It varies widely based on whether you are talking about commercial operations or clubs, and it also varies from club to club. In some clubs instruction is free (or included in the club membership) and instructors are expected to donate their time. In others, instructors are independent contractors employed by the students directly or by the club. In commercial operations instructors can either be independent contractors or employees of the operation.

Independent contractors employed directly by students might get something in the range of $40 to $60 per hour, but there is wide variation even in that. Employees of a commercial operation might get something like half of that.

Most instructors (but not all) are doing it as a sideline. Very few depend on instruction earnings as their primary source of income.

So the bottom line is that it depends totally on where you might be working, and there really isn't a "standard".

Lynn Alley
"2KA"
Chief Instructor, Utah Soaring Association