School to 16, then 2 years in 6th form doing A levels, then 4 years at Leicester Uni doing an Engineering degree, then 5.5 years working in IT for a big ISP that is now part of Cable and Wireless, and then packed it all in 2.5 years ago to drive trucks.
Paul
Not much.
Studied Civil Engineering at Tech. College. Didn’t fancy it so took up a job
my brother was doing which was,
Stockbroking. Working in the back office between around 1970 to 1975.
Decided to change career as job security wasn’t too good in '75 so found
another job in…
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office. Spent five years there but wanted to
better myself. To earn more money I applied and got a job with
British Aerospace, working in Saudi Arabia as an Administrator for 1 year.
Stockbroking again, working my way up to Assistant Office Manager. After
8 years, after the banks had bought up the Stockbroker & Stockjobber firms
I decided to move again. The reason was that Accountants were now
running these firms and you had to explain all the problems in a bloody
Memo as they hadn’t a clue what was going on. (In the old day, you went to
the Office Manager who knew exactly what you were talking about as he
had worked his way up as well.)
6 HGV Class 1 Driver. I took some holiday from my stockjobber firm and with
out telling anyone took and passed my Class 1. Spent more or less 10
years on the road before moving out to here for 10 years, initially working as
a labourer and then getting onto the tools.
Took my Stock Exchange Practices exam which was sponsored by my firm (before the bloody banks took over).
Also did Home Study and then took my CPC National and International as well.
And perhaps the most important “qualification” I went for was my touch typing course with the FO. It has been invaluable ever since, even more now with the advent of emails and Forums. So guys, don’t laugh at a guy who says he is a typist.
p.s. Conor. After all the variety of answers is your collegue really going to get a better understanding of what makes a lorry driver 
left school 1961,started work as a fireman on steam locos gradually progressed to train driver,made redundant ,started with british coal became a face worker/machine driver.beat the crap out of a copper at orgreaves during the strike,went all downhill after that ,started wagon driving 1990.
Served an apprenticeship @ Southport Corporation Transport Dept as a
Diesel mechanic then as a skilled fitter went to Ribble Motor services at Aintree depot then to Kirkdale Lewis Haulage in Kirkby in the garage then as (some golden oldies like me) will remember the Wilson era of government and the 3 day working week. 
Then decided after redundancy (the firm was sold to another company) that it was time to use my then class 3 licence and go for the easy option of driving em instead of fixing em! 
Then came the passing of my class 1 test and have now been driving for over 35 years having driven tippers (grain and stone) then general haulage and after that own account for Safeway @ Warrington RDC till Morrison shut the place 
and am now on containers till I retire unless I get the sack or the firm closes
1)6 months Y.T.S. on building site/collage to be come a “skilled labourer?”
2)5 years in Glasgow fruit market porter/picker/fork lift driver
3)5 years in Glasgow fruit market as van driver 3.5t-7.5t trucks doing multi drop , eventualy got my class 2 out them ,(after 3 years) stayed another 2 and left Got my LGV C1 (payed for myself)
4)In currant job for filshill started out on 4/6 wheelers for 2 years and then they bought a artic and i got volunteered to drive it (no more hand build 
) am ten years in september !
Reef:
Oh and seeing as ROG is being a smart arse i passed all my tests 1st time too
8 lessons in car then passed 1st time,
LGV C started course on monday morning passed test friday afternoon,
LGV C + E started course monday morning passed test thursday morning.i also got 35 out of 35 on my theory test too so go on pat me on the back im so clever i have to tell everyone else just how superior i am…Maybe i should put the above as my signature or something equally ■■■■…ffs
WELL DONE REEF - YOU MUST BE A SAD OLD GIT LIKE ME
helping my daed delivering turf and straw round londonevery weekend in an old tk from about 10
paper round from 13
left school at 16 in '88 and worked as:
forecourt attendent twice
fibreglasser making boats
building labourer
barman twice
bar manager and part time nightclub barman
then i got an on the job apprentiship with a plastering and building co
then i went self employed as a plasterer untill i crashed one of my motorbikes
2 years on disability luckily my wife started working for a training company while i became a househusband to my young son and two step daughters untill finally the wife managed to get my put me through both my tests and flt etc.
here i am 4 years later and fullfilling a long term dream
i have no desire to do anything else no matter how difficult the government makes it
Joined RAF @ 16yrs.
Made redundant in 1997.
Went to Uni for 2 years. (computing.)
Entertainer for Thomson Hols till 2003.
Bus Driver from 2003-2006.
Cat C August '06 Cat CE Nov '06.
Currently still on rigids.
It’s a bit of a while ago - left school in '85 I think, had various ‘O’ levels and ‘A’ levels in business studies & economics. Should have gone to do a degree in merchant banking but for various reasons didn’t…
After 6 months unemployment got first job in Insurance. Stayed in that until 9 years ago (ish) doing various technical & actuarial (bloody boring) stuff. Got too bored and took LGV tests & CPC.
