Haley, are you mad,
All the education you have had, and still have, a professional job , some say driving is a professional job ,no way !! that all come about when firms wanted to be include in the blue chip scheme, the drivers were not included in it, only for work standards to work for the big supermarkets who ruled the roost. wear high- vs jackets, and clean motors and low wages but gert in the back and pull 24 pallets off your self,unless its changed…
you will work all the hours god sent eventually and you want to drive a lorry, you are not for real , if the driving "bug "has just hit you now ,after the slog of teacher training, female or male it does not matter ,where do you think you will get a index linked pension from, no transport… driving for joe blogs agency.
I suggest ,be satisfied with the gift you have,EDUCATION and stick with it. the grass is NOT greener.pdb…
peggydeckboy:
Haley, are you mad,I suggest ,be satisfied with the gift you have,EDUCATION and stick with it. the grass is NOT greener.pdb…
Have you tried being a modern day secondary school teacher with the ‘darlings’ that threaten ‘to stab you up’ if you reprimand them? Driving a HGV/loading/unloading will have less risk than that! You think there is a shortage of drivers, it’s the same increasingly for Teaching and Policing, no one wants to do those jobs anymore due to those A-holes in Gov.
I have two Degrees in Engineering (which I paid for!) and was directed to do teacher training when I left the industry by the job-centre, no ■■■■■■■ chance I told them! I’m now in a role that is less than half the money, varied stress, but I’m outdoors a lot of that time and happier for it.
Hayley, my mum has been a PSV driver for 40 years, so you go for it and good luck!
peggydeckboy:
Haley, are you mad,
All the education you have had, and still have, a professional job , some say driving is a professional job ,no way !! that all come about when firms wanted to be include in the blue chip scheme, the drivers were not included in it, only for work standards to work for the big supermarkets who ruled the roost. wear high- vs jackets, and clean motors and low wages but gert in the back and pull 24 pallets off your self,unless its changed…
you will work all the hours god sent eventually and you want to drive a lorry, you are not for real , if the driving "bug "has just hit you now ,after the slog of teacher training, female or male it does not matter ,where do you think you will get a index linked pension from, no transport… driving for joe blogs agency.
I suggest ,be satisfied with the gift you have,EDUCATION and stick with it. the grass is NOT greener.pdb…
I find some of these posts quite amazing.
Education isn’t a gift or a privilege in 2019. Anyone can get it, it will cost you £30k.
There are a number of folk that spend 3 years at uni and accumulate the £30k of debt to then never earn what a class 1 driver should and does earn. Obvious examples nurse, teacher, occ health therapist etc etc, I could list plenty.
You can get a class 1 in two weeks at a layout of £3k. It’s a pretty good gig if you find a job that suits and the money isn’t bad for what you do. Some of us even enjoy it.
Jimmy McNulty:
peggydeckboy:
Haley, are you mad,
All the education you have had, and still have, a professional job , some say driving is a professional job ,no way !! that all come about when firms wanted to be include in the blue chip scheme, the drivers were not included in it, only for work standards to work for the big supermarkets who ruled the roost. wear high- vs jackets, and clean motors and low wages but gert in the back and pull 24 pallets off your self,unless its changed…
you will work all the hours god sent eventually and you want to drive a lorry, you are not for real , if the driving "bug "has just hit you now ,after the slog of teacher training, female or male it does not matter ,where do you think you will get a index linked pension from, no transport… driving for joe blogs agency.
I suggest ,be satisfied with the gift you have,EDUCATION and stick with it. the grass is NOT greener.pdb…
I find some of these posts quite amazing.
Education isn’t a gift or a privilege in 2019. Anyone can get it, it will cost you £30k.
There are a number of folk that spend 3 years at uni and accumulate the £30k of debt to then never earn what a class 1 driver should and does earn. Obvious examples nurse, teacher, occ health therapist etc etc, I could list plenty.
You can get a class 1 in two weeks at a layout of £3k. It’s a pretty good gig if you find a job that suits and the money isn’t bad for what you do. Some of us even enjoy it.
