I was an apprentice mechanic. Trucking was always my aim but in those days when you had to be 21 you needed something to fill the gap between school and licence . Mechanic as my Dad was, and passed on down to my youngest brother who’s a fantastic mechanic. I was a bit crap at best! But my heart was never in it
Private limousine driver to UK Tramp and Carryfast to attend seminars and lectures around the world including hostile war and combat zones .
Tarmaceater:
Private limousine driver to UK Tramp and Carryfast to attend seminars and lectures around the world including hostile war and combat zones .
A proper full time job 
Turf accountants clerk,then welder.
Was an ADR Tanker Driver.
Last job I had was mainly universal grinder ( external , internal , surface etc ) , but also did horizontal milling , vertical milling , horizontal boring , vertical boring , turning ,honing , saws , deburring,fitting , welding ( mostly mig )
That was at what was avelimg batford ( but became Wordsworth holdings ) , good job when barfords , working on parts for dump trucks , graders , rollers , but couldn’t compete with caterpillar so diversified into allsorts , even did big d fifth wheels , sliders etc , welded them up then fitted them up , eventually got a robot to weld them , just fitted them up , even made some frames army used for falklands war
All seems a bit of a waste now but that’s life , lot of my mates from that era arnt around anymore , sad as we had some really good times , not just at work but on a weekend , different era I guess
HGV fitter from age 15 until 33 then for health reasons I switched to driving trucks for the company I worked for. Never regretted it.
Pete.
Trainee insurance underwriter. Always wanted to drive but HGV was 21 then. This was nearly 50 years ago when driving jobs were a lot better than now. Started on non HGV at 19 then class 1 at 21 until I retired 18mths ago. Only had 3 different driving jobs, last one just over 40 years, but it was a good job!
Thanks for all your replies, they made for a very interesting read; nice to see the varied backgrounds. It seems the general consensus is that people are glad they made the change. 
Mechanic. Didn’t ever really put the effort into that, thinking the money wasn’t enough (rightly or wrongly) so decided to get into HGV driving. Passed my class 1 at 22 and worked my way up through different driving jobs. Got on the property ladder and carved out decent living. I don’t regret it for a second as it’s now got me into a really good industry that wouldn’t have been possible with my driving experience.
I used to be a professional soccer player, I used to play for man utd when c Ronaldo and Rooney were both on the pitch
Gave it up as playing football got boring decide to drive a truck
TruckDriverBen:
I used to be a professional soccer player, I used to play for man utd when c Ronaldo and Rooney were both on the pitchGave it up as playing football got boring decide to drive a truck
Made the right decision mate, I’d rather wash dishes for a living than live through the shame of putting on a united shirt let alone playing for them! 
The money was a massive reason for me, just been offered a job paying £50000 a year.
12 years driving buses and coaches, to HGV class 1, spent 6 months working for ASDA RDC 8, 1996, CSA grabbed my nuts, so went back to buses for 3 years, in 2000 went into HCA at local hospital as hated buses and agencies were ■■■■■
2002-2005 Northumbria University, Nurse Training
2005-2014 worked A&E and Admissions unit.
2014-Present work part time as a band 7 for NHS 111, have a team of 10 nurses.
Also 2018-present work for Ambulance Service as a Technician.
June 2021, have returned to agency work, 1 day a fortnight, until I leave the ambulances in Sept, when I start my new Part time, 2 day week band 7 Safeguarding role for NHS111
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Taffy, that’s JD Owen in Mold is it ?