Driving Jobs

[dave_c]

I taking a couple of years off from Higher Education simply to work full time. I quite bored with my current employment in an office environment. I'm feel in need of a change and I feel more comfortable in the open road, in the motorway I strangely feel at my element. Therfore I have a couple of questions regarding job oppurtunities in the field of driving.

-What Jobs (excluding trade) are out there that consist of a whole lot driving?

-How much and how long does it take to gain an LGV/HGV license?

 

PS I have a degree if thats any help thanks

[beamer]

Err... what on earth has all that got to do with finding a driving job???

[El D]

any form of management in construction involves lots and lots of driving to various sites.

[Lexie]

Hi Dave

I have never heard of the answerbank until today and I found your question. I am in exactly the same position as you and in fact I am going to have a medical assessment for my HGV provisional next week. I also have a degree and have worked in industry for a few years but never felt like I belonged or was doing any good. I recently returned from travelling in Australia and the only place I have ever felt happy is on the open road. I was lucky enough to have a couple of trips in a road train and even got to drive a couple of times and so now I am going for my licence. I agree with Bud about using the degree but if driving is in your blood like me, you'll just have to go for it. You can always go back to your profession later if you decide that's what you want to do. The price depends on your current ability but you could be looking at somewhere between �1500-�2k all in. The best thing is to enrol with a driving school, they will assess you and tell you how many lessons you need and then give you the training and put you through your test. You probably know you need to sit a theory test, then Class II (rigid), then Class I (articulated). There is quite a demand for HGV drivers in this country at the moment as far as I know but to begin with you might need to work for an agency until you get more experience. Hope this helps.

Lexie

[Ouisch]

I'm in the US, but I'm sure companies in the UK have similar positions to this - my brother and a friend of mine both work for food/beverage distributors.  My brother works for a company that sells cookies, cupcakes and the like, and my friend works for a company that sells Anheiser/Busch products.  What they have to do is go to a set list of retailers every day (different group of retailers in different areas each day) and make sure the product displays are set up correctly and are being promoted properly.  They schmooze a bit with the store owner, give him some free product and a window display or neon store sign, etc, and then head to the next retailer.  Lots of time driving, but also lots of people contact and socialization.

[ianess]

If you only want to do it for a couple of years why not consider driving buses for your largest local company?

They'll pay you for training and offer you a steady job with plenty of overtime if you want that sort of thing.

You'll work a variety of shift patterns and meet all types of people while at the same time having an element of being in control of, and responsible for, your actions.

It's not for everyone and I wouldn't suggest it as a long-term career, but it may just be what you're looking for.

Keep us posted and good luck.