Tutoring is a broad field that brings resources to high school and college students. It is often subject-specific, and it’s usually helpful for a tutor to have some training in the subject in which they will be tutoring. For example, a college student majoring in mathematics would likely be an excellent candidate for a math tutor.
Tutoring involves working directly with students, meaning this side hustle also requires top-notch people skills. The best tutors tend to be patient, understanding, and thorough in their explanations. For tutoring, it is more important to have a good approach to the student rather than unimpeachable expertise in the subject you are tutoring.
Tutoring is much more than correcting papers and grading assignments! Most tutors apply a
“growth mindset” approach. In other words, sessions focus on encouraging the student to learn the subject while helping them find solutions to their problems and issues with that subject themselves.
How to Get Started
There are two
general approaches to tutoring as a side hustle. You can work with an established tutoring service or hang out your tutoring shingle and find clients yourself.
Finding your own clients offers the greatest control over your pay rate and the students you choose to tutor. You can work with a third-party tutoring site or host your own website to advertise your services. Sites such as
Wiziq provide training, a user base, and a place to host your classes.
If you don’t want to manage your own client list, you can work with businesses that handle the bulk of client acquisition. Websites such as
Tutor.com organize their tutors by subject and automatically match students with a tutor in their requested topic. While tutors don’t have to do any work to find students, they have no control over their pay rate and must follow Tutor.com tutoring procedures when interacting with students.
Training and Certifications
Required tutor qualifications vary widely based on the service you use. For example, Tutor.com prioritizes tutors with bachelor’s or master’s degrees. Of course, if you are offering tutoring services solo, you will need to meet not only your own requirements but also those of the student.
Overall, the only consistent requirement of a tutor is knowledge of the subject material. It also helps to be patient and have some experience with assisting students. Many businesses offer training in tutoring techniques, which can be an excellent first step toward honing your tutoring skills.
Expected Return
Tutors can
expect to make at least $10 per hour and potentially much more. The highest-paid tutors represent themselves and are able to set their own rates. Among tutors as a whole, it is not uncommon to see pay ranging from $15-$25 per hour.
The highest rates are paid to established tutors who have substantial user bases. Tutors will generally develop client relationships and make the bulk of their tutoring income through returning customers.
