It was never something I had particularly aspired to do. After graduating from Oxford University with a 2:1 in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, most people asked me if I would be the next female Prime Minister. But one rainy evening, after spending six months in Guatemala and having ditched the rather dull graduate job in the NHS the year before, I sat at dinner with a couple of old uni friends who advised me that tutoring was the way forward, at least for now. They were both still at uni, completing masters or law conversions, and they had found that it had been an exciting way to earn a bit of cash alongside their studies, and it was much better than working in a bar. I was unconvinced but signed up for several online tutoring agencies anyway to see what happened.

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5 (22 reviews)
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Rush
5
5 (79 reviews)
Rush
£75
/h
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1st lesson free!
Lucinda
5
5 (22 reviews)
Lucinda
£150
/h
Gift icon
1st lesson free!
Hakim
5
5 (16 reviews)
Hakim
£50
/h
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1st lesson free!
Maria-alexandra
5
5 (18 reviews)
Maria-alexandra
£40
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1st lesson free!
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How I made tutoring my full-time job

That was 18 months ago, and I'm still doing it and made a full-time job of it for the 2010-11 academic year. At first, I thought, who would pay me twenty-odd quid to teach their child for an hour on subjects I hadn't even thought about for nearly two years? I didn't have a teaching qualification, although I had been a youth worker and inadvertently coached several of my friends and siblings through their GCSEs and A-levels. But then I remembered the two things that the majority of people don't know how to do, that teachers seem unable to teach but that I had been forced to master through my A-levels and three years of Oxford was 1. how to pass an exam and 2. how to write a damn good essay. As passing exams and writing damn good essays was what 90% of people asked for when they enquired on online tutoring sites, it soon became apparent that I was much more qualified than I thought.

Unfortunately (in my opinion), the entire education system, from primary to degree level, is set up around passing various assessments, be it SATS, GCSE coursework or degree dissertations. Even more unfortunate is that many teachers and university professors do not know how to teach the skill of jumping through the flaming hoops, otherwise known as assessment criteria and mark schemes. Perhaps it has been a long time since they sat an exam of their own, or maybe they even object to having to teach 'exam technique', believing that it is something that students should have to learn for themselves.

I have tutored incredibly bright students who have not been made fully aware of what is expected from them by the exam board or just haven't ever been taught how to construct a well-argued essay. I think tutoring is most useful when you can help someone master the game's rules to enable them to display their entire ability and knowledge. It is teaching this art of hoop-jumping that most appeals to me about tutoring. It shows the student how easy the game is once you know how to play it. And because the rules change from exam board to exam board, from university to university and from year to year, the tutor's challenge is constantly evolving: you need to be aware of all the rules and know how best to teach them to each student.

Learn more on jobs for ex-teachers here.

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Laura

Laura is a Francophile with a passion for literature and linguistics. She also loves skiing, cooking and painting.