Hey Darren. I am considering change of career and have, from time to time, thought about driving instructor... Interested to learn how you got into it, how you find it?
Happy to talk about my journey
I decided to become a driving instructor in 2020, during COVID, I had two life threatening health issues in 2020 which started with a cancer diagnosis in April and then followed in May with a two week admission to hospital with severe COVID
It gave me a wake up call and made me look at work life balance, being a driving instructor seems a great opportunity to be able to fully control my working hours and still have a fulfilling career.
I started training at the start of 2021, with AA driving school, I had to take three tests
A theory test
A driving test (similar to standard but stricter)
And the third is being observed delivering a lesson (this is the hardest part)
I qualified in July 2022 and seriously haven't looked back
I have gone from work 45-50 hours a week in a service department to now working 18-25 hours a week, I work delivering normal on road lessons 4 days a week and then I do a few Sundays a month for young driver training where 12-16 year olds can drive off road in carparks to gain some experience before they turn 17
Financially I'm no worse off than I was in the motor trade but I have so much more time with my children, and complete flexibility of when I work.
It does have some drawbacks like no guaranteed income no paid sick or holidays and having to deal with your own pension and accounts but for me the plus's outweigh the negatives.
If it's a serious consideration then I'll go into much more detail talking through options like being independent or signing to a franchise and potential hourly charge rate for lessons
