Dynamonic
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I became a driver straight from a retail sales assistant role. 
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Drivers, what did you do beforehand?
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Worked in finance immediately prior to the railway, to be honest I got fed up of the office politics. I wanted to join the airlines on the flight deck when I was a kid though unfortunately the cost of training was a barrier.
The airline world sadly isn't what it used to be for pilots, indeed, a lot of airlines have introduced a "B" scale when it comes to terms and conditions, including pay. For example, it used to take a BA pilot 24 years of service to reach the top pay point (pay increases with company seniority for pilots), anyone who's joined in the last few years will have to wait 34 years to reach the same pay point.
The airline world sadly isn't what it used to be for pilots, indeed, a lot of airlines have introduced a "B" scale when it comes to terms and conditions, including pay. For example, it used to take a BA pilot 24 years of service to reach the top pay point (pay increases with company seniority for pilots), anyone who's joined in the last few years will have to wait 34 years to reach the same pay point.
Bromley boy
Established Member
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This is very true and cuts both ways.
Academic qualifications are essentially irrelevant: however “degreed up” someone is, it will be no help at all if they can’t pass the selection tests.
Degrees and qualifications galore also won’t help if you get through the tests, pass out as a driver and have multiple safety of the line incidents in a short space of time (in typing that I have one particular ex driver in mind who was academically bright, yet failed to muck the custard as a driver, and was swiftly given the boot after multiple incidents soon after passing out).
The job is a great leveller in that respect!
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bramling
Veteran Member
Agree very much with this.
There's two misconceptions which seem to float around -- (i) those with qualifications are better at the job, and, (ii) those with qualifications are rubbish at the job. Both of these I find untrue in reality - and the same applies to other grades, including operational management, control and signalling. I can think of good and bad people on both sides of the mythical dividing line.
- Came out of GCSE’s
- Spent 5 years working in a KFC
- Got a job as station staff for 3 years
- Been driving now for 4 years
As with many Train driving was a typical childhood dream job of mine. I didn’t think I’d ever get it or even know how and it took until about a year of working on a station to realise it was actually a possibility
- Spent 5 years working in a KFC
- Got a job as station staff for 3 years
- Been driving now for 4 years
As with many Train driving was a typical childhood dream job of mine. I didn’t think I’d ever get it or even know how and it took until about a year of working on a station to realise it was actually a possibility
Eggs&Bacon
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I am still a HGV driver, delivering dangerous goods. (GAS) Hoping GWR or other TOCS close to me start their recruitment process again very soon. I can take no more of daily grind on the roads after 22 years.!
RPM
Established Member
I kind of went the internal route; ticket office, duty manager then station manager. The latter role paid far less than a driver's wage, and I fancied driving anyway so I went for it. 15 years later I maintain it was a good career move.
Looking around my depot, there's a strong showing of ex-bus drivers. A few ex-military and ex-emergency services, and one or two ex-railway fitters.
Looking around my depot, there's a strong showing of ex-bus drivers. A few ex-military and ex-emergency services, and one or two ex-railway fitters.
My work already know my username so no issue posting. Immediately before joining I worked as a programmer/designer for a betting shop company. It was the years before that of being a ride operator/team leader/assistant rides manager in theme parks/attractions that helped me with the skills needed for the role. I've now been instructing for a few years and love it still. No matter what kind of a ****ty day I had before, I still wake up excited to go to work and drive a train. When that feeling passes, then I know it's time to think about future.
Tube driver
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Worked as a retail manager for 12 years. Got absolutely fed up with that and joined LUL as a station assistant simply to pay the mortgage while I figured out what to do with myself (back then as long as you could read and write and didn't lick windows you got the job).
Discovered I really enjoyed working on the tube so stuck in my application for t/op and got it!
Ended up doing 3 years on stations (18 months of that was going through all the tests, interviews, medicals and then waiting for a training start date). Now been driving for 13 years and don't see myself doing anything else.
Discovered I really enjoyed working on the tube so stuck in my application for t/op and got it!
Ended up doing 3 years on stations (18 months of that was going through all the tests, interviews, medicals and then waiting for a training start date). Now been driving for 13 years and don't see myself doing anything else.
notadriver
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Out of 110 drivers at my depot only about 5 are ex bus or truck drivers. Isn’t it strange that as a bus driver you are are the bottom of the salary scale and even the bus cleaners can earn as much as you. Everyone else earns more. Yet as a train driver you’ll earn more than the garage manager you worked under and do less hours !
mad1976cam
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- 21 Nov 2017
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- 26
was a lorry driver before
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Hi,
What makes you think this? I’m interested in that statement as I have previously worked for the police for 7 years..
tiptoptaff
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- 15 Feb 2013
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Out of school at 18 with only AS levels, I worked in an office for 2 years, spent a year training with the Merchant Navy, ended up back home doing a few odd temp jobs then got myself in to an apprenticeship with my previous TOC, doing train crew resourcing, station dispatch, customer info controller, moved to current TOC as a Resource Manager, now awaiting start date for a Trainee Driver course - now approx 20th in the Internal pool, so reckon I'm in the next couple of courses. No Externals recruited for my depot.
beavercreek
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- 18 Nov 2011
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I jailed and divorced people as a under cover agent.
