These days, anyone who has attended college knows that tutoring is a popular way for college students to make money. Being an online or offline tutor means flexible casual work that you can adapt to your schedule. What's more, it looks pretty good on your resume, whether it's through your work with children, experience as a teacher or shows that you have a lot of knowledge.
Want to learn how to become a tutor? This guide contains all the information you need to get started, why you should become a tutor, how to be a freelance tutor, what you need to have to become a tutor, what’s an online tutor job, what a tutor's duties are... and much more!
Why become a tutor?
A young person working as a private tutor can actually earn pretty well. The exact amount will depend on where you live, your subject specialty, and how much of an expert you can really consider yourself to be. However, all things considered, it can make a really good income - especially for a student. You can learn more about making money as a student here.
With private tutoring, you also have full control over your working hours. Often you can also negotiate your hours, and just a few hours a week can increase your budget.
This is also valuable work experience, and private tutoring will look great on your resume. Even better, if you have enough work to legitimize it and run a business - as a young entrepreneur, you'll show that you can find a balance between work and study. If you can be a freelance tutor, you can register your own company to demonstrate your entrepreneurship.
What's more, working as a tutor is beneficial to your studies - how cool would it be to get paid for revising your material? Experts know that the best way to learn is to teach someone else - and this way you will remember the basics of the program more easily. Even graduates and people working as online tutors can learn a thing or two.
What is the work of a tutor like
The duties of a tutor are quite simple - you help students learn. Sometimes you can help them prepare for an exam or catch up on their studies. You can meet with the student at their home, at a place like a coffee shop or food court, or at your place or even at your office. You generally meet with one student, but can also teach groups of up to 5-7 students. An online tutor job is much more flexible - you can work with students from other continents, and often you can tutor professionals as well.
A good tutor needs to adapt to the needs of his or her student - each client will be unique, and your lessons will need to be tailored accordingly. Once you know what your student needs, plan your lessons or meetings ahead of time - they must cover the right content, and you must use a variety of teaching methods to keep your student engaged.
Remember, too, that things have changed since you were in school, so you need to understand exactly what you need to cover to ensure that the student successfully passes the exams. You also need to be able to demonstrate to students and/or their parents that your services are having an impact, and sometimes this can also be seen in school performance - but it's worth showing passed tests or doing quizzes to verify that the student learned something from your online teaching jobs.
Whether through a third-party service, cash on hand or another financial arrangement, you need to make sure you make money. Often you will settle in cash. If you provide small services, depending on your country, you don't always have to report them - but if you want to make a living from this work, you most likely have to report this income to the tax office. If you want to be a freelance tutor, you can register your company or join a site that provides tutoring jobs online.
You need to prepare all sorts of lesson plans, props, PowerPoint presentations and activities for classroom use. Many teachers use laptops and tablets: to keep students engaged, lessons should be as interactive as possible. Prepare images, videos and audio clips in your presentations - you have the opportunity to interact with students one-on-one.
What are the most important qualities of a good tutor
When offering your services as a tutor in a particular subject, it is very important that you know your subject very well. Unfortunately, just believing that you are good at something does not grant you any tutor’s certification. You must have hard evidence (good grades, excellent references, etc.) to prove yourself in this field. In large cities where there are many schools, competition can be fierce - as it can with online teaching jobs.
You need to interact with students, so they can learn, so good social skills will come in handy. This is especially important if you are tutoring online, as teaching and learning in virtual chat rooms can be difficult. When working with children, you also need to communicate effectively with parents and regularly update them on their child's progress. Like any teacher, you must be patient and gentle but also decisive, strong and determined.
A good knowledge of study techniques and exam preparation will come in handy in your tutoring job. Some students need to read the text aloud, others can't study if they don't move. You need to know the different preferences of students, because not everyone learns the same way you do.
Time management means learning how to balance all the activities at the university, preparing lessons for tutoring and, of course, planning the sessions themselves. Being organized is key. You will gain a bad reputation and won't have much success if you show up unprepared (or, worse late).
