How do you go about becoming a driver instructor?

phonejacker

pros and cons of the job?thanks

loobylou

http://rsa.ie/en/Utility/Driving-Instructors1/Becoming-an-ADI/

phonejacker

thanks i just though of the rsa website after i posted my question. is there a high failure rate in the driving instructor business, by which i mean is it very difficult for beginner driver instructor to attract business there way?

si_guru

phonejacker wrote: »

pros and cons of the job?thanks

You will work every lunch, evening and weekend.

MascotDec85

phonejacker wrote: »

thanks i just though of the rsa website after i posted my question. is there a high failure rate in the driving instructor business, by which i mean is it very difficult for beginner driver instructor to attract business there way?

I'll be a year in business next week.
TBH I found that I increased business pretty quickly. The first few months I ticked over then the bad weather hit and I did virtually nothing for 6 weeks.
When the new year arrived I went on from strength to strength. I'm finding it hard to fit pupils in and have had to send pupils to other instructors at times. The last few weeks I've been working from 8 or 9am til 9 or 10pm. That's the downside, you have to take the lessons when you can, grab food on to go etc etc. It's a mentally exhausting job at times.

On the plus side you meet all manner of people, have great craic and it's really rewarding. I love doing it!!

Success is dependant on how good you are and the rapport you build up with your students. It also depends on how well you market yourself. For the first 2 months I put leaflets out all over Meath, I haven't put them round since last October.

There are a lot of instructors out there who are very quiet as well.

Being a driving instructor isn't for everyone. You need patience in abundance for a start and are a part-time instructor, part-time psychologist

Paarse Krokodil

Like a lot of things the government has really locked down this profession in recent years. So you'll need quite a high initial investment, training and everything. All the training and complying with regulations costs a lot of money

It wasn't so bad for those who were already instructors because they were given time to comply and were allowed make money as an instructor while they did but it has become a real uphill struggle for anyone wanting to start off

CiniO

MascotDec85 wrote: »

I'll be a year in business next week.

How difficult was it to pass the tests for instructor?
I was thinking about doing it, but what I found out there are three tests.
1. Theory test - easy-peasy as it's just theory which everyone can learn.
2. Driving test - I wouldn't be too much worried about that part as well, as I love driving and I think I'm quite good at it.
3. Instructing test - That seems to be the worst, as pretty much you have to prove to the examiner that you can instruct learners, while you didn't really played the real role of the instructor yet. (you've never been teaching a learner). For me even worse, as English is not my first language.

That's why so far I didn't decide to do it.

MascotDec85

CiniO wrote: »

How difficult was it to pass the tests for instructor?
I was thinking about doing it, but what I found out there are three tests.
1. Theory test - easy-peasy as it's just theory which everyone can learn.
2. Driving test - I wouldn't be too much worried about that part as well, as I love driving and I think I'm quite good at it.
3. Instructing test - That seems to be the worst, as pretty much you have to prove to the examiner that you can instruct learners, while you didn't really played the real role of the instructor yet. (you've never been teaching a learner). For me even worse, as English is not my first language.

That's why so far I didn't decide to do it.

I coped with the tests fairly well. This was down to the training I received.
Part 1 was ok, I went over test after test and studied hard for it.

Part 2, I've always been a pretty good driver, it came naturally to me at 17 but there were still a few things I needed to tweak to ensure I was as prepared as possible. The hardest thing for me to adjust to was sticking to speed limits. By my own admission, I had a heavy right foot, never in built up areas but elsewhere.

Part 3. If I tried to do this on my own I couldn't have. There's a good bit involved in it. Role Play is a big part of it and you need a trainer who will throw different scenarios at you to see how you cope. Eg. He once went to go round a roundabout the wrong way. I got some fright I thought that would never happen in reality. How wrong was I? About 6 months ago a pupil nearly managed!!!