Seems like a great career move and big pay rise for most who come from other jobs. I've heard drivers moaning about the job but to get double the national average salary for what (from the outside) appears an interesting job is great. If I went back in time, I'd apply. I did enquire once but was told that if I'd taken drugs in the previous year it would come out in the drug test so not worth applying.
scotraildriver
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- 15 Jun 2009
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The amount of ex emergency service people we have here now. Loads!
I worked for the ‘government’ in London and around the world for 6 years, then decided I needed a life as well as work, so trained to become an airline pilot and flew for Ryan air, and a number of Asian airlines. It’s not what people persieve the job as anymore, plus the cost of keeping up your own competency is becoming crazy. The job just lost its appeal.
Another 6 years on.... I took the plunge onto the iron roads as a train driver.... never looked back so far.
Although I do still fly in my spare time to keep my tickets. Also thinking about buying myself a light aircraft soon!
You can be anything you want to be..... at any point in your life!
Another 6 years on.... I took the plunge onto the iron roads as a train driver.... never looked back so far.
Although I do still fly in my spare time to keep my tickets. Also thinking about buying myself a light aircraft soon!
You can be anything you want to be..... at any point in your life!
choochoochoo
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Wow, more airline pilots at GN than I thought.
Think that's 3 now. How many are needed to start a squadron ?
Think that's 3 now. How many are needed to start a squadron ?
Evolution
Member
Very interesting regarding your experiences as a pilot. I was considering training to be a pilot but I just can’t justify the outlay required so I’m looking at train driving.
How do you find the two compare in terms of salary and lifestyle?
Quite a few pilots that I've gotten to know through recreational flying have said that the career, in particular the work life balance, just isn't what it used to be before. I was recently speaking to a newly retired widebody captain for a big airline in the UK, he said he was massively relieved to have left. The culture was getting worse on a daily basis, others say that they are now required to do six transatlantic trips a month instead of three/four.
There's very few airlines in the UK which still enjoy legacy T&Cs, BA, Flybe, Thomas Cook and TUI all have B-Scales (or equivalent). Easyjet require you to pay for your own type rating, Ryanair employ through agencies. Apparently Aer Lingus is still good but unless you speak a second language, that's about it. If you want to move east, look at the complaints on the pilot forums about Cathay/Emirates.
Tragic really given the career it used to be, if only ASLEF had wings...
There's very few airlines in the UK which still enjoy legacy T&Cs, BA, Flybe, Thomas Cook and TUI all have B-Scales (or equivalent). Easyjet require you to pay for your own type rating, Ryanair employ through agencies. Apparently Aer Lingus is still good but unless you speak a second language, that's about it. If you want to move east, look at the complaints on the pilot forums about Cathay/Emirates.
Tragic really given the career it used to be, if only ASLEF had wings...
I,was in the building trade before I became a driver and got to say train driving is not this amazing job that everyone claims it to be, it's an ok job and can be very boring and repetitive the shift work can take it's toll and your social life can take a hit and to be honest if something better comes my way I'm off.
Its good to hear this. There are plenty of drivers who never stop moaning but never do anything about it. Life is too short to slave away in a job you hate. I enjoy the job, and find the only drawback to be the anti-social shifts, but it's nice to hear someone say they'd actually be off when the chance arises rather than the same old depot bores who can't stand it but never leave. Talk about people wasting their lives!
SP Man
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Bit boring, carriage cleaner, Trainman then Driver and through Instructor and differant names of,Traction Inspector.
MostlyHarmless
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To be honest this applies to almost anyone who moans about their job constantly! Life is short and to spend a big part of it doing something you hate is madness!
I drove petrol tankers for many years before taking the leap into delivering compressed gas cylinders as an HGV driver. With that company I eventually moved on to facilities management and a sales role, where I was quite happy (I was getting paid for week long trips to the western isles twice a year etc!) until the company was sold and my role completely changed. Applied straight from that role to become a driver off the street and I'm still here 9 years later.
I'd agree with what others have said - qualifications don't matter a bit in this job, but the type of person you are is the key. A manager told me that it's very easy to get people to apply for the job, but its getting harder to get people who can make it all the way through selection and then go on to have a successful driving career. The day I passed out, the same guy told me that "its not a job for life any more - its just a competition to see how long you can hold on to the seat, so be careful out there!"
I'd agree with what others have said - qualifications don't matter a bit in this job, but the type of person you are is the key. A manager told me that it's very easy to get people to apply for the job, but its getting harder to get people who can make it all the way through selection and then go on to have a successful driving career. The day I passed out, the same guy told me that "its not a job for life any more - its just a competition to see how long you can hold on to the seat, so be careful out there!"
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