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Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: davisgang90 on February 13, 2016, 07:16:25 AM

Title: Does anyone tutor part time? Do you use a service?
Post by: davisgang90 on February 13, 2016, 07:16:25 AM

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.

Title: Re: Does anyone tutor part time? Do you use a service?
Post by: mustachianteacher on February 13, 2016, 10:33:06 AM

I used to tutor. I'd place an ad in the local high school paper and post flyers around their campus, with their permission of course. Be sure to advertise which courses you can tutor. Don't just say you can tutor Math; say you can tutor Algebra, Gemoetry, Pre-Calc, etc.

I always preferred to help with homework and studying for tests, and I had them bring their textbook and some recent assignments. Parents who want someone to help their child "brush up on skills" were a red flag to me because I'm also a teacher, and I came to recognize those students as needing help far beyond what I could do in an hour or two a week. The students were often way behind, totally lazy, or had undiagnosed learning disabilities. Someone else might not mind that kind of tutoring, but I found it very frustrating, especially after a full day of teaching.

Edited to add: I saw that you asked about pay in another thread. I think this probably varies from location to location. I charged $40/hour, which was super cheap for a credentialed teacher in southern CA. The going rate was $60-$75 for an experienced, credentialed teacher. Around here, I'd suggest you start out around $35-$40/hour.

Title: Re: Does anyone tutor part time? Do you use a service?
Post by: DebtFreeBy25 on February 13, 2016, 11:00:48 AM

Varsity Tutors places students with qualified tutors if you think you'll need help getting leads. They also offer online tutoring which is something I'm interested because I live in an economically depressed rural area. I haven't worked with them yet but have a second interview scheduled next week. If you can get paying students on your own, I'd suggest you skip them because the rates aren't great. Think ~$25-30 an hour with your experience.