Becoming an instructor

[2mths]

Any instructors on here? I'm thinking about trying to qualify as a bike instructor. Not with the aim of making a career or anything out of it (though you never know) but possibly with hope of doing some occasional CBT training for schools.

I'd be interested to hear people's thoughts, especially if they are qualified.

[Quedos]

i thought about this at the beginning of the year and spoke to a few guys up here and basically got told that its not really worth it. by the time you take the money of the rent of the bikes you ain't left with much. though it would be worth checking your locla school and see how it runs

still thinking i might do it tho!

[Venom]

I looked into it and asked and got this email. Still unsure but leaning towards not doing it now.


There are two ways of doing it. You find a school that wants to downtrain you. Then you work for them doing CBTs and maybe some 125 stuff. After a while you go to Cardington and do the 2 day assessment which then still only allows you to do what you have been doing except you can now also train others. But more importantly it gives you the prerequisite to do the Direct Access assessment. You are then fully qualified. This can be a long drawn out way of doing things and could take a year. But I blieve it would give you more skill and experience tha the alternative.

The other way is to do a course and pay for it your self . You COULD be fully qualified in 5-6 weeks. I combined both of the above , so I had been downtrained for about a year and then went on a course with Probike in Essex for a week to prepare for Cardington.

Downsides
The wages are not great , around £450-£550 per week, on a self employed or employed basis.
You have to deal with DSA and teenagers.
Regardless of how cold and nasty it is , you will be out.
Biking can stop being your hobby
Its particularly ****ty when someone hurts themselves.

Plus sides.
You meet loads of people , all different from all different walks of life.
You are responsible for them.
No one is breathing down your neck
You ride your bike all day.
You make a silk purse out of a sows ear.
Sense of achievement

[plowsie]

Mate, pop down to BMW Woollaston and have a word with the Karmenz guys, as you go through the door next to the cafe to the bike section they are on the left. Forgotten the guys name, but he's a big built bloke. They will give you some info.

[Leopard_lily]

If you're currently unemployed, my other half is an instructor and the company he works for took on a chap through the jobcentre to train him up, I think the programme was called ReAct, so it might be worth contacting your jobcentre, who would finance your training if your application is granted.

[anna]

Perhaps check out in your area how many bike instructors there are in your area before you commit to doing something that perhaps is an already saturated market. I´m only saying this because in Bristol there used to only be two schools and then all of their instructors went off to become self employed and then built up their own schools... now you are spoilt for choice.

[Stig]

I was an instructor in the Army but that doesn't count because the rules were different. However, I found it laborious, tedious, repetitive and the days were long. On the flip side, to see the smile on the students face when they have been informed they have passed is brilliant. You feel a sense of achievement for them and for yourself.

I also used to be a tank driving instructor. Much more fun. :wink:

[custard]

friend of mine does it.

loves it!

does all bike training, and transport, employes another instructor and manages to go on more holidays and trackdays than most people i know.

[Miss Alpinestarhero]

Id suggest contacting your local bike training school and having a chat with them. You might even be able to shadow them for a day to get a taster of what its like.

If its something you want to do then go for it :D Happiness is more important than money IMO. Id rather do something I liked with less money than something I hated with more money.

All jobs become repetitive and boring, I dont think anything is brilliant 100% of the time.

Good luck!

[dizzyblonde]

I looked into it a year or two back. I visited my old school, who gave me everything I needed to know. I passed on the idea, as being self employed wasn't for me. They really wanted me to join as theres not too many female instructors. They said you didn't need to a super duper rider to train people either, which I thought was odd, they wanted people with a nack for getting the information right, and getting people to enjoy their training, amongst other things. You shadow them in yor free time for a while to see if you like the idea.
Its best to go to your local training centre and go from there. I know mine also were very dubious of the new tests, and at the time weren't hopeful about people learning, so they were looking at tough times ahead...probably changed now though. The new test here involved only one test centre which was in Rotherham, which hacked down their choice of test centres by a good half. They used to to test in Bradford, HX, Sheffield?, Barnsley, and to be cut to one in the area.

[2mths]

Nice to get some comments. Though perhaps I should have made clearer the fact I have no intention of doing it for a living. I'd just kind of like to be qualified to do it. I qualified as a bike mechanic for the hell of it (a few years ago, C&G 3890) and am thinking about doing something else as a challenge.

Venom - Your post is particularly interesting and informative. It also bring to my attention one very important point I hadn't really considered. People in your care hurting themselves. I'm not sure I'm ready to deal with that yet. I'm approaching 30 and am (perhaps obviously) a lot more mature than at any point in the past. I don't think I'd be ready to cope with that. Whilst one reason for wanting to train people would be to try and prepare them as best I could, accidents - by their very nature, happen and bikes are particularly dangerous. I guess the problem with teaching (which I'd thought about doing casually to recoup some of the money) is that you don't get to choose your customers.

