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New career

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Julia Willis

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Joined
14 Jul 2019
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4
Good Evening, I have been thinking seriously about becoming a trainee Train driver for a while but before I take this any further, I need to be realistic and to ask some questions. First and foremost, am I too old at 54? There appears to be an absolute vast array of information and courses available on line, just where do you start? What is useful to buy and what is a waste of money? Would be extremely grateful for your advice and knowledge. Thank you all. Regards, Julia
 
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baz962

Established Member
Joined
8 Jun 2017
Messages
3,281
Good Evening, I have been thinking seriously about becoming a trainee Train driver for a while but before I take this any further, I need to be realistic and to ask some questions. First and foremost, am I too old at 54? There appears to be an absolute vast array of information and courses available on line, just where do you start? What is useful to buy and what is a waste of money? Would be extremely grateful for your advice and knowledge. Thank you all. Regards, Julia

I qualified last year at 48. I have seen on this forum somewhere ( can't remember the thread) that someone around your age is or was training. Most people recommend not to buy anything. A lot of train operating companies do blind applications these day's. Just apply, nothing to lose and everything to gain.
 

Stigy

Established Member
Joined
6 Nov 2009
Messages
4,879
Good Evening, I have been thinking seriously about becoming a trainee Train driver for a while but before I take this any further, I need to be realistic and to ask some questions. First and foremost, am I too old at 54? There appears to be an absolute vast array of information and courses available on line, just where do you start? What is useful to buy and what is a waste of money? Would be extremely grateful for your advice and knowledge. Thank you all. Regards, Julia
Hi Julia,

To answer your questions in order;

  1. No. It gets asked a lot here actually, and the general consensus is that you’re never too old as long as you are physically fit enough to pass the medical (not in terms of athletic, but just able to pass a driver medical).
  2. I personally wouldn’t look online for courses etc, just search for train or freight companies who are recruiting in your area by checking their websites.
  3. I wouldn’t buy anything necessarily. This forum has a wealth of advice available and years of experience in certain fields.
Hope this helps. Just to reiterate, don’t let your age put you off, there’s been threads in this before and many people make the lead in their fifties.

Good luck.
 

Oska

Member
Joined
22 Aug 2018
Messages
10
Good Evening, I have been thinking seriously about becoming a trainee Train driver for a while but before I take this any further, I need to be realistic and to ask some questions. First and foremost, am I too old at 54? There appears to be an absolute vast array of information and courses available on line, just where do you start? What is useful to buy and what is a waste of money? Would be extremely grateful for your advice and knowledge. Thank you all. Regards, Julia
Good Evening, I have been thinking seriously about becoming a trainee Train driver for a while but before I take this any further, I need to be realistic and to ask some questions. First and foremost, am I too old at 54? There appears to be an absolute vast array of information and courses available on line, just where do you start? What is useful to buy and what is a waste of money? Would be extremely grateful for your advice and knowledge. Thank you all. Regards, Julia
Hi Julia,

I am exactly the same age as you and currently in training at the moment so you're definitely not too old. Even I am not the oldest going through training at this time. Using this forum helped me massively and all the information you will ever need is in these pages.
Go for it and Good Luck.
 

Julia Willis

New Member
Joined
14 Jul 2019
Messages
4
I qualified last year at 48. I have seen on this forum somewhere ( can't remember the thread) that someone around your age is or was training. Most people recommend not to buy anything. A lot of train operating companies do blind applications these day's. Just apply, nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Congratulations for your new career, you must be over the moon! Can I ask what did you do to start it all? You say blind applications, what are these and how do I get one?
 

Julia Willis

New Member
Joined
14 Jul 2019
Messages
4
Hi Julia,

To answer your questions in order;

  1. No. It gets asked a lot here actually, and the general consensus is that you’re never too old as long as you are physically fit enough to pass the medical (not in terms of athletic, but just able to pass a driver medical).
  2. I personally wouldn’t look online for courses etc, just search for train or freight companies who are recruiting in your area by checking their websites.
  3. I wouldn’t buy anything necessarily. This forum has a wealth of advice available and years of experience in certain fields.
Hope this helps. Just to reiterate, don’t let your age put you off, there’s been threads in this before and many people make the lead in their fifties.

Good luck.
Hi Stigy, thank you very much for your reply. I’ve made my mind up, I will never know unless I try!!
 

Julia Willis

New Member
Joined
14 Jul 2019
Messages
4
Hi Julia,

I am exactly the same age as you and currently in training at the moment so you're definitely not too old. Even I am not the oldest going through training at this time. Using this forum helped me massively and all the information you will ever need is in these pages.
Go for it and Good Luck.
Oska’ You have just made my day, thank you thank you thank you!
 

baz962

Established Member
Joined
8 Jun 2017
Messages
3,281
Congratulations for your new career, you must be over the moon! Can I ask what did you do to start it all? You say blind applications, what are these and how do I get one?

You don't do anything yourself, you just apply. The one's that use these will either ask you to leave out certain details, such as age, ethnicity and gender. Other's won't pass the details from hr to manager's.
 

HantsMan

Member
Joined
9 Jun 2019
Messages
26
I qualified last year at 48. I have seen on this forum somewhere ( can't remember the thread) that someone around your age is or was training. Most people recommend not to buy anything. A lot of train operating companies do blind applications these day's. Just apply, nothing to lose and everything to gain.

All respect to you Baz
 
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