Do you have a passion for teaching?
Does being a private tutor intrigue you?
Or are you looking for a switch in your career?
If you’re interested in being a tutor and is currently wondering about the amount of revenue you get to take home each month, read on more to find out!
Rising Trend of Private Tutors in Singapore
The tuition industry in Singapore is pretty huge.
There has been a spike in people wanting to work as a private tutor, even an increasing number of Ministry of Education (MOE) Teachers converting into full-time private tutors just because it’s more lucrative and less stressful.
At SmileTutor alone, we have over 50,000 tutors in Singapore consisting of part-time, full-time and MOE teachers!
What this means is that being a tutor is becoming more competitive as there are professional educators with years of experience selling their knowledge and services.
Why Are More People Becoming Private Tutors?
To put it simply, tutoring is a lucrative job.
There are cases of tutors earning at least $1 million annually, which is an amount of money many people can only dream of earning.
Furthermore, you’re your own boss in this field.
Apart from communicating with your customers (students and parents), everything else is done on your own accord.
You get to decide your schedule, the curriculum, teaching methods, and you get to charge for your tutoring services according to your qualifications and experience.
With the freedom and luxury of being your own boss and decent tuition rates, you can see why there are many people choosing to become private tutors nowadays.
Types of Tutors and the Potential Income
Now that you know why there are more tutors in the market, let me talk about the different types of tutors and how much income they can potentially earn depending on their qualifications and experience.
1. Part Time Tutor (PTT)
PTTs are usually students who are A Level graduates or Undergraduates, or people with a full-time job but working as a tutor for extra income.
Since PTTs tend to not possess a wealth of experience and qualifications, they earn between $25/h to $40/h, depending on the level they teach.
Realistically, most students will need tuition at least 1-2 days a week that are at least 1.5 hours long.
Assuming that you only have 1 student who takes 2 1.5 hours classes per week and you charge $40/h, you’ll earn around $480 every month.
Not bad, right?
2. Full-time Tutor (FTT)
FTTs as the name suggests, means they’re doing this as their full-time job.
FTTs are not National Institute of Education (NIE) trained and certified but are still almost as good as MOE teachers when it comes to specialised subjects.
On average, FTTs earn around $35/h to $50/h for primary and secondary level subjects (including IGCSE and IB PYP/MYP) and $55/h to $70/h for JC, IB Diploma, Poly, or Uni-level subjects.
Full-time tutors can take up between 10-15 jobs per week.
Assuming that you have 15 tuition assignments a week and you charge $50/h on average, you’ll easily earn $5,000+ every month!
3. Current MOE School Teacher (CST)
CSTs are teachers who are currently teaching in school and can only squeeze in a few lessons when their schedule allows.
CSTs tend to charge at a very high rate as they’ve first-hand experience being an educator.
On average, CSTs earn around $50/h to $70/h for primary and secondary level and $90/h to $120/h for JC level and have about 2 lessons a week.
Assuming that you have two 2-hr lessons every week and you charge $120/h, you’ll earn $2,160 every month on top of your MOE salary.
Enough to pay for your maid and car!
4. Ex-MOE School Teacher (EST)
ESTs are people who left their full-time jobs as an MOE teacher to become a full-time tutor.
ESTs usually charge the heftier fees than full-time tutors as they have better qualifications and are NIE-trained.
The rates for an EST are similar to CST, maybe only $5-10/hr lower. Some parents prefer hiring an EST as CSTs can get overwhelmed by their obligations as a full-time MOE teacher, especially during exam periods where tuition is crucial.
ESTs can expect to earn $6,000 to $8,000 per month if they work as hard as full-time tutors (10-15 assignments per month).
Ways to Earn More Money
If you think that the potential income mentioned above is not enough, here are some ways you can increase your income.
1. Improve your CV (or Tutor Profile on Websites)
How do people gauge a person to be their tutor?
Employers will look at the qualifications they possess in their CV to see if the potential tutor has the right experiences to help a student elevate his/her grades.
Put in as much detail as you can in your CV with all the experiences that you have.
You can also ask your teachers or previous employers to put in some good words into your testimonials.
This can help to make your profile stand out more from your competitors.
2. Have a Good Track Record
There are many factors that can affect your track record as a tutor, here are some:
- Being punctual & professional all the time
- Keeping to your schedule
- Being focus when you’re teaching
- Maintaining a healthy relationship with your tutees and their parents
Having a good track record will help to increase the chances of you landing an assignment, which means more money.
3. Perseverance
Being a private tutor under SmileTutor Agency, there’s a chance that you might not get the assignments that you apply for.
What can you do when this happens to you?
Don’t be disheartened and persevere by continuously applying for more assignments.
You can also use the previous 2 points mentioned above to increase your chances of landing an assignment.
Don’t give up!
Conclusion
So has this article enlightened you about the potential income you can earn as a private tutor?
If you’re keen to be a private tutor, you can always apply as one under us, SmileTutor.
If you’re still unsure about tuition rates, click on this link to find out more.
Here are some related articles you might like to read:
Do I Need to Contribute CPF as a Tutor? – SmileTutor
Practical Financial Advice For New Tutors – SmileTutor
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