Jamesy Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Anyone know much about the industry and whether its a lucrative career move? Muchos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz6002 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 My understanding is that although the adverts say you'll earn up to £30k per year, that would entail working pretty much every hour under the sun. You'll never find enough students to fulfill the hours needed to make serious money. I could be wrong, but that's what I got from speaking to several people in the trade. I suppose it might be different if you were going into it as a company rather than an individual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Nope. But personally I couldn't think of ANYTHING worse! I have no patience to deal with idiots at the best of times and people are so retarded these days I'd be constantly bashing my head against the dashboard I think. Also - from a personal perspective I think the best driving instructors are the ones that are a bit older, take the time to explain things in an 'old school' way and are fun. Well, maybe that was just my instructor he was lovely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesy Posted July 15, 2011 Author Share Posted July 15, 2011 thanx for the input Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 I looked into it. Costs a fair bit to train and become one and you'd have to work all the time and get a lot of business to make a decent wage. Seems a lot of stress and I think I'd punch someone out from the frustration. Needless to say, I didn't pursue it further! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter richards Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 the industry is flooded mate , the likes of RED just rip people off they target the older guys who have been made redundant with good pay offs , but qualifying is very hard , and keeps costing , plus you would have to live in the car to get anywhere near 30k. friend of mine has had his own S O M for a few years now , and he says its not very good anymore as there are just to many doing it , and all that does is bring the price down that you can charge , where your running costs are still going up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbourner Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Same as above, I looked into it but you really need to do it self employed as the 'red' guys and similar are basically scammers. Doing it on your own is hard work, you really need to do lots of market research in your area and see who else is around, what they charge, deals they do etc. then work out how much you're likely to earn and go from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupraAyf Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Anyone know much about the industry and whether its a lucrative career move? Muchos All I know about the industry is you get to meet some real good looking chicks on a daily basis. That's a result in my book (so what, I'm shallow). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesy Posted July 15, 2011 Author Share Posted July 15, 2011 All I know about the industry is you get to meet some real good looking chicks on a daily basis. That's a result in my book (so what, I'm shallow). now we're talkin'!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angarak Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 I must admit, I was tempted to be a driving instructor as I've never seen an ugly bird learning to drive around my neck of the woods, however upon passing they must get taken into a room and smashed in the face several times with a spade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy-No-Knee Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 I have looked into it a few times.... I'm also a bike instructor (DAS) but havent done that for a few years. Various ways of doing it..... 1. Go to a place like Red/The Instructor College and pay around the £2K mark, sometimes it works out closer to £2.5K. If you are lucky you will be taken on by a school and offered work. The down side is they expect a 'fee' for the car and customer referals, even if they only give you 2 a week or 200. Some places charge over the odds, like over £100 a week! 2. Find a friendly local school who also teach instructors, they will still charge but a lot less. Same with the referals. 3. Do it yourself. Log onto the DSA website, it has all the info. You can by the manuals for the first part of the test for around £50, then book the test yourself and wammo you have passed your part 1. Part 1. Highway Code theroy test. A very long version of the normal highway code test. Part 2. Driving Test. You take an extended driving test with an examiner, I think its something like 5 minors and your failed! Part 3. Teaching. You can after part 2 get a provisional instructors licence and start teaching and earning, but there is a time limit that you have to take and pass your Part 3 in. Part 3 is the final test, you 'teach' a driving examiner who will make deliberate mistakes and you have to see them and 'teach' them not to do them. Cheapest way of doing it.... Is study and book and pass the Part 1 yourself. The book a driving lesson with a school who 'teach' instructors local to you. Get them to give you a driving assessment. Then go away and practice, the do the assessment again. When they say your ok...book the part 2. And pass. Then buy you own instructors car and find a local school who will give you instruction on the part 3 phase, while doing that you teach and earn. It comes to a lot less than the £2.5K some places want to charge you. That said it isnt something I think will pay well as a full time job at the moment, there are a lot of schools out there...I see cars near me with signs on offering 5 lessons for £58!!!! At 1 hour a lesson.....that is crap money and who knows if it will cover the bills. Of course, it could be subject to status...ie its the first lessons so not much petrol, and you book up front more than the 5 and pay for them in advance.... so who knows. I was going to do it as a part time job to my normal one of being in the fire brigade, but I have found something else, more fun, better paid, not as regular though.. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kopite Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 PM ChrisB on here Jamesy, he became a driving instructor. He's a friendly bloke albeit a bit camp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr lover Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Difficult to earn a decent wage, lucky to earn 30k tops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesy Posted July 15, 2011 Author Share Posted July 15, 2011 Thanx for all the advice guys. Doesnt seem worthwhile persuing for me. Thanx anyway guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Forget it, if I had my time again I would have : A: Listened to my parents and been a lawyer. B: Listened to my mate's dad who was a dodgy immigrant doctor and opened an abortion clinic. C: Listened to the excuses my dad heard as to why the XYX Plumbing Company was too busy, and become a plumber. Do many new drivers in the UK actually bother with driving licences any more? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abz Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 Let me ask you this Jamesy, how would you feel if the student you were teaching was driving 15mph on a 30mph road? And a cyclist overtook you? (which I did a few weeks back!), they then accelerated to 20mph & then said to you they were scared because they were going too quick? The standard of driving has hugely dropped! I know of people who are scared of the motorway, infact when I was playing at Millwall en-route to one of the games our team transit van pulled over because one of the lads Mum's was too scared to drive on the dual carriageway. She burst out crying! Thing is though we were on the A12 which was only 50mph tops! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dude Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 I think YOU actually need to be able to drive Jamesy !!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter richards Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 would you want the guilt of being the reason there are so many bad drivers on the roads. same as anything if the market is flooded the standard goes down.plus youd have to have a lot of patience Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesy Posted July 16, 2011 Author Share Posted July 16, 2011 I think YOU actually need to be able to drive Jamesy !!!!!! Snigger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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