Change from school teaching to online tutoring at 60

[BookWorm45]

Hello All, your views requested whether you have used tutoring, or you are thinking about it for your kids, or you are a teacher.
(Some details changed as outing).

I am a qualified English teacher with 30+ years experience teaching in schools, colleges etc, both in UK and other countries. I will be reaching 60 in 2022 and I'm thinking about changing from my current job (teaching face to face in a college) to online tutoring at that point.

I cover all aspects of English - GCSE, A level, functional skills, also help for people who may have English as a 3rd / 4th / 5th language, and help for adult learners who didn't "do well" at school many decades ago.

For personal / family reasons I think I would only be available for online tutoring from start October to end June of each academic year.

What are your opinions on this:

1. Would you find it awkward / irritating to use a tutor who isn't available in September or in July / August ?

2. Do you feel that you'd prefer a younger tutor (e.g. in their 20s) or do you feel you'd be comfortable with someone in their 60s ?

3. Any other thoughts welcome about your experiences re this topic.

Thanks !

As long as you had up to date experience, age wouldn't bother me, and would probably (rightly or wrongly) be more reassuring than say a uni student, as I would assume you were more experienced.

Those time scales would work well for supporting someone through exams, particularly for shorter term tutoring e.g. for year 11. Some might want summer holiday work, but I think plenty would be happy with that. I can imagine end of Sept thinking 'right how can we help our child, let's get a tutor's.

Good luck with it.

I did this when my dcs were small. I found that I attracted students / parents who specifically wanted an experienced teacher, and some families prefer online. I only ever found jobs through agencies, though.

Good luck with it. I really enjoyed my time tutoring.

Thanks Spoons and Squared for comments - that is really helpful.

Hey @BookWorm45

From the sounds of your experience, you're going to be a fantastic tutor so don't doubt yourself for a second!

From our experience, parents tend to prefer to hire tutors who have recent teaching and exam board experience where possible and tutoring June-September are the quieter months anyway, although thats not to say you won't be needed as there certainly are parents who invest in tutoring for their children in the summer holidays. If you're not available during those times however, that shouldn't put them off hiring you. There are plenty of summer schools that students get sent to during those months, and don't forget families go on holidays then too.

You're going to be great, and if you need some help building up your client base you can always register with a company like ours (www.booksmarttutors.co.uk).

Best of luck with your venture!