Yatsay93:
there are plenty of jobs out there it wont be a waste of money just make sure you do youre research and look for a good 1-1 training company and really listen to what the instructer say and tells you to do i admit it is a bit of a struggle at first but once you have held youre license 6months to a year it gets easier to find better work and if you would like to progress a bit further it is well worth doing youre artic once you have gained a bit of experience on class2 i passed my class 1 today am ive been offered a full time class 1 job tramping and i will be going to discuss the job tomorrow in more detail just dont be too picky and choosy on what work you will and wont do as to start off with you will probaly be required to do multidrop if on class2
good luck you will be suprised how quick you earn back what you invest
How do you earn back what you have invested with your training, when you’re only earning circa £8 p/h? So what if you’re working 20 odd hours more a week, enabling you to take home an extra £100 more than a FLT driver in a warehouse; that isn’t clever!
Yatsay93:
there are plenty of jobs out there it wont be a waste of money just make sure you do youre research and look for a good 1-1 training company and really listen to what the instructer say and tells you to do i admit it is a bit of a struggle at first but once you have held youre license 6months to a year it gets easier to find better work and if you would like to progress a bit further it is well worth doing youre artic once you have gained a bit of experience on class2 i passed my class 1 today am ive been offered a full time class 1 job tramping and i will be going to discuss the job tomorrow in more detail just dont be too picky and choosy on what work you will and wont do as to start off with you will probaly be required to do multidrop if on class2
good luck you will be suprised how quick you earn back what you invest
How do you earn back what you have invested with your training, when you’re only earning circa £8 p/h? So what if you’re working 20 odd hours more a week, enabling you to take home an extra £100 more than a FLT driver in a warehouse; that isn’t clever!
Simple you’ll be working 50 hrs a week plus
Didn’t I just say that?
You think that working 50 + hours per week is a privilege? You are a cretin, and with that mindset; an embarrassment to this forum.
Yatsay93:
there are plenty of jobs out there it wont be a waste of money just make sure you do youre research and look for a good 1-1 training company and really listen to what the instructer say and tells you to do i admit it is a bit of a struggle at first but once you have held youre license 6months to a year it gets easier to find better work and if you would like to progress a bit further it is well worth doing youre artic once you have gained a bit of experience on class2 i passed my class 1 today am ive been offered a full time class 1 job tramping and i will be going to discuss the job tomorrow in more detail just dont be too picky and choosy on what work you will and wont do as to start off with you will probaly be required to do multidrop if on class2
good luck you will be suprised how quick you earn back what you invest
How do you earn back what you have invested with your training, when you’re only earning circa £8 p/h? So what if you’re working 20 odd hours more a week, enabling you to take home an extra £100 more than a FLT driver in a warehouse; that isn’t clever!
Simple you’ll be working 50 hrs a week plus
Didn’t I just say that?
You think that working 50 + hours per week is a privilege? You are a cretin, and with that mindset; an embarrassment to this forum.
P.s Who said wagon driver’s were thick?
OK so NMW is £6.50 yes?
You say you get £8 yes?
That’s a difference of £1.50 yes?
Let’s say you invested £1500 yes?
That means after working 1000 hours your break even yes?
That comes to about 25 weeks yes?
After that ALL OF IT IS EXTRA yes?
Please enlighten me, where am I going wrong Mr Troll?
PS. U try finding an FLT job with no experience. I tried for 6 months with not a single reply back from well over 100 applications. Plus you get to work in a grubby wearhouse all day long. No fresh air, no sun… What joys!
Stop insulting people on here. The only person whos looking bad is you. However if you want to get banned from this site please go right ahead. I’ll be happy try and start the process for you
Radar19:
There are jobs out there just don’t be expecting to be given the best truck on the fleet doing the easist runs.
Totally agree with this, after passing my tests (did class 1 within 3 months of getting my class 2) spent nearly 3 years doing a variety of work through an agency. After 5 years of driving hgv’s I was offered the chance to go on gas tankers, so the work is out.
I was in a similar position to you, was made redundant from a well paid factory and decided it was time for a change.
Just be aware that the shifts can be long with daft o clock start times.
As for getting banned; don’t make me laugh. What’s the worst that can happen; TruckNet delete my profile and I create another one? I’ve had much worst threats than that in my life.
Anyway, my rebuttal is:
National minimum is wage is £6.50 p/h, yes.
My pay is salaried. I get £465 per week + £65 per week bonus. If I work 55 hours (average) in a week, it works out at £9.64. Without the bonus, it would amount to £8.45. The number of hours can vary, according to how busy the company is. In other words, my hourly rate goes up and down on a weekly basis.
Our rigid drivers get paid £380 per week + £65 per week bonus. For the same number of hours, that works out as £8.09 or £6.90, without the bonus. During the busy Christmas period, the workload increases, thus, the hourly rate deplete’s. A rigid driver could earn £6.30 (less than the minimum wage) for 60 hours, if he looses his £65 per bonus.