Couldn’t agree more!! Trained as a nurse back in the day. No regrets walking away from that career path. I earn more now than I was ever likely to earn nursing, have no stress, no responsibility & spend my time sat in an armchair, window down, with the radio on. People shouldn’t knock this career, if the particular job is rubbish, look to change it, there are plenty of opportunities with such a driver shortage nationally.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Hi Haley, plenty of encouragement ,from post ,the educated ones,Carleon,2 engineering degrees ,and cannot used them {go on the spanners} don’t believe it.
JIM, yes anyone can get education, however you have to have the education, to go further .
I suspect none of the contributors parents were in the transport industry let alone drivers, not quite the done thing, that is why none of you come into the industry before…
but then you all want to throw what you have learned away .to ingest diesel fumes and ■■■■■■■■ because that is what the transport industry is run on ,not diesel, you will learn ,and 28 days a year holidays how many weeks does a teacher get [with pay]5/6 weeks.
If your going to do, driving . get on distance work not your van-boy shop delivers, if their will be a industry here soon…pdb.
peggydeckboy:
Hi Haley, plenty of encouragement ,from post ,the educated ones,Carleon,2 engineering degrees ,and cannot used them {go on the spanners} don’t believe it.
To clarify - I worked in Engineering for 20+ years, so I have strangely used my Degree’s. The next time you fly somewhere on holiday, remember that with 99.999% certainty I designed the FADEC Engine controllers and SATCOM units so you can have wifi at 40,000 feet… My point Peggy, is that I took a lower paying job to be happier and still have the engineers password for free wifi 
I wasn’t going to admit it (professors on here get a bashing) I have an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering. That being said, I’ve never used it. It just hangs above my bedside table collecting dust. I decided to become a driver, speaks volumes doesn’t it?
I have a degree in philosophy and social work. But spent last 10 years as a stay-at-home-mum and thought I’d do something new for a change;)
Caerleon, read “ANTENNA FOR AIRCRAFT” BY BOB ARCHER , he is not driving ,i have a son who was in the R.A.F “avionics” no way would he or his colleges get into transport .
Surprised no one told you but young ones like you don’t take your CPC until almost 5 years after your test. First take the official medical.
2 apply for provisional licence go for PSV at same time as LGV no cost implication.
3 take 2 separate computer based exams at a test centre theory and hazard perception.
4 take HGV driving lessons , in an automatic to make it easy or in a manual to make it harder but at least you’ll know how to drive range change gearbox.
Personally i’ve only driven an automatic gearbox for 2 days in 30 years.
Pass test now send off for your new driving licence and about a week later send off for your tacho card.
Now take your initial CPC known in slang as show me tell me about 1 days training and a 2 hour demo to an examiner. That’s CPC done you have now got 5 years to do 5 x 7 hours of training.
As someone else said chemistry teacher now do your ADR that’s 3 x 7 hours training but takes 5 days. Now do a days tacho training with a provider who has a tacho for you to play with that’s another 7 hours. Only one more 7 hour course and your good for 10 years worth of CPC.
Now don’t even bother with agency as you know chemistry and have ADR , some one will want you, so you can join the if it goes wrong run really fast gang.
This was my route and so much less stressful than middle management. I absolutely love trucking.
Budget 2-3 K
Oh and please smile at truckers who smile at you , so many grumpy faced women LGV drivers
When looking for a driving school go direct avoid agencies and consider going local as you will already know the roads so you are learning to drive rather than learning geography and can avoid the examiner asking you to drive through a weight limit on your test and you complying.
I would take your test in an automatic and then consider paying for a days instruction on a range change manual gearbox.
I like the 2 learners 1 instructor system rather than 1 on 1 as you get more road time and get to watch dramas from the passenger seat which is quite educational. Also you will find learning exhausting so try to avoid a long home to driving school daily commute.
Now take your initial CPC known in slang as show me tell me about 1 days training and a 2 hour demo to an examiner.
Just a couple of minor corrections: the cpc is in no way connected with the show me tell me questions which occur on the practical driving test. The initial driver cpc normally has a training period of no more than 2 hours and the test has to be completed within half an hour.
