How can I become a tutor?

Congratulations! If you are reading this, it means that you have decided to become a private tutor. Or perhaps you are already a private tutor, but you still have some unanswered questions that need resolving. Either way, teaching private classes is no easy feat.

As a tutor, you will have a huge impact on your students’ education- a responsibility that should not be taken lightly. A tutor’s role goes far beyond that of the classroom; a good tutor moulds their students and prepares them for the future.  

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Where to start?

A passion for teaching is essential when it comes to teaching private classes. The first thing to bear in mind is whether you have the patience and motivation to teach someone, as not everyone is cut out to be a tutor.

The next thing to consider is whether you want to be a full-time tutor or whether it is something that you will do temporarily or part-time. Tutoring part-time can be a good way to supplement your main income, disconnect from your day-to-day life and can give you more time to focus on each individual student. 

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Now it’s time to advertise yourself as a private tutor. When it comes to creating your tutoring advert, you should carefully consider what type of student you wish to teach. This will help you create your own brand and ensure that your students have the best experience possible. Before posting your advert, you should consider:

• Qualifications. What qualifications do you have? Do you have training in the subject that you want to teach? Whilst qualifications are not always necessary, teachers who are more qualified can naturally charge more for their time.
• Strengths and weaknesses. In addition to your qualifications, you should also take your strengths into account. What were you good at in school? Similarly, try and reflect honestly on your weaknesses. What did you struggle with? Even if you found something difficult, you could be of great help to students who are at a lower level. If you succeeded, you can help them succeed too. 
• Experience. Professional experience is not only limited to tutoring. Depending on what you wish to teach, students may be interested in knowing more about you. For example, a guitar teacher may want to include what bands they have played in and what type of music they are experienced in. A French teacher on the other hand, may want to highlight the fact that they have lived in a French-speaking country. Similarly to qualified tutors, an experienced tutor can also charge more for their time. 
• Personality. It is essential that you are able to accurately evaluate yourself. Are you a patient person? Do you have good communication skills? If you have never taught before, it can be hard to imagine what you will be like as a tutor. However, having the right personality is a key factor when it comes to becoming a tutor, so it is important to spend some time identifying whether it suits your personality.

What really counts here is your intuition and knowing what you are ready for but, for example, if you are a university student, logically you should be able to give classes to secondary school students. Similarly, a master’s student will be able to help undergraduate students.

By using an online teaching platform like FindTutors, you can advertise your private classes online and start receiving messages from potential students. You can also look up other tutors teaching the same subject as you to get an idea of the competition and what the going rate is.

How to get students 

Once everything is prepared, all you need to do is start receiving students for your private classes. The majority of tutors start tutoring because they already have one or two students, however if this is not the case for you, do not worry. Online tutoring platforms can help you start from scratch.

Although nowadays having social media is essential for private tutors, word of mouth is still the most effective way to get students. That is why it is important to tell everyone you know that you give private tuition, you never know who may need a private tutor.

Another easy way to do this is to create an advert and share it. Make sure you create a good advert with a detailed description and a photo that will reassure your potential students. Think about when you shop online, what things do you take into account before you buy something?

This is also why it is important that you ask your students to evaluate you. If they are not registered as a student on FindTutors yet, ask them to register and leave a comment under your profile. Increasingly, people tend to go straight to the reviews before making a decision.

Try and separate yourself from other tutors that teach the same subject as you. Read the adverts of other tutors and try to make yours stand out. An easy way to do this is to write a blog post or create professional social media accounts.

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Which subjects are in demand?

Teaching a subject that is less in demand has its advantages. Less competition means that the few students that want to find a tutor specialising in the subject will most likely contact you.

However, for those who wish to teach a popular subject, these tutors are the most in demand:

• Maths tutors: School subjects and maths in particular are high in demand. From primary school to university level, there are students of all levels needing maths tutors online. 

