People enter the tutoring industry for all sorts of reasons. They might be students looking for a flexible job to pay their way through their studies, or perhaps they’re work-from-home parents hoping to add a bit of variety to their day. But as tutoring becomes more and more sought after, many are eschewing the more casual elements of the job and pursuing a more professional approach. 

The question is: where to start? Going from casual tutoring to career tutoring isn’t easy, but, if done correctly, this step-up can be an incredibly rewarding (not to mention lucrative) one. So as you start to get serious about tutoring, make sure you’re ticking these all-important pointers off your list as you go.

1. Research

Unlike teachers, private tutors do not have to be qualified in teaching to work with students. However, if you have decided to take your tutoring to the next level, it’s important to develop your understanding of the teaching profession as fully as possible. This will enhance your ability to adapt your teaching style to individual students and provide a flexible service to a broader range of clients. 

Understanding current teaching trends might even give you valuable insight into what is missing from today’s teaching landscape, and how tutoring can help bridge gaps you identify. So make sure you’re on top of all the latest literature and theory around teaching in order to really step up your grasp of the industry as well as your presence within it. If you’re stuck for ideas, sites and publications such as TES are great for keeping up to date with what’s hot and what’s not in the teaching world.

2.Get to know syllabus specifics

The further up you go on the tutoring career ladder, the more you will be expected to specialise. More often than not, students will be coming to you for help passing their exams to guarantee the grades they need for university entry, A-level selection and their desired career. 

So you will need to know the ins and outs of the GCSE and A-level syllabi in order to meet your students where they are and provide the course content they need from day one. The more detailed your knowledge, the better your students’ results will be. And - industry tip - if you want to get deep into the specialisation game, little will set you apart from other tutors like an encyclopaedic knowledge of the different exam boards, so get scrolling on the AQA and Edexcel websites asap!

3. Market yourself

The beauty of private tutoring is that you can be your own boss. But, as with any freelance role, once you’re flying solo, the self-promotion game gets serious. With the tutoring industry becoming more and more competitive, the most successful tutors are those who work to create a personal brand on a variety of platforms. 

So, whether you’re a dab hand at instagram and tiktok marketing or you’re subscribed to a platform that supports self-employed educators, make sure you’re investing some time in telling the world about what makes you the best tutor out there.

4. Produce your own resources

The best tutors in the business know their subject backwards but it doesn’t stop there. A sure-fire way to make yourself indispensable as a tutor is by creating your own unique study materials. 

Not only will this prove invaluable for students looking to supplement their course content at school with new resources, it will enable you to expand into new tutoring arenas, such as homeschooling, in which providing ready-made materials is a must. Plus, with platforms like oktopi you can market your courses once you’ve produced them.

5. Meet other tutors

Online tutoring can be an isolating profession. Watching others at work is not as easy when your job is remote, so it’s important to look for alternative ways to make connections and learn from others in your profession. 

Building a network of tutors is a great way to exchange ideas and teaching inspiration, and even build up a referral system to help each other obtain clients. Plus, it makes your job more sociable and rewarding - something which might well be needed during the lonelier moments of working from home.

Grow your tutoring career with oktopi!

‍Tutor House is so excited to be moving forward with top education company oktopi. Visit oktopi to find out more about how they can help you do all of the above and step up your game as a tutor.