Hope this helps, Pete 
I am out 4 night a week don’t normally stay in MSA or truckstops ( slough we do have a Snap account & boss has suggested it to me before but not used it
With facilities you have to think outside of the box but do stop in a MSA or truck stop for my break & shower
There are some jobs that are 4 on 4 off or you can work Monday - Friday a mate of mine works Sunday - Thursday which suits him
There are plenty of women in the industry now & as Albion said don’t play the little girl although if you need some help ask for it I have in the past but due to the fact I do suffer duck’s disease ( bum too near ground other words are available if you wish ) so a good sense of humour & good banter is helpful in this job
But go for it & don’t be afraid to ask as the only stupid question is the 1 you don’t ask
Hayley293:
jessejazza:
I used to be a maths teacher… so maybe not the best person to reply.
The hours in driving would be just as long tbh. It depends why you want to give up teaching! If you feel you are spending too much time in preparation and marking… I would say you are doing too much. You would miss the pension from teaching which is v.good compared with what is offered outside. How many schools have you taught in… the job is so different from school to school.
I nursed my mother with Alzheimers for almost 7 years and so getting back into the classroom was not easy. I tried 7.5T as there were loads of pallet freight firms where I used to live and so when she died I just did CPC and then when I had enough cash did class 2.
As for women in driving I have met quite a few who enjoy it, one a former conveyancer and others who have done factory work and all sorts.
Questions
- No a good firm will give instruction
- CPC can either be 35 hours or modular
- it seems you are thinking the hours will be less than teaching and you will have more time for your partner. I’d say no.
- You have a load of goods and you drive from location to location. multi-drop is usually Class 2 and long distance class 1.
- would depend on the job. The women i have met enjoy it.
- avoid agencies at all costs. you’ll be earnign about 1/3 less than teaching and minimal pension.
- Best to ask a driving school but basically the same as a car BUT bigger vehicle with the main focus on road awareness and anticipation.
- routes given you
- stressful in a different way.
- NO - but happy to chat on the phone (send me a message). Trouble is I do 6 days on - 3 days off and my next days available are 26-28 April. I work in recovery. I may be able to chat whilst on duty but in my job it just depends what work comes in.
To help you make your mind up visit a few companies and look at as many roles as possible.
Hi, thank you for answering my questions! I want to give up teaching for a variety of reasons. I went into teaching from university, I’ve never had another job so I have nothing to compare it with.
I fancy a change and I feel like this job doesn’t suit who I am. Regarding the hours, I am aware the shifts will be longer but as long as I get some time to see my partner that would be fine. E.g. I’ve seen shifts advertised as 4 days on and 4 days off. Something like that would be great for me.
What’s working in recovery like?
I think you have received good advice in the replies. As I said, use your holidays to visit some companies and ask to go out with a driver for the day. “What’s working in recovery like?” - phone the local firm and ask to go out… having worked for two firms I can almost guarantee they would be more than happy to oblige.
I started doing recovery with the intention of utising some of my engineering knowledge… as you can see in the pics I have PM’d you. Vehicles upside down and in ditches can be hauled out using the winch but it has to be correctly applied and at the right angle.
The joy of driving is that there are so many areas that one can specialise it. Think of a way of applying science knowledge… with driving as a base skill if you like.
albion:
I’m answering this as a woman that used to drive UK and Europe but only a mere van or 7.5, but then went on to run a haulage business for 28 years and about to retire (in 6 days 
).
Wow, now that’s an inspiration right there! Thank you for answering my questions, it’s nice to get a chance to hear from a business point of view. Can I ask how you managed to get into running a haulage business? Did you set it up from scratch? Maybe I can follow your footsteps one day
ukjamesuk:
Surprised no one told you but young ones like you don’t take your CPC until almost 5 years after your test. First take the official medical.
2 apply for provisional licence go for PSV at same time as LGV no cost implication.
3 take 2 separate computer based exams at a test centre theory and hazard perception.
4 take HGV driving lessons , in an automatic to make it easy or in a manual to make it harder but at least you’ll know how to drive range change gearbox.
