Got a good job for a small firm only 3 trucks on good wages 570 take home yeh I’m out all week but I could go back to hgv fitting and get 300 after taxs but be hope every day spending more on fuel and being cold wet and dirty every day some people don’t know how lucky they are if you don’t like it do something else.
Angus25:
if you don’t like it do something else.
Easier said than done Einstein.
Have been doing the job since 1983, and am still enjoying it 
Cheggy:
Angus25:
if you don’t like it do something else.Easier said than done Einstein.
The only thing stopping you is your self mr key board warrior but one day you’ll realise that when you grow up.
Angus25:
Cheggy:
Angus25:
if you don’t like it do something else.Easier said than done Einstein.
The only thing stopping you is your self mr key board warrior but one day you’ll realise that when you grow up.
You obviously didnt read my previous post.
[Angus25]if you don’t like it do something else.,
if its that easy to jump into something we like there wouldnt be millions on the dole and I would be lead singer of the Rolling Stones…
In my previous post I forgot to mention another wonderful thing about truck driving, after 44 years of putting up with all the crap you are rewarded with a ££££££££££ huge lump sum pay out and a final salary pension… Oh sorry thats a civil servent, as a truck driver you get ■■■ all…
A very good friend of mine who is now in the the great truck stop in the sky reached the 65th birthday but was distraught at the thought of retiring as he had no savings or personal pension, the boss said hello “whatsyourname” thank you for the last 30 years and goodbye, my friend begged him for some more work “you can become my night security guard and i’ll give you £30 a night in your hand, thats the best i can offer, times are hard”, my mate had no choice, so for a 10 hour shift, 7 nights a week he had to take it, luckily for him he only lasted another 5 years before shuffling off to the crematorium and then his pensioner (5th wife) had to worry about her future!!
how does that compare to a 38 hr week working in social services for the government!! Im sure the civil servents get a great pension, annual ‘cost of living’ salary increases, sick pay, huge pay off if miraculously you are made redundant, 5 weeks holiday pay per year if as a lorry driver you claim stress and need 6 weeks off guess what you’ll get■■? in fact if you need a day off for your medical you’l lose a days pay, civil servents get paid to train and then a payrise when they have completed the training, as a lorry driver you will pay for your own ADR and now your CPC and guess what? you’ll not get paid while your doing it and wont get a rise when you are more qualified.
lorry drivers are under more regulation and stress than airline pilots who have ‘auto pilot’ I have cruise control but still have to look out of the window now and then, maybe as its been said I can do any job i want, i’ll become an A380 pilot!! i’ll do the ‘long haul’ flights to exotic destinations, unfortunatly I wont have any of you on my plane as you cant afford long distance flights on truck drivers pay… it doesnt matter though as you only get two weeks holiday a year and cant get anywhere other than Turkey or spain or your 1 bed holiday flat (purchased with the wifes chip shop pay) inland Bulgaria…
I have no one to blame but me because i spend my schooldays trying to get into the schoolgirls when i should have been listening…
I just wish I was one of these guys who was satisfied with earning just enough to get by and raise more working class kids for the government, alternatively I wish I had enough time at home to meet a divorcee who was prepared to share her dole money so that I could afford to go sharm al sheik with the transport office workers… hahahahhaa
Used to love the job,nowadays its a like/hate relationship.
Way too much Brussels interference doesnt help. 
So, like a poster asked, how many of you from 2012 are still in the industry and still enjoying it after 5 years??
Personally I’ve been in transport since 1993 and HGV since 2003.
If I was to give an honest opinion, I hate it.
Who would have thought that when this thread was started, that five years on, we would still be doing the same crap but for what’s actually equates to less pay.
The wage has pretty much stagnated but the expectations and hassle have increased so much so, you may as well be on minimum wage.
As a relatively new pass my limited advice would be do not go straight into a full-time job; as you will be taking a huge gamble. I know some people need this security but there are so many crap jobs out there you could end up being stuck in a job you hate.
With agency though you can just keep trying new jobs until you find the one you like.
adam277:
As a relatively new pass my limited advice would be do not go straight into a full-time job; as you will be taking a huge gamble. I know some people need this security but there are so many crap jobs out there you could end up being stuck in a job you hate.
With agency though you can just keep trying new jobs until you find the one you like.
^^^
THIS !
Superb advice and EXACTLY what this relatively new pass here also did. I was fortunate because my wife earns enough to cover all our bills, so I could go the agency route into a job that I like very much (and the hourly rate is pretty decent too)
I realise a lot aren’t in that position and it’s a lot easier said than done, but given you are probably going to have to find £2k++ to get your (Class 2) licence anyway, I would say to anyone considering giving up a full time job in a different industry to become a trucker, try to build that £2k++ into £5 or £6k to give you a financial cushion that would then allow you to go the agency route with more confidence, rather than just desperately grabbing at the first full time job offered.
I enjoy the job generally. Ice always over driving, used to go with my old man when I was a lad and he was on the trucks so I’ve kind of been born into it.
I started class two work about ten years ago and did it for a few years then went into coach work which is ■■■■■■■ horrendous so now back doing HGV with a class one licence to boot although I’m covering class two stuff at the moment to help out (still getting paid class one rate) but i enjoy the variety. I could deliver yo houses, farms, small businesses and big RDCs so it poses different scenarios all the tine.
