Trucking, is it worth doing my licence or is it a job

[bigfatnick]

Hi all, I've been watching this forum since its creation and was expecting this topic to have already been created, but it hasn't, so I'll do it.

Basically, I've liked the idea of truck driving for years, my grandad did it when I was a kid, I've always liked the driving (of all my jobs - and i've had a lot, its the driving jobs i've enjoyed the most). When working on a farm in Australia, last year, I got to drive my boss's road train rated Kenworth, and once I got the hang of the twin splitter gears I really liked it. it was a 1996 T650 iirc with a 525bhp cummins n14, with very little in the way of silencing, brakes and with its ruined cabin, and steel suspension, very little refinement, but it had once of the loudest jake brakes i've ever heard. He told me of all the people he'd taught, I picked up the eaton twin split the quickest.

My plan is fairly simple, after spending a year and a bit there on a working holiday visa I want to emigrate to Canada. I love the place but I'm not blessed with qualifications, money, and other things that would get me into Canada, I know they have a shortage of drivers, I know they're facing a bigger shortage of drivers (as are we I believe) and I know a number of provinces allow experienced truck drivers to emigrate as part of their PNP schemes.

This brings me to my main question. If it worth driving trucks in the UK? All I hear is how its a bad job, how vosa will try their hardest to remove your licence from you, how the police see truckers as easy targets and how there are no jobs because of the current economic situation and how it used to be a well paid job, but due to the eastern european influx, its now a minimum wage job. Am I hearing the doom and gloom of a bitter and twisted nation who just can't be positive about anything? or is there some truth in it.

I'd like to learn to drive, then maybe stick around in the uk for 3-5 years before hopefully emigrating then. (and if i don't, hopefully get into something more specialist, like heavy haulage, or continental work.) I'm 26 now, but by the time i've paid off some debts and saved for the truck driver lessons, it's likely to be a year down the line (when hopefully our economy might be on the mend).

I'd love to hear if you guys think its worth it, your general musings on the state of the industry and weather its as bad as the doom and gloomers seem to think it is.

Thanks,

Nick

[bigfatnick]

Thanks everyone.

So in short, its great when your driving, but most other things suck, its difficult to find work, everyone hates you, vosa want to sack you, and you cant eat nice food.


However, assuming I can get a few years experience under my belt, its pretty much my best shot at emigrating. Then get out of the EU and away from its rules, and don't have to deal with much of what has to be dealt with at the moment.