If you have a lot of knowledge in a certain field of study, and a computer with access to the world wide web, you have a chance to make a pretty decent chunk of change working from the comfort of your own home.
As an added bonus, you will even get the chance to lend a helping hand to someone that could use it.
Sounds great doesn’t it?
What we are talking about here is the world of online tutoring.
Is this a job option that is suitable for you?
Today we are going to take a look at how to get the jobs, how much they pay, and if they are right for your situation.
Who This is For
Let’s start by universally acknowledging that this is pretty important work, alright?
Since online tutors work directly with students who are already struggling, it is really important that they get the help they deserve and need.
There is an ethical component to this work that is not necessarily present in most online jobs.
Think about it this way: if you were a struggling student would you want someone with your level of knowledge to come in and help you out?
If the answer is yes you (might) be a good fit for this work.
If the answer is no, well then it isn’t really responsible for you to give it a try is it?
Now that said, there is more to tutoring than just knowledge.
The smartest person in the world could still be not exceptionally good at imparting knowledge, after all.
Another thing to think about is how well you actually work with others.
Do you work well with high school students?
College students?
Kids?
Adults taking classes?
Are you patient?
Kind?
Personable?
Remember that just from the perspective of the person you will be tutoring this situation might be a little bit uncomfortable.
The ideal candidate for this job is going to be able to mitigate that discomfort as best as possible.
The simplest way to think about it?
If you couldn’t get a job tutoring in person, you probably shouldn’t take one tutoring online.
Requirements
Requirements are going to differ depending on the avenue through which you pursue this work.
There are plenty of sites and networks designed to connect tutors with those that need to be….tuted.
Each one of these networks and websites is going to have its own unique requirements that will serve to determine whether or not you are appropriately suited for the job in question.
You might be surprised to learn that you don’t necessarily need a college degree to get into this field.
In fact, these jobs are even suited for high-achieving college students that need to put some money away.
And by the way, what college student doesn’t need to put some money away?
While a college degree is probably going to be preferred, and a degree in education in particular is going to be the bees knees, neither are explicitly necessary.
All that you really need to be able to do is pass the requirements of the platform you are trying to work with. Some sites will require you to take some tests, others will have a more in depth hiring process that requires multiple phases of interviews.
Generally speaking, the harder it is to get work on the site, the higher the quality of services it provides.
The higher the quality of service it provides, the more money the tutors generally make.
To get hired on the very best platforms you are probably going to need a degree of some sort, but you can definitely still make money without one if you know what you are doing.
There are even some sites out there that don’t have any screening process whatsoever.
For example at Fiver.com you can list any service that you want on the site and (assuming of course that your listing is appropriate) you shouldn’t encounter any scrutiny.
In general the best and easiest sites to work with are going to be those dedicated exclusively to connecting qualified tutors with students who are in need of a little bit of extra help.
However, if you don’t meet the qualifications of those sties but still feel well equipped to help struggling students there are definitely other avenues out there to explore.
How Much You Can Expect To Make
How much you can expect to make as an online tutor is going to depend entirely on your ability to land jobs.
Keep in mind that even if you find a place at one of the cream of the crop websites, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have found your way to easy street.
At the end of the day what really counts (in terms of your ability to produce income, anyway) is how good you are at standing out to potential clients.
Generally speaking, even on tutoring websites the client choses the person that they would like to work with based on the merits of the tutor’s web profile.
Assuming your profile is good enough to help you land jobs, you could expect to make $20 an hour or more.
Much of the time, you set your own rate but keep in mind that there is a large market of competition out there. Set your fee too high, and you might price yourself out of work.
The average salary for an online tutor is about $25,000 a year, which equates to about $20 an hour of part time work.
Tutoring in China
If you are interested in tutoring kids in how to speak english, sites like VIPKID pay a good chunk of change for just 3 hours of work a day.
I know a few people doing this and they are making a living completely from home thanks to that program.
Click here for a full review of VIPKID or you can simply go here to see their actual site.
Conclusion
Well, as you can see, for the well educated individual with a little bit of spare time on their hands, online tutoring can be lucrative work. While the $25,000 a year you can expect to make is nothing to retire off of, it is certainly a nice way to supplement your income.
If you have a lot of knowledge on a given topic, and a passion for sharing that knowledge with other people, consider entering into the wonderful world of online tutoring.
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