Make More Money Tutoring Online with Studypool

This post has been sponsored and contributed by Studypool.

When you love learning and helping others, the urge to unite your two interests can be powerful. And when the opportunity knocks to share what you know – all while working from home – who could say no? The opportunity doesn’t always knock, of course. Sometimes, you have to go looking for it – and that’s exactly what Jason, who wrote to us about his experience with Studypool, had to do.

“If you’re truly passionate about tutoring like me,” Jason told us, “then you’ve spent countless hours searching for tutoring communities to make your education noticeable. Becoming a tutor and to be monetarily rewarded for quality work in different subjects has been a challenge.” At least it was until Jason found Studypool, which quickly became his favorite tutoring platform.

The Opportunity

Studypool pitches their opportunity as a way to help students with homework and get paid. Using their platform, you can browse among their 38 available subjects and choose which subjects you’d like to offer to assist students with. Subjects range in complexity from grade school level to higher education, and include History, Computer Science, Law, Website Design, Film, and more.

“I grew up in Southern California studying Business Administration, so I tend to trend closely to these subjects,” Jason commented. “Life is challenging, and so are the sessions on this platform.”

When a student posts a question to Studypool, they are also prompted to set a delivery time window and an amount they are willing to pay. Tutors can then browse available jobs, review the questions they’re interested in, and send in bids on the tutoring session. Once a student selects your services, you answer the student’s question(s) and provide an accompanying explanation of the answer(s). Once the student is satisfied with your work, you’re paid the agreed-upon fee.

To help himself evaluate whether an available tutoring session is for him, Jason mentally developed a framework composed of three steps:

• Analyze – “Tutoring session work requirements are crucial to scan and acknowledge prior to commitment. You wouldn’t buy a car without checking how many miles it has, right?”
• Communicate – “This is the hidden token. If I’m still confused about the work or a set of instructions, I’ll private message the student and ask them more probing questions before my next move.”
• Bid – “Once I feel confident with my capability bandwidth, I’ll bid on the question and wait until they make a decision.”

You also get to choose when to work, which was another important aspect to Jason. “My daily chores and the sporadic wildlife of kids doesn’t really come with an agenda. So I’ll pick a few peaceful gaps throughout the day to pick my own tutoring sessions, and choose my own deadlines, which is enough for me to mold it around my semi-chaotic life,” he confided. “It’s really difficult for stuff to get done during the week, but with such a high tutor demand all seven days of the week, my weekends are golden. This flexibility can be adaptive to your life’s settings, and it creates a sense of ownership regardless of the noisy traffic you have.”

What does it pay?

At Studypool, you get to set your own rates – so you decide how much your time is worth! No more scrabbling after work priced too low.

It’s also important to keep in mind that Studypool’s tutoring sessions are offered to students on a bidding basis – whenever you decide on a question or assignment you’d like to help a student with, you have to submit how much you want to be paid for it – then the student decides whether they want you to award you their tutoring session. Their decision may also be based on your overall rating with Studypool. You’ll want to balance all of these aspects when setting your rates.

(Pro-tip: Since the student sets how much they’re willing to pay up front, that can cut down on the back and forth nature of the bid, although you can ask for more than the student’s offering if you feel their expectations are unrealistic.)

“Earning potential is high at Studypool, I’ve constantly been making $500 a week tutoring part time,” Jason shared. “I’ve also noticed full-time tutors doing over 60K a year – the cherry on top. There’s nothing worse than working countless hours to only get paid for half those hours.”

Studypool does take a cut of each job you work through their platform – their commission ranges between 20% to 30%, and those with the best grammar and English skills enjoy the lowest commission rates. Payments are reportedly made via Paypal or check, and can be expected five days after your payment request has been submitted.

Requirements

In order to tutor with Studypool, you must either have a college education or currently be enrolled in a college or university. You’ll be asked to provide proof of this once you sign up with the site.

Your communication skills need to be excellent as well, so make sure your grasp on English grammar and spelling are up to par. It’s important that you communicate clearly and can build rapport with the students you’re helping – they encourage friendly, casual communication, complete with appropriate slang and emoji.

You’ll also need the equipment necessary to do tutoring online. This means access to a computer with an Internet connection, and any resources you might need to support your tutoring sessions. If you want to be paid via Paypal, you’ll need a Paypal account as well.

How to Apply

To start your application, hit the Apply Now button on the Become A Tutor page. Enter your email address, desired username, and a password into the form you’re directed to. Then head over to your email and click the link in their confirmation email. You’ll be asked to verify your identity by either signing into Facebook or providing them with some personal information (such as a driver’s license). They note this evidence will not be stored and is kept private.

You’ll be directed to the first step in a three-part Tutor Application next. The first piece is what you’d expect – you must fill in your name and address along with the name of the school you attended (or are currently enrolled at). You’ll also be invited to upload a profile image or choose from their cartoon avatars.

The second part of the Tutor Application involves writing a bio and completing their writing assessment. You’ll want to spend a little time on this as it’s the method they use to evaluate your writing and language skills. Your bio should be at least 200 characters and tell them about your teaching and/or tutoring experience. For the essay, you’ll be invited to select a question from a drop-down menu and write an essay of at least 200 words in response. Once you select your topic, you’ll be provided with additional requirements – your word count is capped at 500 words, and your essay must be free of plagiarism with proper grammar and no spelling errors. Finally, you’re given three True or False questions that you must answer correctly in order to prove you’ve read all provided instructions.

Once you’ve completed all steps of their application, they advise you that your submission will be reviewed within 48 hours.

When you have the skills and passion to help students of all ages and education levels with their schoolwork, Studypool can be a great way to work from home and make a difference. Why not go ahead and get started on your application?