you know were the door is
We are constantly being told that there are millions of jobs out there paying a gazzilion pound
so why stick with what you have but moan all the time, move on the grass is greener on the other side
Gotta love some of the comments on here.
Next step at my place is reduce the 48hr working week.
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Juddian:
If it was massive pay for normal working hours clean easy no work involved, then the job would be oversubscribed by the work shy (who presently avoid it) and we’d be back to starvation level wages.
There are such jobs but it requires intelligence, being good at maths and a CS degree hence they’re far from being oversubscribed. Get into software, creating websites, data analysis, basically anything to do with the software side of IT and working in London in the financial sector and you’re sorted. Starting on £50/£60k in a graduate position and earning £100k within a couple of years are commonplace. After a while you figure out how to write scripts to do it all so you just set it off going, check in periodically. £600 a week? Some contractors are getting £600 a day, a mate of mine gets £400 a day up here.
So yeah there’s jobs with massive pay for normal working hours, clean easy no work involved but they’re typically beyond the capabilities of your average workshy.
ETS:
Work nights, work weekends, work bank holidays … no time for social lifeseriously, [zb] this profession
I don’t do weekends, I don’t do bank holidays, I take Wednesday nights off because that’s when a club I’m in is on. I do work nights but that’s because I choose to. You have the option to have control over how much you work, especially now. Only thing is you’ll have to accept it’s most likely going to be with agencies.
blue estate:
robroy:
This always amuses me about night men and day men, …the same guys who condemn tramping,. ‘‘I like me own bed’’ etc .
Because what the o/p describes is a much better option ain’t it.
As for social life he mentions,.at least a tramper can have it at weekends…and if he has his head screwed on a little bit during the week also.I’d much rather be a tramper than do an 1hours commute at 5/7pm after a 15 hour day shift
I’m happy to let the other silly sods do the 15 hour shifts, hour long commutes, 5/7pm finishes and/or living in the ■■■■■■■ lorry.
If you feel you can’t leave a job because you need the income to match your outgoings, perhaps you need to reduce your outgoings. Perhaps downsize or move to a more affordable area. Perhaps accept a less premium car or decide not to take extravagant holidays.
If you can easily afford your outgoings and also have a good work life balance, this seems like a good place to be. If you are doing a job you hate to make the money to pay for things you can’t really afford, it seems like a spiral that will only get worse. It would just take something like a period of ill health to possibly put you in a bit of a sticky situation.
Hope this helps. From your previous posts such as “£50k the new £40k” etc, you do seem a bit preoccupied with maximum earnings.
The other thing I would say would be to look at how much interest you are giving the banks each month. The larger the mortgage or the more financed the car is the more you are piling into the coffers of the banks and credit providers. Imagine what it would feel like actually handing over the readies in cash - quite painful probably.
from today i start my FWA (flexible working)…i work Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday 
with the possibility of Friday as o/t if we are really stretched.so on a normal week around 30 hours.reached pension age now but decided to carry on doing a bit 
As already been said its not the profession its your job,time to look around for something more suitable to your needs
So what is the best way of find the best jobs?
stu675:
So what is the best way of find the best jobs?
In the same way…
You buy a car. You list the things you must have; colour, engine size, petrol, diesel, auto, manual, A/C, bluetooth etc and apply that to the job you want. Hours, distance from home, wages, type of work etc. The secret is sticking ridgidly to what you want, can find and what you’re prepared to lose.
Similar to a house purchase, location location location. If you live on top of a Welsh mountain then you aint gonna find find jobs delivering electrical goods to shops locally.
IMO, the best jobs to tend to be for own account operators but, they’re hard to find and difficult to get into for obvious reasons.
It’s possible to be happy with the big outfits but, you’ve got to know how to get what you want out of people you don’t like, who probably don’t like you, which is an art-form.
yourhavingalarf:
stu675:
So what is the best way of find the best jobs?In the same way…
You buy a car. You list the things you must have; colour, engine size, petrol, diesel, auto, manual, A/C, bluetooth etc and apply that to the job you want. Hours, distance from home, wages, type of work etc. The secret is sticking ridgidly to what you want, can find and what you’re prepared to lose.
Similar to a house purchase, location location location. If you live on top of a Welsh mountain then you aint gonna find find jobs delivering electrical goods to shops locally.
IMO, the best jobs to tend to be for own account operators but, they’re hard to find and difficult to get into for obvious reasons.
It’s possible to be happy with the big outfits but, you’ve got to know how to get what you want out of people you don’t like, who probably don’t like you, which is an art-form.
Yep.
Stus "best job" likely isnt the same as your`s or mine, no more than our idea of a “best car” is the same.
And, my own “best job” has changed as my idea of a “best car” has changed too.
Whatever you want from a car or job, think carefully about what is a Must / Prefer/ Must Not, and work from there.
stu675:
So what is the best way of find the best jobs?
To add to what has been said, and the lads are quite right about finding what suits you.
However, don’t expect to get what you want immediately, unless you are very lucky or have someone already in a plum job who can grease the wheels there’s always some investing to be done, which can amount to years of doing what you don’t want to in order to hedge your bets for what you do want.
The best jobs won’t want anyone under 2 years experience and may well prefer over 25’s, they’ll also want a good full work record preferably showing some decently long periods of previous employments, if you swap jobs like your undies they won’t entertain spending possibly several £000s training you up for their specialist work if they think you’ll be buggering off again in 3/6 months time.
The job might be specialised, equipment might be fragile or seriously expensive if damaged (might be a 5 figure cost month long repair if you put a dent in a pressurised vessel against £120 and 20 minutes for a curtain repair patch), so if you’ve got a provable record accident and damage free from previous employers make it known on your CV, if you’ve got years of reliable attendance make that known especially, amazing how many sick notes there are in lorry world yet these ■■■■ takers are too thick to see they are destroying their jobs.