• Physics and Chemistry tutors: Whilst science in general is itself a popular subject among students, physics and chemistry are the most searched for branches of science as they are often the most complicated subjects for school children. This is why GCSE and A Level physics and chemistry tutors are high in demand. 

• English tutors: English as a second or foreign language is one of the most popular subjects and not just in the UK. Many students of all ages are looking to improve their English and in many cases they are looking to achieve a certain qualification like the First Certificate in English or the Certificate in Advanced English. If you are not a native speaker, it is recommended that you have at least a C1 level to teach English. 

• GCSE and A Level tutors: Tuition is undeniably popular amongst secondary school students, especially when it comes to GCSEs and A Levels. Whilst there are no official requirements, to become an online GCSE tutor or A Level tutor you should have ideally studied the subjects you wish to teach at this level. 

• French and Spanish tutors: French and Spanish are extremely popular foreign languages amongst students. It is recommended that French and Spanish tutors are either native speakers or a C1 level.

Become a private tutor

 What should you charge?

How much should you charge for private lessons? Deciding on how to price your lessons is probably one of the least exciting and most difficult parts of becoming a tutor. For many young tutors, this is their first job and even for the more experienced tutors, it is hard to know what the going rate is.

It is normal to be confused about how to price your classes and whether or not you need to declare your income. The tutoring market is very diverse, which is why we want to help:

• Research the prices in your area. You can do this by going to our website and searching for your subject as if you were a student. 

• Do some field work and work out the average rate for classes in your subject or have a look at our pricing page.
• Make sure you include the cost of preparation and travelling to the location of the classes. 
• Evaluate the rate and speed at which your students learn.
• Do you have qualifications or experience? If you are a qualified tutor or have plenty of experience teaching private classes, you can charge a higher price than your unqualified or inexperienced counterparts.
• Offer something unique if you wish to charge more for your classes. This could come in many forms but, for example, if you teach a rare or complicated subject that requires a lot of knowledge, you can charge more. 
• Offer results and a guarantee of success. Tutors with a high success rate and good reviews can price their classes higher.

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Do you need to pay tax?

One of the most frequently asked questions amongst tutors who have just started is whether they need to declare their income. The answer is, yes. 

Tutors who are self-employed and have earned more than £1,000 in the last tax year (April to April) must send a self assessment tax return. To register as self-employed or to send a tax return, go to the UK Government’s website.

What qualities does a good tutor have?

All jobs require a certain skill set. However, very rarely will you find someone that has all of the desired skills for their profession. With this in mind, we have listed below the top 10 qualities of a good tutor, though this does not mean that you have to possess them all. 

1. Responsible: A tutor should be responsible, focusing on helping their students achieve their goals by carefully planning and organising each lesson. 
2. Flexible: A good tutor will adapt their teaching style and methods according to each student’s needs and be able to explain concepts in different ways. Being flexible is also important for tutors as they should update their teaching methods as their old ones become obsolete. 
3. Good communicator: Good communication skills are an essential part of tutoring, a tutor’s main objective is to be able to break down and explain complex concepts to their students. 
4. Observant: Listen to your student, give them space to express themselves and help them by identifying things that they struggle with. 
5. Patient: Patience is one of the most important qualities of a good tutor. Being knowledgeable about something does not necessarily mean that you will be good at teaching it. A tutor needs to be able to refrain from becoming annoyed if a student does not understand a concept that has been explained repeatedly. 
6. Inspiring: Students who are inspired by what they are learning will study even when they are not in class. It is easier to inspire students through private lessons since you can tailor each lesson to their needs, introducing topics and activities that you think will interest them. 
7. Innovative: A good tutor should be open to new teaching methods, you never know what could transform the way you teach and make it easier. Being innovative is also essential in order to keep up with the competition. 
8. Diplomatic: Although this is more important for school teachers or tutors who teach groups, be prepared to mediate disputes between students or students and their parents.
9. Empathetic: This is one of the main qualities a tutor should have. As tutors and their students spend lesson time one on one, it is natural for them to establish a bond. It’s also essential for tutors to understand and listen to their students so that they can successfully help them. 
10. Charismatic: Whether tutoring is successful or not largely depends on the tutor having a good relationship with their student. A charismatic tutor will easily captivate their students and make lessons more interesting for them.

