How to become a driving instructor

waterboy99 · 07-11-2008 04:00PM #1

Im thinking of becoming a driving instructor and i know you have to pass the ADI exams. Im working in I.T. at the mo and want a career change that allows me freedom, meeting people and to be out! Just wondering is it a good business to get into????

timmywex · 07-11-2008 08:58PM

I would reckon its hard to get started in, you have to have some friends willing to do lessons and then them to recommend you and all that!

If your good you'll get busy fast enough as word spreads

But be ready for obscure hours and weekends to suit different people.

2qk4u · 07-11-2008 09:35PM

Driving school are like many business at the moment, Very Quiet.. It can take a long time to get busy. Just because you want to be an instructor does not mean you will be a good instructor.Its not for everyone...

macroman · 07-11-2008 11:26PM

The guy I use said it can vary from time to time, last week (during Midterm) he was working from 8am-10pm basically non-stop. But other days he said he could only have two or three lessons/pre-tests booked in. But word of mouth definitely boosts business according to him, especially amongst young people.

RedzDrivingScho · 08-11-2008 12:13PM

2qk4u wrote: »

Driving school are like many business at the moment, Very Quiet.. It can take a long time to get busy. Just because you want to be an instructor does not mean you will be a good instructor.Its not for everyone...

this is a very accurate description of the situation at the moment......

I can help you with information regarding what is required if you'd like...??

If you want to pm me contact details I'll be glad to advise you as best I can....

Macca206 · 09-11-2008 01:37PM

To become a driving instructor the best advice I could give is to avoid the companies which charge a few thousand euro to train you. If you study for the adi on your own and pass part 1 then it shows a willingness to learn and your commitment to the job. Once you have passed part 1 by studying on your own take a couple of lessons (pm me if need the name of instructor i used if you are based in south dublin) to get part 2. Once you have got this far it will be into 2009 so you should then contact schools directly and see if you can work as a trainee. although some schools may be quiet things weill get busier in 2009 as there will be less instructors available as not all who currently work will have done the adi exams/passed the exams.

Finally just work at it part time to start to see if you like it .

DrivingMad · 09-11-2008 10:08PM

gulp....got my adi part three in 10 days....

J_R · 10-11-2008 01:04AM

DrivingMad wrote: »

gulp....got my adi part three in 10 days....

Best of Luck.

Do not give him one of these so called "pre-test" keep reading about on here and you'll be fine.

javaboy · 10-11-2008 09:40AM

As was said earlier it's one of those businesses that's very hard to break into as people expect recommendations or an affiliation to a well known school. My advice is to find some nearly retired self-employed instructor and do a deal with him/her for their overflow bookings. e.g. you give him a few quid for every referral.

driverite · 15-11-2008 12:03PM

I hear Ism in Ranelagh are hiring part time instuctors. They provide everything for you and pay you a hourly rate (not a great rate i hear, but training is provided)

But it might give you an oppurtionity to see do you like the business and if you want to do it long term and spend money training.

Old Gill · 15-11-2008 04:19PM

driverite wrote: »

I hear Ism in Ranelagh are hiring part time instuctors. They provide everything for you and pay you a hourly rate (not a great rate i hear, but training is provided)

But it might give you an oppurtionity to see do you like the business and if you want to do it long term and spend money training.

they charge for their training.. €1600 the last I heard

driverite · 15-11-2008 09:18PM

Nope they are not charging for the training, who is going to pay €1600 to work part time.

Its ism in ranelagh not there dorset street hq, They are looking for part time instructors for Tallaght and Dun Laoghaire. I think the guys name is frank who runs that office,

You might try loadzjobs website because i know they advertised in the Herald

paddyland · 12-12-2008 02:34AM

Macca206 wrote: »

To become a driving instructor the best advice I could give is to avoid the companies which charge a few thousand euro to train you. If you study for the adi on your own and pass part 1 then it shows a willingness to learn and your commitment to the job. Once you have passed part 1 by studying on your own take a couple of lessons (pm me if need the name of instructor i used if you are based in south dublin) to get part 2. Once you have got this far it will be into 2009 so you should then contact schools directly and see if you can work as a trainee. although some schools may be quiet things weill get busier in 2009 as there will be less instructors available as not all who currently work will have done the adi exams/passed the exams.

