Becoming a private tutor- all questions here

charlie-chan

Parents will try anything on, cheeky beggars lol.

Elvisia

Thanks! I know parents are desperate and will try anything, but the sob story saying the kids would be paying for it out of their live savings, and they were only about 8 and 10 I think, it really annoyed me. I can't imagine him calling out a plumber and saying "the kids have to pay for this mate, so don't charge much. Maybe I can offer you a sandwich instead?"

charlie-chan

I can understand if a postgrad student wants to pay less for tuition as they mainly want proofreading but they would never dare offer me sandwiches instead lol.

You just need to stand your ground and say that you have set your prices for x, y and z. If they don't like it then they can look for services elsewhere.

Elvisia

I've proofread for post grads before as I worked in a university as a professor on the bachelor course, and I would always give their work a once over before agreeing a price for proofreading. I was always so shocked at a lack of basic structure and sentence structure. I love the way they say it just needs a few English errors changing, and you find you can't even understand what they're saying. I am currently working my way through a BA thesis right now which makes no sense, the student admitted he had translated it from French!

Yes it is a matter of telling people that's my rate, I don't mind negotiating 10% discount if they book a lot but am getting fed up of people really taking the p***!! I hate the negotiation part and I take it too much to heart.

The_accountant

I have a BA in accounting and finance from Oxford Brookes university, and I'm currently studying for a CertHE in chemistry and biology. Is this level of education suitable to tutor maths upto key stage 3 and GCSE business studies and economics?

Chai_2

I'm sorry, I have nothing of value to add but this made me cry with laughter "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!"
LOL, people dont value tutoring as much these days. Also, try doing some kind of group tutoring programme on person or online as another option for those who you are robbing their childs life savings :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

More like giving them a head start in life !!!!!!!!

C05T1N

Hey,

What other websites, apart from vivastreet or gumtree, could I use to offer private foreign language lessons?

I'm not a qualified teacher, but a native speaker with a passion for teaching my own language. I already have five students, and I'm looking to increase their number.

Thanks.

Tomby1

My girlfriend and I have both used First Tutors and found some good work through there

I've tutored from GCSE to university levels in English Language & Linguistics whilst my girlfriend currently has tutees in Biology (A Level & GCSE), Maths (GCSE) and Chemistry (GCSE).

I've been charging £20 an hour and she charges £15 - I don't really need the money but she does so this works for us (at £15 she gets a lot of enquiries whereas I don't get so many but I only tend to take on one at a time anyway)

MissTutor

I would add that there are a few ways to get regular tuition enquiries:

1. Have a website. I've had lots of parents tell me that they find it hard to find good tutors but feel more reassured if a tutor has their own website in addition to online profiles. It also makes you look professional and shows that you take your business seriously. Remember that a lot of tutors are part-timers looking to earn some extra money which means that it's hard for parents to find committed educators.

2. Leverage the traffic from tutoring websites! The best websites for advertising as a tutor are usually the ones you have to pay for (with the exception of First tutors perhaps). I've noticed that the quality of clientele that you attract is very much dependent on which websites you advertise on and also your price. PM me if you'd like recommendations for great websites. I think I've tried them all!:)

3. Cheap prices will attract cheap customers. Cheap customers are also the ones who'll give you bags of hassle and the least amount of proper business. So many parents think they can pay you pennies whilst expecting you to be at their beck and call which is totally unfair. Don't be afraid to charge what you're time is worth and remember that many parents will expect a lot from you so cost that into your pricing. For example, some parents want long consultations after the lesson has finished. Some want me to mark heaps of practice papers/exam answers in between lessons. You may also need to travel to the lesson which again incurs you time and cost. An hour spent travelling is time you could essentially be getting paid for.

3. You don't need to be a qualified teacher. Tutoring and teaching are two very different professions. Teaching is essentially educating others and managing a classroom. Tutoring is educating individuals and can also include coaching, mentoring, guidance etc. How you choose to tutor/teach is up to you but it should student focused. For instance, adapt your skills to meet the needs of your pupil. If you're not a qualified teacher then I highly recommend getting some teaching/tutoring experience before charging for private tutorials. For example, you could volunteer at your church Sunday School.

With tutoring, the more experience you get the better you become. It took me about a year before I started receiving excellent word of mouth referrals which really brought me some excellent clients. Good luck everyone!

MissTutor

Elvisia wrote: »

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!!

OMG I can't believe parents would do that! What websites were your profiles on? I think you should consider advertising elsewhere and tell any parents who make such offers that you can only work with committed parents who understand that this is an investment in their child's future. I remember when I first started, I was charging pennies (literally) and I was contacted by a wealthy parent who wanted to pay an inordinate amount for their child's lessons. I couldn't believe it! It made me realise that there are parents out there who are willing to pay premium prices for quality tutors. Don't waste time and money by accepting work from those who don't value your services.