Does anyone tutor part time? Do you use a service?

[davisgang90]

Hello all,

One of the part-time gigs I'm interested in after retirement is private tutoring.

I have no degrees in teaching, but I've instructed and taught at the adult level off and on throughout my career and now lead a graduate level seminar at a war college.

We are planning to move to Roanoke, VA after retirement, so that's the location I'd be working at.

So, any advice on getting into tutoring, services used etc.?

Thanks in advance.

[rageth]

Tutoring is my main school year side gig.  If you're looking to get into it, I would try stopping in to the local high schools and universities in your area to see if you could post any ads for tutoring or possibly get onto a tutor list that the schools would provide to students or families looking for a tutor.  Try marketing specifically which courses you would tutor, that specificity really helps bring in more people.

I started working with a service called Tutor Doctor, but I found that Tutor Doctor paid me too little for my time, and it was also a huge drag having that money show up on my year-end taxes.  If you're having a hard time finding anyone to tutor, it is an option, just know that they always take a good chunk of the cut and they let Uncle Sam in on the equation.  With a Masters degree, Tutor Doctor paid about $20 less per hour than I was getting working with students privately, so I slowly phased out working with them as I found more students being on my school district tutor list.

[earthshine]

Rageth
How does one determine a fair hourly cost for tutoring? Imagine it would depend on region, courses etc

Do you help students with their school work or teach them on your own? Ie from a course guide.

[rageth]

Rageth
How does one determine a fair hourly cost for tutoring? Imagine it would depend on region, courses etc

Do you help students with their school work or teach them on your own? Ie from a course guide.

I'm a teacher myself so I actually found out from other teacher friends who also tutor what their general rate was.  I was selling myself short by only charging $25/50minutes (+10 for wrapping up and speaking with parents/socializing).  Like you said, though, it's definitely based on where you are, who you're tutoring, and what exactly you're tutoring.  I know some people that charge $50 for an hour, but they have a lower volume of clients because of that.  I charge $40/hr where I'm at and I have had to turn clients down because I'm overbooked.

Generally I help with school work, and I ask students to bring their textbooks with them so that I can tailor our time based on how their textbook is teaching (yay Common Core...not) and how their teacher wants them to do the work.  If I have a student that wants to meet over the summer to keep up their work, I ask them and their parents to keep all of their school work and I also look up the Common Core standards for the grade level above and below them.  I am guessing, though, that Common Core would be below what you would want to tutor being more in secondary and higher education.

[davisgang90]

Rageth,

Thanks for your insights.  What subjects do you teach and what do you tutor?

[rageth]

I'm a 1st grade bilingual teacher, so I have tutored students in 2nd grade all the way up to a professional athlete (for a short time). For the most part I have tutored students in math from 2nd grade math up to calculus and Spanish.