Career change at 50. Considering getting driving instructor qualification

bigmike20vt

bigmike20vt

bigmike20vt

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23 May 2006
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Hi
after working on the same campus since 1998 my contract comes to an end in 12 months time and wont be renewed. It is such a specialised role that unless the planets align i am going to need to look at diversifying.

I absolutely plan to retire at 60 so looking at something to tide me over for 10 years........ a HGV licence crossed my mind however this is expensive to get and whilst drivers seem to be in short supply, lack of experience seems a major sticking point as well as an expectation to spend a lot of time away from home.

So i was thinking about a driving instructor. From what I have read as well as experience from friends with kids of a certain age their appears to be a shortage of them. Every mental evaluation I have had has always suggested I have a good temperament for teaching - but I do not particularly like kids (other than my own ;) )

So perhaps driving instructor will be a good fit, AA offer a comprehensive teaching package for £2.5k apparently (I would likely ignore the basic one) and if it ended up with fairly secure work after I would happily invest that in myself.

I have 33 years driving experience, no points on my licence. I must admit I do not like driving in cities but am sure i could knock that out of me with practice and training. I have also already helped 2 people pass their test, albeit i was not the teacher, I just went out with them in an evening on top of their lessons

Has anyone here considered or done a similar thing? If so how have you found it, any regrets and would you recommend?

Thanks.
 
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I've never posted or spoke much of it, but this is in fact also something I had considered as an additional income stream. I think realistically it's not really compatible as a "side hustle" as such, and would probably likely have to be an all or nothing thing as a main job. I know someone who is an instructor and who recommended that I consider it. The main negative he told me of was his knee and back are bad from all the getting in and out of a car multiple times a day and sitting down a lot.
He said he brings home about 60K which is based on 6 hours roughly a day, 48 weeks a year at £37 per hour, 5 days a week plus a few hours on a Saturday. He said he knows some instructors that do 7am to 7pm a day and bring in nearly 90k.

I think it depends on whether you join as part of a school or independent as to the earning potential. I expect it could be a stressful job being on the brink of an accident a lot of the time though and having to stay very alert? I mean you can't really have a sort of "easy Friday" kind of day...like...ever really.

I don't know if the above numbers accounted for costs on the car and wear and tear on it, certifications etc. Not sure what's involved with all that.
 
jaybee said:
I've never posted or spoke much of it, but this is in fact also something I had considered as an additional income stream. I think realistically it's not really compatible as a "side hustle" as such, and would probably likely have to be an all or nothing thing as a main job. I know someone who is an instructor and who recommended that I consider it. The main negative he told me of was his knee and back are bad from all the getting in and out of a car multiple times a day and sitting down a lot.
He said he brings home about 60K which is based on 6 hours roughly a day, 48 weeks a year at £37 per hour, 5 days a week plus a few hours on a Saturday. He said he knows some instructors that do 7am to 7pm a day and bring in nearly 90k.

I think it depends on whether you join as part of a school or independent as to the earning potential. I expect it could be a stressful job being on the brink of an accident a lot of the time though and having to stay very alert? I mean you can't really have a sort of "easy Friday" kind of day...like...ever really.

I don't know if the above numbers accounted for costs on the car and wear and tear on it, certifications etc. Not sure what's involved with all that.
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Absolutely no way any driving instructor is bringing in £60 - £90 k a year.

Fuel, insurance, tyres, servicing, advertising, pay away to brand (RAC / AA etc).... Tax, NI etc.

It's a job that I think would become boring extremely quickly.... Very repetitive

www.billplant.co.uk

What is the Average Driving Instructor Salary in the UK?

Discover the average driving instructor salary in the UK, as well as some handy tips for driving instructors on how to boost their income.
www.billplant.co.uk www.billplant.co.uk

Based on a 35-hour work week, working 48 weeks per year, charging £33 per hour means you can earn an average salary of around £31,000 after tax, national insurance and expenses
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£31k AFTER tax and NI is still not much less than I am on now tbh. most salaries are advertised gross not net so the difference between £60k gross and £31k net is not as much as it 1st seems.
 
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My driving instructor did it as a career change, one thing he did mention to me was that the car repairs had really caught him out.

He said he gave up on the wheels ever being decent, but things like the clutch getting a thrashing caused issues. Not least because any time the car spent in the garage, he either had to take a holiday or find another dual control car he could use.
 
I have been thinking about that. given the way things are going I am wondering if automatic is the way forward. and with the range as it is probably an EV. with a full charge to start the day from home even if I did have to do an afternoon fast charge whilst I had a brew, with the reduced fuel costs over all and not having to worry about things like clutch and gearbox , even if it meant not being quite as popular at the moment overall I wonder if it would pan out better.... or at least on a par .
 
I believe driving instructors are in demand at the moment.

There are various driving instructor YouTube channels, Ashley Neal is one, maybe they have some advice for instructors?

Have you thought about any alternatives?
 
