Becoming a train driver after university?

[CNK80Q3]

Has anyone on here completed a university degree then decided afterwards to become a train driver instead of pursuing a career related to their degree? I am 22 and in my second year of uni studying environmental hazards and disaster management, I'm definitely going to finish my degree first but I'm considering applying for a trainee train driver position after I graduate. My GCSEs were pretty good overall, I got 4A*s, 5As and the rest Bs, with A*s in maths english and sciences. I like the sound of the potential salary along with the job description since I enjoy working in solitude , I can maintain focus for long periods of time, I don't drink alcohol at all or use illegal drugs, I can handle shift work, I have decent customer service skills from jobs I have worked in the past, I have a lot of patience and can remain calm in stressful situations, my reactions are pretty quick and I have good hand eye co-ordination from years of doing martial arts. I'm not concerned about the job impacting my social life as I do not enjoy clubbing on Saturday nights, I instead socialise with friends once in a while and meet up for a movie or a meal out. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[KFRM]

Has anyone on here completed a university degree then decided afterwards to become a train driver instead of pursuing a career related to their degree? I am 22 and in my second year of uni studying environmental hazards and disaster management, I'm definitely going to finish my degree first but I'm considering applying for a trainee train driver position after I graduate. My GCSEs were pretty good overall, I got 4A*s, 5As and the rest Bs, with A*s in maths english and sciences. I like the sound of the potential salary along with the job description since I enjoy working in solitude , I can maintain focus for long periods of time, I don't drink alcohol at all or use illegal drugs, I can handle shift work, I have decent customer service skills from jobs I have worked in the past, I have a lot of patience and can remain calm in stressful situations, my reactions are pretty quick and I have good hand eye co-ordination from years of doing martial arts. I'm not concerned about the job impacting my social life as I do not enjoy clubbing on Saturday nights, I instead socialise with friends once in a while and meet up for a movie or a meal out. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

No reason why you shouldn't give it a try. I'm a 28 year old with a degree in history and have a job which is not related to my degree. Don't let your degree limit your options. Also, don't go for jobs thinking you'll get it because of a degree. Get yourself some experience in work. When I graduated i was a very small fish in a huge pond. I worked as a temp, street cleaning and mail sorting for the best part of two years before something came up. I'd say that work helped me more, especially when it comes to competency based interviews than anything else! Good luck with your studies!

 

[Trico382]

If you want to do it then go for it. I am 34 and had two careers which did not relate to my degree. I have just started training to be a train driver. So no reason at all that you can’t do it if you want to

 

[CNK80Q3]

If you want to do it then go for it. I am 34 and had two careers which did not relate to my degree. I have just started training to be a train driver. So no reason at all that you can’t do it if you want to

Thank you for your reply, did you already have a job in the railway before you applied to become a trainee driver?

 

[Trico382]

Thank you for your reply, did you already have a job in the railway before you applied to become a trainee driver?

Nope I was fresh off the street! Zero rail experience whatsoever

 

[Lem]

I say go for it, although your degree and grades won’t necessarily advantage you in any way. If I had the choice now I would not have gone to university and would have tried to get onto the railway at 18! Its quite painful seeing student loan repayments on the payslip when the degree didn’t help me get the job whatsoever but it was what I wanted at the time. I got to 2nd year and got pretty bored and thought I can’t do this as a career but I started so I wanted to finish.

 

[Simply_h]

I was pretty much in the same position as you and am now a trainee driver. I'd just dropped out of university for personal reasons (so no degree) but always worked since leaving school so had a good customer service experience. I had no railway background at all but knew it was what I wanted to do so just done my research, gave it my all, showed a good attitude and now fingers crossed have a job for life at 23. Definately go for it if it's something you want to do, and a lot of useful information is on this forum. Good luck

 

[TheEdge]

I say go for it, although your degree and grades won’t necessarily advantage you in any way. If I had the choice now I would not have gone to university and would have tried to get onto the railway at 18! Its quite painful seeing student loan repayments on the payslip when the degree didn’t help me get the job whatsoever but it was what I wanted at the time. I got to 2nd year and got pretty bored and thought I can’t do this as a career but I started so I wanted to finish.