So dismissing the 'work for someone and learn on the job route' I'd be left with the do a course root (which was what I'd expected). I'm still interested at this point (possibly not when I find out how much the Cardington assesment costs?) but I'm going to look at other ideas of things to do that I've had.

Thanks all.

[dizzyblonde]

Nice to get some comments. Though perhaps I should have made clearer the fact I have no intention of doing it for a living. I'd just kind of like to be qualified to do it.
.

This is something my place weren't keen on...people wanting to do it for the sake of it. They were quick to point out that its a career and not something you do in your spare time on a Saturday morning when it suits you. Thats not meant to sound funny BTW. You have to understand that these guys do it seven days a week in all weathers, and for them someone wanting to do it as a spare time thing, or for the hell of having an instructor tag, kind of makes em feel a bit crap, and 'spare time thing' being a waste of time.

[dizzyblonde]

.

(possibly not when I find out how much the Cardington assesment costs?) but I'm going to look at other ideas of things to do that I've had.

Thanks all.


My place were happy to cover the costs of the Cardington fees, as I was looking at it from a career change. It is pretty expensive from what I can remember. The guys who I were talking to had come from management careers and decided to do something completely different, they took wage cuts to work as an instructor, but they seem to love every minute of it.

[2mths]

Well I'd be doing it for me, so whilst it's interesting to know how other people feel about it I don't think I can let that influence my decision. If you stopped yourself from doing things other people objected to most of us wouldn't ride bikes.

As to whether it's something you can do in your spare time - again I can't (at this stage based on my very limited knowledge) see why not. Doing something full time doesn't necessarily make you any good at it and being part time or amateur doesn't necessarily mean you're poorly skilled. But I take your point that it's frowned upon by the full time instructor community and that kind of insight is useful and interesting.

I don't understand why\how it makes them feel bad and I don't understand the "waste of time" comment at all?

Yes I suppose I'd be looking to do it to collect a tag - though that's all my bike license was for me at first. That grew into one, then two, then three bikes in the garage, the mechanic course and now to contemplating this.

I'm NOT looking to do it to wave in peoples faces. But whilst I won't encourage anyone to take up riding a bike (it's too dangerous) if they make that decision themselves then I want to help them and will go out of my way to do so. I look at this as a sort of extension to that idea as at the moment I can give them some advice and a bike to ride but I'd kind of like to be able to go a step further.

[2mths]

Not that it perhaps matters but I was also only looking to take things as far as being able to teach CBT. Having looked it up I think that actually the same assessment means you can do CBT and 125 training. Again in terms of casual\part time work I was only thinking about the CBT part.

In terms of not needing to be a good rider - thank goodness. Seriously I can't see why you'd need to be. You need to know what makes a good rider, be able to spot it and communicate it and guide people towards it but in sport it's seldom the best players that make the best trainers or coaches.

[dizzyblonde]

But I take your point that it's frowned upon by the full time instructor community and that kind of insight is useful and interesting.

.

Thats only from one schools perspective. They only speak for themselves. I can't say what anther school would think. Its best you get out there and see for yourself, another schools thoughts could be entirely different. These guys do it, because they love biking, and train from the fun side, rather than putting people off with boredom:)

[dizzyblonde]

In terms of not needing to be a good rider - thank goodness. Seriously I can't see why you'd need to be. You need to know what makes a good rider, be able to spot it and communicate it and guide people towards it but in sport it's seldom the best players that make the best trainers or coaches.

Exactly. I said to them at the time, I'm really crap at u turns, I wouldn't be a good teacher for that..they said, you passed your test, and have the basic skills and knowledge to have done that. Its not you thats on show here, its the people who learn from you. If you can pass on what you know and people learn properly then its fine...besides it doesn't take one long to go out and practise them once in a while, if your that interested, you will conquer them....maybe not on the SV eh:smt101

[yorkie_chris]

How long do you need to have held a license for?

[dizzyblonde]

I think its three years(full license at that IIRC could be wrong)... seem to remember that was why I went to find out, as I'd been riding that long.

[Venom]

How long do you need to have held a license for?



Full bike license for a minimum of 3 years. Then you can take learners out on their CBT.

[shonadoll]

I asked while training, and my instructor said they loved the part timers- who usually did Saturdays so they didn't have to.

[2mths]

I asked while training, and my instructor said they loved the part timers- who usually did Saturdays so they didn't have to.

The other side of the coin as it were. I must admit the 'work' I had in mind was for a trainer a couple of my friends have used. He's basically a one man show but I know he has employed someone to do Saturday CBTs because then he can spend his time teaching out on the road.

However as I think I'm might have said in an earlier post upon reflection, although I like the idea and would hope to make a reasonable teacher I don't think I'm ready yet to take responsibility for other people in this way. Definitely something I'll look at again though.