Is it worth becoming a HGV driver?

[AHarvey]

My brother and my best mate have both walking into Class 2 driving (think that's Cat C) with Bargain Booze. Brother has left now but my mate is doing up to 60 hours a week and pulling in £600 a week.

Building his experience before moving up.

You need to wait until you have everything you need, then start approaching everyone possible. Job Centre, driving agencies, local business, etc

Try Temps On Call, they are on FB and my mate Chris runs it, purely driving. You may be out of his catchment area but he may know people in your area that could help.

 

[helpimcrap]

Cheers. I must have signed up to about 10 agencies and no joy so i'll wait a few days to see what happens. I need experience but I'm losing my patience and will go class 1 next week I think if nothing happens this week.

 

[AHarvey]

Going to be the same with Class 1, in fact, even more so. Speak to the job centre, they usually have contacts they can put you in touch with.

 

[dowie]

If you believe the tech giants, truckies will be the first to go when driverless vehicles really arrive

Good, keep them in a single lane on the motorway too when that happens. Annoying as **** when one lorry driver decides to overtake another while traveling at like only 1mph faster. Not to mentio when one of them ****s up or nods off at the wheel they can cause serious pileups.

I don't think it would be flexible enough for part time work as a student OP, maybe OK for summer holidays if you're an undergrad.

For an actual career though - hopefully we can kill it off within a decade or so.

 

[helpimcrap]

Going to be the same with Class 1, in fact, even more so. Speak to the job centre, they usually have contacts they can put you in touch with.

I see far more jobs stating no experience needed for class 1 compared to class 2. I've hopefully got something lined up tomorrow... Hopefully.

 

[helpimcrap]

Dowie - I want to work full time. if by some miracle I get into university I will need money to support myself and I could work weekends which is when many struggle.

 

[dowie]

Oh so full time for a year or so before university? You seemed to just mention the part time while at university in the OP - I assumed you were already a student.

Are you not already working in some other role? I mean I'd be skeptical that you could juggle this sort of job when studying full time, depending on the degree course (aside from perhaps summer holidays). And if you were aiming to start university next year then it might not be worthwhile spending a couple of grand training for something you're only going to use for a few months. I mean is the pay and likely irregular work you'll perhaps get for a few months really going to represent much of an increase for you?

 

[AHarvey]

with experience before Uni starts in you'll be able to get agency work. Agencies are screaming for reliable drivers.

As for driverless HGV's, I wouldn't hold your breath.

The only way true driverless roads can work is where all roads and vehicles are using the exact same system and they are all talking to each other.

You may get automated HGV's but they'll always need a human co-driver to oversee it, just in case. Afterall, we've had planes that can take off and land by themselves for some time but they still need 2 pilots.

what would be a bigger danger to the career would be a proper underground heavy duty rail system where HGV's just drive up, trailers are loaded and off it shoots to the depot. but that's extremely unlikely.

 

[helpimcrap]

I was aiming to be at uni this year but no one picked me. I got knocked off push bike last year which delayed HGV training. I want it as an option. If I can get £500 a month I can pay my bills and live. I've set it all up as best i can. I will need one day at the weekends and that's it. 12hr day @ £10 p/H = £480 every 4 weeks with another day somewhere to top it up to £600.

 

[regulus]

Would selling your Porsche help your finances at all?

 

[helpimcrap]

Would selling your Porsche help your finances at all?

It would and I will be in the new year. I want to get it sorted right for next person. Someone's already asked for first refusal.

All of that is irrelevant to me getting a driving job as I never mention the uni thing.

 

[regulus]

If you're not planning on being a HGV driver for a long term career and only looking for quick and easy money, look at some railway jobs. The money is just as good, the hours just as crap, and the work just as depressing. The training is 2 days (iirc) and you can earn more by upskilling yourself by gaining further tickets.

Could be an option whilst you chase HGV jobs.

You start by getting your PTS ticket and look on railwaypeople.com for jobs.

 

[helpimcrap]

Wouldn't railways be manual and physical labour?
It's the physical side I have a problem with hence no warehouse picking jobs etc due to limited movement in arm and a rebuilt knee so outside in the cold is a hell no due to pain. I can drive a lorry safely and judge well.

