Online Tutor: Job Profile and Role

Working online has become a kind of norm in recent years, be it consulting, working remotely or even online tutoring. Maybe the latter has always been a job you have been thinking of doing. But maybe you do not know quite yet how to approach this job and what it entails.

The following blog will tell you all you need to know about the job of an online tutor. We will take a close look at the required qualifications and skills. We will also give you insights into the expected salary and your possible employers. To give you an even better idea of the job of an online tutor, we will conclude this article by telling you about a day in the life of an online tutor and giving you tips for thriving in this job.

Short Summary

• As an online tutor, you are tasked with teaching either one student or a group of students in both your chosen subjects and theirs.
• As an online tutor, your responsibility is to teach your students according to their educational needs and educational background.
• As an online tutor, you need to both prepare and follow up on lessons. You will also have to give feedback to your students and – in some cases – to your students’ parents.

Job description

As an online tutor, you are in charge of teaching students. You do that by using multiple communications and video software since your job will be conducted more or less exclusively online. Online tutoring revolves around helping your students achieve their academic goals. As an online tutor, you do not only specialise in your chosen subject/s, but you also aspire to help your students reach set goals. Online tutoring can cover a wide variety of (specialist) subjects and levels of degrees.

As an online tutor, you will not only teach your students. You will also support them when it comes to important exams and assist them with homework and projects. Online tutoring also involves moral support. As an online tutor, one of your responsibilities is to deal with possible insecurities, difficulties with learning, and possible fears when it comes to written and oral exams. Moreover, as an online tutor, you are required to prepare and follow up on lessons. The latter includes writing assessments and giving feedback, and this can also involve your students’ parents.

Responsibilities

• Goal Setting
• Communication
• Content Delivery
• Time Management
• Cultural Sensitivity
• Subject Knowledge
• Student Engagement
• Technology Proficiency
• Continual Improvement
• Assessment and Evaluation

Different types of Online Tutors

• Academic Tutor
• Subject Matter Expert
• Special Education Tutor
• Test and Exam Specialist
• Business and Finance Tutor

Salary

In the UK, the typical annual salary for an online tutor ranges from £37,600 to £42,700. How much you will eventually earn depends on several factors, such as location, employer and work experience. Your salary may also be influenced by the subjects you are teaching. It will also be influenced by the hours you teach. Note that online tutoring is one of the ideal jobs for going freelance/self-employed. This way, you can set your own hourly rates and influence your overall salary.

Working hours

There is no fixed timetable when being an online tutor. Meaning that your working hours are not necessarily between 35 to 40 hours a week. Neither is being an online tutor a classic 9 to 5 job. In fact, being an online tutor can mean both more or fewer hours per week and working a very flexible timetable. Why is that? Depending on your employer and your students, you may be faced with different time zones. It will quite likely be the case that you will not be working every day.

Last, but not least, your working hours also include lesson preparation and follow-ups. These may stretch into your weekends. Perfect time management and your willingness to work unreliable working hours are two of the personal requirements you should have when working as an online tutor.

Employers

Typically, your employers are online platforms specialising in online tutoring. These platforms can range from university platforms to school platforms and platforms dealing with international online tutoring. Employers of online tutors can also be educational institutions that offer their teaching services online. Another option for job hunting can be companies of all sizes that are looking for online tutoring for their employees.

Alternatively, you can be your own employer by going freelance as an online tutor. This also involves providing your services on online platforms.

Qualifications

The qualifications for becoming an online tutor may be quite specific, starting with the required educational background. Whereas it is not mandatory to have an academic degree, some companies may prefer this educational background. Regardless of a Bachelor’s degree or an apprenticeship, lots of employers expect the following qualifications: teaching experience and QTS (Qualified Teacher Status). This you can acquire through your Initial Teacher Training (ITT). We recommend that you check the needed qualifications in the job descriptions when going on your first job hunt.

Besides your education, you should be proficient in IT. That means that you should be more than familiar with the most commonly used software like Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams.

Skills

Being an exceptional online tutor requires a certain set of skills. Your necessary qualifications aside, you should also have personal strengths and competencies. Communication is one of the skills you should be pretty much perfect in – both on a verbal and a non-verbal level. But this is not the only soft skill that will let you excel at your online tutoring job. Let’s see which other skills are essential to be a good online tutor.

Empathy

Alongside communication, empathy is a vital soft skill to have when being an online tutor. Not every student is confident when it comes to learning, understanding the subject matter and preparing for a written or oral exam. Understanding your students’ needs is an important part of your job as an online tutor. You will achieve that skill when you have a high level of empathy.

