So, You Want to Become a Maths Tutor? Part 2

by Action Coaching IT

You’ve got all the right qualifications, you believe you have what it takes to become a good private maths tutor and you’ve made a decision on the level of maths that you’d prefer to teach, so where do you go from here? What else do you need to know to give you the best chance of making it as a successful maths tutor in Sydney?

When Do You Want to Work?

Most private tutoring sessions are held outside of normal school or college hours, so this means working during the evenings and at weekends. Therefore, you’ll need to decide when you’re happy to work. Are you going to work every evening and Saturday and Sundays, or will you set aside a day when you don’t offer tutoring at all?

Set Your Tutoring Rates

When you first start out as tutor, it can be difficult to know how much to charge for your services. Even when you do a search online, you’ll find that tutoring rates can vary considerably depending on factors such as location, education and experience. And of course, there’s no industry standard.

Resist the temptation to offer very low rates to try and get custom. Set a fair price based on your experience and always bear in mind that it’s very unlikely that you’re going be tutoring for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. If you have to travel to students’ homes, you may also want to factor this cost in, and you may also want to consider offering a discount for block bookings or for tutoring small groups of students.

Finding Your Students

If you choose to work as a self-employed maths tutor, you’ll need to consider how you will market your services. Will you tutor your students in your home, in their homes or at another location or will you purely tutor online?

There are several ways to market your services, including signing up to private tutor directories online or putting your details on job boards either online or in schools. You may also consider signing up with a tutoring agency who provide you with students. Some agencies will also provide premises for you to work from, which means that you won’t have to travel from student to student.

As you gain experience, you’re likely to get students from recommendations.

The Bottom Line

Becoming a private mathematics tutor can be a full-time career move or it can be a way to make some extra cash to help you through college or to supplement your income.

Therefore, you need to decide on a realistic work schedule together with the appropriate rates that will ensure that you’re making enough money to make tutoring a viable option for you.