I used to fancy getting a HGV licence (my dad was a lorry driver waaaay back in the day) however with nights away from home potentially, most people demanding experience and the huge initial outlay I think I have ruled it out. my ex brother in law changed career and is now a bus driver but the idea of drunken nobs at night does not interest me, and Uber drivers have to work their asses off for very little pay

other than that I dunno really. all I know that without a PHD I am gonna struggle staying in my current career and besides I lost the itch for science a while back and have no urge to go to night school to skill up. esp as it's only for 10 years.
 
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What's your current career?

I would say being a driving instructor is quite a hard job because it's very time consuming. Organisation, punctuality and patience would be key skills.
 
radderfire said:
What's your current career?

I would say being a driving instructor is quite a hard job because it's very time consuming. Organisation, punctuality and patience would be key skills.
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Surprised no one has mentioned how stressful it is, imagine getting someone who is just not fit for driving and won't give-up, not to mention the beating the car takes which results in what I would imagine costly repairs. Clutch replacements aren't cheap...
 
I considered it and instead went a man and a van route, this was 20 years ago now, I went for jobs that were more about distance driving than heavy.

I also hired my van and me as the driver out on an hourly basis, that was very popular. Basically clients load and unload the van, I just drive it from A to B, most of the hours you’re sitting waiting for them to load it. I’d charge fuel plus £25 an hour. If you’ve ever tried to hire a van you can understand why hiring a man and van is appealing, I think similar services are charging £35 an hour now

A self employed driving instructor is just about the only way you can obtain a DBS, I did the application so that I could advertise the fact I was DBS checked

I’m pretty okay on the Internet so website and advertising cost me very little

I gave it up 3-4 years ago now, best job was 499 miles door to door to Inverness and obviously back again. Moving some guys mother’s personal belongings from a care home.

He’d been quoted £1,400 and asked if I’d be able to match it as I had better feedback reviews on Google, I did it for £1,300 and stayed in a Premier Inn for £39
 
IC3 said:
Surprised no one has mentioned how stressful it is, imagine getting someone who is just not fit for driving and won't give-up, not to mention the beating the car takes which results in what I would imagine costly repairs. Clutch replacements aren't cheap...
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Just the fact that your genuine safety or at mist the condition of your car is always at risk do you have to be super attentive, yet the inevitable crashes and prangs will happen.
 
ristac said:
I considered it and instead went a man and a van route, this was 20 years ago now, I went for jobs that were more about distance driving than heavy.

I also hired my van and me as the driver out on an hourly basis, that was very popular. Basically clients load and unload the van, I just drive it from A to B, most of the hours you’re sitting waiting for them to load it. I’d charge fuel plus £25 an hour. If you’ve ever tried to hire a van you can understand why hiring a man and van is appealing, I think similar services are charging £35 an hour now

A self employed driving instructor is just about the only way you can obtain a DBS, I did the application so that I could advertise the fact I was DBS checked

I’m pretty okay on the Internet so website and advertising cost me very little

I gave it up 3-4 years ago now, best job was 499 miles door to door to Inverness and obviously back again. Moving some guys mother’s personal belongings from a care home.

He’d been quoted £1,400 and asked if I’d be able to match it as I had better feedback reviews on Google, I did it for £1,300 and stayed in a Premier Inn for £39
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that sounds like a right cushy number esp as I don't need to earn masses of money. thanks for the suggestion. I mean full on house removal there is no way I would do it but a bit of general van loading or even letting someone else load it and I just deliver sounds like a really good job and if I could earn £25 k doing it would put me on for 10 years before my private pension kicks in.
 
IC3 said:
Surprised no one has mentioned how stressful it is, imagine getting someone who is just not fit for driving and won't give-up, not to mention the beating the car takes which results in what I would imagine costly repairs. Clutch replacements aren't cheap...
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Plus basically becoming a target for every nobber on the road who just must pass a learner at any given opportunity dangerous or otherwise. I'd last about 5 minutes.
 
Another idea for you. Work in the car trade as a car delivery person. You drive the car to deliver it and then get the train home. It's quite popular with older people.
 
radderfire said:
Another idea for you. Work in the car trade as a car delivery person. You drive the car to deliver it and then get the train home. It's quite popular with older people.
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Don't they earn peanuts though and try to hitchhike back to save money. Maybe some of the companies are OK.
 
A friend of mine did it for a few years, working for a company, she said that it was quite enjoyable but really hard work and stressful because you have to really concentrate the whole time. You can't relax at all, because if you do that's the moment your idiot instructee drives into a child. Working for a company gave her a bit of security, but meant the pay wasn't so good and her boss was a *****.

Puzzled said:
Don't they earn peanuts though and try to hitchhike back to save money. Maybe some of the companies are OK.
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I've picked up quite a few over the years, although not many of them hitch these days, they told me the pay was okay but that hitchhiking saved them a lot of money over the month. I guess if you're taking trains, booked at short notice, multiple times a week that can easily be a couple of hundred quid. The older ones whinged about the younger ones being too soft to hitch.
 
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