At the ripe old age of 56 and following a pay off from my job I am thinking of moving out of sales into areas new and I am considering training to become a driving instructor have any of you done this job and are able or willing to give advice and share their experiences.
'L' of a driver
- Thread starter ThePlotter
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My wifes brother inlaw was a mechanical handling instructer and examiner for some years, training on use of fork lift trucks etc.
After redundancy he decided to go down the route you are considering going. He found the training on the driving side a complete new learning curve and took longer than he thought.
He got work with a company who provided the car and customers. I believe certain costs came out of his earnings. Living in a rural area he got quite a lot of work but had the problem of clients being some distance apart and had to allow travelling time, summer was long long hours with no time off to make the money and winter was quite poor. His colleagues around Soton and Portsmouth coped with traffic and getting to clients often at other sides of the city.
He found car learners often had been pushed into taking lessons so were not really that interested or did not have their mind to the job in hand.
He had some accidents in his short career, one with an expert boy racer who had driven with no licence in the past and another where a young lady tried to answer a mobile phone despite his protests, they hit a parked car!
His hair went near snowy white in around 15 months and when his wife found he had started smoking after giving up 25 years earlier, due to his stressed state and blood pressure he became an HGV driver at 53.
He gets holidays, assured hours and about double the money and finds it stress free by comaparison to the instructors job.
After redundancy he decided to go down the route you are considering going. He found the training on the driving side a complete new learning curve and took longer than he thought.
He got work with a company who provided the car and customers. I believe certain costs came out of his earnings. Living in a rural area he got quite a lot of work but had the problem of clients being some distance apart and had to allow travelling time, summer was long long hours with no time off to make the money and winter was quite poor. His colleagues around Soton and Portsmouth coped with traffic and getting to clients often at other sides of the city.
He found car learners often had been pushed into taking lessons so were not really that interested or did not have their mind to the job in hand.
He had some accidents in his short career, one with an expert boy racer who had driven with no licence in the past and another where a young lady tried to answer a mobile phone despite his protests, they hit a parked car!
His hair went near snowy white in around 15 months and when his wife found he had started smoking after giving up 25 years earlier, due to his stressed state and blood pressure he became an HGV driver at 53.
He gets holidays, assured hours and about double the money and finds it stress free by comaparison to the instructors job.
Plotter, think long and hard about it, then go and become a bomb disposal man, or something equally lightly stressed!
a) you will not make any money. Friends of mine could not make it pay with their own cars, so if you have to pay car expenses, which you will, you haven't a hope.
b) you'll not be able to use the caravan, particularly in the summer, cos people want to learn in their leisure time.
c) You won't see Mrs Plotter except at the end of a long, stressful day. Not the best recipe for harmony.
d) see (c). The stress factor is enormous.
Seriously, mate, don't do it.
a) you will not make any money. Friends of mine could not make it pay with their own cars, so if you have to pay car expenses, which you will, you haven't a hope.
b) you'll not be able to use the caravan, particularly in the summer, cos people want to learn in their leisure time.
c) You won't see Mrs Plotter except at the end of a long, stressful day. Not the best recipe for harmony.
d) see (c). The stress factor is enormous.
Seriously, mate, don't do it.
Sounds like your friends experience is the same as Maureen's
B-In-law Emmerson, to be honest he was all but a broken man by the time he gave it up.
B-In-law Emmerson, to be honest he was all but a broken man by the time he gave it up.
cris, he had to have two months off to recover. Strangely enough, he is now a mech handling, fork truck and Hiab instructor, working self-employed, part-time, and loves it!Sounds like your friends experience is the same as Maureen's
B-In-law Emmerson, to be honest he was all but a broken man by the time he gave it up.
Well, my wife has just started as an instructor about 6 monts ago, she earns more doing this than an assistant manager in a supermarket, she has alot less stress and works around 10 hours a week less.
She has her own car bought and paid for and she really enjoys the job, she only works Monday to Friday and some Saturday mornings.
She blanks out her diary in adavance for holidays so it cant clash.
She is affilliated to a driving school locally and only pays them a fee per hour of training if they provide puples
Im very suprised at the previous 2 posts after talking with some of her collegues and her head instuctor. they all seem very happy and chilled just like her (and thats a big difference from her last job)
Kevin H
She has her own car bought and paid for and she really enjoys the job, she only works Monday to Friday and some Saturday mornings.
