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I have both FLT and class 2.
FLT is normally a 3 shift pattern of days, lates and nights that really messes with your sleeping pattern and after a few years you could end up with sleep problems.
FLT work is also normally in a dark warehouse or factory where you can’t even see if it’s day time or night time never mind what the weather is like outside.
Then you could have a problem with other workers or jumped up supervisors or managers, the money will be a little bit lower on FLT but you’ll be home every day in your own bed and normally after only 8 hours, you’ll more that likey have a canteen and people to socialize with and vending machines and toilets to use.
HGV driving is a more lonely kind of life but i wouldn’t have it any other way, you get to enjoy the wather and outside life and see the sights and sounds of the day or night, you could be working day shift OR night shift but a 2 or 3 shift pattern is a lot rarer in the HGV world.
You’ll normally be on a higher wage per hour but you will definitely put in longer days, 10 to 12 hours is about the norm but I’ve also done 14 hour days before, one just a few weeks ago, very nearly 2 factory workers shifts in 1 day by 1 person, doing day shift could see you starting at anything from 3 or 4 o’clock which could see you still at work at 7pm that night, I’ve even done day shift before starting at 2am.
You’ll be your own boss though when out on the road but 80-90% of planners / transport managers will want blood out of you every shift ( class 2 ), you’ll be overloaded with deliveries coming out of your ears and could be given 15 more deliveries than it’s possible to deliver in one day but you can’t just finish and go home, you’ll have to stay at work and keep delivering until the job is done, you can’t just turn around from somewhere as far away as Sheffield and say "well it’s about my finish time ", that’s how lorry drivers are exploted, they know you can’t just pack up and go home until the job is finished unless you want to be out of a job, once the goods are loaded onto your vehicle it’s your responsibility to make sure they all get delivered that day.
You’ll go to some far away places and see parts of the country you’ve never been to before, you’ll learn the road numbers and where they’ll take you very quickly and you’ll get to use that in your car on you days off even when quite far away from your home.
You will however be hated by the general public and absolutely despised by other road users in particular car drivers.
You’ll have to eat out from shops or cafes or make your own sandwiches every day, if going to shops or cafes you’ll more than likely have nowhere to park unless stopping at motorway service stations.
If you are already worried about long hours, very early starts, been away from home for a long time then it might not be for you.
A lot of people don’t realise that lorry driving is more than just a job, it’s a way of life, it’s normally in the blood, something you’ve had inside of you since been knee high to a grass hopper, which other job role do you know where you’d live and sleep at work in a tiny, cramped room, 8 feet by 6 feet with no toilet for 5 days a week before going home to your family at the weekend ( tramping ) ?
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. Looking at the (few) ads round here, money seems to be about £15/hr for an experienced guy.