Finally just work at it part time to start to see if you like it .

Okay so I made a grevious mistake.

I applied to a well known driving school as a trainee instructor. I paid €1500 for training, which turned out to mean hanging round their office for an hour or two, sitting in the back of a car as someone else gave a lesson, sitting on a pc for a few hours dossing over theory test questions, drinking tea, reading car magazines, and a day and a bit spent with a very good instructor who sharpened up my driving skills. €1500 paid for four days, the whole lot could have been done in one.

Taken in on the promise of plenty of work, I was given an average of just twelve hours a WEEK lessons, spread out over the whole of Leinster, which meant spending twice as long sitting in the car unpaid as actual paid lesson time. I got two other full time job offers at the same time, which I turned down, thinking the driving instruction was the better option. More fool me. The salary was very low, considering I was spending twice as long driving thirty miles or more between lessons. Nearly half my pitiful salary went back into the fuel tank.

The whole emphasis from start to finish was money, money, money, get people booked in for as many lessons as possible, and I was put under enormous pressure, with phone calls every day and I in the middle of a lesson with a pupil, demanding I press them and press them for more money, and an aggressive and vaguely threatening telephone manner. I am a brand new trainee instructor, I am trying to put together a plan for teaching lessons, I am facing rather nerve wracking exams, I am trying to be professional in my new job in front of fee paying pupils, and far from encouraging and helping me, I am put under this constant aggressive pressure.

After just a few weeks, my confidence broke under the pressure, and coupled with the serious lack of wages, I left. What an introduction to driving instruction as a career! I met a guy afterwards who went to Fás, and got a grant towards becoming a driving instructor! Life is a learning experience...

tomcollins97 · 16-12-2008 12:08PM

Realistically, as a self employed instructor how much can you expect to make a month?

SteQ · 03-01-2009 01:35AM

Once you are established you can earn pre tax € 1,000 per week. How ever that is not a constant some weeks you are up and some weeks you are down. Being a driving instructor means self employment, as a self employed person you have to understand that it will take time to get things up and running my advise is as always, get as many facts about what you are looking to do before you do it, and make an informed decision from that.

SteQ · 03-01-2009 01:46AM

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience with a training school however we are not all the same one of the first things we asses is if a person is eligible for funding either from fas or social welfare, had you come to us for training you would have found it a lot different and more enjoyable.

Steve Quantum

paddyland wrote: »

Okay so I made a grevious mistake.

I applied to a well known driving school as a trainee instructor. I paid €1500 for training, which turned out to mean hanging round their office for an hour or two, sitting in the back of a car as someone else gave a lesson, sitting on a pc for a few hours dossing over theory test questions, drinking tea, reading car magazines, and a day and a bit spent with a very good instructor who sharpened up my driving skills. €1500 paid for four days, the whole lot could have been done in one.

Taken in on the promise of plenty of work, I was given an average of just twelve hours a WEEK lessons, spread out over the whole of Leinster, which meant spending twice as long sitting in the car unpaid as actual paid lesson time. I got two other full time job offers at the same time, which I turned down, thinking the driving instruction was the better option. More fool me. The salary was very low, considering I was spending twice as long driving thirty miles or more between lessons. Nearly half my pitiful salary went back into the fuel tank.

The whole emphasis from start to finish was money, money, money, get people booked in for as many lessons as possible, and I was put under enormous pressure, with phone calls every day and I in the middle of a lesson with a pupil, demanding I press them and press them for more money, and an aggressive and vaguely threatening telephone manner. I am a brand new trainee instructor, I am trying to put together a plan for teaching lessons, I am facing rather nerve wracking exams, I am trying to be professional in my new job in front of fee paying pupils, and far from encouraging and helping me, I am put under this constant aggressive pressure.