She blanks out her diary in adavance for holidays so it cant clash.
She is affilliated to a driving school locally and only pays them a fee per hour of training if they provide puples
Im very suprised at the previous 2 posts after talking with some of her collegues and her head instuctor. they all seem very happy and chilled just like her (and thats a big difference from her last job)
Kevin H
thanks guys ( and gals) now even more confussed ,but all anicdotal have any of you done it yourselves?
Not done it myself but have sold lots of cars to instructors over the years and they all say it's a good way to earn a living , in fact a lot of them gave up quite successful careers to take it up.
Thought about it myself but as I test drive a lot of "experienced" drivers and they all seem to manage to scare the s**t out of me I think I'll give it a miss.
Thought about it myself but as I test drive a lot of "experienced" drivers and they all seem to manage to scare the s**t out of me I think I'll give it a miss.
No I have not.
But would add that Dave who I spoke of trained people on very large scary sized "plant" and no one out of seven others he met whilst raining are still in the job. The company he worked for also had a very large turn over of staff. He has said that catchment area is a big factor.
But would add that Dave who I spoke of trained people on very large scary sized "plant" and no one out of seven others he met whilst raining are still in the job. The company he worked for also had a very large turn over of staff. He has said that catchment area is a big factor.
No, Plotter, I've not done it myself, but the guy is my best mate and next door neighbour, so I saw it all at close range.thanks guys ( and gals) now even more confussed ,but all anicdotal have any of you done it yourselves?
Hi Plotter,
Decided for a career change 5 years ago and trained to become an approved driving instructor. (ADI)
It's an expensive career to train for (
Decided for a career change 5 years ago and trained to become an approved driving instructor. (ADI)
It's an expensive career to train for (
Simon,thanks for that most informative,initially I had thought of going with the likes of BSM or AA where car costs are covered in the 'franchise' fee to make financial planning a bit easier to start with.I know what the three test sections are about but how difficult are they,I have been driving for 40 years doing circa 30/40000 miles a year with only two accidents in that time both rear end shunts.One point you can perhaps guide me on if you do say 25 hours tuition how many hours will this involve to include time between lessons,any other tips very welcome.
You have mentioned car costs eg servicing, petrol etc, what sort of car would anyone recommend for a driving instructor. Do they need to be quite new, low insurance and what about the cost of fitting duel controls. How do you get insurance for other people to drive - whenver I have got insurance quotes they usually ask for named drivers.
No problem with instructers.
But judging by the standard of some new drivers I thing re ideal learners cars there is niche market awaiting Hummer or the old Vickers Tank Factory ;-)
But judging by the standard of some new drivers I thing re ideal learners cars there is niche market awaiting Hummer or the old Vickers Tank Factory ;-)
Hi PlotterSimon,thanks for that most informative,initially I had thought of going with the likes of BSM or AA where car costs are covered in the 'franchise' fee to make financial planning a bit easier to start with.I know what the three test sections are about but how difficult are they,I have been driving for 40 years doing circa 30/40000 miles a year with only two accidents in that time both rear end shunts.One point you can perhaps guide me on if you do say 25 hours tuition how many hours will this involve to include time between lessons,any other tips very welcome.
Be careful with a franchise with the larger firms ie BSM or AA.They charge about
Hi Graeme
An ideal car is perhaps a Fiesta or Corsa. Both a smallish size to start but with a big car feel. (I should be selling!!) Age wise is not so much of an issue. As long as it's in good condition and looks smart and clean you should be ok. I always get asked what car is it (Corsa) but to be honest pupils wouldn't know the difference if you turned up in a transit! (Well may be a bit)
Insurance is no problem. There are companies that cater specifically for instructors. Mine is Master Cover, costs
An ideal car is perhaps a Fiesta or Corsa. Both a smallish size to start but with a big car feel. (I should be selling!!) Age wise is not so much of an issue. As long as it's in good condition and looks smart and clean you should be ok. I always get asked what car is it (Corsa) but to be honest pupils wouldn't know the difference if you turned up in a transit! (Well may be a bit)
Insurance is no problem. There are companies that cater specifically for instructors. Mine is Master Cover, costs
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