Practical Tips On Becoming A Tutor

By Arthur Moore

Helpful, honest advice from a full-time tutor on getting started, finding students, setting prices, and making tutoring work for you.

Are you looking for a bit of extra cash or looking for a switch from the classroom to becoming a full-time tutor? Either way it’s important that you are ready for the challenges of tutoring. I left the classroom in 2021 and have been a full-time tutor ever since: I love it!

Here are some practical tips for starting out.

What are you going to tutor?

I was a Secondary Maths teacher so I said I was going to tutor . . .  Secondary Maths.

But quickly I started getting requests for other stuff. Could I help a Year 4 student? Could I tutor the 11+? A student is sitting an entrance test, did I know it? A great place to start is by listing those areas you want to tutor and those you are happy to tutor to begin with. For example for my first year I did support a number of primary students (because in reality I needed the work!) but now I only focus on Year 10-13 students.

It is tempting to say ‘yes’ to everything. This will quickly come back and bite you, so write a list: subject(s) I want to tutor, what I’m happy to compromise on in the short term, and what I’m going to say no to.

Online v in-person?

In-person allows you keep that classroom vibe we all love but it does come with practical implications and could potentially impact your student pool as a result. It also means you will need to build in gaps between your sessions.

Online, as I do, is much more flexible, opens your potential student base and allows you to teach consecutive sessions without travel time. Don’t conflate online tutoring with your experience of online teaching in the Covid years: the tech is better, the students are more accustomed to it and, as a tutor, you get to own that space in your own way.

What do you need?

To start with – not much.

If online a decent mic and webcam is great, but I wouldn’t go nuts just yet – you’re better off making sure your tech side works. You can utilise software you are familiar with (Zoom, Google Meet etc) or look at custom made platforms such as Pencil Space or Bit Paper: try them out before you sign up long term. When starting out, look for those free offers become committing.

When I first started online, I did a couple of practise teaching sessions. Me in one room, my wife in the other, just to check my sound was good, she could see me, etc and my chosen platform (I used Zoom at that point) allowed me to do everything I needed to. Don’t go into your first tutoring session without doing this!

In person, the main quesiton is where are you going to tutor? This is going to be based on your own location – are you going to them, or will they come to you? Tutors also utilise libraries or ‘free’ spaces in their community – especially to begin with. If you are just starting to establish yourself as a tutor, try a few different places and see what works for you and your students.

Pricing

This is the bit teachers hate talking about the most: it just is an awkward bit of the journey. My advice is listening to your gut instinct on price. Then, increase it. I’d almost guarantee you will initially underprice yourself. As a teacher you have a wealth of experience, training, expertise and qualifications which should be reflected in your pricing. Think about when you hire a painter or an electrician – we are often happier to pay slightly more to ensure a higher quality of work.

Check local adverts for tutors and that will help you make a judgement. But don’t price yourself too low – it’s easier to put your prices down than up.

How to start working with your first student

This is the question I get asked the most! Your best bet is to reach out to your current community. Tell everyone! Friends, family, parents on the school pick up, local WhatsApp/Facebook groups. “I tutor this, if you’re interested drop me a message”. This method is free and is, in my opinion, the place to start.

You are also part of a community of teachers who will have students asking about tutoring. Get in touch with teacher friends in other schools and ask them to pass on your details for any enquiries. This is exactly how I picked up my first students.

How to gain more students

So, you’ve got a couple of students, now you want more.  Yes, scroll those Facebook pages just in case, but your best bet is now getting tutees from your current ones. Having a good tutor is like having a good plumber – your students (and their parents) will recommend you because you’ve provided a brilliant experience.

Too many students? Could groups work?

I started out just tutoring 1:1 but there is only so much you can do. This is one reason why group tutoring is popular. It allows you to increase your hourly earnings, reduce the price to the parents, and comes with a load of teaching benefits.

I love my groups because we have brilliant discussions, learn from each other and can work on activities we couldn’t in 1:1 sessions. This is where your teaching experience can really separate you from other tutors – you’ve been working with groups for ages!

Will I need to change how I teach?

Now this is always overlooked. ALWAYS!

Obviously tutoring and teaching have loads in common and good teaching is good teaching. But remember your skills, training, experience and resources are usually designed to work with a class of 25+ students. Suddenly you’re down to one student/small group and the way you interact with your resources will change. Trust me, an hour 1:1 feels very different than the classroom.

The other thing to remember is you are not these students’ teacher. Often, they have been taught the content and are coming to you on the back of that. Be ready for misconceptions, be ready for a student being at a completely different stage of their learning than one you have encountered before and be ready to adapt mid-session.

How should I work with parents?

You need to consider the parent/guardian relationship in your tutoring. They pay the bills. They will be your biggest recommenders going forward. They can stop the tutoring if they don’t see the benefit.

I make a big point of including ‘my parents’ in the tutoring journey of my students. They regularly get phone calls/voice notes from me and I encourage them to chat about the session with their child.

All this helps them become part of your tutoring community and they will be your biggest advocates when you include them effectively in the process.

And finally

Tutoring is an amazing growing industry now. If you are consider joining it, go for it and you’ll be amazed where it can take you.

I for one have never looked back!