I know this topic has been done to the death, but does me wanting to become a truck driver and know where i want to go in life make me a nobody?
Somebody said it to me and it hasnt a such got me down, in fact made me more motivated but it just annoys me when people say this even though there fed, watered and clothed due to truck drivers but this always escapes there mind when they think about you lads, who lets come to think about it are vital in keeping this country going.
matizerSCANIAR480:
…does me wanting to become a truck driver and know where i want to go in life make me a nobody?
No, it makes you somebody who wants to be a truck driver and knows where they want to go in life.
What annoys me is truck drivers who think it’s a highly skilled job on a par with brain surgery. Even in the more specialist areas of the industry, it’s still sitting behind a wheel listening to the radio for the most part. Some truck drivers need to get over themselves and see the job for what it actually is; a piece of ■■■■ ideally suited to people who don’t like working for a living.
So what if other people look down on you? If it’s what you want to do and you think it’ll make you happy then do it. I did and it was the best decision I’ve ever made.
At the end of the day, we’re not scientists working on a cure for cancer, you don’t need much of a brain in order to obtain the license and for the most part it doesn’t take overt amounts of skill to do the day in day out sort of jobs (How good an individual is at doing it is another matter.) It’s no wonder people in general look down on this choice of job/career in one sense because unless you really want to get into specialist and therefore better paying work, as a driver you’ve reached about as far up the ladder as you can go. If you get moved “up” into the office or whatever, that may count as career progression but you would no longer be driving. From the outside looking in, you do a blue collar job, with no way to advance, the stereotypical image of truckers isn’t exactly public friendly and most importantly, those who don’t do the job have no idea what it is like.
On the positive side, we do perform an incredibly important role in society, but it is an often unnoticed and unthanked task. Not that I’m suggesting we should be held in high regard in comparison to others. There are far more important cogs turning the wheel, we are simply the grease that keep all the cogs turning. No matter what job another person may do, be it the queen to a part time cleaner, in either a business or personal sense they rely on us to move the goods they require from point A to point B. The problem I guess is many of us live “outside” society in that our work patterns do not follow the norm. Several times now I’ve had the phonecall asking if I fancied going down the pub only to answer “Sorry man I’m currently down in x,y or z”. It’s not an 8-4 kind of job, there are no guarentees. How many times have we said “I should be home by this time” and making plans, only to get held up and end up several hours late, if you manage to get home at all that day.
Why do I really think people look down on us though? Jealousy. Seems crazy but think about it. At least in my group of friends, I’m the only one currently happy in the job/career I’m pursuing at the minute. I have one close friend who hates the job he’s in, but stays with it because he believes in 10 years he’ll be at high management level and will get the new BMW and all that. Is it worth it, the extra money for a job you hate? Or the moody warehouse employee that is less than helpful, they see you come in, then go again, knowing that tomorrow they will have to come back to the same 4 walls doing the same repetitive task for 8 hours, all for the fantastic sum of just over £6 an hour. Could we achieve more in our lives? Possibly, for the majority of us I’m sure with some hard work and dedication we could make “more of ourselves” but is it worth it waking up every day wishing you didn’t have to go into work.
Ultimately, if you are happy, sod everybody else. The people who truly care about you will regardless of being rich or poor, fat or thin, whether you see them everyday or once every six months. Anybody else is simply surplus to requirements and can jog on. All that really counts, is that you as an individual are as happy with your life as you can be. The saying “Life is not a dress rehearsal” springs to mind. Not everyone can be a banker earning more in bonuses in a year than I will in a lifetime, or a doctor or Alan Sugar. The world needs its cleaners, mechanics, construction workers, postmen, policemen, truck drivers etc. Find the place where you fit, enjoy it, and everyone elses opinions will cease to matter.
Will I always drive trucks? Who can say, what is right now may not feel right in 5-10-20 years, but right now this works for me so people can look down on me all they want.
The Pariah:
At the end of the day, we’re not scientists working on a cure for cancer, you don’t need much of a brain in order to obtain the license and for the most part it doesn’t take overt amounts of skill to do the day in day out sort of jobs (How good an individual is at doing it is another matter.) It’s no wonder people in general look down on this choice of job/career in one sense because unless you really want to get into specialist and therefore better paying work, as a driver you’ve reached about as far up the ladder as you can go. If you get moved “up” into the office or whatever, that may count as career progression but you would no longer be driving. From the outside looking in, you do a blue collar job, with no way to advance, the stereotypical image of truckers isn’t exactly public friendly and most importantly, those who don’t do the job have no idea what it is like.On the positive side, we do perform an incredibly important role in society, but it is an often unnoticed and unthanked task. Not that I’m suggesting we should be held in high regard in comparison to others. There are far more important cogs turning the wheel, we are simply the grease that keep all the cogs turning. No matter what job another person may do, be it the queen to a part time cleaner, in either a business or personal sense they rely on us to move the goods they require from point A to point B. The problem I guess is many of us live “outside” society in that our work patterns do not follow the norm. Several times now I’ve had the phonecall asking if I fancied going down the pub only to answer “Sorry man I’m currently down in x,y or z”. It’s not an 8-4 kind of job, there are no guarentees. How many times have we said “I should be home by this time” and making plans, only to get held up and end up several hours late, if you manage to get home at all that day.