What he said.

I've never used my degree and now realised that after 5 1/2 years of gainful employment that I've still depressingly only paid off one year of study. I got on the railways at 21 and was (depot) driver by 25. As others have said the degree alone won't mean much, someone I joined with doesn't even have a GCSE to his name yet we have the same job and he didn't start with £21k of debt, other life skills will, so make sure to have other feathers in the cap.

You appear to have really thought out the pros and cons but something I really feel the need to point out a few things. The shifts you work elsewhere and the shifts you work on the railway are rather vicious and different. You can go from being in at 0415 one day to 0820 the next, back to 0430, then 0545, then 0900, then 1530, then 1810 without a day off, they really do wreck your body clock. And the impact on social life is big, its not just Saturday nights, its everything and anything, I've missed weddings, family events, all sorts. So be prepared for that.

 

[red2005]

What he said.

I've never used my degree and now realised that after 5 1/2 years of gainful employment that I've still depressingly only paid off one year of study. I got on the railways at 21 and was (depot) driver by 25. As others have said the degree alone won't mean much, someone I joined with doesn't even have a GCSE to his name yet we have the same job and he didn't start with £21k of debt, other life skills will, so make sure to have other feathers in the cap.

You appear to have really thought out the pros and cons but something I really feel the need to point out a few things. The shifts you work elsewhere and the shifts you work on the railway are rather vicious and different. You can go from being in at 0415 one day to 0820 the next, back to 0430, then 0545, then 0900, then 1530, then 1810 without a day off, they really do wreck your body clock. And the impact on social life is big, its not just Saturday nights, its everything and anything, I've missed weddings, family events, all sorts. So be prepared for that.

I would listen to this guy as that ☝️ Is spot on! It’s one thing missing a night on the Raz it’s another when it’s an important wedding or other important function.

Also worth remembering that it’s not all about working in “solitude” you have to be able to show you can adapt to teamwork as well. So I would think about how you word that one should you get to interviews etc.

It’s great you had/have good grades etc but you’ll still have to make sure your application etc is top notch with the other qualities you listed. Grades don’t mean a great deal on the railway, they’d rather employ someone with poor grades and high levels of common sense than a divvy with a degree who’s likely to kill someone. Make sure you can provide evidence of your skills outside of a classroom environment.

On another note I think I’d of been more surprised if you had said you DID want to work in the field related to your degree!! From what I hear these days that’s the last thing most people want to do! most just go to uni for the “ experience” (drinking) and the actual degree at the end of it has no relevance in where they want to work hahaha.

 

[Lem]

I’d also add if you’re quite academic then the railway probably isn’t for you and I echo what the others say about shifts, its all very well on paper but doing them is another thing. I’ve finished a week of nights at 0700 on a Sunday morning and then been in at 0600 on a Monday morning for a week of earlies and some days you do feel just completely wrecked. Having said that, I could never do the 9-5, I love my job and there are other perks. Alot of people see the salary as appealing but don’t realise how “boring” it can be and how much of a toll it can take on your lifestyle. I don’t think about morning noon and night when I look at the clock anymore... I just see the time and think I have work in X hours and when getting up theres no such thing as too early or too late in the day lol.

 

[CNK80Q3]

I’d also add if you’re quite academic then the railway probably isn’t for you and I echo what the others say about shifts, its all very well on paper but doing them is another thing. I’ve finished a week of nights at 0700 on a Sunday morning and then been in at 0600 on a Monday morning for a week of earlies and some days you do feel just completely wrecked. Having said that, I could never do the 9-5, I love my job and there are other perks. Alot of people see the salary as appealing but don’t realise how “boring” it can be and how much of a toll it can take on your lifestyle. I don’t think about morning noon and night when I look at the clock anymore... I just see the time and think I have work in X hours and when getting up theres no such thing as too early or too late in the day lol.

Thank you for replying, in all honesty I hated A-levels and hate university, I'm doing well academically but I don't enjoy any of it at all. I'm Asian so had the choice of either going to university or getting disowned lol. The shift patterns do sound quite gruelling, I want to give it a go and find out for myself. A lot of the drivers on here seem to love their jobs. I've also heard that its very competitive trying to get a trainee driver position since there are over a thousand applicants for each vacancy, is there anything I can do to improve my chances of getting in?

