Hi,
My dad started driving class 2s when I was about 8 after he got made redundant (I’m 17 now and he’s still doing it) for the last 7 years he mostly did tramping and we wouldn’t see him until the end of the week but now he’s mainly just does days.
Since he got into driving I’ve always been interested in driving wagons, I’ve been out to work with him a couple times and it doesn’t seem that bad.
Given that there’s a massive driver shortage and most places are advertising “drivers needed urgently” I shouldn’t be to hard to get a job once licensed.
The biggest problem is that he hates his job and constantly complains about it and I can image his reaction if I told him I wouldn’t mind being a lorry driver .
So what do you lot think? Should I go for it or ditch the whole idea
Paul5394:
Hi,
My dad started driving class 2s when I was about 8 after he got made redundant (I’m 17 now and he’s still doing it) for the last 7 years he mostly did tramping and we wouldn’t see him until the end of the week but now he’s mainly just does days.
Since he got into driving I’ve always been interested in driving wagons, I’ve been out to work with him a couple times and it doesn’t seem that bad.
Given that there’s a massive driver shortage and most places are advertising “drivers needed urgently” I shouldn’t be to hard to get a job once licensed.
The biggest problem is that he hates his job and constantly complains about it and I can image his reaction if I told him I wouldn’t mind being a lorry driver .
So what do you lot think? Should I go for it or ditch the whole idea
Cheers
I’m new also and although places say drivers needed urgently it’s rarely ever for new drivers due to insurance reasons.
If you don’t need the guarantee of a full time income at the moment my advice is agency.
That’s the way I went and did this on my days off to gain experience before making the transition to full time driving.
There are companies that will look at new drivers but if a newby aplies and a 5 year experienced driver applies conventional wisdom tells you they would likely always go for the experienced driver as there would be less coaching and babysitting at first and the experienced driver will get cracking on.
Keep trying it will come at some point. All the best
There isn’t a shortage of drivers at all and you won’t walk into a job as easily as you think especially being a new pass at 18, i was a new pass at 19 and it wasn’t easy getting started mostly because of insurance reasons. However with that being said, if it is something you really want to do then i’d say start taking steps towards getting your licence (when you turn 18 obviously.)
The only thing i would say is to do your homework on what is actually involved in the job and don’t try and sugar coat anything just to convince yourself that it is what you want, the last thing you want to do is spend upwards of £2500 and find out that it isn’t what you thought it would be.
there is no shortage of drivers.
there is a shortage of proper good drivers.
there is a shortage of good jobs at reasonable or better wages.
all urgently required driver jobs are mostly from agencies with no jobs,but wanting drivers details on file in case a shift turns up.
all urgently required real jobs are mostly from crap employers with a high turnover of staff.
Constantly moaning about the job and apparently hating is about normal for a lot of drivers, why they continue to do it baffles me.
The job is a way of life, it either suits you or it doesn’t, you either want to be a lorry driver or you don’t, thinking it’s just another wage paying job when the last one has gone ■■■■ up will only end in disappointment as the realities hit.
You make of a job what you, not anyone else wants, just because a noisy bunch of wingers in a depot walk around under a cloud of depression doesn’t mean you would be like that, Gawd i’d hate to be married to some of the sods i’ve had to work with, if they lost a shilling and found a pound it would still be wrong, whatever job they were given was wrong but offer to swap with them and they’d get even more arsey, there is no pleasing people like this.
Lots of old school lorry drivers started on vans before they could legally drive wagons, and if you are undecided then you could do worse than find a job driving a van and see how it suits you, if you love it after a year great go and get your HGV, if it doesn’t work out all you’ve lost is the time you worked there and not wasted loads of dosh.
If it works that van driving time will be excellent time learning the roads and the pitfalls of transport, time if well used could make you a proper lorry driver and not one who can only follow the instructions from a bloody sat nav.
As said above, there are shortages, but not of HGV licence holders.
