Many teachers have left full-time teaching to become full-time tutors. Teaching has a tough schedule and takes a lot out of teachers. Tutoring is a fulfilling job, with less of the stress teaching carries. However, tutoring has its benefits and pitfalls, just as teaching does. Tutoring is basically freelance work, and everyone knows the instability of freelancing. Jobs come and go, and the competition is tough.
Knowing the pros and cons of full-time tutoring puts things in perspective. You get to plan your financial affairs better. You work hard at improving your skills and staying relevant. So, if you are considering becoming a full-time tutor, or you are already a tutor, these pros and cons are for you.
The Benefits of Full-Time Tutoring
• Put Your Hard-Earned Skills And Knowledge To Use
Teachers require certain qualifications before they can teach. If you don’t want to let your certifications waste away, you can become a tutor. Tutoring and teaching are the same things. It is the setting and the workload that is different. You will have an edge over a lot of other tutors. Many people become tutors just because they feel they can do it.
With your skills and knowledge, you stand out in the crowd. You are better qualified and better equipped for tutoring with your experience. So, you have options. If you don’t want to be a teacher, there is still the rewarding choice of becoming a tutor.
• Be Your Own Boss
You don’t have to report to anyone. You don’t have to create lesson notes and submit to the Dean for approval. You don’t have to get up at 7 in the morning to be at work. You are totally your own boss. You can set the time that you will go to tuition sessions. You can decide on the best way to present lessons. You have the freedom to choose what activities the students can do in tuition classes. You can decide what learning methods are the best for the students.
Becoming a tutor gives you the opportunity to shine and become an expert on your subjects. You can improve your skills as you want. You can also acquire new skills that will be out of place in a traditional classroom setting but will get you more tuition clients.
• Earn More, Working Fewer Hours
Tutors do not need to work 5 days a week, 8 hours a day, to earn a good salary. You can choose to work 5 days a week, for two hours a day, and in a month you will as much as a teacher. Some tutors earn even more than teachers do on a monthly basis. It all depends on your skill set and level of experience. As you improve yourself, you will give more value, and you will get paid even more for tutoring for two hours on a weekday.
• The Industry is Big And Getting Bigger
Tutoring is becoming a bigger industry every year. There are always parents who want tutors to teach their children after school hours. Gaining admission into schools is also getting tougher every year. This increases the need for tutors to prepare children for the entrance exams. Online learning has also increased online tutoring. You can give tuition sessions via Skype, no matter what time it is.
The Pitfalls of Full-Time Tutoring
• Working Hours Can Be Anti-Social
Tutoring can only happen after school and work hours. As such, tutoring can be quite anti-social. Working those kinds of hours means that you are home when everyone else is at work, and you are at work when everyone else is at home. This is a pitfall that you can overcome, however. Tutors are advised to get as much work as possible, which means working every weekday in the evenings, and full days on weekends. If you are financially secure, you can work Mondays to Fridays and take the weekends off.
Another thing that can make your work anti-social is administrative work. Admin work isn’t limited to teachers. Tutors do it as well. Your invoices, taxes, bill payments, and lesson planning all take place once the tuition sessions are over.
• It’s a Long Game
Tutoring doesn’t just start at the drop of a hat. You need to get clients and have a full tutoring schedule. These things can take time. If you are switching from teaching to full-time tutoring, you should plan for this. Start getting clients before you leave your job. Make sure you have work in the pipeline before your bank account runs dry. Make sure you advertise your services and reach interested persons before you leave your job. Failure to prepare is preparing for failure. Let it be known that you are a tutor for hire at least a month before you quit your job.
• Lack of Peers
The only way you can have colleagues as a tutor is if you work with a tuition agency. Or if you go out of your way to find other tutors. Tutoring can be a bit lonely. If you don’t mind not having people to work with and laugh with, that is fine. If you are a social butterfly and need constant interaction, this may not work for you. The way around this is to join other tutors in a social setting like a forum or a networking session.
Conclusion
The pitfalls and benefits of tutoring just outline what to expect when you become a tutor. Depending on your stance, one outweighs the other. Most people turned to tutoring because of the freedom and flexibility it gives, allowing more personal time to pursue interest and quality time with loved ones.
Tutoring is not unlike any other freelancing gig in today’s economy and as it seems to be, it can only grow massively in the few years down the road as many millennials are paving the future path by opting for contractual work than to be tied down in a permanent job.
We have more articles to help you to become a better tutor, here are some of these:
8 Most Common Mistakes New Tutors Make Every Lesson
Be Outstanding in Your Field: What It Takes to Be a Great Tutor
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