Is it worth it??

[Rock singer]

Hi guys! General career question for ya!

Currently a hgv driver, decent pay ( £33k, home every night, and only 4miles from home to depot), been with the company 10yrs. And driving trucks for 20yrs.

I'm considering changing my career onto rail freight.

What jobs in the industry would keep me at the same level or higher salary?? (* I know driver probably would, after training, but what else?).

And has anyone heard of any training schemes by a big company being announced?? I know a couple have done in the past ( Freight liner was one, if memory serves??).


Basically, is it worth me jumping ship, financially and work/life balance, speaking??.

Ta very muchly!!

 

[BloominMan]

I would also stay where you are now.

I may be slightly inaccurate but most rail freight work is not guaranteed AFAIK.

 

[MA8141]

Freight is volatile, but take no chance and reap no benefit. There will always be uncertainty in every line of work these days but I think rail freight are that strapped for drivers currently, you wouldn’t go a miss jumping into it at this point, once they build up the amount they require, I can see it being closed off for years to come to remain financially prudent for the businesses. There are perks to be had...

 

[jezzer34]

Having worked in the road haulage industry as a driver, coordinator and operations manager in the past, for me its a no brainier to leave for the rail industry. 33k for class 1 is nearer the bottom of the scale for a class 1 driver in the south of England anyway most companies paying around 36k in this part. Also drivers are pushed into long working weeks maxing out the 48 hour avg over the reference period. 3x 15 hour days a week is fairly standard in many of the companies i worked over recent years and the pressure on HGV drivers with the amount of traffic on the roads and the WTD, Driver hours etc is in my mind simply not worth it. Also reducing daily and weekly rest is expected within legal boundaries. I don't know about the company you work for but i have a lot of experience in that industry and for me its a no brainer. However each to there own.

 

[sw1ller]

I was a HGV1 driver before I moved over to the rails. Completely different world pal. I was on about 28k which was fairly decent for where I live, I was offered full ADR work at one point for £8.30 an hour... that’s when I though, F this. I had already decided that if I failed to land this job, I was going to start applying to adsa and Tesco’s stacking shelves. You’d get more respect and paid better. No dipping into your own pocket for licences, digi cards, cpc and no VOSA watching your every move. No transport manage or traffic desk ringing every 2 minutes asking where you were, no road rage, no being given a 15 hour day when it’s completely illegal. No more faffing about at delivery points because you’re 6 minutes early so have to go the back of the queue. Thank god I got the train driver position. 3-9 hour days, sometimes even less, 4 day week, looked after, full training, unionised, treated with respect for the most part and all I do is pull a few leavers. Shift work yes, but it’s a small price to pay and you can always find a swap.

 

[anglian96]

I used to be a hgv driver and now currently on freight! I would 100% go for it! For starters your salary now is what my training salary was.

Once qualified how many places pay 55k plus for a 32 hour week? I'm also home every night. Good pension and the job is so chilled out. Travelling time is included in my shift so in theory sometimes I only work 2 or 3 hours to work a train back from somewhere sometimes. Maximum 10 hour days and Get alot of time off some weeks only working 2 or 3 days and later on in the year if you bust your hours, some drivers end up with the last 3 months of the year off if they wish or they can work overtime earning serious cash. Freight has a good variety of work and it's enjoyable.

As above someone has said freight isn't a secure job blah blah blah. It's all bullsh**. If the freight firm lost all the Contracts your depot work on ( highly unlikely) then the union will and have to tuped you over somewhere else, so you'll never be without a job. Look at it like this for a firm to lose a contract that means another has to take it over. They need drivers to work that contract still so 9 out of 10 times they use the same drivers from the previous firm to work it keeping the same pay and terms and Conditions. So in reality nothing changes. Also shifts can be a pain but it's the cons on the job that allow you to earn such a good wage for such little work.

I would 100% recommend it and if freight ain't your thing then stay for the 2 years PQA period and move on to passengers the most important part is obtaining that licence!

Good luck

 

[Eggs&Bacon]

I am currently a ADR class 1 Driver, for me it is a no brainer leaving behind the Road Transport World. I have been a Artic Driver for 22 years and all I have seen in the job in that time is decline and stagnant wages.!

So mate, my answer is go for it.! My personal view is Road Transport isn’t going to get better anytime soon.

 

[Stigy]

I’d say go for it too. However, jobs in Freight other than that of Driver, don’t seem as well paid as they are for a train operating company.

 

[Bear_with_me44]

Having followed this thread, I too have wondered about how a job on freight pays, thank you Chad for putting it in a more positive light.
What other train freight companies are out there other than Freightliner (South East)?

 

[Stigy]

Having followed this thread, I too have wondered about how a job on freight pays, thank you Chad for putting it in a more positive light.
What other train freight companies are out there other than Freightliner (South East)?

DB Cargo amongst others. DB, like Freightliner is one of the bigger players who as well have recruited several positions recently in the South.

 

[anglian96]

Having followed this thread, I too have wondered about how a job on freight pays, thank you Chad for putting it in a more positive light.
What other train freight companies are out there other than Freightliner (South East)?

DB cargo, DRS, freightliner, GBRF, colas.

DB and freightliner have recently just done a recruitment campaign so keep an eye on there websites

 

[JAMES BENGE]

I'm too a frustrated Class one driver for a "well to do" supermarket. To be honest I work my back side off for very little wages, I too would love the opportunity to move onto the rails.

I've been looking for months and to get a trainee job, man you gotta be so lucky!

 

[Paulm36]

I’d say go for it too. However, jobs in Freight other than that of Driver, don’t seem as well paid as they are for a train operating company.

To be fair, where I am, 37 grand a year basic for mobile groundstaff with plenty of OT available, not to be sneezed at.