Good long term career to get into?

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

Hi, I was just wanting some advice and opinions on potentially training to join the industry.

I have mainly worked in customer service/retail jobs and to tell you the truth I have come to hate it and the lack of options and money within it. I have recently quit my job and I am quite keen on getting involved in this industry as my father did it for years and made decent money.

It’s my birthday on Friday and I will turn 25, I did sixth form but never fancied uni personally, I was just wanting opinions from long-serving/new drivers and to find out a bit more what the industry is like and what type of driving is best to get involved with for example the multi-drops, vehicle recovery or longer distance work.

If anyone could give me a word of advice I would be really appreciative of it as I really want to get involved in a long-term career and finally get my own mortgage on a small place, I am based in the West Midlands and often see some good salaried jobs come up with big companies like the AA and the RAC but I would need to attain the licenses first obviously. I don’t mind working shifts and putting the hours in but I just want something that will give me a salary boost as I have never really had a well-paid job so far.

Many thanks,
Chris

2

Do not become a lorry driver.
Why? Well, you are treated as though you are of a lower intelligence from the start.
infrastructure is not in place, so you are expected to ablute as an animal would…Other road users are usually mouth breathers, really, they are…You want to put your personal safety in their hands■■? Do you, really?
Operators could not give a flying fig about you, the load is more important, as is the truck…Really, you are an inconvenience to them…Just a financial unit, that really is in the way to them making money…It is without doubt, the last bastion of medieval of working practices actually legally allowed in the modern world.

Easier to be bank robber, better rewards, better hours and better remuneration…Bollox to driving, it is for losers, it really is.

3

Not truck driving, you are 30 yrs to late to make real money in my opinion.
I was an owner operator , I no longer drive due to medical reasons, but I am an over qualified electrician with an HV ticket, and making £1k a week is fairly normal for good guys at present.
Get a trade , sparks, plumber , gas fitter or similar.

But with all that said personally it’s something if I was still allowed I would do . Strange but true.
So if it’s still your dream go call Peter Smythe and spend upwards of 3 grand to get the licences to earn about a tenner an hour and work a shed full of hours ! And that’s the reality of it.

4

It’s not a job; it’s a way of life.

If you don’t mind starting at stupid o’clock when the rest of the world’s asleep, and knowing then that it could be fifteen hours before you knock off, and even then maybe not guarantee to go home to your own bed; if you don’t mind everyone else on the road cursing you for being there whilst forgetting that if you weren’t, they probably wouldn’t be on the road either; if you don’t mind those same people blocking your way down a country lane and being completely unable to reverse five yards to let you past, yet expecting you to reverse half a mile to allow them to pass you; if you don’t mind miserable fork lift drivers complaining about you being late when it’s not your fault; and most of all, if you don’t mind spending your life being ■■■■■■ about by planners who couldn’t guarantee to hit the floor if they fell out of bed never mind sort your routes out, then you’ll fit in nicely.

There is no such thing as “nine till five” in transport, unless it’s the customer you’re struggling through the trafic to deliver to. You’ll be in the wrong if you’re early, in the wrong if you’re late; you’ll be the bloke everybody blames when things go wrong, simply because they can even if it’s them who cocked up.

And what the rest said above. Still fancy it?

My advice; do a bit of van driving first, something like supermarket home delivery or parcels. It’ll give you a taste of the job without emptying your pockets for a qualification which you might, if you go into it blind, regret. Good luck.

5

chris_timbo:
Hi, I was just wanting some advice and opinions on potentially training to join the industry.

I have mainly worked in customer service/retail jobs and to tell you the truth I have come to hate it and the lack of options and money within it. I have recently quit my job and I am quite keen on getting involved in this industry as my father did it for years and made decent money.

It’s my birthday on Friday and I will turn 25, I did sixth form but never fancied uni personally, I was just wanting opinions from long-serving/new drivers and to find out a bit more what the industry is like and what type of driving is best to get involved with for example the multi-drops, vehicle recovery or longer distance work.

There is no such thing as career progression in truck driving. Aldi pay their shop assistants more per hour than most truck drivers earn and the only reason your father made decent money is because he worked 60hrs a week.

6

On the other hand, there are still a handful of decent companies that value their staff and the terms and conditions are very good.
These jobs are not normally to be found in hire and reward transport which is the vast majority of work and whilst you will almost certainly have to start in H & R the sector is about as bad as its ever been.
If you follow the money not the lorry you’ll do better than the average.

Specialising is something else to look towards, ie car transporters and you live in a good part of the country for that sector, but you’ll ideally need a couple of years under your belt to get the hang of lorry driving first, and even then its not everyone’s cup of tea, and no disrespect to those who it doesn’t work out for.

