time maybe in holidays? Then just doing agency part time until you get rid of the dreaded novelty value, yes we have all been there big shiny truck and all that but it wears off most of us then if after several months you really do like it more than your present work going full time? Is that feasible?
alder:
What about keeping your job, doing the qualifications/tests part time maybe in holidays? Then just doing agency part time until you get rid of the dreaded novelty value, yes we have all been there big shiny truck and all that but it wears off most of us then if after several months you really do like it more than your present work going full time? Is that feasible?
Its the only way i will be able to do it. Part time until i am qualified and go full time.
Theres novelty with every new job though isnt there. [emoji6]
So to cut a long story short, Ive been sitting behind a desk for 9 years… time I got out behind the wheel I feel. Ive been in telecommunications for over 10 years. looking for something new to do. a new job… a fresh start.
Its been a long time since I thought about trucks… but theres always been something else.
I love driving… and ive been looking around to see what options are available for training to become a trucker… that includes training and employment with Eddie Stobart…or any other companies. I then came across this forum and I am so glad I didnt look any further at some of the websites that I came across out there.
Secondly, Eddie Stobart… would you train with them to take up employment? I think I can compare them with the AA of Driving schools right? charge you an arm and a leg for training so that they cover their over heads and then you join them as an ADI (approved driving instructor)…by this time you’ve spent 3k and need work desperately to make up what youve lost…
Thirdly, is there anyone in the London Borough of Hillingdon who is on this forum that could recommend anyone local for training and test.
Know this… I know nothing about this industry and nothing about driving a truck… heck never sat in one either. The closest ive ever got to it was doing Furniture removals back in 2000 with my cousin because I didnt have a job… and that was a Man and a Van. lol
Final question, which im sure has been asked plenty of times already so pardon the repetition… Is it worth it? does it pay well? or is that just a rumour that truckers get paid good money… and what is good money exactly? 30k annually for 60 hours a week? or are you restricted… gosh i just realised, ive asked more questions in that one sentence than the whole thread lol. hope you guys dont mind.
Look forward to being part of the forum on here.
Dear Sir,
I have to agree with Alder. This is a con in it’s entirety. It’s basically inviting you to pay for an HGV training course, whereby, upon you passing your test (however many you need to take to pass), you are rewarded with a job. No you’re not! They sign you onto their agency list of bodies and claim to offer you around to perspective customer’s. The catch is; there’s not many transport firm’s out there who want to take someone on who has no experience.
You’ll be told time and time again that there’s no work for you. But as you’ll be employed by this agency, whilst not actually earning anything, who will have honoured their promise. There is a chance you could get the odd call from them one day, with them asking you ‘can you do a handball job for them tomorrow in a 7.5 tonner for minimum wage’. You’d obviously decline and then remember that V40LLY on TruckNet, who was right.
As I’ve said before, the only way to know if you like truck driving is to actually do it for a while.
The phrase “truck driving” covers quite a broad spectrum of activity so it is difficult for anyone to give an average kind of description of what an normal day or week is like.
Container work/fridge work/multidrop/trunking/Tramping/European etc all have their own dynamic.
I feel I must avoid saying anything “negative” about the job as on here, it seems only positive experiences are to be valued.
Trucking for a living CAN be a job but usually due to the nature of the beast it would be more accurate to describe it as a way of life.
The novelty factor will keep you interested for a few years like it did for me then I got mind rot from the same British roads and moved abroad, now I have the novelty factor again! Keeps my brain fresh, I hope!
It would be a leap into the unknown for you but that is life is it not…you must taste it to know it.
Good luck.
lol.
then if after several months you really do like it more than your present work going full time? Is that feasible?