After just a few weeks, my confidence broke under the pressure, and coupled with the serious lack of wages, I left. What an introduction to driving instruction as a career! I met a guy afterwards who went to Fás, and got a grant towards becoming a driving instructor! Life is a learning experience...

J_R · 04-01-2009 08:15AM

waterboy99 wrote: »

Im thinking of becoming a driving instructor and i know you have to pass the ADI exams. Im working in I.T. at the mo and want a career change that allows me freedom, meeting people and to be out! Just wondering is it a good business to get into????

My advice, do some serious market research in your area first. Here in Ireland the recession has not yet fully hit the driving instructor industry because of the law changes forcing the extra people to do the test and the drive to reduce the test waiting times.

At present, in the UK the ONLY people in the driving industry who are making any money are those who are training instructors.

After training the newly qualified instructor has no customers/business.

Driving schools in the UK, even well established ones, are being forced to offer silly introductory offers. Like first lessons free, or 10 lessons for £99.00 etc etc.

Research first.

ian_m · 13-01-2009 01:29PM

I got quoted 1100 euro for driving instructor lessons lasting a total of 15hours spread over any number of weeks.

DrivingMad wrote: »

gulp....got my adi part three in 10 days....

How do I go about starting this?

Macca206 wrote: »

Finally just work at it part time to start to see if you like it .

My current job would allow me to work part time therefore I believe I could get a feel for the job before making any big decision. Who might employ me on a part time basis?

thanks

DriveSkill · 13-01-2009 01:54PM

@Ian_m - what exactly do you mean by 15 hours of 'driving instructor lessons' ? I'd be careful that it is not just 'driving lessons' at a minimum you need to be using someone who is an ADI and will cover all 3 parts of the ADI exam process.

The RSA ADI (Approved Driving Instructor) system is still in its infancy and they are just about starting to officially sanction training organisations to give training on the 3 part exams. This training will follow a very definite syllabus and is much longer than 15 hours - probably will cost much more than 1100 also

Anyway my main point is there is no current requirement on you to do any specific training before applying to become an ADI. Obvisouly you will need to do some study and your driving standard and knowledge on teaching techniques etc will need to be up to scratch but you can be 'self taught'.

The application form for the ADI is on the RSA website along with lots of reading material and other 'suggested reading material' in the form of books which you will need to buy. Each part of the ADI exam process is priced separately : €150 for Part 1 Theory Test and then €200 each for Part 2 (the driving test) and Part 3 (the teaching test). If you fail any part of it you need to re-sit and pay the fee again so best advice is prepare well!! The whole thing will take a minimum of about 3-4 months to complete as you have to pass each stage before applying for the next.

Assuming you pass all three stages you pay another €250 (I think) to register with the RSA and then you can legally (coming into force from April 30th 2009) teach people how to drive and charge them for it.

I think you would find it hard to get any part time job as an instructor with any of the bigger schools without prior experience but I could be wrong. Main thing is you only have until April 30th to get some experience and see if its the job for you - after that you will need to go through the full ADI process which is expensive and a waste if you then decide its not for you.

Declan.

Firedance · 13-01-2009 02:17PM

paddyland wrote: »

Okay so I made a grevious mistake.

I applied to a well known driving school as a trainee instructor. I paid €1500 for training, which turned out to mean hanging round their office for an hour or two, sitting in the back of a car as someone else gave a lesson, sitting on a pc for a few hours dossing over theory test questions, drinking tea, reading car magazines, and a day and a bit spent with a very good instructor who sharpened up my driving skills. €1500 paid for four days, the whole lot could have been done in one.

Taken in on the promise of plenty of work, I was given an average of just twelve hours a WEEK lessons, spread out over the whole of Leinster, which meant spending twice as long sitting in the car unpaid as actual paid lesson time. I got two other full time job offers at the same time, which I turned down, thinking the driving instruction was the better option. More fool me. The salary was very low, considering I was spending twice as long driving thirty miles or more between lessons. Nearly half my pitiful salary went back into the fuel tank.

