Author Topic: Charging to tutor a friend's teen?  (Read 8059 times)

Physicsteacher

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Charging to tutor a friend's teen?
« on: September 12, 2015, 04:59:39 PM »
How should I price my tutoring services?

A friend's daughter has been struggling mightily with algebra 2, and I spent about an hour and a half working with her last weekend because she had a 49% in the class so far and the first big test coming up. She got a 72% on the test and told her mother I was really helpful. Now they want to hire me to tutor on a regular basis, and I have no idea what to charge.

Back when I was an undergrad and dinosaurs roamed the earth, I tutored for $10/hour and was told by others in my department I was undercharging by 50%. Honestly, I enjoy working one on one with motivated students and would gladly keep doing this for free, but my friend insists on paying me.

zataks

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Re: Charging to tutor a friend's teen?
« Reply #1 on: September 12, 2015, 05:04:12 PM »
Charge a reasonable rate for your time.  Just because you get joy or satisfaction out of something doesn't mean you must or should do it for free.  You're providing a service for a willing client. 

I'd say at least $25/hour.  More depending where you are.

Anything the friend or friend's SO does that you want/need?  If you really don't want money, work for trade.  But don't take nothing for your time.

JRA64

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Re: Charging to tutor a friend's teen?
« Reply #2 on: September 12, 2015, 05:13:19 PM »
I was recently looking at tutoring sites, they pay the tutors $17 - $20 per hour after taking their cut from the top, generally at least 15%. So I think $25/hour is reasonable. Alternately, call a couple of tutoring places and ask what they would charge.

My experience: people don't value what they don't pay for. Also consider requiring 24 hour advance cancellation with partial payment for notice less than that. Last miniutes cancellations tend to be very common when someone is getting a free service.

DEL

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Re: Charging to tutor a friend's teen?
« Reply #3 on: September 12, 2015, 05:19:37 PM »
Charge a reasonable rate for your time.  Just because you get joy or satisfaction out of something doesn't mean you must or should do it for free.  You're providing a service for a willing client. 

I'd say at least $25/hour.  More depending where you are.

Anything the friend or friend's SO does that you want/need?  If you really don't want money, work for trade.  But don't take nothing for your time.

+1

When I was in college two years ago, I charged $20 for tutoring. It was not unusual to see tutoring gigs going for $40 even. I would agree that at least $25 / hour is more than reasonable. Even if you enjoy doing it, that it is for a friend, you should still charge for your time. And if a friend of mine would tutor my kid, I would want to be able to pay them in some way so that there is not that feeling of being in someone's debt on either side

lifejoy

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Re: Charging to tutor a friend's teen?
« Reply #4 on: September 13, 2015, 09:10:11 AM »
Because it's your friend's kid, I wouldn't charge. You're helping a friend. Your friend will help you one day.

MsPeacock

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Re: Charging to tutor a friend's teen?
« Reply #5 on: September 13, 2015, 10:04:08 AM »
Private experienced tutors in my area charge $50-$75 per hour. These are often teachers earning extra money on the side and they come w/ lesson plans, materials, etc. I'd think $25 per hour for a friend is a good deal.

GizmoTX

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Re: Charging to tutor a friend's teen?
« Reply #6 on: September 13, 2015, 10:09:18 AM »
DS is getting $25/hr to tutor calculus at his university. He's a senior double majoring in electrical engineering & math.

wordnerd

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Re: Charging to tutor a friend's teen?
« Reply #7 on: September 13, 2015, 10:11:27 AM »
My dad charges $30/hr for similar level tutoring, and he seems to be near the market price for his area. For a friend's kid, I'd be tempted to offer a discount or accept dinner after tutoring as part of my payment, but it really depends on your relationship. I agree with others that you should be compensated for your time.

K-ice

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Re: Charging to tutor a friend's teen?
« Reply #8 on: September 13, 2015, 10:28:23 AM »
You just need to be clear. Look at market rates & offer a bit of a discount.

I don't think you are planning on it, but I wouldn't  accept back pay for what you have already done.


Physicsteacher

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Re: Charging to tutor a friend's teen?
« Reply #9 on: October 18, 2015, 09:06:01 PM »
I told my friend I am happy to tutor for free. She informed me she planned to pay me anyway, especially since she anticipates asking for help with chemistry next year as well. I never specified a rate and have been ignoring the matter of money in the hopes that she would drop it, but today the teen brought a check for $200 from her grandparents' trust. I haven't been tracking time but estimate I've done eight to ten hours of tutoring so far so that seems more than fair.

okits

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Re: Charging to tutor a friend's teen?
« Reply #10 on: October 18, 2015, 09:35:46 PM »
How good a friend is this?  You could always set aside some tutoring pay to give the kid a handsome graduation gift when she finishes high school (hopefully to go towards college or vocational training or a gap year for travel!)

But I would definitely charge for my time, maybe -10% market rate, if this is a regular thing. You're taking on a commitment to help this kid through at least this semester's course; she is counting on you and so you're taking on a responsibility.  That deserves pay.  You can always find a way to gift some back at a later date.

Sandia

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Re: Charging to tutor a friend's teen?
« Reply #11 on: October 20, 2015, 01:00:04 AM »
My dad has tutored math to kids for ~20 years. He tells parents to pay him what their hourly wage is, which seems to make sense for both rich families and poor families.

StetsTerhune

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Re: Charging to tutor a friend's teen?
« Reply #12 on: October 20, 2015, 07:30:32 AM »
I told my friend I am happy to tutor for free. She informed me she planned to pay me anyway, especially since she anticipates asking for help with chemistry next year as well. I never specified a rate and have been ignoring the matter of money in the hopes that she would drop it, but today the teen brought a check for $200 from her grandparents' trust. I haven't been tracking time but estimate I've done eight to ten hours of tutoring so far so that seems more than fair.

I think this is exactly how I would have handled it. If you had named a price, any price, I think there's some chance the friend would take offence on some level. Just help out however much you can, and assume the friend will give you whatever they deem appropriate, whether that's money or a nice gesture. Glad this worked out well and hope the Algebra grades keep improving!

TheGrimSqueaker

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Re: Charging to tutor a friend's teen?
« Reply #13 on: October 21, 2015, 11:58:51 AM »
My dad has tutored math to kids for ~20 years. He tells parents to pay him what their hourly wage is, which seems to make sense for both rich families and poor families.

Best idea yet.

I tutor from time to time, and what I do is an hour-for-hour trade, where the kid does yard work for an hour in exchange for every hour of mine. Don't get me wrong, I'm out there doing other work and supervising. But the person who benefits from my labor is the one who "pays" for it, and the parents are thrilled to not be out of pocket any money. Meanwhile the kid gets a lesson about what manual labor is like and how those cushy jobs you need a college degree to get might be worth going after.