Welcome William,
In the case of Skip Barber most instructors come from a background of racing. Some started as mechanics with the company and worked their way up. Others raced with SB for years and made the transition. Many had pro or advanced amateur race careers before and/or after their instructor tenure. There are probably as many different routes to instructing as there are instructors but the majority come from having been a racer.
The bad news is it's a tough way to make a living. In the case of SB every instructor is a private contractor hired on an as needed basis. With the economy in economy mode, enrollment has been down in all aspects of driving, racing and corporate events for about two years. As a result even long time instructors with decades of service have been scrambling for alternate income streams. Most of the guys who work race weekends have at least 15-20 years of service and most other instructors work driving, high performance driving, and racing schools locally at tracks they live near. The company uses local talent as much as possible to save travel and lodging expense.
The only reason I would suggest going toward instructing as a career is if you absolutely love racing and love paying forward the joy that putting a car at its limits gives you. If you enjoy public speaking and figuratively holding hands as you lead people of all ages out of their comfort zones in a car, while working long physically demanding days for modest pay and no health benefits then you too could be an instructor.
After racing for 5 years with SB I was invited to an instructors training over 3 years ago that I believe was the last instructor training on the east coast and possibly the country since then. It was right before the fiscal crash and business was booming. There was a need for instructors to cover all the programs being booked at that time. Since the economic pullback business volume has been down and I've worked part time only at Lime Rock with many fewer days than before the financial crisis. I also have another job so I'm not dependent on instructor pay for survival.
I love instructing because it sharpens my skills and makes me both a better driver and communicator. Everyone has a different way of processing new information and the joy is learning different methods of imparting the same thing to connect with each student so they have a meaningful experience. My hero's are the guys who created the SB program 35 years ago and have been developing and fine tuning it ever since. A handful are still around with another larger handful who have been in the trenches for decades and continue to share their lifetime knowledge with commitment.
All of my references are Skip Barber. The other angle is to look local. Any good racing organization runs schools or clinics and needs good driver/instructors, so the first and easiest place to look is your local sports car or rally club. Seek out good instructors, learn from them, get as much seat time as you can and then share it with others. Lots of ways to get it done... Just follow your passion.
I will now defer to other instructors who frequent this site who may be willing to give a more experienced, better informed and more concise answer to your question.
Good luck William
Quote:
Originally Posted by lazy maritimer
Hi All,
First post here, glad I found the place. I see there are a lot of aspiring career racers here, but what about a career as a racing instructor? Any instructors out there that would give some advice? What kind of credentials and experience are usually required? Do you enjoy your job? Thanks for any input.
|