Working for as HGV driver.. and hopefully eddie Stobart
Discussion
bigfatnick said:
Apologies for bringing up and old thread, but i feel it needs some balance.
Am i the only person who likes this job?
Granted i only got into it as a route into leaving this country for canada, and haven't been doing it long but still, i enjoy it. I think a lot of the people who complain here remember "the good old days", well the fact is, most jobs are crap nowadays, and trust me, i've done a lot of jobs.
I do mainly agricultural work, so dodge the RDC's, but still have to run to potato factories, sometimes with a wait that goes on forever. Well, i chill out, get on my phone, surf the net, listen to some podcasts, have a nap, all whilst being paid £8/hr - which in this day in age isn't bad for a job which i'd describe as semi skilled at best. I also do tipper work, fast paced, but we're limited to 56, we cant do much about that, and once you've done as much as you can, you tell your boss thats it, and instead of grunting at him, you USE YOUR WORDS, and articulate to him/her that you've had x and y problem, and that why you didn't get that 5th or 6th run done that day. Easy. You can't get fired for not breaking the law, employers know this, they know that they can't unfairly dismiss people either these days.
The last factory i worked for was better than most, i got paid £6.70/hr, had to stand in the same spot all day, head to toe in health and safety garb, bending bits of tube, we weren't allowed the radio on because they said we wouldn't be able to hear the fire alarm and we had to wear ear plugs. I've had office jobs, pure misery. Now, i spend all day listening to the radio/podcasts/streaming something interesting into the speakers, looking out the windows at what people from other parts of the world would consider some of the most interesting countryside in the world, safe in the knowledge that i can work a MAXIMUM of 15 hours a day, and drive for a MAXIMUM of 10 hours a day, not like our trucker colleagues in the states/canada who get paid similar to us, and the aussies who earn more than us, but otherwise share similar negative points like having to work crazy hours, run at much higher speeds, and if my experience says anything (i've spent a fair bit of time in those countries) run with equipment that might not be as safe as ours - the standards the farm trucks i worked with in aus are maintained to are appaling.
It might not be a good job, but there aren't many good jobs any more! I quite like it.
Maybe i wont do it forever, but hey, i've never done a job more than 4 years. It's 2014, you dont need to do the same job for the rest of your life.
Edit to add - I'm 28 years old, and i earn a similar amount to the bulk of my mates who are graduates. some earn more, some less. It's a s
tty world out there, things aren't what they used to be.
At the age of 28 you will be earning the same as a graduate, give it 10 years and enjoy watching your mates working less hours for doing less work and earning at least twice what you're on. At the same time they'll be complaining about the fAm i the only person who likes this job?
Granted i only got into it as a route into leaving this country for canada, and haven't been doing it long but still, i enjoy it. I think a lot of the people who complain here remember "the good old days", well the fact is, most jobs are crap nowadays, and trust me, i've done a lot of jobs.
I do mainly agricultural work, so dodge the RDC's, but still have to run to potato factories, sometimes with a wait that goes on forever. Well, i chill out, get on my phone, surf the net, listen to some podcasts, have a nap, all whilst being paid £8/hr - which in this day in age isn't bad for a job which i'd describe as semi skilled at best. I also do tipper work, fast paced, but we're limited to 56, we cant do much about that, and once you've done as much as you can, you tell your boss thats it, and instead of grunting at him, you USE YOUR WORDS, and articulate to him/her that you've had x and y problem, and that why you didn't get that 5th or 6th run done that day. Easy. You can't get fired for not breaking the law, employers know this, they know that they can't unfairly dismiss people either these days.
The last factory i worked for was better than most, i got paid £6.70/hr, had to stand in the same spot all day, head to toe in health and safety garb, bending bits of tube, we weren't allowed the radio on because they said we wouldn't be able to hear the fire alarm and we had to wear ear plugs. I've had office jobs, pure misery. Now, i spend all day listening to the radio/podcasts/streaming something interesting into the speakers, looking out the windows at what people from other parts of the world would consider some of the most interesting countryside in the world, safe in the knowledge that i can work a MAXIMUM of 15 hours a day, and drive for a MAXIMUM of 10 hours a day, not like our trucker colleagues in the states/canada who get paid similar to us, and the aussies who earn more than us, but otherwise share similar negative points like having to work crazy hours, run at much higher speeds, and if my experience says anything (i've spent a fair bit of time in those countries) run with equipment that might not be as safe as ours - the standards the farm trucks i worked with in aus are maintained to are appaling.
