I have been tutoring privately in London part time for the past three academic years. I have taken a couple of residential jobs, but find it much easier to take shorter positions (both face to face and on Skype) rather than committing to a long contract where you live with the family. Agree with PsyGuy that while the pay is often amazing (as demonstrated on websites like
https://www.tutors-international.com/ab ... vacancies/), there can be issues with the balance of power relying on your employer for accommodation etc. and I would not want to enter into an industrial dispute as a private contractor abroad!
It's true that some parents and tutoring agencies will value high-status degrees over teacher qualifications and relevant experience. To a certain extent you can overcome this with a good portfolio of client testimonials, but not entirely. The main attractions of going down the tutoring route for me were:
1) Total flexibility with my time - Once registered with an agency, you have no obligation to take on work. Also, if you get registered with agencies in multiple time zones (I am in London, but there is an incredible quantity of work available in Hong Kong / China) then you can sell almost every hour of your day if willing. Some days I am on Skype at 6am and my work day is done by 10am.
2) Total flexibility with rate - As a private contractor, you can set your own hourly rate. A bit of research online should show you what people are willing to pay for a tutor with your experience / CV. There are unqualified undergraduate students here in London charging GBP40 per hour without any problems. Rates can go up into the hundreds of pounds per hour for the more specialist jobs (in particular, people will pay a lot for assistance with Oxbridge entry or 16-18 exam help for lesser covered subjects). If you are charging a lot, parents are going to expect a decent service and results though. You cannot just turn up with a few PDF printouts and recycle an old lesson.
Some good tutoring agencies:
Keystone Tutors: Insist on an interview before they'll put you on the books (at their office in London),
ARCH Education: Great agency in Hong Kong, partnered with Keystone. ARCH pay slightly less than Keystone, but the convenience of Skype and not having to waste time on travel is definitely worth this reduction.
Elite IB: Great company specialising in IB. I think this is the only one in London like this. Also offer revision courses throughout the year which you can sign up for if you want more intensive work.
TutorFair: A great startup that takes tutors for all subjects and all ages. You can just upload your profile and start taking jobs immediately. No interview required, but it's good to show them your police check and qualification certificates, as well as going to one of their registration events in London, so then they list you as a "verified" tutor and you show up higher in the search rankings.
Bonas MacFarlane: Seem to have lots of work, insist on interview somewhere near Battersea.
Bruton Lloyd: Boutique agency catering to rich Russian and Central Asian clients. Have some good jobs come up, including short term placements all over the world. Interview required in Mayfair somewhere.
Tutors International: This is the super fancy agency that only does placements, for like GBP100,000 per year, on yachts and in mansions etc. You need to register on their site then the owner, Adam Caller, keeps you posted on availability. I have a friend who did a few long term placements with them and has only positive things to say.
Bright Young Things: Loads of jobs on this notice board. They asked me to come for an interview in London but ended up just rubber stamping my application after about 3 mins of talk, so you might want to try getting registered without the faff of having to go see them!
MyTutorClub: Good agency, found me through LinkedIn. Offered me a few revision course tuition days of 5 hours of work each.