It’s odd how these threads get so polarised. There are good and bad employers on both sides, and which is “best” is very much down to the individual. I’m TOC through and through, and wouldn’t go to a FOC, however I can see why those who do it enjoy it, as FOC work is almost always going to be more varied and challenging than driving passenger units up and down the same few routes each day.
My TOC is one of the more desirable in terms of work, and we have drivers who have joined us from freight, but also a couple I can think of who have gone back because passenger work didn’t suit them. I can also think of one who tried to go to freight and got knocked back, so it’s definitely not the case that all one way traffic towards passenger work, or that it’s only people on plans who move to freight!
A TOC to OA thread might be really interesting, actually, as again there are good and bad points to both, depending on peoples’ individual situations.