 

[dowie]

I was aiming to be at uni this year but no one picked me. I got knocked off push bike last year which delayed HGV training. I want it as an option. If I can get £500 a month I can pay my bills and live. I've set it all up as best i can. I will need one day at the weekends and that's it. 12hr day @ £10 p/H = £480 every 4 weeks with another day somewhere to top it up to £600.

depending on your course I think that is a bad idea and you might well be kicking yourself when it comes to assignment deadlines etc.. that is assuming something like engineering, computer science etc.. where you've got technical projects where unexpected things can go wrong which could then take longer than expected by a few days as opposed to essays based coursework.

also I don't know if you can necessarily expect to work say every Saturday for X hours

 

[Deleted member 651465]

No offence, but it looks to me like you're trying to shoehorn a full time job in to a weekend job. Or at least, you're trying to treat a very demanding job like a weekend job.

Is there a HGV job where you can rock up on a Saturday and be home by Sunday evening? Do companies want someone to come in for a shift and bugger off for a whole week? (surely that'd be one trip? Is it worth the hassle for them?). What if you exceed your driving time and you're stuck on the M6 on a Sunday evening, would you be willing to skip Uni?

I personally wouldn't want to have anything more than a supermarket weekend job whilst studying. However, I don't know your circumstances so maybe that isn't an option. As I said, I'd be surprised if you find anything to suit your needs, but I wish you the best with it

 

[helpimcrap]

I appreciate the comments and the negativity of my process but it's quite simple - I have to do this on my own. I have to pay for everything.
If I can get help with finances then great but I count on no one and nothing. Quite simply a job stacking shelves would be more demanding as I'd need to work more for the same money.

The hourly rate is the best I can do for minimal time. I'm not trying to shoehorn a full-timejob into anywhere. It will be a weekend job which is when people struggle for drivers. I know this from working in transport.

It'll be hard work but needs must. I don't have anybody to help me and I WILL do what I need to. I am 100% reliable and a grafter not a shirker.

 

[regulus]

To answer your railway question, no, depending on what you do, there won't be any hard graft unless you go in as a labourer. There are different routes you can take, Lookout, Coss, Engineering Supervisor, Crane Controller, Strapping out, etc etc.

I don't know how much being a HGV driver pays but in a different life time when I was doing some railway related stuff, I was paid anywhere from 15-35 bucks an hour. This was about 10-12 years ago now. I never remember leaving the site access office much.

What's also 'beneficial' about the railways for someone in your situation, is that there's a big emphasis on weekend work. That's when all the heavy engineering gets done as the lines aren't as busy. Same for Christmas day. Back in the day, I done a few Christmas Eve shifts and got paid quite a few 1000 for just turning up. As I wasn't an idiot with money, just that shift alone paid my rent for nearly 6 months. Companies will also be happy if you just want to work weekends as that's when they find it hard to get people to work.

Look it's just a suggestion. I've no clue what it's like nowadays but I can't imagine it to be much different. It's terrible hours, rubbish work (whatever you end up doing) but it'll hopefully teach you a thing or two about enduring hardship and not slacking at university (otherwise the railway might threaten to become your career!) There's nothing like having to do 9 miles worth of bridge inspections in pouring rain at 2am on a Sunday morning. Nothing.

Have a little look around, ring a few companies and see what's on offer. Don't sound like you have much going on at the moment anyway.

 

[helpimcrap]

Had a driving assessment yesterday- first time in a manual and first time at night. I passed. Waiting on next stage....

Currently sat waiting for over an hour after driving 30miles for a job interview.... I'll give up in a minute and go home.

It seems anybody to do with HGVs is so full of ****. They expect a driver to ring the company they are delivering to but don't offer same respect to the driver.

All I want is a bloody job... DRIVING!

 

[helpimcrap]

Another 10 jobs applied for - everything from driving bin lorries to single drops to 8 wheel stone deliveries etc.

It is looking far easier to get a class 1 job.....

 

[calp0l]

I did 10 yrs of Rigid Truck driving in Ireland, before the CPC arrived. I swopped out my Drivers Licence From Ireland to UK and kept all my classes. B C EC D. And 3yrs later in UK now and not one single Driving Job have I recieved. I wish you all the best. All they want are experienced UK drivers. I don't get it, they are crying out for drivers it seems. I even tried Bus companys to no avail. Have you tried Taxi/Hackney Licence? I also did 10yrs of that in Dublin City. Just not interested doing that in UK. I also tought people to drive cars. That was a fun job.