Becoming a private tutor- all questions here

therivierakid

Thanks Mella. Most of my new students recently have come through either word of mouth recommendations or through my website. I've got a Facebook page for my tutoring but that's really just to get another link to my website for SEO purposes.

charlie-chan

How would you go about doing online tutoring?

I saw a previous link but I mean via Skype etc.

deelanad

I'm currently a second year theology/philosophy student and I'm considering tutoring at gcse and a level level. I'm curious if I need anything to start, like a crb for eg.
Also how much would be a good price to charge at my level?
Many thanks

jimbo83

Some interesting reading on this thread - great input from all.

Tutoring is something that I have considered, not for financial reasons but because I want to help give something back. I also want to see how much I enjoy it because I'd quite like to tutor/teach later in life.

I am a chartered accountant and also have a law degree and would think about teaching law, accounting and business studies to GCSE/A Level students.

Even though I have no formal teaching qualifications - do people think I'd be in a good position to tutor the above subjects given my background?

Thanks

freelancegal

therivierakid wrote: »

freelancegal, I started tutoring over 4 years ago without any teaching qualification and have been very successful in that time. I did try and qualify as a teacher last year but I wasn't up for the constant battle of trying to discipline the kids in the classroom and I didn't have the creativity to come up with whizz-bang lessons all the time. One thing that I was praised for during my teacher training though was how good I was working one-to-one with the kids, obviously something I've got from the tutoring.

I don't want my lessons to be like school lessons. I like to give them some ownership of their own learning. That means I have to be flexible and so planning every lesson would be a waste of time. It also means I have to know my subject and the syllabi inside out. Working one to one with kids means you have their attention the whole time and you can really practice lots of skills and questions without the other pressures of a classroom environment. Also, clear communication, patience and empathy are all vital components of a good tutor IMO.

Qualified teachers would obviously have all this but I don't see that a teaching qualification is essential to being a good tutor.

That's really interesting RivieraKid. I've always thought about teaching, but I'm not convinced I'd be cut out for teaching in a school long term. Hence, I find myself going back and forth on the issue. It seems a bit of a waste to complete a PGCE and a probationary year being very unsure as to whether I'd teach long-term in a school, but, I always worry about not being 'qualified'. I'm wondering if that's more my issue, probably confidence.

If you don't mind my asking, and it isn't too personal, is it possible to make a reasonable living tutoring? I love the idea of teaching one on one, and funnily enough, that also seems to be my strength (when I think to lecturing etc). In an ideal world I would love to work as a virtual tutor, but I have no idea how viable that would be or whether the practicalities would make it possible.

Bella_b

I lived in Spain for 2 years and did a CELTA course which is about learning to teach English as a foreign language to adults. I probably couldve got a job from the school I did the course at but I didn't feel comfortable there and thought the people were rude.
I started out on my own doing private lessons. A lot of people do it over there, and everyone wanted a native speaker!
I earnt enough to get by, but it was mostly evening work. It wasn't like a full time job.
I did enjoy it though, and I taught adults and children! I met some lovely people too
I no longer live in Madrid but I'm still in contact with a few of my past students.. just as friends! I would encourage anyone who likes teaching to go for it. You don't need a qualification, just some experience in your field really.

I'm thinking I might start giving beginners Spanish lessons here in the UK!

cheekychipmunk

freelancegal wrote: »

If you don't mind my asking, and it isn't too personal, is it possible to make a reasonable living tutoring? I love the idea of teaching one on one, and funnily enough, that also seems to be my strength (when I think to lecturing etc). In an ideal world I would love to work as a virtual tutor, but I have no idea how viable that would be or whether the practicalities would make it possible.

Hi. I do around 14 hours of tutoring a week (30-35 weeks a year) and that gives me a reasonable income. However, it didn't happen instantly - it took me 5 years and a lot of patience to get to that point. 1st year I only had 3 students, but as word of mouth builds up, you should get more. I could potentially take on more students, particularly from March-June, but still have one child at home so that limits me at the moment.

hth

elfen

During the week its a couple of homeschool appointments in the day, and then evenings.
Fridays and Sundays I go to a different town and do two full days

Elvisia

Does anyone else have the same problem as me...I am a very experienced tutor (I taught in another country) and I put up some adverts on some good tutoring sites in the UK as I moved back here last year. I have got some tutoring work through it, but I get an awful lot of people contacting me who either don't seem to want to pay anything (one parent said they'd make me as many sandwiches I could eat in exchange for 8 hours tutoring a week) or they want to pay hardly anything (another parent said I couldn't charge much as his child would be paying for the tutoring from their life savings so it was unfair for me to charge much!). My rates are clearly marked on my tutoring profile. I send back polite responses saying this is what I charge, and this is the maximum discount I can offer. It's really beginning to annoy me now, has anyone else had this? I suspect these people are sending out the same message to everyone in the local area in the hope someone will say yes. They also generally say that if I don't charge much they can give me more hours of tutoring work, which is surely completely the wrong way to look at it, because it means while I am busy tutoring their child for a peanut butter sandwich I am missing out on tutoring someone at my actual hourly rate!!

sandraroffey

well, you cant blame them for trying. really cheeky though. but you have to earn money! stick to your guns.xx