So I’m very interested in a career in as a HGV driver, but one of the negatives I often hear about the job is unsociable working hours. I just wonder what hours you guys typically work? Obviously tramping is another matter, when you’re away for days, but with general HGV work, what are your typical hours?
I get that it’s often an early start, but does that mean you get home at a reasonable time, or are you also typically late home too? and do you always work all or part of the weekend, or have the choice to not work weekends at all?
I’ve got a young family and spending time with them is very important to me, though sometimes when 2 boys aged 6 and 8 are tearing around the house, I now find myself getting out of the house for some peace and quite! lol
Most full-time jobs are going to have big demands on your time, to the detriment of your family, such as long commutes or having to work weekends etc, but is this industry partially tough when it comes to the working unsociable hours?
If i still had a young family I might not have chosen this job as Monday to Friday my hours can be all over the place and probably average just over 60 per week for me on general haulage, having said that weekends are mine to get that quality time in which for me at the moment is fine. There are no doubt day jobs out there but getting a 40 hour week I would think isn’t too common.
A few months after passing I landed my second job with Upton Steel at Markfield Leics when my daughter was a few months old
It was long day runs on cat C typically starting at 5/6 am and finishing at 7/8 pm so I missed a lot of my daughter growing up during the week BUT I always had Sundays off so made that time special
Got my Cat C in March 15 and i’ve done a variety of driving jobs since then.The closest i’ve got to having a “normal” job is in my current role on the tippers.Its day work and the start time varies between 6-7am,although if i know i can get on a site early doors i have the freedom to start a little earlier and hopefully this pays off for an earlier finish at the end of the day.Finish times vary but are usually between 4-6pm.Latest i’ve been finished was 8pm but that was due to getting stuck on a site and having to wait for a pull out.Weekend working is extremely rare,in fact i have worked one Saturday in my 9 months with the company.
Before this i was tramping on general haulage for 6 months and it was an absolute killer on my home life but to be fair i preferred the variety of the work,as in no 2 days were the same.
I know which job i’d prefer if i valued being at home.
Any job in General Haulage is likely to involve long hours and/or silly start times. But there’s plenty of “own account” work about that is much more civilised. My current job usually has me starting 5-6am but I’m generally finished around 2pm. At my previous place (same job/contract, different depot) it was rare to start before 6am although the finish times were correspondingly slightly later.
Don’t undervalue the time spent with family (especially if you have/expect to have young children). No amount of money can buy those precious hours spent chatting around the breakfast or dinner table, reading a bedtime story or simply going out and kicking a ball around/flying a kite/going for a walk/watching the school play etc.
Working as a HGV driver and starting out as a HGV driver are probably two different things mate. Yes there may be a job out there that would suit you, but if it suits you, it probably suits others and maybe has a queue! So I’d suggest you accept now that you’ll probably have to bounce around gaining experience while you hunt out a good gig, and also gain the experience to open these doors…
Plus most work for a Newbie or agency limper is chaotic, and I wouldn’t say you’re going to have it initially easy on your family if you pick this game!
Evil8Beezle:
Working as a HGV driver and starting out as a HGV driver are probably two different things mate. Yes there may be a job out there that would suit you, but if it suits you, it probably suits others and maybe has a queue! So I’d suggest you accept now that you’ll probably have to bounce around gaining experience while you hunt out a good gig, and also gain the experience to open these doors…
Plus most work for a Newbie or agency limper is chaotic, and I wouldn’t say you’re going to have it initially easy on your family if you pick this game!
Yep, spot on.
There’s time served good drivers can’t get the gigs they want, or if they do they have to start a new gig on the bottom rung.
Where i am now i had to start on nights to get a foot in the door till a shift i wanted came up due to retirement.
Totally understand that when you’re a new driver, you’re starting at the bottom of the rung and will have to be prepared to consider working whatever shift comes up. Interested to hear what hours you established/experienced guys work, and from what’s been said, it sounds fair enough compared to other jobs.