The whole emphasis from start to finish was money, money, money, get people booked in for as many lessons as possible, and I was put under enormous pressure, with phone calls every day and I in the middle of a lesson with a pupil, demanding I press them and press them for more money, and an aggressive and vaguely threatening telephone manner. I am a brand new trainee instructor, I am trying to put together a plan for teaching lessons, I am facing rather nerve wracking exams, I am trying to be professional in my new job in front of fee paying pupils, and far from encouraging and helping me, I am put under this constant aggressive pressure.

After just a few weeks, my confidence broke under the pressure, and coupled with the serious lack of wages, I left. What an introduction to driving instruction as a career! I met a guy afterwards who went to Fás, and got a grant towards becoming a driving instructor! Life is a learning experience...

The same thing happend to my bf last september, of course there is no way to get your money back

, in hindsight we should have looked into this much better but really these cowboys should not be allowed to get away with it. I know that all schools are not the same but I would agree that you should not pay for any training and do plenty of reseach before committing yourself.

Old Gill · 13-01-2009 02:33PM

SteQ wrote: »

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience with a training school however we are not all the same one of the first things we asses is if a person is eligible for funding either from fas or social welfare, had you come to us for training you would have found it a lot different and more enjoyable.

Steve Quantum

do Quantum not charge 2.5k for training (if they dont have FAS funding)? I would expect 99% of people to be able to train as an ADI for cheaper than this by a combination of studying for part 1, some lessons for part 2 and gain experience to help with part 3..2.5k is extortionate IMHO

ian_m · 13-01-2009 02:40PM

DriveSkill wrote: »

@Ian_m - what exactly do you mean by 15 hours of 'driving instructor lessons' ?

15 hours of lessons to in preparation to become a driving instructor.
http://www.passmytest.ie/join.html

Old Gill · 13-01-2009 02:48PM

ian_m wrote: »

I got quoted 1100 euro for driving instructor lessons lasting a total of 15hours spread over any number of weeks.

How do I go about starting this?

My current job would allow me to work part time therefore I believe I could get a feel for the job before making any big decision. Who might employ me on a part time basis?

thanks

If you have passed parts 1 and 2 (which do not need a great deal of trainign for just your own hard work) and write to all schools in Dublin you will be inundated with offers to start work part time.

DriveSkill · 13-01-2009 03:23PM

ian_m wrote: »

15 hours of lessons to in preparation to become a driving instructor.
http://www.passmytest.ie/join.html

I dont know anything about that company so cant really comment on their service however I would still re-iterate the advice to do a lot of research and also know what exact training you are paying for. The site does not mention that they are an RSA approved trainer nor that their instructors are ADIs but perhaps they are.

One point that did strike me as a bit misleading on the website was the comment about "No Overheads i.e. Gas, ESB Rent" - True in the most part for the ones they listed - but what about your vehicle, Petrol, Road Tax, Insurance, Service Costs, Dual Controls etc I dont think you will find any instructor that would agree that the business has 'No Overheads'

Also suggesting 70K+ per year is VERY VERY optimistic and unrealistic in my opinion, even at 40 euro an hour you would need to do approx 33.5 hours a week EVERY WEEK OF THE YEAR to make 70K. Also remember that is gross, you then have your expenses and overheads (i.e. Petrol etc) and then you have income tax.

I hope you dont think I'm being negative or trying to put you off doing that training - I'm not, it could be really good and worthwhile. However do your research, try find someone who has done that course before and get their opinion also read all the info on the RSA ADI site to ensure you are fully informed on the current and future legislation plans.

SteQ · 22-01-2009 12:34AM

Quantum do charge 2.5k for training and with a 100% pass rate for the stage 3 exams alone, may be it is worth every penny. Better than paying over and over again for more training and exam fees.