Why do I really think people look down on us though? Jealousy. Seems crazy but think about it. At least in my group of friends, I’m the only one currently happy in the job/career I’m pursuing at the minute. I have one close friend who hates the job he’s in, but stays with it because he believes in 10 years he’ll be at high management level and will get the new BMW and all that. Is it worth it, the extra money for a job you hate? Or the moody warehouse employee that is less than helpful, they see you come in, then go again, knowing that tomorrow they will have to come back to the same 4 walls doing the same repetitive task for 8 hours, all for the fantastic sum of just over £6 an hour. Could we achieve more in our lives? Possibly, for the majority of us I’m sure with some hard work and dedication we could make “more of ourselves” but is it worth it waking up every day wishing you didn’t have to go into work.
Ultimately, if you are happy, sod everybody else. The people who truly care about you will regardless of being rich or poor, fat or thin, whether you see them everyday or once every six months. Anybody else is simply surplus to requirements and can jog on. All that really counts, is that you as an individual are as happy with your life as you can be. The saying “Life is not a dress rehearsal” springs to mind. Not everyone can be a banker earning more in bonuses in a year than I will in a lifetime, or a doctor or Alan Sugar. The world needs its cleaners, mechanics, construction workers, postmen, policemen, truck drivers etc. Find the place where you fit, enjoy it, and everyone elses opinions will cease to matter.
Will I always drive trucks? Who can say, what is right now may not feel right in 5-10-20 years, but right now this works for me so people can look down on me all they want.
I wish every one had your positive attitude, I think this is the problem with a lot of people in life chasing the money all the time, I persanaly would not do a job I hated just for the money, I am currently an o/d and I could easily earn more money say working on an agency but ultimately I enjoy doing what I do and every day is a challenge , it’s like the the drivers you meet that bang on about how shelf stacking in sainsbugs on nights pays more, but is it a job you would be happy in, the problem with society now days is its all about what you have and havnt got flat screen tv BMW on drive etc me persanaly I’m happy to have my health every thing else is a bonus someone once said greed is good no greed causes resecions n upset I wonder if the goin rate for a truck driver was say 100 k a year do u think there would still be a drivers shortage and the quality of drivers would improve
Life is what you make it
You’re a lot like I was. It’s in your blood and you’ve always wanted to do it. Nobody will change your mind. Some people are born to do it. It’s a way of life, not just a job. Others get their licence through the job centre, or fall for some 2 bob advert in the current bun. Usually find them on here starting threads about breaches of health and safety, their nasty operators won’t let them go to the toilet etc etc 
How good the job is depends on who you work for and what there like imo.
The job itself is easy but you can be put under huge pressure at times.
Go for it, at least you know what you want to do, reading stuff on here does give mixed reviews, I am finished driving big wheels now but I would not put anyone off becoming a driver from a young age, only you can see how it is, we can tell you all sorts of stories, yes do it - no don’t do it but you will find out for yourself, don’t be put off and go for it.
Good luck 
matizerSCANIAR480:
I know this topic has been done to the death, but does me wanting to become a truck driver and know where i want to go in life make me a nobody?Somebody said it to me and it hasnt a such got me down, in fact made me more motivated but it just annoys me when people say this even though there fed, watered and clothed due to truck drivers but this always escapes there mind when they think about you lads, who lets come to think about it are vital in keeping this country going.
Yep your a looser with a capital ! But at least your in good company
Nothing special about being a truck driver, nobody respects you, nobody listens to you & nobody gives a monkeys about you(especially the outfit you work for). You can easily be replaced & there never will be a shortage of drivers…
If you want to be a somebody in life & earn more then look elsewhere…
Well, you certainly won’t be held in very high regard, so if that’s important to a person then it’s probably not the best career choice for them. Essentially you have to be a different sort of animal to want to do the job in the first place, and only you can say if you are that animal.
I personally could do a “better” job, and as some who have been here since the early days will know, turned down the chance of a job as a staff writer for a national magazine because too much of the job would have been office based, and I have always been allergic to offices.
There’s nothing wrong with driving a truck- it’s something which is absolutely essential to society- but you do need to develop a bit of a thick skin before deciding to do it.
Harry Monk:
Well, you certainly won’t be held in very high regard, so if that’s important to a person then it’s probably not the best career choice for them. Essentially you have to be a different sort of animal to want to do the job in the first place, and only you can say if you are that animal.I personally could do a “better” job, and as some who have been here since the early days will know, turned down the chance of a job as a staff writer for a national magazine because too much of the job would have been office based, and I have always been allergic to offices.