Also have a CV prepared, yes i know some here take the ■■■■ out of such things cos no general haulage outfit ever wanted one, but increasingly for the best jobs this is a requirement, make it concise honest and easily readable, don’t waffle on about team playing ■■■■■■■■, thats for pen pushers etc.
The industry, particularly if you start getting into specialist work is surprisngly small and tight knit and people you work with now you may well find again in years to come, they might still be drivers themselves but now in those plum jobs or might have climbed the greasy pole, what they’ll all have in common unless very stupid people will be wanting that plum job to see them out, hence if you’ve been a miserable incompetent unhelpful useless accident prone sick note don’t be surprised if you don’t get a look in, on the other hand if they know you as someone reliable and competent who looks after the tackle and most importantly the customer? well when the person doing the recruiting at said plum job asks someone already there they trust who might have worked with you before ‘‘what’s joe soap like’’, guess how they’re going to answer, the right answer from someone who i worked with before but wasn’t aware was already employed there confirmed my application.
Don’t apply for what you think might be the cream of jobs unless you feel skilled enough to hack it, if you ■■■■■■■■ up a cream job and cause £100k’s worth of damage shortly after (easier than you think) you’ll be out on your ear and your reputation (that small trucking world again) ruined.
When you are skilled enough and ready to do what you have to, forget answering adverts, only in exceptional circs will plum jobs need to advertise for drivers, get in your clean looked after car and go and knock on the door, dressed as smart clean presentable driver would, if you are lucky enough as i was for the main man to give you 5 minutes of his time off a cold call he’s going to be thinking how you would impress his customers first time on site, so make those few minutes count.
Thats assuming the job is cleanish of course, going for jobs on reclaim or landfill bulkers, and nothing wrong with either some bloody good money to be earned there, the way you approach and present yourself may be somewhat different, but all will be looking for someone they can trust to do the job efficiently and competently bringing the wagon back in one piece every day.
Its a different approach for the big logistics outfits, i can’t really help you there because its over 30 years since i applied for such a job, but in common with all good paying jobs you may have to accept a shift pattern you don’t want in order to get your feet under the table, good payers don’t have massive numbers of drivers leaving so the chances are you’ll have take whatever’s going, i did that and did my time before could change shifts to what i wanted.
In the interim period, skill yourself up, look after your vehicles even if they’re crap, perfect your blind side maneuvering because few seem capable of the simplest maneuvers any more without causing mayhem or hitting something, if you can place a wagon exactly where you want and handle it well those skills alone will put you ahead of most of the competition.
Chase the job that makes you happy - not the pay cheque.
I appreciate the responses , many thanks!
stu675:
So what is the best way of find the best jobs?
Look at all the trucks in your area that aren’t part of a haulage company, they won’t always be sign written, often might be the only truck at the company, if it’s doing something specialist even better, often these will be the best jobs. You might be surprised just how many of these trucks are running about when you are actually looking out for them.
Failing that specialise, if you’re doing a job that can’t be covered by the average agency driver, you’re always gonna be worth more
stevieboy308:
Failing that specialise, if you’re doing a job that can’t be covered by the average agency driver, you’re always gonna be worth more
Yep. Examples include ADR, HIAB, Moffatt licence and more rarified stuff like PTS (Personal Track Safety, essential for anyone working in the rail industry) can help. Admittedly they all cost money, but you’re enhancing your immediate avaiability.
ETS like you have said your just starting your 4th year of driving,as a lot on here will say your a “newbie”
Many on here have far more years experience,and have started at the bottom with some pretty poor companies commonly called “tin pot outfits” but moved on once they gained more experience. The “good jobs” dont come easy unless you have proved yourself on Agency or somebody who knows you well enough to put a word in for you. There again if driving is something you find is not suiting you no point in continuing. You dont give any indication what area you live in,perhaps others on here can give you some suggestions on where to look.
A lot of my work has been on the recommendation of previous guys I have worked with. They know what I can do and how I work and when they move onto other jobs they let their new gaffer now all about the good drivers they know about.
My last 18 years of employment has been where I have had a phone call to come work at XYZ as the gaffer is looking to expand.
ETS:
Work nights, work weekends, work bank holidays … no time for social life
Why are you working these hours / shift patterns ?
Are you the "new boy " in the door , learning the runs , taking the shifts nobody else wants .
What is it about the job that actually makes you turn up ?
Someone else has said youve been driving for 4 years - if so your a relative new start to the game and still finding your feet so look round and see what else is about . Never be scared to leave , go elsewhere and try something different - fridges , curtains , tanks ,tippers you just might find something you like.Remember theres a driver shortage at the moment .
I’ve been at this 25 years come February - fridges , curtains , tanks , tippers , flats ,lowloaders been round them all . First year in 24 I’ve actually been off from 23 Dec to the 4 Jan , when on the tanks I had to work Christmas day - it was part of the job . Fridges meant you worked as late as 18.00 on Christmas Eve and you were on a boat on Boxing day evening again with little or no chance of time off at the New Year.
I’ve said this lots of times to people -
look for a job you want to do , something that makes you want to turn up , something that challenges you , look for a good bunch of drivers , good office staff / planners that don’t treat you like something they stepped in , look for well looked after/well maintained kit , look for people who help you do your job not hinder you. If you can find all that and a wage thats reasonable thats your place . I’m not saying work for poor money but if you have a better life , less stress with a job that pays a little less than one thats stressing you out you have to sit and ask yourself is it worth chasing that extra £50 - 100 a week for all the stress and misery that comes with it .
You see it all the time here - everyone wants to know how much so and so is paying nobody asks what you have to do for it .