Life as a driving instructor is often seen as an enviable one, however it’s not for everyone and we want you to fully understand the pro’s and con’s of being a driving instructor so you can make the best possible choice for your future career.

Advantages of being a Driving Instructor

1. Job Satisfaction. Often you are making a massive difference to a person’s life. Think back to what passing the driving test meant for you. The feeling of euphoria you get when your pupil passes their driving test stays with you for a long time. When you are out socialising it is amazing how people open up to you when you say you’re a driving instructor. Everyone seems to have a story about learning to drive and is keen to share it with you.
2. Fantastic Earning Potential. You choose how many hours you want to work, some driving instructors just want to work a few hours a week and have plenty of leisure time, others prefer to work all the hours possible and enjoy earnings up to £800 a per week.
3. Cash Flow. Driving Instructors are paid in advance for driving lessons and driving courses. Instead of waiting for pay day to come around once every few weeks, you will find you get paid every time you work. (unless of course you have already been paid in advance)
4. You Are Your Own Boss. You choose when to work and when you prefer to be on holiday. You no longer have to request time off from a boss. You work when you want to work.
5. You Are Self Employed. Due to the special Inland Revenue rules for driving instructors, all your vehicle expenses and a proportion of your household bills are tax deductible, in fact anything you can reasonably associate with your job as a driving instructor will be tax deductible. More information on being self employed

 Disadvantages of being a Driving Instructor

1. Responsible For When Things Go Wrong. If you fail to turn up for a pupils lesson or test you will need to make good any loss or compensation to the pupil. For example your car may have unexpectedly broken down on the way to picking up the pupil.
2. No Sick or Holiday Pay. Claiming sick pay as a driving instructor is a long winded and complicated so most driving instructors do not bother. You need to put to one side a regular amount each month to cover the time you intend to take off for holidays.
3. No Work No Pay. It is important you give a good quality service and your lessons are priced at the correct level for where you live. Lesson prices which are too high might mean that you attract fewer pupils – priced too low and you could be very busy with plenty of work but missing out on earning more money.
4. Lesson Cancellations. This is the biggest disruption to the working day of an instructor. Surepass instructors can charge the pupil for driving lessons cancelled at less than 48 hours notice or driving courses cancelled at less than 10 days notice but it can sometimes be difficult or you might feel uneasy at asking a pupil for money when you haven’t taught a lesson.