The job will be enjoyable for me once I’ve been off my debts in a few years and can pick and choose what days I want to work. 
adam277:
As a relatively new pass my limited advice would be do not go straight into a full-time job; as you will be taking a huge gamble. I know some people need this security but there are so many crap jobs out there you could end up being stuck in a job you hate.
With agency though you can just keep trying new jobs until you find the one you like.
My advice would be the opposite, if you can get a full-time job take it, if you get a decent company they’ll be more inclined to take time to train you instead of being on agency and expected to turn up on site and do the job. If it is really crap you can always leave and go onto agency.
The job can be well paid and enjoyable, but the chances are that it won’t be like that until you’ve found your niche, and the right job within that niche.
Chauffering or being just another bum on a seat, which so much of the industry now entails, would bore me to tears, prefer some involvement, working somewhere where you are still allowed to take a pride in your work, and where they don’t assume you are brain dead, makes the world of difference.
Some places assume you are too thick to change a bulb, unfortunately some are too thick and manage to ■■■■ up even that simple task.
Good jobs are still out there in all sectors of the industry, invariably they don’t advertise because few leave, so its up to you the individual to go out find your own niche and then find the good job within that field.
If i had to visit RDC’s as a delivery driver regularly, i would last no longer than a week at most, that, and pallet work, have to be the most boring/frustrating side of the industry, but each to their own, some must enjoy it.
Given the choice I’d rather be a forklift driver doing the occasional run in a truck.
I always had a laugh with other people in the warehouse.
Driving a truck is boring for me and every part of your day is planned.
muckles:
adam277:
As a relatively new pass my limited advice would be do not go straight into a full-time job; as you will be taking a huge gamble. I know some people need this security but there are so many crap jobs out there you could end up being stuck in a job you hate.
With agency though you can just keep trying new jobs until you find the one you like.My advice would be the opposite, if you can get a full-time job take it, if you get a decent company they’ll be more inclined to take time to train you instead of being on agency and expected to turn up on site and do the job. If it is really crap you can always leave and go onto agency.
I will agree with muckles. I am a was a new pass started my first job at end of August. I got a job for a national company.
First 2 weeks were with another driver to help me get used to finding places, paperwork and assist with manoeuvring.
I was struggling with my reversing so spoke to the driver trainer who had a morning in the yard with me to help.
Whilst I am all for trying different things my initial concern is just getting used to the vehicle and being on the road. In a few months I might try something else but for now this does me nicely.
I am not pushed or chased constantly and I know that if I have a problem I can call the office and they will help without being funny as they know I am new and they take lots of new passes. I’m not so sure you you would get that support as agency driver who is only there temporarily
I passed my HGV test in 1992 and except for a couple of years at college, where I drove part-time to help fund it, and a brief stint in IT where I drove part-time because I enjoyed it, I’ve been in full- time jobs where I’ve been required to drive trucks ever since.
I did the general haulage bit, I was lucky as I worked for a good local haulage company, with a decent boss who left you to get on with the job, work things out for yourself and had a mixture of work from tilts and curtainsiders to flatbed work, transport steel and concrete and agricultural work operating out of farms and forests.
I did a bit of agency where I was exposed to the mind numbing, dumbing down of how large logistics companies run the job, and also the strange mind set of the US military which was far more fun and interesting.
For the last few years, well 15 years, I’ve been doing motorsport and related work, far less driving, but far more interesting work, where you are respected for the work you do both as a driver and as a team member at the track, where you normally end up taking a major part in running the transport as you probably have more experience than anybody else in the company. The pay at the first team I worked at was very low, but it was enough for me and although I had no interest in motorsport it did seem a more interesting job than delivering pallets of crisps to yet another Supermarket RDC and dealing with the “spoon feeding” from yet another logistics operation.
since then the jobs has taken me all round Europe and other part of the World, I’ve met some great people, had great times, experienced proper camaraderie, not only from the other team members, but also from the other Truck Drivers in the paddock, and I’ve been paid well, well looked after for doing the job.
There have also been times where I’ve been thoroughly ■■■■■■ off, cold, wet, too hot, tired and covered in dirt, covered in sweat and where every part of my body aches. But I wouldn’t swap it for another haulage job, however good the pay is or how good the trucks are.
The job isn’t for everybody, but truck driving can be a good job, but like Juddian says you have to find a niche you enjoy and sometimes you have to be willing to put in a bit to get a lot out.
You wouldn’t get that support at most places I sure didn’t. Sounds like you got lucky and have a decent employer.
adam277:
You wouldn’t get that support at most places I sure didn’t. Sounds like you got lucky and have a decent employer.
You would get it in a lot of the smaller companies, where the drivers know each other and the boss has probably been a driver himself or herself.
But to get in those companies, forget emails and CV, dress clean a tidy, but like you could start work and go and knock on the office door.
adam277:
You wouldn’t get that support at most places I sure didn’t. Sounds like you got lucky and have a decent employer.
Maybe like muckles has just posted above you put some in to get some out. The company I work for is slated for long hours and low pay (I don’t think its that bad) but as a first job to get experience it seems a perfect start.
I sometimes see posts on here from some new passes who expect the top money for Monday to Friday, no nights out etc as first job. The world isn’t like that, in any industry I expect. It wasn’t in retail where I came from. You started at the bottom, put your time in and did a good job and better things came along.
I do 55 to 60 hours a week usually, including breaks. Last week was a long one and I did 63.5. A lot would say that’s to much and maybe it is but the trade off is if I need help I will get it. For my first job I think that’s a fair deal