Tutors have long been sought after by parents to help their child work through a subject or problem when they themselves may not have the tools necessary to help their child. With internet access, students today have a wealth of knowledge and opportunities at their fingertips, but they still need a guide. Say, for example you are looking for a Math tutor online. The wonderful news is that as a tutor, you have the same wealth of information when you are looking for online tutoring jobs.
If you Google “Tutoring Online,” you immediately find yourself overwhelmed with possibilities. With all of the choices, how do you decide which tutoring company best fits your needs? In this article, we’ve reviewed the top tutoring companies to better help you compare what is available to you and what will best suit your needs.
Online Tutoring Jobs: Chegg Tutors
Some may remember Chegg as being a good source for used college textbooks. This was how the company got started in marketing online education resources to students. As advances in internet speed and accessibility have progressed, so has Chegg. ConsumerAffairs.com lists it as one of the top online tutoring programs for students.
Pros:
– Flexible schedules: For tutors who need flexibility, Chegg is entirely online, and tutors are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This allows tutors to create their schedule, taking on as little or as much as time will permit.
– Chegg offers a free trial period that allows students to test the website and tutoring service, meaning you get the opportunity to cultivate repeat business from the very beginning.
– Reputation- What’s more promising is that the company has a long-standing reputation in higher education. This offers tutors the chance to work with a company whose name is recognizable and can provide the advantage over businesses that are not well-known.
Cons:
– Lack of client continuity: While Chegg offers a lot of flexibility to tutors, the trade-off is that you have a lack of customer continuity. You may not get repeat clients, and a tutor has to work hard to cultivate repeat customers who will log on when they are available.
– Sticky Subscriptions and Subsequent Payout Policy: To get the most benefit from the service, users have to subscribe. The lowest package will cost $15 a week for 30 minutes of tutoring, with a charge of $.50 every minute after that. That means if the subscriber is paying by the minute, you will also be paid by the minute, not the hour. While the pay for tutors is $20 an hour, you are paid by the minute after the first 5, meaning if you set your schedule to be available for tutoring 10 hours a week, but only log 2 hours and 30 minutes of tutoring, you will make $50, not $2000.
– Limited Client Audience: This website is for college students who may need a little bit of assistance with a class or subject that they need guidance in. If you are not comfortable tutoring higher learning individuals or have not had experience or education at this level, it will be evident to students. This tutoring site is best for those accustomed to assisting peers, have quality writing, math and communication skills.
Online Tutoring Jobs: Sylvan
Sylvan Learning Centers have been around for decades and has services available to students through its many national franchises in the United States. The company has had to evolve to the digital generation and has developed a hybrid model for students who are short on time, and who are more adept at navigating digital and online education forums. As a tutor, this will mean you will be able to work with a student in person while also guiding them through applications when they are not in front of you.
Pros:
-Flexible hours and small group teaching allow you as the tutor to focus on building the skill you are teaching your students.
The Sylvan Model is wonderful for students who need interactive and in-person tutoring services. This offers students a personal connection with their tutors, which could enhance their learning experience. As a tutor, you will have the capability of working evenings, weekends and summers.
-With Sylvan’s companion technology, SylvanSync, you will learn tools to help you work with students through technology.
– Pay is reasonable, according to glassdoor.com, the average pay for tutors is a little bit more than $13 per hour. Many teachers may find it beneficial for supplementary income to work at these centers after school.
Cons:
– Sylvan still holds mostly to the model of face to face learning inside a center.
-According to job postings on indeed.com, most of these centers want certified teachers with a Bachelor’s degree or better. Those who do not possess a teaching degree, certification, or Bachelor’s degree need not apply.
Online Tutoring Jobs: Kumon
Kumon is a program geared toward building math and reading schools for children in preschool and grade school. It is nationally franchised and is a brick and mortar tutoring service aimed at the increasing the students’ math and science skills.
Pros:
-Jobs are listed as staff employed opportunities, which is a great option for those who like steady hours and a reliable schedule.
-Kumon takes care of their employees and offers a very nice benefits package that includes medical, dental, 401K retirement and tuition discounts.
-Since it is a brick and mortar business, Kumon is ideal for tutors who enjoy working with students in person.
Cons:
-Kumon is specifically designed for Math or Reading and many instruction options are offered after school unless you are willing to work with pre-school ages. This often means you will work evenings and weekends.
-The pay is below average, glassdoor.com lists the average hourly pay at less than $9 per hour, depending on location.
-Online reviews are mixed, stating that the company focuses on profit and strict guidelines, rather than individual student success. This can make tutoring more difficult for tutors who are accustomed to building individual success in the student.
Online Tutoring Jobs: Wyzant
Wyzant was started in 2005 and acts as a referral service for students and tutors. The company is flexible in offering tutoring online and in person and is open to all grade levels from elementary school to college level tutoring.
Pros:
-Wyzant matches students to tutors who have strength in the skills they wish to improve. It’s a bit like match.com, but for learning.
-Regarding pay as a tutor, you are able to establish your own pay scale, rather than being limited to what the company offers.
-The beauty of Wyzant is that you can tutor in person or set up online tutoring and lesson plans for your students.
-Wyzant has options for students to select tutors for more than 300 subjects, which will allow for a larger customer base.
Cons:
-If you are unqualified, Wyzant may offer some stiff competition. Many tutors are experienced teachers, grad students, and professors who are dedicated to the education of the individual student.
-According to glassdoor.com, Wyzant retains 40% of your pay rate from new tutors. You will to the have to log a set number of tutoring hours before you are able to receive a better pay ratio.
-Wyzant is a referral company that matches your skills and strengths with prospective students, so work may be slow if your skills are not in demand.
Online Tutoring Jobs: StudyGate
StudyGate offers online learning for high school and college students to work with competent tutors who are knowledgeable in their subject area at affordable prices. The site specializes in math, computer science, biology, chemistry, language learning, and test prep options.
Pros:
-Pay is competitive since tutors can set their own hourly rates and commission starts at only 20%. Unless you set your rates super low, this will beat all the other companies on this list.
-There are no brick-and-mortar commitments, so travel time will always be zero. This is tutor freelancing fine-tuned to the effort of running your own business with all the freedom and responsibility, but none of the paperwork.
-Flexibility to provide homework help in a pinch via a bid system OR offer live learning services at your established hourly rate.
-Current tutors benefit from a long-term leveraging opportunity to establish accounts now while the company is still in its early stages.
Cons:
-This is still a young organization, so client flow is not as consistent as more established websites like Wyzant.
-There is some selling involved, so new tutors often have to establish a reputation with students and ask good questions before engaging.
-New tutors must provide a recent transcript or diploma to validate their credentials so this can be inconvenient for experienced tutors who may not have this information readily at hand.
-Since minimal commission is taken, the site is built to pretty much run itself. If you have questions, it might be hard to talk with someone directly.
BOTTOM LINE:
Tutors looking for work can benefit from researching other tutoring businesses. It helps to decipher some of the tutoring businesses and the benefits you can reap. Tutoring is a career that offers flexibility and opportunities for educators and scholars to supplement their income and it can be both financially and personally rewarding.
Having options allow tutors to find the best fit for their abilities and schedules. But for the best outcomes, one of the most important things to remember about tutoring is to know your students and your abilities and seek the best company that meets your skill level and personal needs.