The International Schools Review Forum

Bit of a niche area, but here's as good a place to ask as any. Does anyone have any experience of working as a full time tutor? I don't mean the sort of tutoring where an IT works in an English school for a bit more cash, I mean the sort of vacancy where you're hired by a rich family to be their son/daughters full time tutor.

These jobs seem more common in the ME, Russia, and a few of the richer Asian countries. Salaries listed are almost always substantially higher than what one would earn in an IS - even a first tier IS. Around $1250 a week seems to be the going rate for many - which could only be bettered by a very small percentage of schools out there.

So - does anyone have any experience of doing this? What sort of experience level do you need to have a chance at those sort of positions? Is it worth the money, or does been at the beck-and-call of a rich family full time make it too much of a grind?

@Joe30

USD$1250, thats meh. Its called concierge teacher, tutor is so 2000. Look at Tutors International, 6 figures isnt unusual.

www.tutors-international.net

@PsyGuy

I've seen those, but I think it'd be fair to say TI deals with the 'higher end' of those sort of jobs. But looking on the internet, plenty of jobs in the ME and Russia paying around $1250 a week.

Just trying to get some idea of how far in your career you'd need to be to have a good shot at those jobs - and whether it's worth it. The weekly rate is higher than most IS, even factoring in the better holidays at IS's.

I tutor a lot, although obviously not full time. If I tutored full time instead of teaching I would make double my current salary! However, it is a bit soul-sucking as it's the rich of the rich that pay for this, and catering to the whims of rich children can be draining.

Just to jump in. Does anyone had success with part time tutoring online? I have looked at Upwork and a few other jobs to slowly get more into online work, hopefully to free up more time for travel/having mobility in the future.

I know a lot of people who are working for VIPKid, and bringing a nice addition to their income.
https://t.vipkid.com.cn/

@jboeh2

Generally its easier to do part time online ET than it is academic tutoring. You can usually find one of the big chain ESs in the region that has an online program. There are also DIY apps where you basically are an independent contractor you set your own hours, your online when you want to be and you give the company 25% for managing the infrastructure and overhead. There are also options like Pamoja (an online IB IS) that occasionally posts vacancies on TES, but you can find virtual DSs in the US and UK. The gold ring is the DoDDS virtual school program. From a practical standpoint, ET is just easier.

peachestotulips wrote:
> I know a lot of people who are working for VIPKid, and bringing a nice
> addition to their income.
> https://t.vipkid.com.cn/

Is there any equivalent of this for other subjects?

@idonteven

No not with that kind of organization, blame youtube.

@peachestotulips VIPKid looks like a nice option, though they only work with certain countries. As we don't live in one of the countries they said they work with (due to internet connections), that wouldn't be an option.

@PsyGuy, would you mind telling me what ET is? I'd be looking for something part time and on my own hours.

Thanks

@joe30

Its not a question of how far in your career you are. What clients look for is status (degree from Oxbridge, or diploma from Eaton) and "Edutainment". You have to be an entertainer as most of the students are basically SPED/SEN (though on the mild end of the spectrum) thats why their parents are paying the coin for a concierge tutor, these kids dont thrive and arent productive in the general education classroom. Being an IT/DT with a careers worth of lecturing from the pulpit isnt going to be desirable, you cant just read along/with/too the student as they work. You have to come up with warm fuzzies and ice breakers and interest activities that appeal to their motivations and interests, all the while constantly feeding their ego. They never error, they are never wrong, there are concepts they get and those they havent, and you have to invent sometimes 10 different ways of presenting the material and content until you hit the one that works for them.

The starting key to those jobs is a strong digital portfolio. Thats what you apply with You send then an introduction/cover letter that includes a resume (in this instance you want to use the functional approach and not the chronological approach) that includes a link to your portfolio. Your portfolio includes a welcome with links to various resources including an introduction video and a some resource video. As well as copies of your credentials and other documents. In these positions personal interests have a stronger impact.

The biggest issue with these opportunities is they are basically LH packages. Parents are paying you like domestic help, your getting a salary and thats about it. Everything else is on you. Its elite backpacker mentality. At best you can get a letter of invitation for a visa. OSH benefits take the form of bonuses usually at the end of a term or year you can expect to make up your airfare at least. Its not uncommon to get a winter and a summer bonus though one is usually smaller than the other. The more benefits the parents provide, the more connected you are to that particular family and the more they control you. Theres more freedom in several part time clients than there is in one full time client.

@jboeh2

ET = English Teacher, referring to English Teaching. Take a look at Daves ESL Cafe and search in page for "Online", or if you want a local shop and are overseas, just Google language school and the city you are in. If you want the more DIY you can try the following online apps/sites:

Skima Talk
http://www.skimatalk.com/en

iTalki
http://www.italki.com/home

Cambly
https//www.cambly.com/english?lang=en

PalFish
http://www.ipalfish.com/

Nice Talk
http://www.nicetalk.com/

iTalki is my preference. All of them basically pay to PayPal once you hit a minimum threshold for a pay out. Some of them like Nice Talk set the rate ($10/hour), whereas most of the others you can set your own rate (between $5 and $45). Some of them like Skima Talk you must book hour long lesson blocks, the others pay you per minute. You basically register with the service by setting up a profile and a video introduction. All of these are video conferencing.

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.

In addition to previous post (Tutors Int.) I can only recommend Elite IB as they work with students from Pamoja.

I have been tutoring English and learning Hebrew via https://preply.com/en/skype/english-tutors and I recommend them. They also have 24/7 live chat in case you need assistance

For my materials I get them via ESL cafe and onestopenglish.