I want to be a driving instructor... | Motoring discussion | Back Room Forum

Sun 29 Oct 2006 11:36

I want to be a driving instructor... - richy

After being turned down for promotion yet again, I think it's time for me to look for a new career. Been thinking of training to be a driving instructor. There always seems to be a few adverts in the papers for these jobs, I suppose what puts most people off is the initial cost of the training (about £2000 IIRC?)

Are there any driving instructors on here that could give a few words of advice? Would be very much appreciated.

Enjoy your sunday afternoon.

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Sun 29 Oct 2006 11:42

I want to be a driving instructor... - bell boy

ask some local instructors what your area is like to sustain a living
most of them are all good friends and will be honest
dont like the idea of paying 2 big ones though ?sounds like a nice little scam to me?
i am not a driving instructor.............did you guess...........but i know knew a few.........

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Sun 29 Oct 2006 11:43

I want to be a driving instructor... - Adam {P}

Tom Shaw and Blue are the people to speak to.

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Sun 29 Oct 2006 11:48

I want to be a driving instructor... - Armitage Shanks {p}

Somebody is paying for these wall to wall adverts on TV re "Be a driving instructor". Is there a shortage of instructore in your area - look in Yellow Pages. How many pupils per month do you need to cover all your costs and take a wage out of the income. The results might be a bit scary!

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Sun 29 Oct 2006 11:53

I want to be a driving instructor... - Pugugly {P}

I have a friend who does this - its a hobby, he enjoys it but the financial retuns are not good enough for him to ditvh his full time job although I suppose it all depends on your salary now and what the potential difference is.

PS

Friend has a 21k pension and is looking for a job now in the region of 26k.

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Sun 29 Oct 2006 12:07

I want to be a driving instructor... - Blue {P}

Think very carefully before doing it!

I recently qualified as an ADI, and I was getting a business developed that I would say was doing reasonably but was by no means making enough that I could live off it, I actually built it around my exisiting job in a call centre. This meant that I had enough money to live off but that I found clashes between the school and the job were commonplace, and that I also went from May until the middle of August without a single full day off including my birthday!

If you take up this career I would definately say to go through another school until you get yourself built up, this will help you by provding you with a car for the pupils to damage instead of using your own (they will hit the odd kerb at speed no matter how careful you are) and it will also help provide you with pupils. I set up on my own with help from the guy who taught me to drive, he chucked a few customers my way, without these charity cases I would have had very little business. This is despite me having a decent Yellow Pages ad, I'm afraid it is a business that relies mainly on word of mouth, I recevied relatively few calls from the Yellow Pages.

Anyway, at the end of July I was promoted at the call centre and seeing as I'm also still at uni I decided that this was the route for me so I wound my business up and probably won't return to it.

I haven't covered every area as I'm just going to a friends now, but if there's anything you want to know specifically then post here and I'll try and cover it later, my e-mail addy from my profile doesn't work so just stick to posting in the thread.

Blue

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Sun 29 Oct 2006 12:11

I want to be a driving instructor... - Pugugly {P}

Word of mouth is everything in this game, this was a topic of conversation as a 17 year old in the PU extended family is about to be unleashed on an unsuspecting public. It was a casual throwaway comment like, "We'll phone Mr X, he's very good with shy 17 year olds" IYKWIM

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Sun 29 Oct 2006 12:27

I want to be a driving instructor... - poskiller

My Brother in Law did exactly what you are looking to do at the beginning of the year. He paid for the course and did it whilst he was working as a van driver. Straight after he passed he went to work for a small local company which provided him with a car. I was worried that he wouldn't earn enough to keep his head above water and support my sis and their daughter. He changed to another company shortly after he started as he didn't think the first company was that good. He hasn't looked back since (which I think is against the highway code - sorry pathetic pun).

He works longish hours but afterall its his own business in essence and he wants to make a go of it. He reckons it suits him a lot better that his previous job, he can plan his own workload, see the family more during the day if he has a free lesson and earns more that he did. He does 6 days a week at the moment but he's happy.

He finds its a combination of word of mouth plus bookings he gets through the company that provides the car.

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Sun 29 Oct 2006 12:36

I want to be a driving instructor... - Stuartli

It's a scary prospect...:-)

A friend of mine used to be the chief driving examiner for the area and used to have me in stitches about the scares he had when conducting tests.

However, his career eventually came to a half after yet another accident involving someone on test. The lady in question decided that a spot of shopping was in order but, unfortunately, went through the shop doorway whilst still driving the car....

IIRC my friend failed her.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by

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Sun 29 Oct 2006 18:34

I want to be a driving instructor... - daveyjp

My dad's a driving instructor with almost 20 years experience. He still does about 50 lessons a week and this gives him a comfortable standard of living, but he has no mortgage and living expenses are low - a new car every two years is his major expense plus servicing etc.

That's 50 hours teaching - add on time between lessons, time to do paperwork, time to call pupils etc etc. Expect a 60-70 hour week. Despite the ads It's not a flexible employment option, it's no different to any other self employment - it's very hard work.

If you need any more info including suitable cars I'll be happy to respond.

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Mon 30 Oct 2006 14:07

I want to be a driving instructor... - IanJohnson

My father retired as an instructor a couple of years ago after around 15 years in business. All under his own business name.

Most days in the first years he worked 6:30am til 9pm 7 days a week. Got 9 til 12 in the morning and 2 til 4 in the afternoon off during the week (because no-one wants you then unless you have a reputation - see below). Also expect to travel 1/2 an hour or so between one drop ff and the next pick up. When we visited we would see him for a few minuted between lessons if we were lucky.

Later on he stopped working Sundays then evenings then Saturdays and in the last 10 years he worked 7am til 6pm 5 days a week. He also limited the area he worked in to avoid wasted time between lessons. But you need a very good reputation to do this!

Basically the hours are as flexible as your reputation and the customers, when you start you have no reputation so you work when people want you, and charge the standard rate for your area (or lower), or you don't work. If you are good (and he was a 6 on the DpT scale of 1-6) and build up a reputation you can say no to the antisocial hours and charge a premium.

He was supplementing a police pension having taken early retirement in his early 50s. Even he says he would not have been able to bring a family up on it!

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Mon 30 Oct 2006 14:37

I want to be a driving instructor... - slowdown avenue

look in any local or national paper over the last 15 years, and you will see 3 adverts , train to be a driving instructor. theirs more money to be made training instructors than learners. A SMALL % of would be instructors make it. Its the sort of job you really MUST WANT TO DO. its not the easy job you might think it to be, it could take over your life,could your wife cope.

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Mon 30 Oct 2006 15:40

I want to be a driving instructor... - AlanGowdy

I have an acquaintance who used to be a chef and got to hate the long hours / poor working conditions / low pay. He qualified as a driving instructor and seems more than happy. He's running his own business with one or two other instructors as employees and appears to be getting a lot of business.

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Mon 30 Oct 2006 16:17

I want to be a driving instructor... - Mapmaker

>>He's running his own business with one or two other instructors as employees

That's the way to make money.

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Mon 30 Oct 2006 18:55

I want to be a driving instructor... - AlanGowdy

As an employee of many years standing myself I regret not having branched out on my own years ago. I might sink, I might swim but it would be under my control.

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