At present, many individuals are finding the depression a bit difficult, as it leaves many of us unempolyed, or on marginal salaries. So, how do we pick up the pieces?
After finishing higher education I realised I knew quite a lot, and was now well educated, but I wasn’t being paid enough considering what I thought a graduate really should be earning. Since jobs are hard to find without the right experience, I felt I was a bit stuffed and would have to continue my menial and underpaid job, until this depression was over.
It was while I was at work that I realised what I could do to make my own current “economic climate” more profitable. One of the students was doing his biology homework in the staff room on his break. He looked puzzled, so I went over to help him. After he told me what the problem was, I helped him work through it. After about 10 minutes he had realised what was going on and could understand how to finish the rest of his homework before his break was up. I remeber him saying “Thanks man, this stuff has always confused me, but now it’s really simple! You should become a personal tutor or instructor!” I was really happy with myself that I’d been able to help someone, even though I’d had no previous experience at teaching. I then realised I had a natural talent for it, and so I decided to look into becoming a tutor.
I thought it’d be relatively easy to be able to juggle being a tutor or instructor with work, as I could teach in my spare time. After researching on the web, I found out that a tutor typically earns between £20 and £30 an hour! I decided I would like to be able to promote my services in my local area without the fuss of agencies charging me commision, or signing me up to contracts etc. In the end, it was actually a friend who reccomended Tutorlink to me.
It is a site that has provided me with everything I was looking for. I can decide what subjects I want to instruct and at what level, e.g., GCSE, Key Stage 3, Undergraduate etc… I can select any subject at once, and I can set different prices depending on subject and level! I can even state how much I want to charge should I have to travel to meet a tutee. The site really has been designed with the users in mind. It gives me a professional look, as I can put on business cards etc my web address as being in the format of: tutorlink.org.uk/username. When people visit my page, they can contact me directly, with no sign-up on their part, or any form of payment. And what is even better is that the site doesn’t charge me commission, just a simple £10 a month subscription! When you teach 6 hours a week, typically charging £20 an hour, I would definitely prefer the subscription over a commission!
Even if potential clients are not sure if there’s a tutor or instructor nearby who can help them, as long as they go to Tutorlink they can use the clean and clear search box to locate what they’re looking for! If you go to the site then you can see for yourself how it works. They have an advanced search facility as well, just in case you want to narrow down your search and find the tutor that’s the right one for you!
Since they allow you to teach EVERYTHING, I’ve just registered to instruct hiking as well, so I can get paid to enjoy my weekends on the hills! It does mean I spend less time on my new sofa and in front of my new plasma screen! 