When I arrived at university, I realised two things about my new life. The first was that I had was a lot of free time. The second, I was paying for a lot more than my student loan could afford! I had to get a part-time job, and what better job than tutoring.
More time + less money?
At university, lessons are not scheduled and it is very common to have large time gaps between lectures. It is entirely up to you to decide what you will do of this free time.
I had come to university straight from home, having always lived with my parents, where most of my costs were covered. It was the first time for me doing my own grocery shopping and buying my own laundry products!
The solution: become a tutor
Once you have gotten comfortable with your timetable and know what work commitments you have, you will feel in control of your university experience and it’s a great time to start looking for a part time job.
For me, that part time job was tutoring, and I loved it! I signed up to do online tutoring for MyTutor, completed all the steps to set up a good profile and started getting requests! I did not get dozens of requests but the people who I ended up tutoring weekly.
Flexible hours
What I really like about tutoring is the flexible nature of the job. It is entirely up to you and your student to arrange suitable times, so you can easily work around your timetable. As well as that, you’re completely free to decide where you tutor. I have tutored from my desk, but also in quiet rooms of the library between lessons, which is really practical.
High pay rates
Another great aspect of tutoring while at uni is the fact that it pays very well! You usually follow a price guideline but are free to set your own rates. I have made as much as £60 a week, by working only four hours. This is much more money than you would get as a waiter or cashier.
Helping others
Knowing that you are getting paid for helping someone out with their learning is a great feeling. If on top of that, the work you teach is not difficult for you to explain to your student, tutoring can easily be the perfect university job.
Building your CV
When it comes to making a lesson plan, tutoring teaches you a lot. You learn to be organised, to be flexible, and to manage you time. These are all great skills which are transferable to every day university life.
I tutored French and created the sessions myself, according to the level and goal of my student. Both my students wanted to learn for pleasure and were not seeking to sit any exams, so I was relatively free in the way I structured my lessons. I usually wrote the lesson one or two days before it was taking place, after having completed my university work. This never took more than an hour, and I never considered it as a burden. As long as you make some time to plan what you will be teaching, everything goes well.
Sign up today
All in all, I would say that tutoring, whilst at university, is incredibly practical. It is a nice job, and getting paid to teach something that you already know feels lovely! It also gives you a sense of responsibility, gives you a break from university work and makes you feel like an adult. I went from being tutored in Maths for A-levels, to coming to university and tutoring French to students who needed it!
Written by Alice J.