You used £1,500 as an example of cost to train as an HGV 2 driver, as the OP is starting from scratch. That would be a basic training course with 1 test included. If you fail, it means more lessons and more tests until you eventually pass. Assuming you do pass first time for the £1,500 you paid, to then go on and work for minimum wage, thereafter, or a bit more, if you’re lucky; I hardly consider that to be worthwhile!
FLT drivers are also 10 a penny, so getting your first job, would be difficult. However, getting your first HGV driving job could be just as difficult.
If you do get a job, driving a truck, with a filthy cab and no air conditioning, it’s only comparable to your warehouse example.
You could work in an off licence for minimum wage. You could also go and fill shelves in Tesco for £7.80 per hour. You could do all sorts of low paid labour work, which are devoid of any skill, for the same rate or even a better rate than an HGV driver. At least then, you’ve not actually paid for any training beforehand!
So, the question still stands. How is paying to train as an HGV driver a good idea■■?
It’s nice to have a bit more detail to what you were saying. I have to agree you do have a point. As with all these things I guess a lot of it is luck as to who you manage to get a job with.
As for me personally I have back problems and a lot of jobs like shelf stocking are out of the question for me. Having spent months looking for work before the economy wabled unable to get any work I wanted to find something I can do thats in demand.
For me its worked out OK so far. Passed my test on Monday, got an interview at an agency yesterday (Wednesday) and I’ve got work tomorrow.
But as you rightly say, this won’t be the industry for everyone and not all transport companies are descent.
It’s nice to have a bit more detail to what you were saying. I have to agree you do have a point. As with all these things I guess a lot of it is luck as to who you manage to get a job with.
As for me personally I have back problems and a lot of jobs like shelf stocking are out of the question for me. Having spent months looking for work before the economy wabled unable to get any work I wanted to find something I can do thats in demand.
For me its worked out OK so far. Passed my test on Monday, got an interview at an agency yesterday (Wednesday) and I’ve got work tomorrow.
But as you rightly say, this won’t be the industry for everyone and not all transport companies are descent.
That’s good news Trog! The work you have Friday, is it Class C, or C1?
As you know I passed on Monday as well, and my online licence still says I only have Class C provisional (so not updated yet). Is yours?
It’s nice to have a bit more detail to what you were saying. I have to agree you do have a point. As with all these things I guess a lot of it is luck as to who you manage to get a job with.
As for me personally I have back problems and a lot of jobs like shelf stocking are out of the question for me. Having spent months looking for work before the economy wabled unable to get any work I wanted to find something I can do thats in demand.
For me its worked out OK so far. Passed my test on Monday, got an interview at an agency yesterday (Wednesday) and I’ve got work tomorrow.
But as you rightly say, this won’t be the industry for everyone and not all transport companies are descent.
That’s good news Trog! The work you have Friday, is it Class C, or C1?
As you know I passed on Monday as well, and my online licence still says I only have Class C provisional (so not updated yet). Is yours?
Cheers,
Evil
No mine still says unclaimed pass but this agency does van work too so I’m in a van tomorrow. Their giving me cat C money though
PaulNowak:
I did mine in a manual because back then, you had to. But to be honest, unless you’re planning on doing something a little out of the ordinary, you’ll probably never drive a manual truck ever again
Its always worth keeping your hand in with the manual gearboxes.
Where I working all the trucks are manuals.
Way better then any auto.
Tried autos and they don’t like liquid loads and steep hills! Hence all manuals.
Problems arise when they need extra drivers during peak times, the driver trainer guy gets somewhat shocked by the poor use of the clutch and gearbox by some people attending interviews.
V40LLY:
As for getting banned; don’t make me laugh. What’s the worst that can happen; TruckNet delete my profile and I create another one? I’ve had much worst threats than that in my life.
Anyway, my rebuttal is:
National minimum is wage is £6.50 p/h, yes.
My pay is salaried. I get £465 per week + £65 per week bonus. If I work 55 hours (average) in a week, it works out at £9.64. Without the bonus, it would amount to £8.45. The number of hours can vary, according to how busy the company is. In other words, my hourly rate goes up and down on a weekly basis.
Our rigid drivers get paid £380 per week + £65 per week bonus. For the same number of hours, that works out as £8.09 or £6.90, without the bonus. During the busy Christmas period, the workload increases, thus, the hourly rate deplete’s. A rigid driver could earn £6.30 (less than the minimum wage) for 60 hours, if he looses his £65 per bonus.
You used £1,500 as an example of cost to train as an HGV 2 driver, as the OP is starting from scratch. That would be a basic training course with 1 test included. If you fail, it means more lessons and more tests until you eventually pass. Assuming you do pass first time for the £1,500 you paid, to then go on and work for minimum wage, thereafter, or a bit more, if you’re lucky; I hardly consider that to be worthwhile!
FLT drivers are also 10 a penny, so getting your first job, would be difficult. However, getting your first HGV driving job could be just as difficult.