It might not be a good job, but there aren't many good jobs any more! I quite like it.
Maybe i wont do it forever, but hey, i've never done a job more than 4 years. It's 2014, you dont need to do the same job for the rest of your life.
Edit to add - I'm 28 years old, and i earn a similar amount to the bulk of my mates who are graduates. some earn more, some less. It's a s
tty world out there, things aren't what they used to be.Edited by bigfatnick on Saturday 18th January 23:46
king elephant racing when they need to get home. Sorry sunshine but unless you are a multi-talented genius, this a
hole of a job will suck you in and you'll end up thinking, "where did my life go?" Get out now whilst you can.leggly said:
At the age of 28 you will be earning the same as a graduate, give it 10 years and enjoy watching your mates working less hours for doing less work and earning at least twice what you're on. At the same time they'll be complaining about the fking elephant racing when they need to get home.
Sorry sunshine but unless you are a multi-talented genius, this ahole of a job will suck you in and you'll end up thinking, "where did my life go?" Get out now whilst you can.
Complete garbage................king elephant racing when they need to get home. Sorry sunshine but unless you are a multi-talented genius, this a
hole of a job will suck you in and you'll end up thinking, "where did my life go?" Get out now whilst you can.I left the UK 5 years ago and moved to France.If we hadn't I would still be driving.
I worked for Entwistles hauling bricks,Irlams doing blue chip stuff,the same for Jack Richards.I left to work for Marthall timber products driving a 6 wheeler,good hours(7.30-whenever,usually6.30-7.00)the wages were good £9.10/hr,delivering around the northwest and very occasionally further afield.
When I left I told a mate that the job was his if he wanted it as it was a damn good job working for a boss that really appreciated your efforts(all paid Christmas meal,Christmas booze shared out equally,all holidays paid and extra unpaid if you wanted it)
What I'm trying to say is even if you have a class 1 don't get stuck in a rut and keep looking,the small independants are often offering better working conditions and a more comfortable working environment.
I worked for Entwistles hauling bricks,Irlams doing blue chip stuff,the same for Jack Richards.I left to work for Marthall timber products driving a 6 wheeler,good hours(7.30-whenever,usually6.30-7.00)the wages were good £9.10/hr,delivering around the northwest and very occasionally further afield.
When I left I told a mate that the job was his if he wanted it as it was a damn good job working for a boss that really appreciated your efforts(all paid Christmas meal,Christmas booze shared out equally,all holidays paid and extra unpaid if you wanted it)
What I'm trying to say is even if you have a class 1 don't get stuck in a rut and keep looking,the small independants are often offering better working conditions and a more comfortable working environment.
NorfolkInClue1 said:
leggly said:
At the age of 28 you will be earning the same as a graduate, give it 10 years and enjoy watching your mates working less hours for doing less work and earning at least twice what you're on. At the same time they'll be complaining about the fking elephant racing when they need to get home.
Sorry sunshine but unless you are a multi-talented genius, this ahole of a job will suck you in and you'll end up thinking, "where did my life go?" Get out now whilst you can.
Complete garbage................king elephant racing when they need to get home. Sorry sunshine but unless you are a multi-talented genius, this a
hole of a job will suck you in and you'll end up thinking, "where did my life go?" Get out now whilst you can.t jobs, and with no kids and not wanting any, i decided to make the most of all my spare time, rather than going down the pub and complaining about my life, i have fun hobbies, i travel, i dont spend it all on piss and cigs. Life is what you make of it. Granted, my mates might earn more in the future, and work less hours. Guess what, THATS MY FAULT, i chose not to go to uni, i chose not to wear a shirt and tie, we cant blame others for our decisions, we choose a working class job, we deal with it, i cant think of any other jobs that aren't st. My mates who work in construction get st all work, and at bottom money at the moment, people who work in shops are spoken to as if theyre a lower standard of human being (not something i've found in this job - maybe because i speak to others in the same manner i'd like to be spoken to), and when i do come up against someone miserable, i think to myself, "that guys life must suck, glad im not him" and that that, i dont get pissed off, i dont feel rage, i dont start sweating, i'm just glad i'm not him.All jobs are s
t, and theyre all getting worse. Chill out and try enjoy your spare time 
To all the people who hate this job, what are you doing about it? What job do you want to do? What job is really, truly, honestly better than this job? A job that really exists, one you can do, one that people can apply for, one that isn't dead mans shoes, one that isn't being farmed out abroad, one that hasn't been reduced to minimum wage? I cant think of any, all jobs are s
t, unless you put the legwork in when you were young, you went to uni, you got a decent apprenticeship in a decent trade, or you managed to get into one of the small industries such as off shore work that not everybody can do. Its 2014, everything sucks, make the most of it!People also seem to assume you have to do the same job forever, YOU DONT!
