I often get asked this question by would-be drivers considering a career at the wheel of a Large Goods Vehicle (the correct terminology that replaced Heavy Goods Vehicle a few years ago).
Driving a lorry is not the dead-end job many people would write it off as. Driving a truck can be enjoyable and can command a very good wage. I know many lorry drivers who enjoy the freedom of working largely on their own, deciding and planning routes themselves (sometimes this isn’t how Companies operate and a driver needs to adhere to pre-planned schedule).
Driving can get lonely and potentially boring but the loneliness of hours every day (or night) in the cab are normally balanced with camaraderie and laughter at truck stops and back at the depot at the start and finish of your shift.
It’s important to realise that there are many different driving jobs. There are long distance lorry drivers who drive for hours on motorways, there are night time deliveries to parcel hubs, collection of cow’s milk from farms at all hours, tipper trucks delivering sand and gravel or moving soil, the list of logistics operations and types of work is endless! So there is usually a job for every type of driver!
There is talk of self-driving trucks, I can’t see that technology will be replacing a human lorry driver very soon and it may never happen!
What makes a good driver? I’d say a driver needs to be careful on the road, personable (he or she is a very important face of an organisation), patient when delays occur, flexible enough to cope with change and finally fit enough to spend hours in the cab and when offloading goods on arrival at a delivery address (though this is often taken care of by a forklift truck).
What about job progression? There are lots of opportunities here for Transport Managers, Mechanics, Driver Trainers, Logistics Planners etc so don’t imagine you’ll be a lorry driver until retirement unless that suits you.
So, if you’re at a career crossroads, don’t write-off being a lorry driver! The pleasures and the rewards may surprise you!
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