Anyone a driving instructor? Franchised or independant?
Discussion
Howdy folks.
Been soul searching for a while now and current job (parts supervisor, main dealer) isn't for me - I've enjoyed it for the past 9 years but it's not something I can see myself doing for the rest of my life.
I've thought about a few jobs that I could go into, but one that's popped up and piqued my interest is driving instructor.
Has anyone been through the training recently, and did you do it through a franchise (AA/BSM or Red) or go it alone?
For those that have gone via the franchise, how have you found it? What sort of franchise fees are involved in the day to day operation? (presuming it's a case of car costs + franchise costs + advertising subsidy etc etc?(
Cheers in advance,
Tink
Been soul searching for a while now and current job (parts supervisor, main dealer) isn't for me - I've enjoyed it for the past 9 years but it's not something I can see myself doing for the rest of my life.
I've thought about a few jobs that I could go into, but one that's popped up and piqued my interest is driving instructor.
Has anyone been through the training recently, and did you do it through a franchise (AA/BSM or Red) or go it alone?
For those that have gone via the franchise, how have you found it? What sort of franchise fees are involved in the day to day operation? (presuming it's a case of car costs + franchise costs + advertising subsidy etc etc?(
Cheers in advance,
Tink
My wife is an instructor and has been for over 14 years.
The franchises are "expensive" and on target earnings are for a 7 day week and working every hour you can. You rely on the company to supply you with pupils, but you can also get your own by word of mouth.
Not all franchansises take on pink badge instructors.
You pay a fee each week and you would be best ringing them all up to get an idea of whatthey charge as there are a few add ons.
To do the training yourself you'll ideally need an ADI who can coach you through the process.
Those that offer 10 lessons for £99, that is all you get as an instructor too.
Ank any more questions if you want
The franchises are "expensive" and on target earnings are for a 7 day week and working every hour you can. You rely on the company to supply you with pupils, but you can also get your own by word of mouth.
Not all franchansises take on pink badge instructors.
You pay a fee each week and you would be best ringing them all up to get an idea of whatthey charge as there are a few add ons.
To do the training yourself you'll ideally need an ADI who can coach you through the process.
Those that offer 10 lessons for £99, that is all you get as an instructor too.
Ank any more questions if you want
Edited by anothernameitist on Monday 21st March 13:49
She started off with BSM went indie. Took some time off went to AA and a local franchise for women only and is now indie again.
Think from the above you can see where the value is! Although for starting off you might be best going the franchise route to establish your self, doubt it will be cheap though and read ther small print. A franchise only benefits on and its not the instructor, having said that they are running a business too.
Until recently she had small hatches a C3 citroen a Suzuki Swift and a Toyotas Yaris.
She is now driving a Skoda Rapid. You need a car with good vision and no blind spots.
Think from the above you can see where the value is! Although for starting off you might be best going the franchise route to establish your self, doubt it will be cheap though and read ther small print. A franchise only benefits on and its not the instructor, having said that they are running a business too.
Until recently she had small hatches a C3 citroen a Suzuki Swift and a Toyotas Yaris.
She is now driving a Skoda Rapid. You need a car with good vision and no blind spots.
I don't have any direct experience other than the occasional client over the years. The common theme being they've never got any money.
There are only so many hours in a day. Rates are price sensitive. Seasonality factors too. Add in paying a franchise fee and I understand why they've never got money for me.
There are only so many hours in a day. Rates are price sensitive. Seasonality factors too. Add in paying a franchise fee and I understand why they've never got money for me.
Father in law is one, did his training with the aa about 5ish years ago and stayed with them for a year then went alone. With the aa you obviously get a brand new car, I think they were changed every 6 months. He had a choice of focus or fiesta, obviously paying more for the focus. I think the franchise costs including car etc worked out at quite a lot, he now uses a Citroen ds3 which he changes after 2 years.
Always seems to be busy though, he had to reduce lessons from 2 hours to 1.5 hours for a while to fit everybody in, not sure what he's doing now. Trouble is as far as I can see it, prices don't seem to have gone up over the years. Round here it seems to be about £20 an hour, I'm sure it was about £18 when I learnt in 2001. Costs, fuel especially have gone up dramatically since then.
Always seems to be busy though, he had to reduce lessons from 2 hours to 1.5 hours for a while to fit everybody in, not sure what he's doing now. Trouble is as far as I can see it, prices don't seem to have gone up over the years. Round here it seems to be about £20 an hour, I'm sure it was about £18 when I learnt in 2001. Costs, fuel especially have gone up dramatically since then.
I just can't see how you can make it worthwhile. I'd be interested to know from those involved how much their REAL earnings are per annum.
Max income is say around £20/h. Is it possible to do a 40 hour week? Most lessons are surely evenings and weekends. So say £800/week income for unsociable hours. 48 weeks per annum, that's £38,400 gross. Is this correct?
Then take out costs. Car lease/purchase. Insurance, maintenance, tax. Buisness insurances and other costs. Fuel! How much is all this?