I was thinking when I read your first reply - nobody's holding a gun to anyone's head. I don't get the whinging culture amongst drivers & it is endemic, absolutely endemic. Wherever I've worked in logistics & that is all over by the way, from Safeway to Unichem to Ikea & all points in between, it has always been without exception the drivers that have been the royal pain in the arse.
There is something in being in a mobile office all day that really brings it out in people.
There is something in being in a mobile office all day that really brings it out in people.
I grew up in Scotland, leaving school as that Thatcher started fking us over to pay for the M25 and southern votes. Not a lot of opportunities for university beckoned to the offspring of a single parent back then. There were no jobs, let alone any apprenticeships, so most of us went from one dead end job to another, I worked in a foundry, which closed, I used the redundancy money to do my Class One.
Yes, I still enjoy the job on a good day, it's the st that comes along with it(vosa, police, restrictions, aholes at goods in, aholes who can always talk the job better than you can do it, tts who reckon 56 miles in an hour is achievable as the truck does 56, don't it? 
Being treated like scum, where else would you be expected to have to wait for hours with no toilet facilities? Not many jobs I reckon.
Oh and I like a moan
Thatcher started fking us over to pay for the M25 and southern votes. Not a lot of opportunities for university beckoned to the offspring of a single parent back then. There were no jobs, let alone any apprenticeships, so most of us went from one dead end job to another, I worked in a foundry, which closed, I used the redundancy money to do my Class One.Yes, I still enjoy the job on a good day, it's the s
t that comes along with it(vosa, police, restrictions, aholes at goods in, aholes who can always talk the job better than you can do it, tts who reckon 56 miles in an hour is achievable as the truck does 56, don't it? Being treated like scum, where else would you be expected to have to wait for hours with no toilet facilities? Not many jobs I reckon.
Oh and I like a moan
Justin Cyder said:
I was thinking when I read your first reply - nobody's holding a gun to anyone's head. I don't get the whinging culture amongst drivers & it is endemic, absolutely endemic. Wherever I've worked in logistics & that is all over by the way, from Safeway to Unichem to Ikea & all points in between, it has always been without exception the drivers that have been the royal pain in the arse.
There is something in being in a mobile office all day that really brings it out in people.
Too many bad days roll into one, it gets too much sometimes,although the standing joke anywhere is drivers are all moaning bThere is something in being in a mobile office all day that really brings it out in people.
ds.I always tried to not moan and for the most part it worked,although all it took was one wrong word from a particular sarky, aspergers like debriefer and I could blow up immediately. Nothing ever got said the managers knew this debriefer could be an arse,which is exactly what he was, it's not like he had any authority either.
People like that can make a whole day bad.
Some people can't let it go,so they moan all day everyday. We have plenty of drivers at work like this, I tend to avoid them.
Hi People I ust wanted to add to this convo, I used to go up n down the roads for a few years in the artics but I started work for a very well known Breakdown company as a Recovery Driver and have been there since january and all i can say is its an absolute breath of fresh air compared to haulage, the pays decent good pension, good overtime rates and bonuses and absolutely no onvernights to make your wages....so its not all doom and gloom....
Justin Cyder said:
I was thinking when I read your first reply - nobody's holding a gun to anyone's head. I don't get the whinging culture amongst drivers & it is endemic, absolutely endemic. Wherever I've worked in logistics & that is all over by the way, from Safeway to Unichem to Ikea & all points in between, it has always been without exception the drivers that have been the royal pain in the arse.
There is something in being in a mobile office all day that really brings it out in people.
If a driver ain't moaning he ain't speaking is my general experience, most love bThere is something in being in a mobile office all day that really brings it out in people.
hing about the boss, the job, the st wagon they've got, the wages, the waiting....yet all still turn up on a Monday morning expecting to work.Gassing Station | Commercial Break | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff