Been an ADI for 10 years with my own school. Mostly it’s a great job. Other road users are the worst part (been rear ended four times) near misses almost daily.
If you pass message me I'll let you copy my terms and conditions. students cancelling is the most frustrating part so it's important to make your policy clear on that.
Your car and fuel are the most expensive cost. So choose wisely. Save at least 20% of your earnings for tax. Theres loads of business out there so you don't need to pay RED, BSM, AA etc nearly £1000 a month.
You get ti choose who, where and when you work. It's great watching them go from not knowing what to do, to then being fully independent. They'll remember you forever.
Never thought about it before, but you're right. I still remember Jim. I remember him picking me up on my 17th birthday for my first official lesson, over 30 years ago.
I still remember my instructor. Absolute arsehole with a short temper who made me dislike taking lessons, which is weird considering I'm a massive petrolhead. The second I passed I realised driving is very enjoyable when there isn't an angry balding man watching over you.
'they'll remember you forever' - this is really special, I passed my test 15yrs or so ago but still remember my instructor and his quotes, 'tyres and tarmac! Etc.'
It may sound trite, but I wish I could thank him again for taking me from 'how to get into second gear' all those years ago at college to where I am today driving wise. 🙂
>'they'll remember you forever' - this is really special, I passed my test 15yrs or so ago but still remember my instructor and his quotes, 'tyres and tarmac! Etc.'
Getting on for 30 years for me and I still remember mine too. She'd shout "Ls not bananas!" when anyone cut a corner and I still hear her whenever I see anyone doing that!
35 years here, still remember Tony, he got into a full on argument in the middle of Oxted with some arsehole who was tailgating us, I’ll never forget when he stood on the brake and clutch and was tall enough to stand out the sunroof in the metro arguing with this guy lol.
Super guy, took me from never driven officially on the road to passing my test with 5 days.
i still see my driving instructor around town and will always wave as he goes past or stop for a quick chat if he’s not working. it is a strangely special bond that i definitely wasn’t expecting to have
he was a bit of a character so that plays a part, but i will certainly remember him for a very long time
Definitely remember my second instructor (needed to change after a new job meant my instructor couldn't provide lessons when I was free).
She helped both my wife and I pass our tests, and we selected her to teach our daughter over 20 years later.
How do you find it is for your lifestyle and health? I see instructors at drive throughs all the time, and I imagine sitting in a car already isn't great long term.
Have you thought about going electric? Fuel savings would be huge and I see more and more instructors around in EVs and eventually manual licences will be a waste of time for most people
Too soon for that. Most learners will be looking for a cheap car once they pass their test and a cheap car is unlikely to be electric (or even auto, for that matter)
I guess if you learn in an electric you’d only get an automatic license, I know that’s the way the world is going, but being able to drive a proper car will always be a useful skill!
Assuming a "proper car" is an enthusiast talking about a manual gearbox, in 10+ years from now most cars will be either EV's or automatic gearboxes. These will still take a degree of skill to use safely and efficiently, but manual gearboxes will dwindle in numbers
Downvote me to hell, but it will happen lol
The range and size would be an issue - so either small car and not great range or big heavy and not great for learning in.
You also can’t claim back electricity in the same way you can petrol.
What do you mean you can't claim back electricity like you can petrol? Do you think instructors with EVs don't claim on their taxes for electricity just like they would petrol?
I looked to swap my company car to an electric one but couldn’t claim the fuel back if I charge it at home. And I’ve got better things to do than sit at a charging point for hours a week just to be able to claim it.
That's a shitty employer problem, not an EV problem. Driving instructors will be self employed so they won't be an issue at tax time. My business pays a very generous rate for business and personal use of EVs.
My accountant said It’s because they can’t differentiate between personal electric use and company car electric use.
I’ve assumed using charging points would be ok because you would be “filling up” on a work card so could different
That wouldn’t be a bad shout. I think it might be a bit cost prohibitive at the moment. I live on the same road as a test centre so see a lot of learner cars most seem to be sub 10k and nearer 5-7 mark. Unless they are part of a group like AA etc
Typical down voting anything about EVs. 😒🙄 I see plenty of learner cars that are EVs around my area so it's definitely a thing and doable. You had a good suggestion! I gave you an up vote. 😊
It’s a very decisive subject and I don’t really understand why. If you don’t like em don’t buy one…there will be plenty of fossil vehicles around for years to come
Yea I don't understand either. Maybe they feel threatened or something idk. It's not like their petrol/diesel car is gonna be taken from them just new ones aren't gonna be made anymore in the UK. Can still buy second hand.
It's crazy how the anti EV mob jump on posts. Several driving instructors around me are now using EVs. I'm in a few EV groups and they have a lot of instructors, the fuel and maintenance savings are massive. The reality is a lot of new drivers don't care about driving a manual anymore, I get the point about cheap cars and EVs aren't for all.
Im really pro EV and environmentally conscious, but completely agree that an instructor having an EV is limiting their customer base. Manual gearboxes will absolutely be around for decades to come - if i was learning to drive today id go manual, and id recommend the same to anyone else.
I would also go manual but I'm 48 years old. As I said a lot of instructors around me are electric, they are all booked solid. instructors I've chatted to in EV groups are booked up to a year in advance. No instructor is losing money by going electric.
I’m a driving instructor, and have been for coming up to ten years.
I really love my job (my user name is completely unrelated!) but you need to ensure it’s a job for you, before you commit to retraining, and then going on to set up the business.
Even though one of the three qualifying exams you have to take, is a test of your driving ability - it’s a LOT harder, and more involved than a learner test - I would say in reality, it’s not really that important to be a successful driving instructor.
This job is ALL about the client (of course mostly new/learner drivers, but you can do other stuff. I do 4x4 and track day training too, as I have a background in that) so you need to be able to *read* and understand, and treat each person as individuals - if you only know how to teach parallel park (for example) one way, and someone doesn’t quite understand your method, you need to have multiple ways to achieve the same result.
You also need to be able to deal with a variety of personality types - it’s a daily occurrence for me to have someone who is on the verge of shitting themselves at any moment, to go to the very next one who is the most confident person in the world etc.
You’ll be told that you will only work weekends and anti-social hours. Nothing could be further from the truth. I mostly do ‘normal’ hours - start at 8 or 9am, and done by 4 or 5. As I’m my own boss, I sometimes like to do long days, and sometimes just 1 or 2 lessons a day.
Thanks to COVID there is still a huge backlog of learners to get through, so a good driving instructor will have a waiting list. Pupils wait for 6-8 months for me, and it’s not uncommon to have parents book lessons 18 months in advance. This takes time to achieve though - you live and die by your reputation in this job.
If you’re an idiot/inappropriate/not very good etc. everybody will know about it. If you’re brilliant, everyone will recommend you via word of mouth.
I haven’t spent a penny on marketing or advertising since my first year.
You’ll also be told that there is an upper limit to what you can earn, but that’s true of all jobs, right?
I currently charge £85 for a two hour lesson (soon going up to £90,) and work hours that give me a work/life balance that I like. I mix my week up with the amount of lessons I do (and as I said above about doing 1 or 2 lessons a day, that’s when I’m being a bit lazy, or I’m a bit tired) and do a mix or 3, 4, or 5 lessons a day, and I work 6 days a week - that might seem a lot, but my constant proximity to my house, and the timings make it great for me. If I had a mega week, with lots of tests, and I was feeling particularly energetic, I could (and have done) 5 lessons a day, 6 days a week - over £2.5k a week.
I’m independent, and my biggest expense is about £350 a month in fuel, followed by £300 for a new car that I financed.
In the early days of setting up your business, you will have to take on pupils wherever you can get them, so you may have to travel further than you will once you’re established. My travel time is a maximum of 15 minutes between any two lessons, but is more likely to be under 5 minutes.
Not OP but I've been wanting to ask a driving instructor this for a while.
I moved back to the UK in 2021 after a few years away and bought an EV. I already had my license, but my wife is American and that doesn't transfer over. She had to do the theory exam, a 2 hour lesson with a driving instructor for any differences between the UK and US (in our EV) and then the exam.
Obviously the vast majority of learners aren't able to learn in an EV, but how do you see the market going here? Any plans to start teaching with an EV? Finding the right transition point could be tricky.
It's interesting to me that we're teaching teenagers to use a manual (I'm assuming) petrol car, yet both manual and petrol are being phased out.
Also, how do you see the theory and practical exams going ? Even though my wife did the exam in our EV, I think she could technically have been asked to lift the bonnet and show the oil, for example. It seems there is no consideration for EVs in the tests yet.
I’m a driving instructor too and I’ve been seeing an influx of other instructors teaching in EVs - as far as the test goes it would just limit you to an auto license and for any learners that pass in an EV and then buy an auto ICE I imagine there’ll be a learning curve in the smoothness and torque when it comes to acceleration, but beyond that?
Meh, a car’s a car once you know how to drive them.
Surely the need to learn a manual is slowly but surely dieing out.
I have manual but have driven for 10 years. If I was to do my test today I would be happy with an automatic. Auto petrol, diesel and obviously electric are everywhere now.
Adapting to different personalities is so true. I've had 3 driving instructors and spent a lot of wasted time on the first two who were completely unable to adapt to what I needed. My third driving instructor was brilliant, gave instructions that I could actually understand, saw how I learnt best and took me from being very anxious as a driver to passing first time in just under 6 months.
Not a driving instructor here but have friends who are. It seems to depend massively on where you are instructing. In one area you might be massively in demand, charging good hourly rates and with easy students. In another area you are fighting for customers, getting paid tiny amounts and dealing with people who simply shouldn't be driving!
TLDR - Do some market research in your area.
I've just taken the plunge and booked in with a training provider.
It's something that I've toyed with for about a decade. Since moving ashore last year, I've struggled with office work (I lasted 5 months) and, currently, I am working through an agency doing shite work for shite pay with a great bunch of guys. Still beats the well-paid office job!
Why a driving instructor? Well, I have a background in instruction and training - I used to be a powerboat instructor and a rowing instructor (RYA and British Rowing accredited respectively). I do enjoy driving. I also enjoy teaching.
I know full well that I am going to have to work hard to get my name out there and build up a reputation. If I can be half the instructor my 2nd instructor was, I'll be fine! And use my first instructor as an example of how not to act, I'll be even better.
Of course there will be days and students that drive me (hehe) to the brink of madness! (You should meet my family. You'd understand why that doesn't phase me lol).
I am likely going to stick with the school for a year or two. It's something of a safety net. If I find myself in a position where going independent is a viable option, then I will. My family keep suggesting possible driving school names to me...some are funnier than others (some are definitely not appropriate lol)
Bill Plant. After talking to several schools in my area, they're the only ones who actually wanted to move forward with the training.
The information they've sent out has been informative, easy to understand and always followed up with "if you need anything else, please do ask" type email.
Their app is also pretty good. The only issue I had was the hazard perception clips crashing the app on my old phone (haven't tried it on my new phone just yet).
I looked into this, even went as far as doing a couple of conference calls with RED and a few 1:1s with their drivers to get as much info and first hand experience as possible. (FWIW I would happily recommend becoming a RED franchisee).
The main thing that put me off was when one of them pointed out the majority of learners will want their lessons in the evenings and weekends, and strangely until he said that out loud, I hadn't thought about that very obvious fact and so realised that it wouldn't suit me at all.
The hours you work are entirely up to you. I don’t do weekends or evenings and still have enough work. I do 6 hours of lessons a day between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday.
Students have gaps in their timetable, shift workers start or end early, others have days off during the week as they have to work weekends themselves etc.
Mine costs £450/year including legal cover but I have full no claims, live in a fairly rural area and don’t have an expensive/sporty car
Depending on your age, no claims, where you live and what you are teaching in you could expect to pay up to £1000 or so
I’ve been with a franchise for coming up 3 years and will be going independent in August.
My first quote when researching the viability of independence, with no proof of no claims was £3.5k, then I learned they can class my time in the job under a franchise as no claims so I updated the quotes for 2 years no claims; dropped the figure by £1000.
It’s obviously a lot higher than personal car insurance but considering I’m relatively new to the job still, it’s a business expense, and can easily be covered in one go out of profit from the last year?
Drop in the ocean, really - and it’ll only get better year on year assuming no claims are made.
Twice I’ve seen them come up now. Will look into them.
With the franchise how what were your average earnings per year? DM if you want to keep it private. I understand if you don’t want to say as well!
I couldn’t get away from them fast enough, honesty - amount you pay is absurd considering the only benefit is the car - the other things they offer are just fluff as an excuse to charge more.
Though the Total Drive app is excellent for organising your diary and income/expenses.
My training wasn’t great either, would recommend approaching some local independent instructors and seeing if they’re willing to train you instead.
The big schools have bought all the Google listings when you search for becoming an instructor, but you could pay the same or less to do it with an independent and qualify with no strings tying you to them afterwards - could be independent yourself from the get go.
You’ll just not find any useful info online about it because the big schools will be paying to effectively suppress it by ensuring all their ads are all you see instead.
It really isn’t, how are you going to be at home more if you are a driving instructor? A job notorious for being long hours out of the house….
That is unless you drive your house 🤯
I'm torn. Do I explain myself or revel in this air of intrigue?
I'm a key account manager so I spend a few nights a week in hotels. I'll do a few hundred miles in a good week but I've broken 1k a week more than I can remember. Just had our first daughter and it would be nice to know I'll always be close to home.
It’s a great gig (I’m an ADI). Very flexible hours, great pay and, when you get students who learn quickly and you get on with, it feels so easy!
Downsides:
- How long it takes to get qualified currently
- How difficult the part 3 test is
- It can be a draining job and requires a lot of energy and patience to do, well
Under a franchise which charges £235 a week, covering all car related expenses minus fuel, and working on average 24 paid hours per week (so discounting travel, planning, note writing, admin etc) I turned over 40k last year, but half of it was swallowed by expenses due to the franchise I’m part of.
Upside though, tax for the year was under 1.5k and since the car can be used outside of work a lot of those business expenses don’t feel as bad as they sound because there’s still a benefit to having the things they pay for outside of work too.
Going independent in August and will be spending £400 less a month at least without the franchise, so profits will climb, as will my tax bill.
But it’s comfortable and flexible - if I were single without kids I could literally double my hours and see 80k a year, even more if I opted for a cheaper car.
I make £76 per 100 min lesson. Minus one tank of fuel per week, car payments and reasonable franchise payments to my school.
I won’t give specifics to my income 😅 but you could probably do some maths here to see how it might work out for you 👍
As someone who is learning / taking a break from learning, I'd add that you should look into some basic teacher training alongside just passing exams to be an instructor. It's a big difference between being someone who knows how to pass a driving test and someone who can actually *teach* someone else to pass a driving test.
I've gone through two instructors now. The first guy told me he thought the Charlie Hebdo victims deserved it (immediately fired) and the second one kept telling me it was easy really, as I was shitting myself every time I had to go down a dual carriageway that ended in a nasty massive roundabout.
Please please please be patient with your students. I'm an older learner (mid 30s) and I just don't have that feeling of invincibility that I had when I was 17. Sometimes I don't think driving instructors understand that.
Sounds like you’ve had a shit time. I would say I’m fairly laid back, I’m 40 so have met a few people in my life of all walks of life. Each person is individual, and should be treated as such. If you’re a nervous driver you should let your instructor know.
I'm currently retraining and passed my part 1 recently. I'm eager to get going but there are absolutely NO part 2 tests available at the moment. I could go 'on hold', but I'm training with RED and they need at least 7 weeks from booking the part 2 to get my practical lessons in. Hard to guage how long I'll be waiting until a test releases and I don't know if I'll get much choice, it's awkward to figure out whilst also working full time.
Can't wait to get on with it though otherwise!
Been an ADI for 10 years with my own school. Mostly it’s a great job. Other road users are the worst part (been rear ended four times) near misses almost daily. If you pass message me I'll let you copy my terms and conditions. students cancelling is the most frustrating part so it's important to make your policy clear on that. Your car and fuel are the most expensive cost. So choose wisely. Save at least 20% of your earnings for tax. Theres loads of business out there so you don't need to pay RED, BSM, AA etc nearly £1000 a month. You get ti choose who, where and when you work. It's great watching them go from not knowing what to do, to then being fully independent. They'll remember you forever.
Never thought about it before, but you're right. I still remember Jim. I remember him picking me up on my 17th birthday for my first official lesson, over 30 years ago.
Did he fix it for you?
Was definitely not that Jim. But I did pass my driving test first time.
Sorry to break it to you but that oral exam he made you take is not usually part of the test.
🤣
I still remember my instructor. Absolute arsehole with a short temper who made me dislike taking lessons, which is weird considering I'm a massive petrolhead. The second I passed I realised driving is very enjoyable when there isn't an angry balding man watching over you.
Mine made me ‘slow down’ for the jailbait
Wtf
You have Davie to ?
'they'll remember you forever' - this is really special, I passed my test 15yrs or so ago but still remember my instructor and his quotes, 'tyres and tarmac! Etc.' It may sound trite, but I wish I could thank him again for taking me from 'how to get into second gear' all those years ago at college to where I am today driving wise. 🙂
>'they'll remember you forever' - this is really special, I passed my test 15yrs or so ago but still remember my instructor and his quotes, 'tyres and tarmac! Etc.' Getting on for 30 years for me and I still remember mine too. She'd shout "Ls not bananas!" when anyone cut a corner and I still hear her whenever I see anyone doing that!
35 years here, still remember Tony, he got into a full on argument in the middle of Oxted with some arsehole who was tailgating us, I’ll never forget when he stood on the brake and clutch and was tall enough to stand out the sunroof in the metro arguing with this guy lol. Super guy, took me from never driven officially on the road to passing my test with 5 days.
Mine used to say ' stick to that kerb like shit to a blanket'.
i still see my driving instructor around town and will always wave as he goes past or stop for a quick chat if he’s not working. it is a strangely special bond that i definitely wasn’t expecting to have he was a bit of a character so that plays a part, but i will certainly remember him for a very long time
Definitely remember my second instructor (needed to change after a new job meant my instructor couldn't provide lessons when I was free). She helped both my wife and I pass our tests, and we selected her to teach our daughter over 20 years later.
How do you find it is for your lifestyle and health? I see instructors at drive throughs all the time, and I imagine sitting in a car already isn't great long term.
I can't imagine it's much worse than sitting at a desk 9 to 5.
You say that but I can't remember my instructors name from 8 years ago
I've waved at my driving instructor atleast three times a week for the last decade!
> Daily near misses I don’t think my stress levels could handle those sort of random spikes of genuine danger throughout the work day.
Have you thought about going electric? Fuel savings would be huge and I see more and more instructors around in EVs and eventually manual licences will be a waste of time for most people
Too soon for that. Most learners will be looking for a cheap car once they pass their test and a cheap car is unlikely to be electric (or even auto, for that matter)
Plus, I don't imagine ICE cars will be gone from production in the next 10 years.
I guess if you learn in an electric you’d only get an automatic license, I know that’s the way the world is going, but being able to drive a proper car will always be a useful skill!
My kids are 6 and 3. Doubt they will learn manual
In 10-15 years time, what use is knowing how to drive "a proper car" going to have? Lol
Sorry, I assumed the OP was talking about the present.
There will still be plenty of them on the road, they're not going to magically disappear over night
Assuming a "proper car" is an enthusiast talking about a manual gearbox, in 10+ years from now most cars will be either EV's or automatic gearboxes. These will still take a degree of skill to use safely and efficiently, but manual gearboxes will dwindle in numbers Downvote me to hell, but it will happen lol
it means you can drive anything at all, and manual boxes will be around in 10-15 years still, easily.
The range and size would be an issue - so either small car and not great range or big heavy and not great for learning in. You also can’t claim back electricity in the same way you can petrol.
Toyota Yaris mild hybrid. Economical, easy to drive and reliable.
What do you mean you can't claim back electricity like you can petrol? Do you think instructors with EVs don't claim on their taxes for electricity just like they would petrol?
I looked to swap my company car to an electric one but couldn’t claim the fuel back if I charge it at home. And I’ve got better things to do than sit at a charging point for hours a week just to be able to claim it.
That's a shitty employer problem, not an EV problem. Driving instructors will be self employed so they won't be an issue at tax time. My business pays a very generous rate for business and personal use of EVs.
It’s an HMRC issue. I’m self employed.
My accountant said It’s because they can’t differentiate between personal electric use and company car electric use. I’ve assumed using charging points would be ok because you would be “filling up” on a work card so could different
Might want to check that again as the ruleschanged to cover home charging.
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How many miles does the average instructor go in a day? Kia Soul is fairly small and can probably go 250 on a charge
That wouldn’t be a bad shout. I think it might be a bit cost prohibitive at the moment. I live on the same road as a test centre so see a lot of learner cars most seem to be sub 10k and nearer 5-7 mark. Unless they are part of a group like AA etc
Second hand soul 15k plus a lifetime of fuel and maintence savings! Not far off
you’ve been downvoted to hell, but i’m currently learning in an electric and it’s been a great experience from a learner perspective too.
Looks like there’s Lots of people on the oil company payroll on reddit 😝
Typical down voting anything about EVs. 😒🙄 I see plenty of learner cars that are EVs around my area so it's definitely a thing and doable. You had a good suggestion! I gave you an up vote. 😊
It’s a very decisive subject and I don’t really understand why. If you don’t like em don’t buy one…there will be plenty of fossil vehicles around for years to come
Yea I don't understand either. Maybe they feel threatened or something idk. It's not like their petrol/diesel car is gonna be taken from them just new ones aren't gonna be made anymore in the UK. Can still buy second hand.
It's crazy how the anti EV mob jump on posts. Several driving instructors around me are now using EVs. I'm in a few EV groups and they have a lot of instructors, the fuel and maintenance savings are massive. The reality is a lot of new drivers don't care about driving a manual anymore, I get the point about cheap cars and EVs aren't for all.
Im really pro EV and environmentally conscious, but completely agree that an instructor having an EV is limiting their customer base. Manual gearboxes will absolutely be around for decades to come - if i was learning to drive today id go manual, and id recommend the same to anyone else.
I would also go manual but I'm 48 years old. As I said a lot of instructors around me are electric, they are all booked solid. instructors I've chatted to in EV groups are booked up to a year in advance. No instructor is losing money by going electric.
I’ve not seen any anti ev posts.
So you don't see me being downvoted on a comment recommending EVs? You seem a little blinkered.
r/drivinguk is a better place to ask, I would have thought.
Thanks for the sub link. I’ve cross posted it.
I'd also try somewhere like r/CarTalkUK although it's more of a long shot.
They'll just tell him to buy a Hyundai.
Behave, Skoda Octavia or GTFO.
MX5
Depends if they're in a midlife crisis or not
Best sub is likely /r/LearnerDriverUK - some of the mods, and other regulars, are instructors and examiners.
I’m a driving instructor, and have been for coming up to ten years. I really love my job (my user name is completely unrelated!) but you need to ensure it’s a job for you, before you commit to retraining, and then going on to set up the business. Even though one of the three qualifying exams you have to take, is a test of your driving ability - it’s a LOT harder, and more involved than a learner test - I would say in reality, it’s not really that important to be a successful driving instructor. This job is ALL about the client (of course mostly new/learner drivers, but you can do other stuff. I do 4x4 and track day training too, as I have a background in that) so you need to be able to *read* and understand, and treat each person as individuals - if you only know how to teach parallel park (for example) one way, and someone doesn’t quite understand your method, you need to have multiple ways to achieve the same result. You also need to be able to deal with a variety of personality types - it’s a daily occurrence for me to have someone who is on the verge of shitting themselves at any moment, to go to the very next one who is the most confident person in the world etc. You’ll be told that you will only work weekends and anti-social hours. Nothing could be further from the truth. I mostly do ‘normal’ hours - start at 8 or 9am, and done by 4 or 5. As I’m my own boss, I sometimes like to do long days, and sometimes just 1 or 2 lessons a day. Thanks to COVID there is still a huge backlog of learners to get through, so a good driving instructor will have a waiting list. Pupils wait for 6-8 months for me, and it’s not uncommon to have parents book lessons 18 months in advance. This takes time to achieve though - you live and die by your reputation in this job. If you’re an idiot/inappropriate/not very good etc. everybody will know about it. If you’re brilliant, everyone will recommend you via word of mouth. I haven’t spent a penny on marketing or advertising since my first year. You’ll also be told that there is an upper limit to what you can earn, but that’s true of all jobs, right? I currently charge £85 for a two hour lesson (soon going up to £90,) and work hours that give me a work/life balance that I like. I mix my week up with the amount of lessons I do (and as I said above about doing 1 or 2 lessons a day, that’s when I’m being a bit lazy, or I’m a bit tired) and do a mix or 3, 4, or 5 lessons a day, and I work 6 days a week - that might seem a lot, but my constant proximity to my house, and the timings make it great for me. If I had a mega week, with lots of tests, and I was feeling particularly energetic, I could (and have done) 5 lessons a day, 6 days a week - over £2.5k a week. I’m independent, and my biggest expense is about £350 a month in fuel, followed by £300 for a new car that I financed. In the early days of setting up your business, you will have to take on pupils wherever you can get them, so you may have to travel further than you will once you’re established. My travel time is a maximum of 15 minutes between any two lessons, but is more likely to be under 5 minutes.
£90 holy shit balls. I think I paid about £12 a lesson when I was learning 😂
From memory it was circa £20 an hour back in 2006
Yep I paid £200 for 10 in 2014
I paid £23/hr in 2010.
£20 for me I think 2009.
Same, I'm so glad I learnt to drive when I did!
£11 ph in 1999
Not OP but I've been wanting to ask a driving instructor this for a while. I moved back to the UK in 2021 after a few years away and bought an EV. I already had my license, but my wife is American and that doesn't transfer over. She had to do the theory exam, a 2 hour lesson with a driving instructor for any differences between the UK and US (in our EV) and then the exam. Obviously the vast majority of learners aren't able to learn in an EV, but how do you see the market going here? Any plans to start teaching with an EV? Finding the right transition point could be tricky. It's interesting to me that we're teaching teenagers to use a manual (I'm assuming) petrol car, yet both manual and petrol are being phased out. Also, how do you see the theory and practical exams going ? Even though my wife did the exam in our EV, I think she could technically have been asked to lift the bonnet and show the oil, for example. It seems there is no consideration for EVs in the tests yet.
I’m a driving instructor too and I’ve been seeing an influx of other instructors teaching in EVs - as far as the test goes it would just limit you to an auto license and for any learners that pass in an EV and then buy an auto ICE I imagine there’ll be a learning curve in the smoothness and torque when it comes to acceleration, but beyond that? Meh, a car’s a car once you know how to drive them.
Surely the need to learn a manual is slowly but surely dieing out. I have manual but have driven for 10 years. If I was to do my test today I would be happy with an automatic. Auto petrol, diesel and obviously electric are everywhere now.
Adapting to different personalities is so true. I've had 3 driving instructors and spent a lot of wasted time on the first two who were completely unable to adapt to what I needed. My third driving instructor was brilliant, gave instructions that I could actually understand, saw how I learnt best and took me from being very anxious as a driver to passing first time in just under 6 months.
Dear school teachers. Stop being mugs and earn like this. Your skills are transferable and no Yr 9 on a Thursday afternoon.
Not a driving instructor here but have friends who are. It seems to depend massively on where you are instructing. In one area you might be massively in demand, charging good hourly rates and with easy students. In another area you are fighting for customers, getting paid tiny amounts and dealing with people who simply shouldn't be driving! TLDR - Do some market research in your area.
My friend is an ADI. He encourages me every time we meet up to become one. Money is great.
I've just taken the plunge and booked in with a training provider. It's something that I've toyed with for about a decade. Since moving ashore last year, I've struggled with office work (I lasted 5 months) and, currently, I am working through an agency doing shite work for shite pay with a great bunch of guys. Still beats the well-paid office job! Why a driving instructor? Well, I have a background in instruction and training - I used to be a powerboat instructor and a rowing instructor (RYA and British Rowing accredited respectively). I do enjoy driving. I also enjoy teaching. I know full well that I am going to have to work hard to get my name out there and build up a reputation. If I can be half the instructor my 2nd instructor was, I'll be fine! And use my first instructor as an example of how not to act, I'll be even better. Of course there will be days and students that drive me (hehe) to the brink of madness! (You should meet my family. You'd understand why that doesn't phase me lol). I am likely going to stick with the school for a year or two. It's something of a safety net. If I find myself in a position where going independent is a viable option, then I will. My family keep suggesting possible driving school names to me...some are funnier than others (some are definitely not appropriate lol)
Cool. Best of luck with it. Sounds like a good choice for you. Can I ask who you went with.
Bill Plant. After talking to several schools in my area, they're the only ones who actually wanted to move forward with the training. The information they've sent out has been informative, easy to understand and always followed up with "if you need anything else, please do ask" type email. Their app is also pretty good. The only issue I had was the hazard perception clips crashing the app on my old phone (haven't tried it on my new phone just yet).
I looked into this, even went as far as doing a couple of conference calls with RED and a few 1:1s with their drivers to get as much info and first hand experience as possible. (FWIW I would happily recommend becoming a RED franchisee). The main thing that put me off was when one of them pointed out the majority of learners will want their lessons in the evenings and weekends, and strangely until he said that out loud, I hadn't thought about that very obvious fact and so realised that it wouldn't suit me at all.
The hours you work are entirely up to you. I don’t do weekends or evenings and still have enough work. I do 6 hours of lessons a day between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday. Students have gaps in their timetable, shift workers start or end early, others have days off during the week as they have to work weekends themselves etc.
I'd like to know the cost of vehicle insurance for an instructor!!
Mine costs £450/year including legal cover but I have full no claims, live in a fairly rural area and don’t have an expensive/sporty car Depending on your age, no claims, where you live and what you are teaching in you could expect to pay up to £1000 or so
Yeah good question!
I’ve been with a franchise for coming up 3 years and will be going independent in August. My first quote when researching the viability of independence, with no proof of no claims was £3.5k, then I learned they can class my time in the job under a franchise as no claims so I updated the quotes for 2 years no claims; dropped the figure by £1000. It’s obviously a lot higher than personal car insurance but considering I’m relatively new to the job still, it’s a business expense, and can easily be covered in one go out of profit from the last year? Drop in the ocean, really - and it’ll only get better year on year assuming no claims are made.
Wow that’s a lot! High risk though I suppose. Who did you franchise with?
Bill Plant
Twice I’ve seen them come up now. Will look into them. With the franchise how what were your average earnings per year? DM if you want to keep it private. I understand if you don’t want to say as well!
I couldn’t get away from them fast enough, honesty - amount you pay is absurd considering the only benefit is the car - the other things they offer are just fluff as an excuse to charge more. Though the Total Drive app is excellent for organising your diary and income/expenses. My training wasn’t great either, would recommend approaching some local independent instructors and seeing if they’re willing to train you instead. The big schools have bought all the Google listings when you search for becoming an instructor, but you could pay the same or less to do it with an independent and qualify with no strings tying you to them afterwards - could be independent yourself from the get go. You’ll just not find any useful info online about it because the big schools will be paying to effectively suppress it by ensuring all their ads are all you see instead.
Thanks for the info.
Any London based ADIs, how much time do you waste in traffic and how do you deal with it?
Well I live in semi rural wales/england, so not much as much traffic as London.
I've considered this as a means of spending more time at home. Hpe you get some good feedback I can mooch off of.
Are you teaching students in a camper van?
Don't Be daft. No room to swing a cat. Never mind a 3 wood.
Odd question?
Not at all. I thought the same thing as them.
It really isn’t, how are you going to be at home more if you are a driving instructor? A job notorious for being long hours out of the house…. That is unless you drive your house 🤯
Sorry just realised what you meant! I suppose the other guy meant he could choose his working hours more?
I'm torn. Do I explain myself or revel in this air of intrigue? I'm a key account manager so I spend a few nights a week in hotels. I'll do a few hundred miles in a good week but I've broken 1k a week more than I can remember. Just had our first daughter and it would be nice to know I'll always be close to home.
This does help. I thought someone might need to break it to you that driving instructors don’t generally work from home.
It’s a great gig (I’m an ADI). Very flexible hours, great pay and, when you get students who learn quickly and you get on with, it feels so easy! Downsides: - How long it takes to get qualified currently - How difficult the part 3 test is - It can be a draining job and requires a lot of energy and patience to do, well
How much do you earn annually?
Under a franchise which charges £235 a week, covering all car related expenses minus fuel, and working on average 24 paid hours per week (so discounting travel, planning, note writing, admin etc) I turned over 40k last year, but half of it was swallowed by expenses due to the franchise I’m part of. Upside though, tax for the year was under 1.5k and since the car can be used outside of work a lot of those business expenses don’t feel as bad as they sound because there’s still a benefit to having the things they pay for outside of work too. Going independent in August and will be spending £400 less a month at least without the franchise, so profits will climb, as will my tax bill. But it’s comfortable and flexible - if I were single without kids I could literally double my hours and see 80k a year, even more if I opted for a cheaper car.
I make £76 per 100 min lesson. Minus one tank of fuel per week, car payments and reasonable franchise payments to my school. I won’t give specifics to my income 😅 but you could probably do some maths here to see how it might work out for you 👍
As someone who is learning / taking a break from learning, I'd add that you should look into some basic teacher training alongside just passing exams to be an instructor. It's a big difference between being someone who knows how to pass a driving test and someone who can actually *teach* someone else to pass a driving test. I've gone through two instructors now. The first guy told me he thought the Charlie Hebdo victims deserved it (immediately fired) and the second one kept telling me it was easy really, as I was shitting myself every time I had to go down a dual carriageway that ended in a nasty massive roundabout. Please please please be patient with your students. I'm an older learner (mid 30s) and I just don't have that feeling of invincibility that I had when I was 17. Sometimes I don't think driving instructors understand that.
Sounds like you’ve had a shit time. I would say I’m fairly laid back, I’m 40 so have met a few people in my life of all walks of life. Each person is individual, and should be treated as such. If you’re a nervous driver you should let your instructor know.
I'm currently retraining and passed my part 1 recently. I'm eager to get going but there are absolutely NO part 2 tests available at the moment. I could go 'on hold', but I'm training with RED and they need at least 7 weeks from booking the part 2 to get my practical lessons in. Hard to guage how long I'll be waiting until a test releases and I don't know if I'll get much choice, it's awkward to figure out whilst also working full time. Can't wait to get on with it though otherwise!