Max income is say around £20/h. Is it possible to do a 40 hour week? Most lessons are surely evenings and weekends. So say £800/week income for unsociable hours. 48 weeks per annum, that's £38,400 gross. Is this correct?
Then take out costs. Car lease/purchase. Insurance, maintenance, tax. Buisness insurances and other costs. Fuel! How much is all this?
megaphone said:
I just can't see how you can make it worthwhile. I'd be interested to know from those involved how much their REAL earnings are per annum.
Max income is say around £20/h. Is it possible to do a 40 hour week? Most lessons are surely evenings and weekends. So say £800/week income for unsociable hours. 48 weeks per annum, that's £38,400 gross. Is this correct?
Then take out costs. Car lease/purchase. Insurance, maintenance, tax. Buisness insurances and other costs. Fuel! How much is all this?
I suspect it mainly depends on where in the country you are. Lesson rates for me are at £31/hour and there's some instructors / driving schools that are slightly higher. If you're doing 40 hours of lessons then you're onto a 50 - 60 hour week by the time you add in travel time, admin time etc. Again depending on your area and amount of competition, 40 hours should be achievable - I'm doing that on a quiet week.Max income is say around £20/h. Is it possible to do a 40 hour week? Most lessons are surely evenings and weekends. So say £800/week income for unsociable hours. 48 weeks per annum, that's £38,400 gross. Is this correct?
Then take out costs. Car lease/purchase. Insurance, maintenance, tax. Buisness insurances and other costs. Fuel! How much is all this?
Yes some instructors in some areas will struggle, when I was looking into this because the rates are higher then it was more viable for me to bring home a reasonable profit / income. Not having this as the sole income helps take some of the pressure off - I'm not sure I would want the fluctuations and lack of guaranteed income if I was the only source of income in the household.
Tinkerton said:
Howdy folks.
Been soul searching for a while now and current job (parts supervisor, main dealer) isn't for me - I've enjoyed it for the past 9 years but it's not something I can see myself doing for the rest of my life.
I've thought about a few jobs that I could go into, but one that's popped up and piqued my interest is driving instructor.
Has anyone been through the training recently, and did you do it through a franchise (AA/BSM or Red) or go it alone?
For those that have gone via the franchise, how have you found it? What sort of franchise fees are involved in the day to day operation? (presuming it's a case of car costs + franchise costs + advertising subsidy etc etc?(
Cheers in advance,
Tink
Have been through the training last year, the qualification process is difficult. Do not underestimate the time you will need to spend to get through this. Part 1, Theory Test and Hazard Perception, is straightforward provided you get the right training materials. Part 2 is your own driving test where you're allowed 6 driving faults, have to complete all the manoeuvres and marked at a higher standard than the L test. Part 3 is the scary part, the instructional ability test. This is where the majority of people fail - pass rate for Part 3 is around 33%.Been soul searching for a while now and current job (parts supervisor, main dealer) isn't for me - I've enjoyed it for the past 9 years but it's not something I can see myself doing for the rest of my life.
I've thought about a few jobs that I could go into, but one that's popped up and piqued my interest is driving instructor.
Has anyone been through the training recently, and did you do it through a franchise (AA/BSM or Red) or go it alone?
For those that have gone via the franchise, how have you found it? What sort of franchise fees are involved in the day to day operation? (presuming it's a case of car costs + franchise costs + advertising subsidy etc etc?(
Cheers in advance,
Tink
Once you have passed Part 2, you have a couple of options. Go straight into training and take the Part 3 test and get the ADI green badge, or do minimum 40 hours of training and then apply for a trainee badge (PDI). This allows you to charge for lessons and gain experience before taking the Part 3 test. Two options for the PDI badge - further 20 hours training or 20% of lessons supervised by an ADI. I went with the supervision option when I was on my PDI badge and found that to be very useful.
Given the amount of training involved, the ads from the likes of AA / BSM / RED all seem great but there's strings attached (as always). You can pay up front for training to get a "discount" but then you're not guaranteed to pass at the end. Find a good pay as you go trainer / company and you'll probably end up paying less because the training will be better from the outset so you may need less hours (in theory). I think I had 15 hours for Part 2 (seems a lot maybe, but then I passed that with 0 driving faults) and 45 hours in total, with about 38 charged by the company as the trainer always over-ran his lessons to make it more affordable, for Part 3 training.
My training, and franchise, is a local independent firm with about 15 instructors. Franchise fee is £300/month which will drop in years 2 and 3 but I have provided my own car. This is a reasonable fee given the support and pupil introductions I receive which is essential in the first year as you build up your reputation. With the AA etc. advertising up to £5000 of fees back, makes me wonder what they're charging in the first place!
If you don't have a local independent company who are willing to take on new instructors, then LDC and RED do appear to be a better option than AA/BSM. Then again there's certainly a good number of AA cars going around here so they must be doing something right.
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