What qualifications are required to work as a tutor?
In many countries, professional teachers are required to have a college degree or relevant certifications, but no there is no such thing as a tutor's certification. No special qualifications are required to become a tutor. Diplomas are useful because they demonstrate authority in the subject, but they are not required. You can work as a tutor if you have good grades on your school certificate, or experience in tutoring children.
On the other hand, if you want to turn tutoring into a business, graduate degrees and good advertising may be useful. You can learn more about starting your own freelance business on our blog. If you can sell yourself and your knowledge while providing a good freelance service, you should be able to generate more clients through recommendations and word of mouth. A college degree, pedagogical training, language courses or a driver's license - this will come in handy for you if you want to be a freelance tutor.
Since your students won't stay with you forever, you need to constantly advertise your services as a private tutor. Keep a steady flow of new clients by constantly promoting your work. Experience in advertising and social media can come in very handy for you - especially if you want to seek clients as an online tutor.
How many classes can I tutor per week?
Most tutoring takes place outside of school hours, which obviously limits the amount you can earn. Exact working hours generally depend on the age group you are teaching, how many hours you will be able to fit in, but you will most likely be looking at 3-4 hours in the evening, five evenings a week.
You can also work weekends: some parents' busy schedules mean that this is the only time they can supervise your tutoring, while others prefer to prioritize spending time with their families. If you are willing and able to organize sessions on Sundays, you can work an extra 5 hours more - though if you’re a student, you should leave some time for rest as well.
If you are well organized, you can at best teach about 20 hours a week. Sometimes, of course, you can find more time - especially if you are transitioning to a full-time tutor or working online - online teaching means you can work with students from different time zones. Before vacations or exam sessions, a tutor can expect more assignments. This means that for most tutors, tutoring is a part-time job that they do as a side hustle or in addition to their other work.
How to start work as a tutor?
Finding your first students can be problematic, but it may be easier than you think. There are several ways to attract students. The easiest is networking: you never know who among your friends and acquaintances may need your help. Start by asking your closest friends if anyone requires tutoring in the subjects you teach. For example, if you are a chemistry student, contact relatives who have children to see if they or someone they know could use some extra help with their Science class. Once you have a few satisfied customers, try asking them for recommendations - maybe even for a discount.
Today, however, many people are moving their lessons online. You can start by encouraging your current students to take online classes. Many students prefer remote learning to traditional face-to-face teaching, not least because it adds flexibility to their schedules (goodbye, long commutes), so it can be a win-win situation.
You can also easily advertise free, educational content on YouTube, a blog or social media - many online tutors have had success sharing mini-lessons and tips online. Promote your services online using great marketing techniques. Especially if you run a business, such content makes you make a name for yourself as a freelance tutor.
Another great place to find tutoring clients are Facebook groups. You'll need to follow the group's guidelines for promotional posts, but there are plenty of pages dedicated to tutoring different subjects where you can reach your target audience. These can be groups related to education or the community where you want to teach.
How to be a tutor online
Especially during the pandemic, many tutors have switched to online courses. You cut down on commuting costs, you can work from home, and teaching online classes can be very cost-effective. In addition, you can start using modern online platforms right away.
Online tutoring is a way to make money for almost anyone, including teachers, former teachers, students, business people and others. Many professionals, like graphical designers or writers, decide to share their knowledge with others online. With online teaching, you can share your knowledge in a way that others can understand and use. Most teachers require an in-person presence, but online tutoring can be done from anywhere.
When you have the right setup, it's much easier to tutor online at home. If you want to be very successful, invest in good equipment such as laptops, webcams, headsets, whiteboards, lighting and online tutoring software - but these things are not necessary. All you need is a laptop, a desk and enough light so people can see you clearly.
Summary
Tutoring online is a great way to make money for students. It’s a flexible job that lets you combine earning money and studying - and can benefit your own education. But teaching online can prove itself to be even more versatile, and you incur far fewer costs for commuting. Either way, if you want to make money online, you can do it easily thanks to tutoring.
