Always loved lorries. Started working life as a tractor driver on a large farm and later for a contractor doing land drainage and all manner of other work. Through a hobby of mine I landed a job on a magazine in Peterborough as a staff writer. That went well… so well I was headhunted for the rival. After a few years I got fed up with the politics and the increasing office hours. Tried my hand selling ex MoD equipment, did ok but I’m not ruthless enough and the “interesting” commission structure made me rethink. Then went self employed freelance writing and bought a 3.5 tonner to do a bit of car shiftin’. Did it properly with full insurance etc and it went well. Absolutely loved it - did Ireland, Germany, France and all over the UK. However mechanical problems with the truck were a constant worry and it became more difficult to get regular work as the competition is fierce in the extreme!! In the meantime I had started working for a good friend doing agricultural machinery demonstrations… their HGV driver was moving on so an arrangement was soon reached. Passed my class 2 earlier this year, have class 1 retest this week after I spazzed it good and proper 
I should have done it years ago, love it, every trip is different, love the old lorry and take a pride in her, can’t wait to have the bendy to play with as well.
Hello guys,
I’m a newbie on here and was browsing thru and spotted your post and it struck a cord with me. I hope i can provide a bit of +ve encouragement to you and others with similar quandaries. I have also done the Uni thang which was great and after some further hard work then got a decent paid “professional” job in Local Govt. Before you all start through rocks and chasing me with pitch forks…not all jobs there are cushy…plus given I was heavily involved in the legal side of things and corporate lawyers etc… i figured it was worth it for the stress levels and to also ignore my moral compass… so I looked elsewhere but this time I factored in that I have always enjoyed anything truck related. Everyone thought I was nuts.
Anyhow long story short, after truck driving in UK for various companies, I’ve now ended up in Canada driving this 2014 Peterbilt hauling Haz Mat from mid western states back into Canada. Its quite well paid, to the point you actually earn a good enough wage to enable 5 on/5 off. It has its good points/ bad points (usually involving occasional -40 C winds lol) but overall I’m sure glad i made the difficult decision to chuck up a “highly regarded” job.
Therefore, my message is, although it has not been easy, with plenty of ups and downs, if you keep focused and take the leap, who knows where you could end up !
My Grandfather was a lorry driver. My Father was a lorry driver. I used to go out with him during school hols and became interested in trucks and diesel runs in my blood, as does the other side of me, flying.
I completed my HGV to save for training in another field. I became a commercial pilot, spent years in the industry then was put out of work and dusted off my HGV again. Found work back in the flying industry again. Recently I’ve begun to have serious doubts about the aviation industry and what I want from life.
Yes it’s far far less money driving but the extreme stress and problems with personal life/ being away from home for weeks that comes with aviation has had me day dreaming about packing it in. I’m not sure I’d like to return to driving full time but it’s truthful to say the days I spent back behind the wheel were so relaxing and stress free compared the the world I’m used to. Made me think is it all worth it. Stress shortens your life they say 
