The driver, who has been documenting his early career in the HGV sector on YouTube, said pay was the question he was asked most often by viewers thinking about getting a licence.
According to the driver, the total cost of obtaining his HGV licence was £2,985. That included the medical examination, three theory test papers and practical training. He said the price was competitive compared with other training quotes he had received, but it still represented a large upfront cost.
His first HGV job after passing his test was agency work paid at £20 an hour. In a strong week, he said this meant gross earnings of around £1,000 to £1,300. After tax, he said his take-home pay was usually between £700 and £900, depending on how many hours and days he worked.
He said the money was good for his situation at the time, particularly as he had few outgoings. However, he also stressed that the rate came with difficult work.
“They don’t pay that money for no reason,” he said.
Much of his early work involved store deliveries, which he said often pay higher agency rates but can also be stressful. He described the work as demanding, adding that at times he questioned whether the money was worth it.
The driver’s main warning was that HGV pay is not a single national figure. It varies by area, agency, employer and type of work. Some parts of the UK offer strong rates, while others may not pay enough to justify the training cost.
His advice to new entrants was to check job adverts before paying for training and call local agencies to ask what rates are actually available. He also said Class 1 work generally paid more than Class 2 in his area, but not always. Some Class 2 jobs, particularly more demanding roles, can pay more than some Class 1 jobs.
He said he moved into artic work early because he wanted more options, and pointed to ADR and HIAB as examples of extra qualifications that can improve employability.
New drivers still face the insurance wall
The driver’s experience shows that young new drivers can enter the sector and find decent-paying work. However, it also sits against a wider problem Trans.INFO has previously reported: many newly qualified HGV drivers still struggle to get hired after passing their test.
In April, Trans.INFO reported on an analysis arguing that the UK does not simply have a shortage of people willing to train as lorry drivers, but a shortage of reliable routes from newly qualified to regularly employed.
The report cited RHA estimates suggesting the UK needs around 60,000 new HGV drivers a year. It also noted that more than 117,000 Driver Qualification Cards went unrenewed in the 12 months to November 2025, a figure used by the RHA as a proxy for drivers leaving the sector.
The age profile is also a problem. The same analysis found that only 1.6% of Driver Qualification Card holders were under 25.
One of the key barriers is insurance. Many operators remain reluctant to take on newly qualified drivers because insurers often prefer, or require, drivers with previous HGV experience. This creates a catch-22 for new passes: they have paid for the licence, but cannot easily get the experience that employers and insurers want.
Job adverts can add to the problem. Many Class 1 roles still ask for one or two years of experience, even when the wider industry says it needs more young drivers. For a 21-year-old driver, finding an agency willing to offer work quickly is therefore not just a pay story, but also an exception to a common entry barrier.
Earlier agency driver video showed the other side of high earnings
The new video also follows another HGV pay story covered by Trans.INFO, in which a UK agency driver said he had taken home £54,267 after tax in one year.
That earlier YouTuber, posting as HGV Meta, said he wanted to show real money paid into his bank account, rather than advertised salaries or headline hourly rates. His annual figure was eye-catching, but the weekly breakdown showed a less stable picture.
Some weeks brought in more than £1,300 or £1,400. Others were worth only £173, £193 or £275. There were also weeks with no work, cancelled shifts and changes to contracts.
Together, the two videos point to the same issue. UK HGV agency work can pay well, especially when shifts are available and the driver is willing to take demanding work. However, the headline number does not tell the whole story.
For the 21-year-old driver, £20 an hour made the licence look worthwhile. For the older agency driver, a £54,267 after-tax year showed how much could be earned when the work was there. But both cases also underline the limits of using one driver’s earnings as a guide for the whole sector.
