Cars are ubiquitous in the UK, being the single most popular mode of transport for citizens and tantamount to a hobby for a great many adults. Cars can even be an obsession of sorts, whether for young children fixated on matchbox cars or budding mechanics with a keen interest in the workings of the internal combustion engine.
If you are a car lover, and hoping to centre your career around cars, there are many professional roles you can consider. Here are just some of those roles, and the ways in which they could work for you.
Professional Driver
If you are preternaturally adept at driving, your first consideration for a car-centric career path may be to drive for a living. This is a wide-ranging field in its own right, though, with hundreds of different jobs and paths for those with skills behind the wheel.
The transport industry is thriving in the UK, with ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft providing opportunities for many to get into taxi-driving for a living, with minimal barriers to doing so. Private chauffeurs are able to charge a premium for skilled and comfortable driving.
Especially skilled drivers may be able to find a home for their talents in other industries though, including the glitz and glamour of the film industry. Stunt drivers are always in high demand, requiring a great deal of driving skill and focus, and a not-insignificant amount of fearlessness to follow.
Driving Instructor
There are also less hands-on ways to form a career from a passion for driving. Driving instruction is an incredibly lucrative industry, and a chance to share that passion with a new generation of drivers. Becoming a driving instructor is a necessarily rigorous process, but a rewarding one that enables you to build your own career to your own schedule, and on your own terms.
Mechanic
If you find yourself having more fun under the hood than behind the wheel, you might be more at home carving out a career as a mechanic or service engineer. Mechanics are skilled workers in the wider motor trade, with in-depth knowledge of the various processes and systems that make a car tick. There is room for mechanics in a wide range of roles, from simple MOT test centres and service stations to engineering for a manufacturer.
It is even possible to work as a mechanic on a freelance basis, either with your own workshop or as a mobile mechanic. In order to do this, you would need to build your brand and ensure you have the correct motor trade insurance to cover yourself and your clients – but with the right preparation, a career as a mechanic could well be the one for you.
Automotive Journalist
Lastly, you may be deeply enthusiastic about cars but have little practical talent for driving or fixing them – a much more common combination than you might think. There are roles for just about everyone in the automotive industry, but if you have a finger on the pulse – and penchant for shouting from the rooftops about industry movements – you may well be suited to a career in automotive journalism.
