How to become a full-time professional tutor

Are you passionate about teaching but tired of working under the pressures of the current schooling system? If so, you may be considering alternative career options. One path that many in this position take is the route into private tutoring.

Becoming a private tutor means flexible working hours and allows for a work-life balance that is often difficult to achieve in a class-teacher role. Tutoring allows teachers to use their valuable teaching skills to provide individual-centred learning without the paperwork and politics of a classroom role.

Being a qualified teacher will set you above the rest of the tutor workforce and help you to gain the best-paying clients. If managed properly, a tutoring career can offer a qualified teacher a significantly larger salary than a classroom teacher role.

So the question is: how do you make the leap from full-time teacher to full-time professional tutor? Here are some tips for making a successful transition.

1. Research the opportunities in your area

Private tutoring is far more lucrative in some areas than others. For example, in places like London, where there is a lot of competition for schools, there is a very high demand for entrance exam tuition and people are willing to pay highly for qualified tutors. In less competitive areas, people may not be willing to pay such high prices for tuition. Before you decide whether full-time tutoring is for you, talk to schools, tutoring agencies or other tutors in your area to find out if there is sufficient demand.

2. Decide who your target market is

If you are a primary-trained teacher in London, you will find much demand for tutors with experience in the 7+, 8+ and 11+ entrance exams. If you are a secondary-trained teacher, it is advised that you market yourself as a specialist in your subject. Try to find a particular niche that is popular in your area: this will reduce your lesson preparation time and enable you to charge more for your time.

3. Plan ahead

You can’t create a full- time private tutoring timetable overnight: it takes time to build up a reputation and find the right clients. If you know that you are going to leave your job in a few months time, start to think about how you are going to build your client base now. Perhaps you could take on a few evening or weekend jobs so that you build your experience and reputation before taking the leap into full-time tutoring.

4. Find the best tutoring agency

There are hundreds of tutor agencies across the UK, all of which offer varying margins and rates of pay. As a qualified teacher, you will be in high demand, so you should be seeking agencies that offer top rates. It is also advisable to find an agency that promotes online tutoring work: this is a far more efficient way of tutoring as it enables you to teach internationally across different time zones and cuts out travel time.

If you are a qualified teacher wishing to tutor at home or online, Owl Tutors can help. We only work with qualified and experienced teachers. We also invest in our tutors, offering you training and support while you build a client base and providing resources and advice to help you become a skilled, sought-after tutor.

Working with an agency can take much of the admin burden off your hands! Apply to be an Owl Tutor here. 

If you’re interested in becoming an online tutor (if you’re not a qualified teacher), this blog post on Jooble site about how to become an online tutor provides valuable insights and tips to kickstart your career