If you do get a job, driving a truck, with a filthy cab and no air conditioning, it’s only comparable to your warehouse example.
You could work in an off licence for minimum wage. You could also go and fill shelves in Tesco for £7.80 per hour. You could do all sorts of low paid labour work, which are devoid of any skill, for the same rate or even a better rate than an HGV driver. At least then, you’ve not actually paid for any training beforehand!
So, the question still stands. How is paying to train as an HGV driver a good idea■■?
These are HARD facts that are really putting me off in fairness. I am on salary with a shut down over Xmas and 26 days floating holiday to take as I please. I am on about £25k a year. It sounds like I would be mad to give that up after reading everything on here .
I am aware of what my franchise driver mate earns (its a lot more than me) but to get to that point I would have to fork out a HELL of a lot of money passing my tests/ getting experience driving weekends on low pay/ getting my transport managers course/ finding a concrete or tarmac company to take me on locally / purchasing the truck through them etc etc
The plan was to work weekends to get back the money that I had paid out obtaining my licence whilst getting experience, before approaching an prospective employer . Sounds like that would take an age!
I think its time to smell the coffee…
V40LLY:
As for getting banned; don’t make me laugh. What’s the worst that can happen; TruckNet delete my profile and I create another one? I’ve had much worst threats than that in my life.
Anyway, my rebuttal is:
National minimum is wage is £6.50 p/h, yes.
My pay is salaried. I get £465 per week + £65 per week bonus. If I work 55 hours (average) in a week, it works out at £9.64. Without the bonus, it would amount to £8.45. The number of hours can vary, according to how busy the company is. In other words, my hourly rate goes up and down on a weekly basis.
Our rigid drivers get paid £380 per week + £65 per week bonus. For the same number of hours, that works out as £8.09 or £6.90, without the bonus. During the busy Christmas period, the workload increases, thus, the hourly rate deplete’s. A rigid driver could earn £6.30 (less than the minimum wage) for 60 hours, if he looses his £65 per bonus.
You used £1,500 as an example of cost to train as an HGV 2 driver, as the OP is starting from scratch. That would be a basic training course with 1 test included. If you fail, it means more lessons and more tests until you eventually pass. Assuming you do pass first time for the £1,500 you paid, to then go on and work for minimum wage, thereafter, or a bit more, if you’re lucky; I hardly consider that to be worthwhile!
FLT drivers are also 10 a penny, so getting your first job, would be difficult. However, getting your first HGV driving job could be just as difficult.
If you do get a job, driving a truck, with a filthy cab and no air conditioning, it’s only comparable to your warehouse example.
You could work in an off licence for minimum wage. You could also go and fill shelves in Tesco for £7.80 per hour. You could do all sorts of low paid labour work, which are devoid of any skill, for the same rate or even a better rate than an HGV driver. At least then, you’ve not actually paid for any training beforehand!
So, the question still stands. How is paying to train as an HGV driver a good idea■■?
These are HARD facts that are really putting me off in fairness. I am on salary with a shut down over Xmas and 26 days floating holiday to take as I please. I am on about £25k a year. It sounds like I would be mad to give that up after reading everything on here .
I am aware of what my franchise driver mate earns (its a lot more than me) but to get to that point I would have to fork out a HELL of a lot of money passing my tests/ getting experience driving weekends on low pay/ getting my transport managers course/ finding a concrete or tarmac company to take me on locally / purchasing the truck through them etc etc
The plan was to work weekends to get back the money that I had paid out obtaining my licence whilst getting experience, before approaching an prospective employer . Sounds like that would take an age!
I think its time to smell the coffee…
You’re a sensible chap, Truth. At least you’ve done some research into what this job entails and not blindly thrown money at training to become an HGV driver, to then get your first jobs and learn the hard way that you’ve been conned. You often see adverts in newspapers from training school’s, who say ‘Earn £500 to £600 per week as an HGV driver’, whilst failing to mention that to achieve this, you need to work a lot of hours and potentially sleep in a layby for a measly £24 a night a few times a week.
You could earn £500 to £600 per week cleaning toilets, if someone paid you to do that 70 hours a week like some drivers do and think they’re earning a fortune! (Giggle)
If you are on 25k p.a with xmas hols don’t bother with the hgv route.
yep some drivers do earn some good money, bulk fuel drivers etc but that too is being chipped away at.
if its what you want to do and it costs 10 grand, you are not wasting your money. if you dont really want to do it, or you think the grass is greener and it costs a tenner, you are wasting your money. only you can answer.
I do mate
On the other hand though I am gutted , I really liked the idea of owning my own truck and earning good money , as may mate does.
Its just the getting to that point that’s hard ! Its time as much as anything holding down a full time job, if I didn’t have a job I would still be going for it 100% .
I would have to do my training/test/cpc at weekends and the have to eventually knock work on the head to do the Transport Managers course and then HOPE that I could drop into a job with someone like Lafarge Tarmac locally.
BIG gamble
The work you have Friday, is it Class C, or C1?
.