Job Discussion Forums

[Big O]

I arrived in Doha about 2 months ago from Canada and I need to make some extra money on the side. I was hoping someone could advise me on how I could get started tutoring.

I am a native English speaker. I have a Masters degree in a non-related field and one of these 'crash course' TESOL certificate.

What's the best way to connect with potential students? Also can anyone recommend some TESOL books as I need to review some material.

Cheers!

[stickleback]

Some people make a lot of money at this. A teacher I used to work with charges 350 - 400 riyals an hour. They said royal clients were a specialty. I heard they even paid for a month in a fancy hotel but that was before my time so never knew if it was true. I didn't go in for it myself when I was there but they say it can be lucrative. One of my ex AlZuhoor neighbors is also into the used car business. He buys and sells cars second hand cars to add to his salary. He even rents out a room in his apartment. I don't know how legit this is but he rented at least one of the rooms in his 3 bedroom place which was down the road from mine. So there are other ways to make money.

[wilberforce]

A lot of Gulagers had to tutor just to survive. I never heard of anyone getting 400 QR an hour but have heard of 300. I never tutored myself although some of the teachers had to, especially those with families and school fees to pay. Only direct hire QP staff gets school fees so a lot of the Arab staff were barely making ends meet with the low salary and squashed into lousy two bedroom apartments that had no separate kitchen/living room facilities. They used to smell so bad!

[paperback]

The going rate for tutoring varies from 150 - 350. There is a lot of money to be made tutoring IELTS (which we don't have in the US but it common here with the Brits and Ozzies). QU has an unending supply of students desperate to pass the IELTS exam so they can skip the foundation program. There are dozens of little language schools cropping up everywhere offering IELTS tutoring and some students are dropping out of the university to attend these classes or take private lessons. I've tutored a few of these students myself. Most are pretty low level and need very basic English, they shouldn't even be doing IELTS preparation but they seem to think a few lessons is all it takes to make it. Some of the guys I tutored made it (they were the better ones). The rest need to go back to class.

[millie18]

Some things to keep in mind is that if you are already employed,

legally you need your employer's written permission to do any other paid work, including tutoring;

if your employer provides accomodation, often there are conditions dictating what you are allowed to do with that accomodation (i.e. decorating, how long visitors are allowed to stay - # of days, etc.); and

that Qatar is a very small place - even smaller if you are in a block of flats or a compound with your colleagues - you may not be able to keep your business to yourself.

Despite any or all of these, you might get away with tutoring but be very aware it takes only one vindictive/jealous/stupid neighbour or disgruntled student (hey, is it ever the student's fault they didn't pass the test?) to cost you your day jobl

[lollaerd]

Most of the schools and institutes turn a blind eye to tutoring because they know they are paying low salaries which do not keep up with the cost of living. Some even tell the staff to make up the difference by tutoring. Others find students for the teachers or take a cut of the tutoring fee. Many of the students are nationals who ask the schools for a tutor. It's not really a problem because everyone knows how badly these teachers are paid. Many have to tutor in order to survive, especially teachers from some of the Asian schools. Teachers from CNAQ probably don't need the extra money but teachers from other lowly paid places do. It's how they survive and the the schools and school boards know this. It's a tacit acceptance.

[lollaerd]

One of my Indian friends said if he didn't tutor, he couldn't afford to keep his kids in school. It's that bad for some people.