The studying took about half a year. Month and a half of theory, the rest is practice. As for the disadvantages… honestly, there were many. I’ll name a few main ones.
The worst part was interacting with the administration of the driving school. The people there are unfriendly and can hardly explain anything. There are many confusing things at the beginning: how does the online course work, when to pay, how to begin the practice lessons with an instructor… There is one thing in the contract and completely opposite in real life. And that doesn’t really bother anyone. I think that may be caused by a large amount of students there. In any case, there was a lot to be nervous about.
Another problem is the practice organization. It is the administration fault, partially, as well. You can be promised lessons on the most convenient location but that doesn’t mean anything. Personally, I had a problem which was that the instructors on the most convenient location for me were overloaded. I was offered to wait two months or to call anyone else (by the way, originally it was supposed to be the administrators that find you the instructor and not you to call everyone). In the end, I found the best option possible in this situation (didn’t regret it - the instructor was awesome) but there is another problem. The instructor’s timetable is still very much filled, the lessons can be twice a week maximum, usually only once. So if you think you can finish your studying in three months (as it is said in many places advertising the Autovyshka), I am sorry to disappoint. I just don’t think it’s possible.