5 Common Questions About Being A Driving Instructor

A career as a driving instructor can provide the dream work-life balance many people long for. Becoming a driving instructor offers you the opportunity to be your own boss, deciding when you work and how much you work – leaving you with a much more flexible lifestyle. It is also rewarding, watching as your pupils learn from you and become better drivers.

Training as a driving instructor is certainly a realistic option, with a low startup cost, flexible working hours and the chance of earning as much as £30,000 a year.

But is it the career choice for you?

We’ve compiled the questions we are regularly asked by people just like you to help you understand what becoming a driving instructor entails. Thought of a question we’ve not answered below? Send it over to us in the comment box below and we’ll answer you as quick as we can – if you have the question, someone else is bound to be wondering the same thing!

1. What is an ADI driving instructor?

ADI stands for Approved Driving Instructor. An ADI is somebody who has been tested and certified by the Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) to instruct learner drivers. It is against UK law to charge for driver training services before you are a fully qualified ADI.

2. How much do driving instructors earn?

As a guideline you can expect to earn £18,000 to £22,000 part time and £38,000 to £44,000 full time.

There are plenty of benefits to becoming a driving instructor other than your earnings, such as being your own boss and enjoying a better work-life balance. But when it comes to earnings, it’s the same as most things in life – the more you put into something the better the results you get. This is equally true of being a driving instructor, the better you are at your job and the more you care about your pupils, the higher referral rate you will have.

3. How much does it cost to become a driving instructor?

When it comes to training to become a driving instructor there are really two sets of costs involved, the cost of a driving instructor course and the costs of the ADI tests themselves.

ADI test costs
In a similar way to your driving test when you first learn to drive, the Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) tests are broken into three parts. There’s a hazard perception and theory test, practical driving test and a test of your instructional ability. Each of these three parts carry their own costs:
? ADI part 1 test = £81
? ADI part 2 test = £111
? ADI part 3 test = £111

Which makes the total cost for your ADI tests £303. As well as these test costs you will also need to pay for an ADI certificate, which is £300 once you qualify, and a trainee licence, which is £140.

Training costs
It is recommended that you seek training for the ADI tests with an ORDIT (Official Register of Driving Instructor Trainers) registered company to provide the support and guidance needed to qualify as a driving instructor.

Training courses can range from £1000 up to as high as £4000 with some of the larger, national driving schools – it all depends on who you train with and where you train. Some schools will provide you with all the materials you need to pass, like we do at 4 Wheelz, whereas other schools will expect you to fork out the extra money to buy these items yourself. So whilst that cheap course may seem more appealing to begin with, what extra items are you expected to buy once you’ve signed up? So don’t jump into a quick decision, make sure you do your research, and read reviews and feedback.

You can find a detailed breakdown of our course pricing options over on our driving instructor training page.

4. How long does it take to become a driving instructor?

For most people to complete their ADI qualification it will take at least six months. However before you can take the ADI exams you do need to have held a full, clean driving licence for three or more years.

How long it takes to qualify as a driving instructor all depends on two factors. Firstly the size of the waiting list for the ADI exams, some areas have very long waiting lists whilst others do not. The amount of time you are realistically able to dedicate to studying and preparing for each exam is another factor.

We have seen trainees complete their ADI qualification within four months. However they dedicated a lot of their time to study and prepare for their test and were extremely flexible with their time and the location of their exam when it came to that stage. This type of dedication and flexibility isn’t realistic if you are continuing to work a full, or even a part-time job whilst you’re training.

5. How old do you have to be to be a driving instructor?

In order to register for driving instructor training, you must be aged 21 or over. You must also have held a full UK driving licence for at least three years, you can find out if you’re eligible to train to become an ADI here.

Still unsure whether becoming a driving instructor is for you? Don’t hesitate to get in touch with our friendly team on 01902 881 444, who are on-hand to answer any questions you may have. Alternatively you can check whether you are eligible to begin training as a driving instructor here.

We hope you found this information useful, however if you have a question which isn’t answered above pop it in the comments box below and we’ll get back to you!

Investing in driving instructor training has changed a lot of people’s lives. We encourage you to take the big step and get started!