Road users are a cross section of society as a whole, and the way we are heading is not good, but you’ll have seen what’s coming from your work so far, at least in a lorry you can keep a personal distance from the dregs.

The question might have had a sub section, is it worth making a career in this country?
Personally i think like most of western europe its heading into possibly the darkest chapter of its history, the enemy is no longer across the water, traitors let them in, the population is unsustainable and the future here is more difficult than ever to predict positively.

If i was your age in this time, i’d get out while the goings good, go find some space to breathe, find yourself a good non western woman and enjoy your life.

7

Absolutely NOT. Long hours, poor wages (if you look from per hour basis and not take home). If you are in a relationship than be prepared that it will end at some point due to lack of work-life balance.

As someone said before become a sparky, well paid and will be in high demand in future.

Alternatively do AAT or CIMA or ACCA for more office based roles.

Or alternatively do TOEFL certification and go to Shanghai and teach English. You will have a decent wage (private lessons £20 per hour, teaching in class around £14 I think it was when I was there two years ago) additionally you can do a degree whilst there.

The options are out there, and lorry driving is definitely not the best unless you like it as a lifestyle.

8

chris_timbo:
Hi, I was just wanting some advice and opinions on potentially training to join the industry.

I have mainly worked in customer service/retail jobs and to tell you the truth I have come to hate it and the lack of options and money within it. I have recently quit my job and I am quite keen on getting involved in this industry as my father did it for years and made decent money.

It’s my birthday on Friday and I will turn 25, I did sixth form but never fancied uni personally, I was just wanting opinions from long-serving/new drivers and to find out a bit more what the industry is like and what type of driving is best to get involved with for example the multi-drops, vehicle recovery or longer distance work.

If anyone could give me a word of advice I would be really appreciative of it as I really want to get involved in a long-term career and finally get my own mortgage on a small place, I am based in the West Midlands and often see some good salaried jobs come up with big companies like the AA and the RAC but I would need to attain the licenses first obviously. I don’t mind working shifts and putting the hours in but I just want something that will give me a salary boost as I have never really had a well-paid job so far.

Many thanks,
Chris

If I was you mate I would give transport the barge pole approach, don’t waste your money investing in an HGV licence for all the reasons already layed out, and then some. :bulb:
You mention recovery work, and the AA/RAC, and I notice nobody has advised you on that particular aspect yet, so maybe you should look into it with someone in the know who is able to advise you.I know nothing about it myself, but if you say you have seen good salaried jobs in that game, it is more than what you will see advertised in this game mate,… maybe apart from the exceptional jobs already sewn up (and looked after) and the dead man’s shoes jobs that will more than likely go to an experienced driver even if they do come up.

You are still young enough to train for more or less anything you want, why not get your tickets in plant machinery for instance, I have heard that those guys are on far better money than I would reckon most on here are.
It is not the potentially well paid job it was when your Dad was in it, and it is a world away from what it was at that time, I know this because I would like to bet that I was doing it the same time as your Dad.

It may be a grim picture I have painted, but that’s for a good reason…it is grim compared to other work.
Now on the other hand no doubt someone will inevitably come on very soon saying ‘‘Go for it, I love it, it’s great’’ so you need to decide yourself who to listen to.
I have two boys myself, one older than you who spent much of their childhood coming away with me UK and abroad, they loved it, but I am thankful that I managed to talk them both out of following me in this game. They both have proper trades paying much better money than what I am on for a fraction of the hours worked in transport.

Hope that helps and Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

9

Wouldn’t exactly recommend becoming a lorry driver. Some hate it Some love it. Only way for you to find out is to go for it :-')

10

I have a a couple of drivers started for me under 25 about 5 years ago that love the job, they both left school at 16, luckily got their licenses in the Army and then after a couple of months came to me.

We are specialist, so that makes a difference to both pay and conditions, they earn about 41+k pa. We’re a small company so I think that makes a big difference, it’s far more of a we are all in it together feel and both myself and the Ops manager have driven, so we know what it’s like on the road. The main customers are decent as well, always the odd muppet but that’s the way it is in any walk of life. The hours can be long, we do Euro as well as UK, but they can also be short.

