Whilst every tutor loves educating their students, the aim for the majority is to make money tutoring and gain a solid income, which is why we’ve put this right up there in chapter two! There are two ways you can make money tutoring, by offering face-to-face tuition or online tuition, which could work really well if you’re looking to make money whilst studying yourself.
Choosing your Hourly Rate
Choosing your hourly rate can be tricky, but it will depend on your level of experience, your location, and the subject and level you teach. Ultimately, the more you tutor, and the more experience you get, the more you can charge. We generally recommend:
UK hourly rates (excluding London):
PS15 to PS18 – Current students and those with some, but limited, teaching/tutoring experience.
PS18 to PS23 – Graduates and more experienced tutors.
PS23 to PS28 – Experienced tutors without a teaching qualification, or newly qualified/trainee teachers.
PS28 to PS35 – Qualified teachers and highly experienced tutors.
London hourly rates:
PS15 to PS25 – Current students and those with some, but limited, teaching/tutoring experience.
PS25 to PS30 – Graduates and more experienced tutors.
PS30 to PS40 – Experienced tutors without a teaching qualification, or newly qualified/trainee teachers.
PS41 to PS60 – Qualified teachers and highly experienced tutors.
Of course, these are rough guidelines and can be altered based on the subject you teach.
English teachers and experienced Maths and Science tutors are in particularly high demand. As many foreign nationals look to teach their native languages, there are more language tutors available and tuition in these subjects is, therefore, generally charged at a slightly lower rate.
Similarly, those offering A Level (or Higher, in Scotland) tuition can charge more for sessions than for GCSE lessons. Whilst qualified Primary teachers are in high demand and can set a higher price, those without this qualification will again need to offer lessons at a slightly reduced price.
Many new tutors ask us whether they should charge a little less to get started, say PS10, and may feel guilty about charging such a high hourly rate. Always remember that parents are paying for more than an hour of your time, as you will have to prepare for sessions and travel to them, so anything less than PS15 is too little and will soon become unsustainable. Similarly, charging so little actually undermines parents’ impressions of how good you will be as a tutor so we always advise meeting following the guidelines we set out.
You always want to price yourself in relation to your experience, but also factor in the quality of the service you provide. Also, don’t forget to factor in other expenses, such as travel. You should price yourself so that you can easily cover any additional costs, whilst also allowing you to earn a good amount of profit at the end of the job.”
Zack Neary-Hayes, freelance SEO at neary-hayes.co.uk
How Many Sessions can I Teach Per Week?
For most tutors, their sessions will take place outside of school time, which is obviously a limiting factor on the amount you can earn. It will depend on the age you teach as to how many hours this will allow you to fit in, however, you will probably be looking at the possibility of 3-4 hours per evening, five evenings a week.
Having a tutor on weekends is like marmite for most families: for some parents, their busy lives mean that this is the only time they can have sessions, whereas for others they like to ringfence family time. If you would like to organise sessions on Sundays, there is a good chance that you can work another 5 hours.
All in, therefore, you can realistically hope to teach around 20 hours per week, which will allow you to earn a good income when charging PS15 to PS30 per hour.
There are, however, ways in which you can extend these hours. A Level and degree students will often work around more limited timetables, during which they are not required to be on campus and can, therefore, organise daytime sessions, whilst GCSE students are also afforded study leave prior to their examinations. Similarly, any teachers offering adult courses can find that their learners are more flexible in arranging lessons – this is often a very rewarding pursuit. School holidays are another great chance to flesh out your timetable by taking more students on for intensive summer coaching.
All this being said, for the majority tutoring is a part-time profession which they approach as a lifestyle choice, or in addition to another role. The flexibility of the hours worked is a huge advantage to the role, however, those seeking a more steady income stream will often compliment tuition with a role as a supply teacher, which tessellates with the hours worked.
What is a ‘Super Tutor’?
No, super tutors are not Marvel’s latest superhero – as cool as that would be. Many of you may have seen press coverage of tutors charging over PS100 per hour for sessions and there is the opportunity to vastly increase your income over time.
High-cost tutors are generally Oxbridge graduates who focus on entrance examinations to the most prestigious schools, such as Eton, or Universities. Whilst you do not need to be an Oxbridge candidate to reach the ranks of those charging over PS50, many parents see this badge of approval as the focus for their tutor recruitment, especially in seeking tutors for entrance examinations.
Scott Woodley, Co-founder of Tutorful.
Scott is a fully qualified primary school teacher who left teaching to set up Tutorful, a site which helps parents and learners find the right tutor for them.
If you are looking to become a tutor, you can easily create a profile with Tutorful. You can set your own price, offer online or face-to-face tuition and begin building your rewarding career in no time.
