Calling All Driving Instructors!

rls1973

thanks

donedoingdebt, why did you stop being a DI, if you dont mind me asking?

Donedoingdebt

Several reasons really.
My 2 babies were starting to get bigger & having to work most evenings, they were usually in bed when I arrived home & I felt I was missing important times with them.
Obviously, as they were getting older, they were getting more expensive & the income from this job can be very inconsistent. When you most need the money, ie Christmas & summer holidays, a large number of pupils would stop for a few weeks because their money was needed elsewhere.
New ADIs are appearing regularly & are advertising silly prices such as first 3 lessons free etc & it becomes hard to make a living when trying to compete with these.
With hindsight, I was probably experiencing some form of burn out as my heart wasn't in the job in the last year in the same way that it used to be.
A full time employed driving job became available & I took that in 1994 & am still there now. Even now, 13 years later, I still really appreciate paid holidays, sick pay & a regular guaranteed wage.

justpaper

a friend of a friend (i love to get the story right ) was a DI he was whith BSM and has to pay them 300quid a week,. after a year it went down to 200quid a week,

he went private and really struggled to get learners,.

i hear he is now finishing off a IT Degree, and doing the DI thing on the side, private,

my odd DI aways said "driving school ads are so fake, u have to put crazy hours in to get that 30k"

its worth it if u go private i reckon and really get the word out about ur self,but of course that takes time and effort, if u got the latter then go for it,

and isnt the course fees £3500 ? ?

my mates GF is doing the course and thats what shes having to pay,


Donedoingdebt > has cleared up alot in the above post,.
I know a new private DI that is charging 52£ for 5 lessons, their u go

cazuk11

Hi,

My mother is a driving instructor.
We both joined the Driving Instructor College at the same time.
You get support and lessons to pass your theory.
You then get 6 lessons with another student before you take your driving test. If you fail, there are no more lessons as you've had your lot.
I gave up after that as you can't pass the test without the lessons.
My mother paid for extra lessons and eventually passed 2nd time.
You then get another 6 lessons to pass your instructor test.
All this for £3,000 a couple of years ago.

You are better off training with a driving school where you don't have to pay, stay with them until you get established and then go it alone.

You will have to work between 35-40 hours per week ( this does not include driving to and from lessons ) in order to earn £30k per year.

My mother does really enjoy it though and she has now set up her own driving school and is doing really well... I wish I'd stuck with it and done it with a different company that gives you more support.

Hope this helps!

lamb7994

try the forum on:

www.2pass.co.uk

There's a section about becoming a driving instructor where you can talk to other instructors.


James

daveyjp

My dad will retire next year after over 20 years in the job. He still does about 40 lessons a week, despite the fact he is supposed to be slowing down!

It is not flexible - how long would a shop last which opened when the owner decided? My dad has every Saturday afternoon and Sunday off and gives himself about 4 weeks holiday.

Out of your income you need to pay tax, NI etc (30%), buying your car, a new one every three years if you are busy and it's running costs - up to a gallon of fuel a lesson, insurance, servicing (3+ times a year) etc etc. At £20 an hour there's not much left.

crossiemancity

Im a 29 year old ddriving instructor, i started with a little help from my old driving instructor and went self employed straight away.

I was very young when i started this career (25)

The instructor college cost me 1900 but that was an offer. I passed the first 2 tests first time but failed my part 3 3 times, and had to wait a year to try again, i passed it all first time round and became one of the 22% of people who start out to become fully qualified.

It doesnt take long to loose your initial enthusiasm, you have to remember 80% of your business is teenagers, who have part time jobs, hangovers, college, nights out, girlfriend problems, emotions, general student smell problems etc etc!!

I enjoy actually teaching my pupils things, but i never thought id have to motivate them to get out of bed and come for the lesson i arranged with them only a few days before.

Sometimes they dont have the money, and cancel on you last minute, sometimes they forget completely that you had a lesson with them.

Dont get me wrong, the money is good if you can work the hours needed and stand the stress and hassle associated with running your own business.

The costs arent too bad, i estimate an average of £4 petrol per hour lesson, insurance costs for me are about £450 a year, touch wood ive not crashed yet, had the odd near miss, but nothing serious.

Its very taxing on your health and life style, its true what someone else said that you have to make yourself available to your pupils all the time, if you want to make it worth it financially.

Personally i feel my time is up with this job because i just hate driving to my first lesson, and it becomes alll to easy to fake a sickie, or say your car is in the garage being fixed!!

I see it now as a stepping stone to being an examiner, or even a instructor for the police, as its the next logical step. The thought of a regular constant income is a dream for me at the moment.

it can be a very lonely job, you dont have colleagues, most other instructors are 40/50 years old + There can be abit of banter with your pupils but you have to remember your teaching them, not becoming there mate etc.

Another thing is, not everyone is as bright as you or i, and whereas we might need 1 or 2 explanations on how to achieve MSM or doing a turn in the road, some people need it repeating 10 times, sometimes 15 times in different ways, with examples, demonstrations, its SOOOO frustrating when you know your not getting through and you want to headbutt the steering wheel because of it.

You wont make £30,000 a year, unless you dedicate your whole life to it, and thats not possible because you can make yourself ill by putting yourself through all the stress.

BSM charge 1st year instructors £326 a week! just to use there name and car, they give you pupils but it basically means you need to work 15 hours before you make a profit, 30 hours to make £326 a week (approx) but its not just 30 hours, its the 20/30 mins inbetween your lessons meaning for your £326 your working 45 hours. its just not worth it!!

Beign self employed i could work half the hours and get the same money, but with the added hassle of digging pupils out of the ground to teach. The worry is that your pupil base will dry up one day and your left with no one to teach!! Its not happened to me, but ive come close once or twice.

Basically, not many people stay in this job for more than 5 years.

Luvly.cuppa.T

Just an idea- if anyone were to go self-employed, why not advertise in all the local colleges?
The students there are mainly 16-20, and are the main people that you want to catch. Anyone tried this approach?
Or maybe the parents are the ones to attract, as it is possibly their money that pays for the lessons, thus they have the say?

crossiemancity

yes obviously the colleges and student hang outs are the places to advertise, basically as i have learnt over time, pupils dont really give 2 s*its about how good you are at teaching them, money talks, the cheaper your lessons , the busier youll be.

However what pupils dont realise is that someone who charges £20 an hour, is probably a better instructor who will get them driving much better, have them pass first time and be a safer driver in a smaller number of lessons than an instructor who charges £16

Bill Plant has unfortunately taken the whole industry and turned it upsidedown with its price plans. Forcing many local well established schools out of business. However what you might not know is Bill Plant uses ALOT of trainee instructors, who have to work VERY hard and as a result probably give poor quality lessons because they will be stressed and tired!!!

I stick by what i said, its fun for 5 years, but its not a career anymore.

mike001_2

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