Job Discussion Forums

[nCHerTiC]

For the teachers who have done private and small group tutoring: Which types and formats of tutoring have been the most profitable for you (e.g. small group, IELT)? I am a teacher at a community college, but my assignments are getting cut short this semester and I need to supplement my income. I live in Chicago, IL. I know that private work can be profitable, but I have no idea how to go about proceeding in that market.

[Dedicated]

Whilst I'm not familiar with the market in Chicago, here in London there is a huge demand from university students, at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, for a wide variety of EAP skills and exam preparation.

Students need help with personal statements, proof-reading/editing of essays and dissertations, exam preparation for IELTS, GMAT, LSAT etc.

If you are near a university campus you could advertise there or perhaps in a local newspaper, if you have the necessary skills. There may be a slow start, but once you do a good job, and meet deadlines, word spreads quickly. I often have to turn students away.

[esl_prof]

You might check out a recent thread over on the China forum:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=111333&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Obviously, some aspects of tutoring in China might not be appropriate for the U.S. and vice-versa but, in general, this thread will give you some good ideas for building up a clientele as well as different approaches to doing that.

You may want to start advertising your services via venues like Craigslist, Wyzant.com, and--as Dedicated has suggested--posting flyers at any local colleges and universities in your area that have a lot of international students.

Rather than advertising yourself as a generalist "ESL tutor," try to be specific about the types of services you intend to offer (e.g., TOEFL Prep, proof-reading and editing, pronunciation and accent reduction, business English, etc.)

Another option is to see if you can land some private tutoring work via a private language school.

If you're planning to be self-employed, you might pick up a copy of The Idiot's Guide to Starting a Home-Based Business in order to introduce yourself to things like basic bookkeeping, paying business taxes, setting yourself up as an LLC (for liability issues), etc. You know, the kinds of things that they didn't teach us in graduate school that are necessary to running your own tutoring/teaching business.

Good luck, and please keep us posted on how things develop!