taffyboyo

Hi there, I'm thinking of a change in jobs, maybe something to do with driving, tankers maybe, I've heard 3rd hand that its quite good money, but also quite hard to get into,

anyone got any first hand experience of this or

can anyone recomend another driving job that would pay a half decent wage?

many thanks
Taff

Flatcapdriver

What do you call half decent salaries? Ours earn around £25 to £30k which isn't all that good in my opinion given the responsibility they have but there is also ADRs to consider in terms of cost etc. Many of them are now doing agency work which may/or may not pay better.

Luan Pra bang

Start an escort agency and drive hookers to clients. Worked for my local golf pro and even got free publicity in the local rag.

taffyboyo

yes mate I would be happy with 25-30k

dont really fancy the agencies, I used to do it in my spare time for a bit of spending cash,

I'm a chef at the moment but fancy a change, plus I've got my class 1 hgv so I thought I'd see whats out there

taffyboyo

that does sound good, great finally found my ideal job

john_s

iTrader: (1)

Even better, you get to sample the product every now and then.... purely for quality control purposes of course!

John.

EddScott

Don't know if its true but I heard tanker drivers can suffer from a form of sea-sickness from the motion of the liquid they carry.

Might be tosh but sounded pluasable

Brendan Hughes

Fat and ready to protest?

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

You'll need ADR, which can cost around £400 to get.

Near me there are quite a few refineries, but VERY few tanker jobs..........they almost always want experience.

Alcazar

kbsub

Ive been Tanker driving for 14 years , worked for Total for 10 and now a lesser known oil company , but was driving LGV's for 10 years before that , so you will need to get some experience before you will get on Tankers , don't dismiss agency work its where all the money is these days ( £18.50 an hour sunday night ) and would be an ideal place to get your experience, infact i am seroiusly considering leaving my job and going self employed doing agency work ,



Now that is defiantly tosh

taffyboyo

[QUOTE=kbsub]Ive been Tanker driving for 14 years , worked for Total for 10 and now a lesser known oil company , but was driving LGV's for 10 years before that , so you will need to get some experience before you will get on Tankers , don't dismiss agency work its where all the money is these days ( £18.50 an hour sunday night ) and would be an ideal place to get your experience, infact i am seroiusly considering leaving my job and going self employed doing agency work ,


i've had my hgv license for 5 years, and in that time i've driven all sorts, just not tankers, someone told me that to get into the tankers you would need to have a brothers wife's uncle that drives them who will vouch for you, or something like that anyway

kbsub

You don't need to know anybody's uncle, just be in the right place at the right time with the right experience and qualifications which means you will need an ADR certificate to add to your licence class 3 (flammable liquids) should be enough , unless you want to carry stuff with big skull and crossbones on it ! I would leave the other class's alone . try an find someone who does ADR in your area , but go to a few the price can vary a far bit , its a 3 day course with a City and Guilds exam at the end of it and lasts for 5 years when you have that sign up with a few agency's telling them you have ADR and try and get some experience that way , it also helps if you live near one of the refinery's or oil terminals and try and get to know some of the drivers for some inside information , but don't expect a full time job with one of the major oil companies with a fat pension at the end of your service , they all employ contractor's now to do there work (Wincanton Hoyer etc etc )
you will also need to cope with long hours , shift work and weekend work and expect pay between 25 - 35k

HTH

Flatcapdriver

Don't forget that an ADR will allow you to work with LPG and certain refrigerant gases as well which will broaden your opportunities somwhat.

Drunken Bungle Whore

Driving hazardous goods is really tough to get into - it tends to pay a bit more because of the hazardous goods bit! I'm with the others - get as much experience as you can - and don't worry about being out of work with an agency, there's TONS of work out there!

Good luck!

taffyboyo

many thanks guys, for the advice,
step 1 ADR,
step 2 Experience with agencies etc

cheers
Taffy