Personally i’ve only driven an automatic gearbox for 2 days in 30 years.
Pass test now send off for your new driving licence and about a week later send off for your tacho card.
Now take your initial CPC known in slang as show me tell me about 1 days training and a 2 hour demo to an examiner. That’s CPC done you have now got 5 years to do 5 x 7 hours of training.
As someone else said chemistry teacher now do your ADR that’s 3 x 7 hours training but takes 5 days. Now do a days tacho training with a provider who has a tacho for you to play with that’s another 7 hours. Only one more 7 hour course and your good for 10 years worth of CPC.
Now don’t even bother with agency as you know chemistry and have ADR , some one will want you, so you can join the if it goes wrong run really fast gang.
This was my route and so much less stressful than middle management. I absolutely love trucking.
Budget 2-3 K
Oh and please smile at truckers who smile at you , so many grumpy faced women LGV drivers
Thanks for your advice. Don’t worry, I’m someone who will smile at fellow truckers, haha. For ADR, do you need to take some sort of test at the end of the course before you get your certificate? I’d certainly like to flex my chemistry knowledge and show off a bit there
Thank you to everyone that has replied to me, it has been really helpful and inspiring!
Just a little update:
I’ve booked my training for the beginning of the 6 weeks holiday and I’m sorting out medical, theory revision, etc all to complete before then. I didn’t know this, but the training provider said I can complete the CPC training and 30 min test before I do the training in the HGV. That way, should I pass first time, I would be free to find work pretty much straight away (with a tacho card of course). I’d then have 5 years, as some of you said, to complete the 35 hours of training.
I have also handed in my notice at work this week so I will finish at the end of this term. Some of you may think I’m mad, and I probably am to be honest , but I’m excited to start a new chapter in my life. I have never had another job outside teaching and can’t wait to experience something new. Trucking definitely sounds like it will suit me. The thought of being in my cab with the radio on instead of a class full of kids sounds just… perfect.
Thank you again 
I don’t think you’re mad, I used to drive buses, so I know what it’s like to be trapped with the little darlings! Are you sticking at class two or going for class one?
The work is different. Not always, different work is available and this is not always the case, I’m making generalisation here.
Class two tends to be local multi drop, around 12 hours per day. Handball is the norm. Squeezeing into tight spots, hanballing stuff off. Not a night out job. Before someone chimes in, some time you can get one hitters and be out all week.
Class one tends to be distance work 1-3 drops per day, mostly trailer swaps, no handball and plenty of nights out. More hours (13-15 hrs per day) and obviously more money. You can get artic multi drop, home every night… but trust me, you don’t want that!
The hourly rate for hgv are virtually the same, they never used to be, but they are now. In fact 7.5 pays about the same now. So I wouldn’t bother with class one if it’s not something you have your heart set on.
Hayley293:
… For ADR, do you need to take some sort of test at the end of the course before you get your certificate?
Hi Hayley293,
Yes, you will need to take exams at the end of an ADR course in order to obtain your ADR Card.
Depending on which provider you choose, ADR exams are either online OR paper based, but ALL questions are multiple choice.
Hayley293:
I’d certainly like to flex my chemistry knowledge and show off a bit there
You won’t need any knowledge of chemistry to pass ADR exams.
As members of a larger class, I once taught two guys on an ADR course who both worked for the same well-known waste carrier… they both had a master’s degree in chemistry, but even that serious amount of knowledge was of no use to them on an ADR course.
ADR is getting a lot harder with multiple choice question answers that look almost the same. I sat my exam with 5 of 5 year repeaters and 2 newbies, one of the newbies failed. My opinion is ADR could lead to a less strenuous ie less handballing workload. A word of warning don’t show off there’s no apple for teacher and there’s a lot of advice from old timers to be had if you show some respect. A new licence means you are at the start of your learning not the end. The old timers will help you or sit back and watch you fail spectacularly.
As to agencies- biggest waste of time ever or have been for me.
Others may disagree but I like high viz polo shirts and bomber jackets from screwfix along with their metal free protection boots, first time you use the motorway services you’ll understand.