There’re not many jobs with great working hours, having most of your evenings and weekends is what most people consider fair. You think how many people have to work weekends with jobs in shops etc, or are commuting hours to and fro work every day, I don’t think Trucking is any worse than most other jobs in this respect.
One of the reasons I asked the question was because I watched a clip on Youtube from an industry body, that questioned the general public at a service station, asking if they would consider a career as a truck driver, and most said No, mainly due to the long unsociable working hours! So this maybe the perception of the general public. But maybe they think everyone is Tramping! lol
I know what you mean about the hours in the trucking world. I was on fuel trucks over my local airport and was doing the most craziest of hours. I have a 2 year old and a two week old baby, both daughters. A few months back I gave up the fuelling job as starting at 4am was a real struggle with a 2 year old let alone a new baby. I would often finish at 2am on late shifts. Come home and wake the family etc.
My father was a truck driver and regretted not seeing me and my sister grow up or at least missing out on those early years. However that his story. I personally have moved in to a very boring factory job with a bit of class 2 delivery work with it to keep my hand in so to speak. The hours are 8am til 4pm Monday to Friday. This keeps the wife sweet and of course me spending time with my daughters in the evenings is priceless.
I was on a bloody good wage at the airport and my factory job pay is crap but I get by. Personally I’d rather be on a lower wage and spend time with my family at least for now why they are so young. I am looking for day work still in trucking but I’d rather this job for now. After all money, as great as it is cant by you time.
As other say you can’t have it all but I believe this what I need to do for myself at the moment. Family first, work second. After all I’ve never heard of anyone saying they wished they worked more hours on their death bed!
Good Luck though only you can choose & I hope I haven’t made you feel depressed
Cheers Nighthawk, totally with you there. It’s tough when you have a young family. Most given the choice would opt for lower pay for more time with them. if you can afford to do that.
I’ve been very luck with working hours over the last 8 years, and have spent a lot of quality time with my family. But that work is not looking good now, hence looking to change, and I’m more and more interested in HGV work.
My kids are of an age now where they would rather play together lol, and mostly it’s a riot I try to avoid! I could handle a few longs hours days during the week, as long as I could typically have the whole weekend free. But I know that the first 2 years are probably going to be about getting any/all the work you can, in order to build up the experience.
A lot of truck drivers do the job because they already have a LGV licence from the armed forces for example. A significant proportion of these drivers do the job because in their words " Where else can I walk into an easy job and earn £30k? ".
Although the job itself is physically easy, concentrating on the roads and your surroundings and your mirrors constantly is draining and drivers DO get tired. Long hours cannot be avoided most of the time, as you are waiting to be tipped for hours sometimes, and then you can also get stuck in traffic too.
When you hear drivers saying " No " when asked if they would recommend doing it, I believe it is because lots of drivers if they had their time again would get trained and qualified in a different profession where decent hours and decent pay would be a given.
Basically, lot’s of us who drive trucks should have listened better at school and not acted up. There are drivers on here whose father was a truck driver (I’m one) and that is where they got the interest from, some just loved trucks as a kid and want to drive them.
As already said mate, you will have to earn your stripes in this game, but there are good jobs to be had Mon-Fri for decent pay (I am lucky to have one) but they are slowly dwindling.
Cheers Eager, know what you mean. I’m in my mid 40’s now, and went into the building game for the first 12 years or so of my working life, and then managed to change career and eventually into a good office job.
I was made redunant from that eventually anyway, and due to where I live now, those jobs are scarce (not that I want to do it anymore - I hated all the office bollotics) I don’t fancy going back into the building game, and driving is something I’ve always enjoyed.
That said, I understand it’s a lot different when you’re driving day in day out at a much slower speed in a huge truck. But the thought of traveling around the country with my own company and the radio is appealing to me. Rose tinted spectacles aside.
So I’d suggest you accept now that you’ll probably have to bounce around gaining experience while you hunt out a good gig, and also gain the experience to open these doors…