How to promote yourself 

In the past few years, much has changed about the way we teach. In particular, the way students and tutors interact. From finding tutors or students to tuition itself, the entire process can be done online.

Education, like many other sectors, has undergone a digital transformation. This means that students can now choose their tutors in the same way digital shoppers buy a product which is why having an online presence and a good reputation online is so important. 

Nowadays there are many tutors with a strong online presence. Creating blog posts and social media content are good ways to attract new students and provide current students with additional resources. FindTutors allows tutors to create a blog where they can share their thoughts and opinions with other tutors and students. 

Here are some things to keep in mind before creating your blog:

• Your blog can be used to complement your classes.
• Vary the topics you talk about and make sure that you write about things that will interest your students. You can always refer to our list of recommended topics that appears at the top of the page when you write a new blog post.
• Quality over quantity. 
• If you want your blog post to attract lots of readers, you should learn some SEO basics.
• Promote your blog posts on your social media. 

If you want to set yourself apart from other tutors, a good way is to create YouTube videos. Here are some tips:

• Introduce yourself: Your first video should introduce yourself and your classes. You can link your introduction video to your FindTutors profile in the “General information” section of your personal area. 
• Invest in some basic equipment: All you need is a camera, microphone and computer that you can edit with. 
• Plan your videos: To make sure that your videos are interesting and informative, make sure you spend time planning them.
• Create quality content: It is better to create a few high quality videos, than a large number of videos with poorly thought out content.
• Keep it short: It’s better to create concise videos as viewers tend to have a short attention span, especially since there has been a surge in short form video content.
• Entertain: Make sure your videos are captivating and fun to watch.
• Frequency: Posting regularly on social media is key if you want to attract regular viewers.

How to create a lesson plan

Whilst knowledge is a key part of a tutor’s success, it’s not the only influencing factor. Even if you are good at improvisation, lesson planning is essential. If you do not plan ahead you can end up losing an entire class due to interruptions or other unforeseen events. 

Before lesson planning, set goals with your students. Discuss your student’s goals ahead of time so that you can tailor your lesson plans accordingly. 

Prepare your lessons:

• Outline the topic.
• Brainstorm your ideas
• Prepare questions to check your student’s comprehension
• Create worksheets related to the topic.
• Prepare examples to reinforce knowledge.
• Prepare photos and diagrams to provide visual support.

Here are some lesson planning tips:

• Prepare questions.
• Plan interruptions or breaks to make the class enjoyable.
• Use humour.
• Calculate the time of each activity.
• Prepare the classroom environment.
• Prepare the teaching material.

How to motivate students

Once you start teaching, the most important thing is to maintain a good relationship with your student. The best results come from a student who is motivated and interested in the subject.

Making sure your students are passionate about the subject is as important as it is difficult. For tutors who teach adult learners, this tends to be easier as adults often have chosen to study or relearn something out of personal interest. For tutors who teach children, however, this task can be a challenge.

Here are some tips to keep your students motivated:

• Spark an interest: The best way to do this is to relate the topic to the student’s interests and hobbies. 
• Create a bond: The advantage of private tuition is that, thanks to the one on one nature of the lessons, there is more opportunity for the student and tutor to become friends and share a bond.
• Use engaging techniques: Another benefit of teaching private lessons is that you are not as restricted by curriculums and textbooks. Try out new and fun teaching methods that will make your classes more dynamic.
• Give praise: Whilst it’s important to be honest and give feedback to your students when they make mistakes, do not forget to reward your students and give them positive feedback.

Are you ready? Join FindTutors and start tutoring today!

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