Passion

Being passionate does not only apply to teaching in general. It also applies to the subject/s you are teaching. You might remember your own time at school. Which lessons were the ones you really enjoyed and which gave you so much more than “just” a subject’s basics? Probably the ones where your teacher was really passionate about the subject. Therefore, passion for your area of expertise is a vital skill to have when you want to become an online tutor. This way, you can be almost 100 % sure that your students will lap up all the information you teach them.

Patience

Patience is the virtue of kings – or so the saying goes. It is also one of the key skills in your job as an online tutor. Always keep in mind that you are the expert in your chosen field of teaching. The people you are teaching are not. And they may need some time to get their heads around the things you are trying to teach them. As much as you may struggle with those students – stay patient with them. This is a sure way to help them succeed eventually.

Career Path

There is no set career path when it comes to online tutoring. You will likely start your job after having acquired an academic degree or after you have finished a relevant apprenticeship. once that is done, you can start applying for online tutoring jobs. This usually happens online, most jobs can be found on online tutoring platforms. Your career as an online tutor can also kick off by going self-employed.

Educational Background

Your educational background can vary on your employer. It is not always mandatory to have an academic degree in teaching or languages, for example. If you are thinking about becoming an online tutor, you should check the requirements with your potential employer. In some cases, an apprenticeship may suffice, for example as a nursery school teacher.

Entry Level

To become an online tutor in the UK comes with entry-level requirements. You should have four to five GCSEs at grades A* to C (9 to 4) and two to three A levels. Ideally, you also have a degree in the subject you want to teach as an online tutor. Alternatively, you can apply for an online tutoring job by having certain entry-level qualifications.

Note that these apply to you when you want to pursue this career without an academic degree. Also note that most entry-level qualifications are limited to England, Wales and Northern Ireland, whereas there are different requirements for Scotland.

Continuous Learning

One of the main goals of online tutoring is learning. What you want your student to successfully do, should also apply to you. Only by learning continuously can you be an excellent online tutor. And this is regardless of the subject/s you are teaching. Learn to stay ahead of the game – and learn in order to be a brilliant teacher for your students.

A Day in the Life of an Online Tutor

Have you processed most of the information on education, qualifications and skills? Then it is time for you to find out what a typical day in the life of an online tutor looks like. Being an online tutor covers lots of daily tasks, including tutoring, so we will now focus on three other important ones:

Lesson Preparation

Before you start your online tutoring, you need to prepare (for) the day’s lessons. Depending on how many classes you teach and the number of subjects, this may take a considerable amount of time.

Feedback and Assessment

It is a given that your online tutoring day involves giving lessons. When these are done, it is time for feedback and assessment. You need to think about each student’s progress and find a good way to communicate your feedback and assessment.

Follow-ups

Follow-ups, such as homework checks and lesson reviews are important to make sure that your students have a good grasp of what you have taught them. They also give you the chance to see where your students are already excelling and in which areas they might need further encouragement and help.

The Advantages of Online Tutoring/eLearning

Did you know that online teaching and learning requires between 40 and 60 percent less input, work, and teaching/learning effort than lessons conducted in a real-life classroom? Also, students who choose online tutoring/elearning tend to study five times the amount of material without actually spending more time on learning.

Tips for Thriving as an Online Tutor

You are now thinking of becoming an online tutor? But you would like to know how to thrive in your chosen profession? Read on and we will tell you three little but effective tips for thriving as an online tutor:

• Choose your teaching level
• Establish a teaching routine
• Improve your technical knowledge

Choose your Teaching Level

You will remember from your school days that there are different levels of teaching, starting with primary school. To be an excellent online tutor, you need to define your chosen teaching level before starting this job. You will also need to define which age group and level of education you are most comfortable with. Last, but not least, you should work out how to best teach your chosen subjects.

Establish a Teaching Routine

Due to the very flexible working hours, it is vital to establish a teaching routine right from the start. If you do not do that, you will run the risk of being overwhelmed by your job – even if you do not teach that many lessons. On the other hand, good structure to your teaching, the preparation and the follow-ups will help you stay organized and not get stressed.

Improve your Technical Knowledge

Obviously, online tutoring involves a high amount of digital work since you conduct your lessons through one of the many video call software. In order to thrive as an online tutor, you need to constantly improve your knowledge of these software. You will have to stay on top of updates and requirements. You should also have a device that meets all the latest trends when it comes to working online.

Frequently Asked Questions