Since then mostly steel or bulk tanks.
Never going back to an office. It’s like prison
ROG:
Reef:
Oh and seeing as ROG is being a smart arse i passed all my tests 1st time too
8 lessons in car then passed 1st time,
LGV C started course on monday morning passed test friday afternoon,
LGV C + E started course monday morning passed test thursday morning.i also got 35 out of 35 on my theory test too so go on pat me on the back im so clever i have to tell everyone else just how superior i am…Maybe i should put the above as my signature or something equally ■■■■…ffs
WELL DONE REEF - YOU MUST BE A SAD OLD GIT LIKE ME
Nope…im not that old yet 
I concede that we must be as sad as each other as we seem to be the only two so far to have been driving (in one form or another) most of our working lives
Oh and you mentioned driving pre licence i grew up around farming so i drove tractors for the majority of my childhood. I took the short wheel base landy to school once (that went down well i can tell you) 
dont know if this is of any help but i spent 8 years as an army hgv mechanic from 16, i then spent a year agency driving whilst also teaching folk to drive then i said sod it and took up hgv driving full time.
Boring but hope this is what u were after.
first of all i left school and trained to be a plater/ welder. then went to the shipyards in southampton and worked on welding ship repairs. then came back up to leeds and passed my class1 and was on the artics for 6 years now ive retrained as an electricain.
so ive done a fair bit.
left school at 16 and started work with me dad
17, got promoted to dizzy heights as van driver.
17 3/4 joined the airforce as a driver. had enough of my dad
hgv 3 at 17, psv at 18 and class 1 at 19.
been driving trucks ever since.
came out the mob in 97 done 5 years a somerfields, saw the light and have been with castle just coming up to 5 years. think this is a job for life.
have,nt been on for a long while so hi to you all
Did A’levels then college for a HND in Marine Leisure Management, then first job was as an Environmental Scientist for 2 years (posh name for walking round landfill sites all day), then did class 1, drove for 4 years, then worked as contract manager, then took redundancy, back to driving for 18 months, then transport manager for 8 months then changed to job as a European Sales Manager for Liquid Logistics Company (excellent job and company) had to give it up due to health probs, took CPC Nat and Int whilst recovering and set up own business which is what I do now - all through the above have done bits and bobs of agency driving during holidays and weekends, can’t loose the whiteline fever!!!
Age 15 in 1966 Garage Parts Store
1968 to 1991 Royal Air Force Aircraft Technician
1991 to 1992 Self employed caterer
1992 to 1994 Pump jockey for Granada Services at Colsterworth
1994 to 2005 7.5 tonne driver for packaging company
2005 to 2006 took C class, C+E class and drove for agency
2006 to present driving 7.5 tonne to 26 tonne curtainsiders for local agri company
Reef:
Oh and you mentioned driving pre licence i grew up around farming so i drove tractors for the majority of my childhood. I took the short wheel base landy to school once (that went down well i can tell you)
You didn’t go over the “keep off the grass” area did you
Well here goes.
Age 34
Until May last year i was Director of a Construction Company.
Got HNC in Quantity Surveying and Post Grad Diploma in Business Management.
My big plan was to become a Commercial Pilot, and as part of my plans was to achieve my Class 1 as a back up. This was about four years ago.
Got half way through training but found i enjoyed the HGV driving which was done most weekends through agencys and local contacts.
I decided to do my CPC National and International a year ago and applied for an Operators Licence. I have just bought my first unit and set up as an Owner Driver with a plan to hopefully put a further two units on the road in a year or so.
If things turn out as envisaged, then i plan to do my Commercial Pilot Training in a few years, safe in the knowledge that i have a successful business to fall back on if i fail to realise my career aspirations.
I spent 2 year YTS at Stocksbridge steelworks, drove tractor & bowser/roadsweeper/dumptrucks for A.Monk Civil engineering on sites for a year, got a job back in steelworks for 18months, redundant in 92, trained inNDT for a short while as redundancy package, then i had my car nicked by a scroat from a local kids home & subsequently spent the last 13 yrs working there lol…absolutely hate it now, too many do gooders and childrens rights - hence i am driven to trucking which i’ve fancied for years, also drove 7.5tonne stuff and fire engines on the show/rally scene for a few years.
Conor:
In order to help someone understand something about us, would you please take the time to list what you did before becoming a HGV driver, the qualifications you have and the reasons why?
Ok, i was a mechanical fitter at Henry Diapers (knowsley Industrial Estate) fixing Coventry Climax and Hyster forklift trucks. Then a wayward few years, HMP and the life of a gypo, hunting ,shooting and fishing. Then workin an office start as a telephonist and become the office manager
Hackney cab proprietor, pet food wholesaler and lorry driver !!
Quite what you hope to prove by directing anybody to it is beyond me. I would reckon only a tiny percentage of lorry drivers use the internet (for work related things anyway). I’ve never met a lorry driver who uses the 'net for anything other than Ebay !! As such i don’t think we are a typical snapshot.