Old Gill wrote: »

do Quantum not charge 2.5k for training (if they dont have FAS funding)? I would expect 99% of people to be able to train as an ADI for cheaper than this by a combination of studying for part 1, some lessons for part 2 and gain experience to help with part 3..2.5k is extortionate IMHO

Old Gill · 22-01-2009 09:02AM

SteQ wrote: »

Quantum do charge 2.5k for training and with a 100% pass rate for the stage 3 exams alone, may be it is worth every penny. Better than paying over and over again for more training and exam fees.

with a 90% pass rate for all 3 stages anyway thats an impressive statistic but not surprising either. What im saying is 2.5k to become fully trained..there are much much more economic ways to become an ADI than on this course such as the way I outlined in earlier posts. anyone who wants to become an ADI can do so for well undewr 2.5k FACT.

(also on a separate point your figures for making 70k a year simply dont add up and are misleading to any prospective instructor if they are led to believe them)

brian076 · 22-01-2009 11:20AM

Old Gill wrote: »

with a 90% pass rate for all 3 stages anyway thats an impressive statistic but not surprising either. What im saying is 2.5k to become fully trained..there are much much more economic ways to become an ADI than on this course such as the way I outlined in earlier posts. anyone who wants to become an ADI can do so for well undewr 2.5k FACT.

(also on a separate point your figures for making 70k a year simply dont add up and are misleading to any prospective instructor if they are led to believe them)

I fully agree with you, there's plenty of excellent training material available on the internet, and I'd advise anyone interested to check out some of the ADI Part 3 dvd's on ebay.
2.5k seems too much to pay for this course and I doubt if it constitutes value for money. I also doubt if any instructor in Ireland will make 70k this year or next. Anyone entering the business from today, would be doing well to gross 35-40k this year.

castles · 22-01-2009 11:59AM

hi waterboy

i know a very good instructor that does a course for becoming a driving instructor.its a week long course that teaches you everything you need to know for giving lessons,pre tests and all parts of the adi exams.its a week long course and you wont b tied into any contracts to work for little or nothing like the big driving schools that are doing the courses.infact he would pass you on work to get you started.if you want his driving school name.number send me a pm.

SteQ · 22-01-2009 12:34PM

I not saying you cannot get trained for less than 2500k, its the same as saying you can buy driving lessons for 25 euro an hour or 40 euro. but then are you going to get the best quality on both prices. with regards to your statement of 70k for potential earnings they are related to cost and hours worked as brian says we are working in difficult times however the industry is undergoing major changes at the moment and it will be interesting to see how everything is after 1 May

Old Gill wrote: »

with a 90% pass rate for all 3 stages anyway thats an impressive statistic but not surprising either. What im saying is 2.5k to become fully trained..there are much much more economic ways to become an ADI than on this course such as the way I outlined in earlier posts. anyone who wants to become an ADI can do so for well undewr 2.5k FACT.

(also on a separate point your figures for making 70k a year simply dont add up and are misleading to any prospective instructor if they are led to believe them)

betterdrive.net · 22-01-2009 03:42PM

SteQ wrote: »

I not saying you cannot get trained for less than 2500k, its the same as saying you can buy driving lessons for 25 euro an hour or 40 euro. but then are you going to get the best quality on both prices. with regards to your statement of 70k for potential earnings they are related to cost and hours worked as brian says we are working in difficult times however the industry is undergoing major changes at the moment and it will be interesting to see how everything is after 1 May

Stephen with all due respect. You own Quantum and this is just advertising on your part. I would ask the mods to review your actions as advertising is not allowed in the forums.:mad:

SteQ · 22-01-2009 04:16PM

Hi Steven.

Yes I do own Quantum as you own Betterdrive and with all due respect i do not have our company as a login name. All i am trying to do is answer questions from my perspective is that not what forums are for?

betterdrive.net wrote: »

Stephen with all due respect. You own Quantum and this is just advertising on your part. I would ask the mods to review your actions as advertising is not allowed in the forums.:mad:

How to become a driving instructor

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