 

[CNK80Q3]

I would listen to this guy as that ☝️ Is spot on! It’s one thing missing a night on the Raz it’s another when it’s an important wedding or other important function.

Also worth remembering that it’s not all about working in “solitude” you have to be able to show you can adapt to teamwork as well. So I would think about how you word that one should you get to interviews etc.

It’s great you had/have good grades etc but you’ll still have to make sure your application etc is top notch with the other qualities you listed. Grades don’t mean a great deal on the railway, they’d rather employ someone with poor grades and high levels of common sense than a divvy with a degree who’s likely to kill someone. Make sure you can provide evidence of your skills outside of a classroom environment.

On another note I think I’d of been more surprised if you had said you DID want to work in the field related to your degree!! From what I hear these days that’s the last thing most people want to do! most just go to uni for the “ experience” (drinking) and the actual degree at the end of it has no relevance in where they want to work hahaha.

Thank you, your reply was very helpful.

 

[CNK80Q3]

What he said.

I've never used my degree and now realised that after 5 1/2 years of gainful employment that I've still depressingly only paid off one year of study. I got on the railways at 21 and was (depot) driver by 25. As others have said the degree alone won't mean much, someone I joined with doesn't even have a GCSE to his name yet we have the same job and he didn't start with £21k of debt, other life skills will, so make sure to have other feathers in the cap.

You appear to have really thought out the pros and cons but something I really feel the need to point out a few things. The shifts you work elsewhere and the shifts you work on the railway are rather vicious and different. You can go from being in at 0415 one day to 0820 the next, back to 0430, then 0545, then 0900, then 1530, then 1810 without a day off, they really do wreck your body clock. And the impact on social life is big, its not just Saturday nights, its everything and anything, I've missed weddings, family events, all sorts. So be prepared for that.

Thank you for replying, do you feel the sacrifices you have to make are worth it?

 

[fowler9]

I don't work on the railways but think about it this way, if you end up in one of the many other service industries that are so common in this country you will still probably end up working shifts but just taking abuse over the phone for stuff that isn't your fault and for less money. My friends who work on the railways work damn hard but it generally seems worth the effort. I would go for it, I am still trying.

 

[red2005]

Thank you, your reply was very helpful.

No problem mate. If you get to the point where after your research you decide the railway is what you want you probably won’t want to do anything else!

I truly feel it’s the best industry there is even with the sacrifices.

 

[Lem]

Thank you for replying, in all honesty I hated A-levels and hate university, I'm doing well academically but I don't enjoy any of it at all. I'm Asian so had the choice of either going to university or getting disowned lol. The shift patterns do sound quite gruelling, I want to give it a go and find out for myself. A lot of the drivers on here seem to love their jobs. I've also heard that its very competitive trying to get a trainee driver position since there are over a thousand applicants for each vacancy, is there anything I can do to improve my chances of getting in?

Lol sounds just like me... I’m half Asian so I half had that pressure too! Yes it is very competitive and I had 3 attempts (failed mmi, then failed dmi x2) before finally getting where I am and I’m still not completely where I want to be as I’m only a depot driver and want to get to mainline eventually. I would just say practice practice practice material given to you and the stuff thats floating around on these forums to give you a better chance but other than that can’t really advise as it really isn’t grade based

 

[baz962]

Thank you, your reply was very helpful.

It is about 200 applications per vacancy, still a lot, but not 1000.

 

[TheEdge]

Thank you for replying, do you feel the sacrifices you have to make are worth it?

How long is a piece of string?

I like, eat and sleep trains and have since the day I was born. So to be paid a significant wage to drive them is worth pretty much every sacrifice. Not only that but I upped myself from family, moved the other side of the country and started a fresh life. But then that's me, its was the job I wanted. Your mileage may vary, but I would say yes. Just be aware that those £50k wages and 35 hour week headline figures hide a lot of sacrifice and I've heard it referred to as a gilded cage if you don't like it, as its hard to find a similar paying job if you want out...