There’s nothing wrong with driving a truck- it’s something which is absolutely essential to society- but you do need to develop a bit of a thick skin before deciding to do it.
And change your name to “Drive”
Cheers for the replies lads, much appreciated. i have decided that this is the only job i definitely want to do, other jobs seem ok but nothing jumps out at me. Going with my dad alot has taught me all the different types of people in this world and how to deal with them (well my dads way 
)
I started out on the buses (midland red) driving 28 seaters, then went up to Leyland Nationals, you were looked at buy most passengers as scum of the earth forgetting we were getting them to were they need to be.
Left there and went on the coaches started doing school runs etc and again looked at as scum, moved up to decent coachwork then European work to the piont that I would leave home in February and come home sometime in October then doing UK Tours for the rest of the year, at least on that you were looked at differently as you were getting to know the passengers and spending time with them.
When i decided to leave for a GOOD job, managing a fleet dept for a major manufacturer I thought i had made it, good money, company BMW, suits, nice watches all the crap that goes with it, but for 8 years I was the most unhappy miserable git you could meet.
I decided after getting made rudundant that i would go back to driving this time on trucks and the missus now constantly says i’m a different man.
What i’m trying to get to is I don’t give a rats ■■■ what people think of me or what i do and never really did, all i care about is doing something i love and getting on with the missus.
If driving is in your blood you won’t enjoy anything else, if you worry about what others think or say you wont be happy.
Do what you want, it’s your life and it’s not a rehearsal so get out there and have some fun.
Madguy 
I’m trying to make the decision at the moment - I currently run my own (well, me and a partner) electrical business, doing maintenance work for Housing Associations. It’s been going a few years now, and we have been both lucky and successful, the business does well, and we each make a good living from it.
But I’m bored **less doing it - I sit in an office all day, dealing with silly queries which shouldn’t ever get that far, and staring out of the window most of the day.
My dad was a driver for many years, trogging all over Europe & UK, and whilst I’m not so naive to think that those days will ever happen again, I am yearning to spend some time driving, even if only for long enough to decide if it’s for me or not. I imagine that I’m still going to spend a good portion of each day dealing with ■■■■■■■■■■ but at least the view from the window will change regularly!
In the meantime, if anybody wants some occasional cover for holidays, give me a shout! I’ve done some relief work for a local company, on everything from 3.5t up to 44t, and although I prefer the artics, I’m quite happy with whatever I do.
Gary
I earn very good money and i own my house,(at least one member off here has been there…) my car has seen better days, well one of them is not too bad, do not have a credit card or any debt and in a couple of weeks time as im lying on a beach for 2 weeks somewhere VVVV Hot, I will not give a Flying Flip what people think of me!!
None of my friends have ever said anyhing about me ‘Just being a Lorry Driver’ they treat me with respect and vice versa, irespective of what they do, incidentaly most are coppers!!
Some times Truck Drivers are their own worst enemies…Some of us should just try and smile a bit more…Oh and wash… 
Ok my last post was a tad flipant but was ment in jest, theres nothing wrong in wanting to drive trucks its done me for 25 years i own a house have a reasonable standard of living and hold my head high never having claimed a penny off the state so take no notice of the knockers if its what you want go for it
scaniason:
I’m trying to make the decision at the moment - I currently run my own (well, me and a partner) electrical business, doing maintenance work for Housing Associations. It’s been going a few years now, and we have been both lucky and successful, the business does well, and we each make a good living from it.But I’m bored **less doing it - I sit in an office all day, dealing with silly queries which shouldn’t ever get that far, and staring out of the window most of the day.
My dad was a driver for many years, trogging all over Europe & UK, and whilst I’m not so naive to think that those days will ever happen again, I am yearning to spend some time driving, even if only for long enough to decide if it’s for me or not. I imagine that I’m still going to spend a good portion of each day dealing with [zb], but at least the view from the window will change regularly!
In the meantime, if anybody wants some occasional cover for holidays, give me a shout! I’ve done some relief work for a local company, on everything from 3.5t up to 44t, and although I prefer the artics, I’m quite happy with whatever I do.
Gary
Sounds like you’ve got it sweet there mate, I’d give my right arm for a stress free 9-5 office job on the money I’m currently on(or more of course)…
Lorry driving was all I ever wanted to do.Not the greatest ambition in the world,but at least I knew what I wanted to do from a very young age.A lot of people drift in and out of jobs all their working lives not knowing what really suits them.Well lorry driving suited me and if I could turn the clock back I would do it again.
Its not a job for everyone, but it can be a good job and well paid if you find your own niche, but that may well take time, it won’t happen overnight.
If you want to do it, do it for yourself, and take some pride in doing the job well, not being just another moaning slob, don’t need any more of them.