i’m sure it’s possible but how hard is it for a u.s. driver to get employed by a european company. any info would be nice
If you’re legally entitled to work here in the UK and got some proof of your US licence, you could possibly sign for an agency and sign a deal where they might put you through a UK test and then you have to work for them for a while.
That might your best bet to get a start over here. They also might help you get a Visa, assuming you need one.
Its just a thought.
thanks for your reply. it sounds like I need someone that will hire me before i can cross the pond and get any kind of visas or work permits. For what it’s worth i have an international license with the class E which i assume includes class c and b. but this license looks very jailhouse even the its from AAA (american automobile association). also, i’ve been driving these aritics for 4 years.
Your US licence will not be valid for you to drive in the UK - I know because of my job, you will have to take and pass a UK driving within 12 months of arrival in the UK and must also apply for a work visa.
The application for the visa must be done before arrival in the UK at one of the UK Embassy’s in the US.
You know for two country’s that play up our ‘special freindship’ to their own people and to the world in general, you’d think it would be easy to migrate to each others country wouldn’t you, but the fact of the matter is it is easier to migrate to Australia than America and they have some serious migration laws and it takes up to 2 years.
I saw an advert in truck and driver mag this month looking for drivers to migrate to Canada for long haul/USA work!
Hi GL
I’m an American who went thru the whole deal a couple of years ago…Arrived with a valid license (NC) and UK residence permit…
Can’t even get Insurance for a private automobile here on a US License…Can rent one easily enough, but buy one and it’s no go…
Had to take all the writtens and then a practical test in Car,Motorcycle, Rigid, and then finally the Semi…With waiting for exam dates!..(gotta pass one at a time and then rebook the next level…same with the driving tests)…It took around 4 months all up…
Very different style of driving and you NEED to take a training course to bring you up up to speed with local reg’s and expected techniques…No way could an American pass the local truck test without local tips…
Very strange at first, being re-taught, but necessary…If you get your mind right and listen up…You can get away with 3 days for the rigid…followed by a couple on the Big Truck (Biggish!)…I did 5 days all up training and passed both tests first attempt…But a lot of luck involved. Just managed to get it right on the day and the examiner might have needed eyeglasses 
…
A re-test would be a financially painful excercise…All up I paid around 1150 Sterling ($2235.00) …if you blow out the test?..I think another 6-700 pounds would be needed…plus a couple of weeks minimum for a new test date…So plan on having plenty of eating money while you go thru it…
Hope I’m not painting too black a picture, but it’s not as easy as you might (?)think…It’s a tough test!
Once you have it. No problem to get started with an agency on around £9.50 -11.50 an hour on nights (South Central UK)…I drove agency for a while and now I’m an O/O…
PM me if you need any further advice! I’m running EU so it could be a slow response…
BR…Paul
user44,
just out of interest, do you think that British tests are harder/more comprehensive than American ones or just different? Obviously someone going either way would have to pick up all the rules and regs in the other country so just interested in the test itself.
Cheers
USA tests are far easier,
I passed in 2002 (costing about $100) in ND USA the car,class A CDL with Doubles/triples ,tanks,Hazmat and even the motorbike test and it took believe it or not all of 90 minutes including the road test in the truck 
Although I will say that the test centre in Grand Forks ND where maybe a liitle bit slacker because of the amount of overseas harvest boys/gals they where testing during April/May/June in time for the start of the wheat harvest run in the midwest.
us tests are a joke. when i took my test for a car it was all done in a parking lot. i had to pull up to a curb, do a three point turn and then manuever through some cones while going foward. it took about 5 minutes. my cdl wasn’t much different. i think it took me 30 minutes. most of which was done driving on city streets. it shows because most new truck drivers can’t back up. the place i work out of is a little tough to back into mostly because of bad lighting and the building is on an angle across the parking lot. all the time i see guys taking over an hour to back in. if i had a camera and if there was interest i’d take a picture but i don’t have a camera. i appreciate the come back user44. i’d like to get into euro work diffently but i’ll take what i can get at first. how does it compare to us driving?
Before the US went to the CDL, New York had one of the hardest tests to pass. It actually got easier when the national CDL rules were implemented. I passed under the old test, BTW. It took me something like 45 minutes, on a variety of city, suburban, and rural roads. The school I took the test from also had an 8% grade going out of the lot, just to give you an extra chance to grind gears…