That’s the good side of the business. In fairness though, most companies are battling low rates and trying to get money out of customers and unfortunately the only thing to bargain with is drivers wages, hence you can see some shocking hourly rates or a salary that sounds good but equates to not much more than minimum wage. As a newbie, you would be extremely lucky to get a good job. After a couple of years, then you are more likely to get a chance at the good gigs and there are still some around.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

11

It isn’t all bad.
It has changed to what it was years ago without a doubt but no job or career ever stays the same.
I’ve been in the business for 30 years driving attics and many years before that going out with my dad around the fruit and veg markets.
He told me what all the others here have told you.
Don’t do it etc…
But I knew best.
I started off doing trunking for a parcel firm.
Done all sorts since.
General, tippers, tankers, skips and ro-ro.
I’m now at a good supplier delivering to the big food chains on RDC work.
You’ll read on here how crap that is too but it’s easy and clean work.
The worst thing with RDC work is waiting but when paid by the hour it’s not so bad.
Especially at the end of the month.
I wouldn’t say to you not to go into transport as there are some good firms around who do pay the rate and give you some benefits but as a newcomer you’ll have your share of the crap before you find one.
The advice of try van driving first is spot on.
Perhaps try 7.5t out as well as you’ll see what it’s like to go further afield and you’ll also find out how the tachograph is going to affect your days work.
Don’t spend too much to get onto the bigger stuff before you’ve tried it.
You may love it but you may also think what a bloody mistake.
Whatever you do don’t think it’s a 9 to 5 job.
Early starts. Late finishes.
Indifferent public.
Ungrateful bosses and customers.
Crap facilities.
But it gives me a reasonable living.
Good luck in whatever you do.

12

Sorry for some typos in my post.
Poxy predictive text.

13

When I started out in the industry 30 years ago all the drivers I spoke to said
“don’t do it”,
“save your money”,
“the jobs turned to crap, it ain’t what it used to be anymore”.
“all the decent jobs have gone now”
And a whole lot more besides.

Does this sound familiar to the posts on this thread?
I think it’s a truck driver thing based on their own particular individual perspective along with some heavy duty rose tinted lenses and an added dose of the negativity that seems to come delivered to you f.o.c in the same envelope as your new licence, true the job may well not be what it once was, but that’s always been the case depending on your view point. It’s no longer what it was a year ago, 5 years ago, 30 years ago.

There are nearly 73,000 members on this forum that’s for truck drivers, if we assume only half are currently actually working as truck drivers then that’s 36,500 drivers who are doing the job, can’t be that bad can it?

The advice I saw on here that made the most sense was that truck driving is a way of life rather than just a job, if you believe it’s a lifestyle choice that will agree with you then go for it, you’re still young enough to make a change if it turns out to not be your thing.

Don’t expect the best jobs from the get go, it will take a few years to gain the experience needed to become an attractive proposition to the better employers.

It’s much better to get to the end of your days and only have regrets for the things you did do rather than regret the things you never tried.

14

You’re the same age as me and I wouldn’t recommend driving at all, the hours are worse than retail!

Being in the west Midlands I’d say try and get in with JLR. It’s where I now work after giving up driving nearly 4 years ago and unless something goes wrong I won’t be going back.

You start at 70% pay and it takes 5 years to get to get to 100% but you’d still be far better off compared to what you’re doing now. I’m at 92.5% and will probably finish the year just shy of 40k for mostly a 36 hour week as I don’t do much overtime.

Getting in with DHL wouldn’t be a bad shout there either, not driving the wagons though. The lads feeding the line pulling pallets round are on the 33k-36k and they have a stronger union than ours so have really good t&c’s

15

The best advice is to get a start on van work before lashing out for training and tests. This will give you a good idea whether working as a driver will suit you and you will earn just as much money if you keep your eyes and ears open.

16

Hi all,

Thank you for all taking the time to reply and giving me a greater insight into the industry, really appreciate how many replies I got and the different opinions and views.

Thanks again,
Chris

17

As others have said , that ship has sailed . If I were young now with money to spend on training I would go for tower crane operator, or plumber . Definitely not road transport .How about railway trains they are on good money.

18

If us young ones don’t train up for it then who will do it?

I see far too many people on here moaning that there are too many foreigners about yet in the same breath tell the potential future of the industry to not bother!

19

If you have the cash and time, I would certainly do the test. There will always be work driving, even if it isn’t your main job.

You could give the job a go, you may like it!

I started driving late eighties and loved it, (Zero stress, working on my own, listening to music all day), though circumstances dictated I took more lucrative jobs for the last few years. Had I been able to get by on the wages, I would never have given it up.

20

Sorry to come across as positive but I’ve been in the saddle since leaving the army in 87 and have no regrets, seen virtually all of Europe, had the best 7 years of my life at H&S Transport, and even now living in Denmark doing a pretty mundane job still look forward to work the next day. So I say to the OP go for it as I’m sure if you look on an electrician’s forum or a train drivers forum you’ll see just the same grumbling and moaning as on here, at least as a driver you have your own space, something to be valued in my opinion. Good luck.