If you are also considering getting a side hustle, we don't blame you for thinking of tutoring in South Africa. While you may be motivated to tutor for financial reasons, tutoring certainly is a rewarding profession and a career path that is most fulfilling too. If you decide to tutor, you will understand how beneficial and personally rewarding this career path may be. In fact, the enjoyment that you gain from tutoring students may get you to consider changing from being a part-time tutor to a full-time tutor.
So, how can you start tutoring in South Africa? What would you need in order to become a tutor in South Africa?
If you would like to know more about being a tutor in your home town. We cover everything in this article from how to become a tutor to where to find tutoring vacancies in South Africa. You will even gain an estimation of much you can earn by tutoring in our country.
With a whiteboard marker in hand, let's show you the ropes.
How to Become a Tutor in South Africa?
"In learning you will teach and in teaching you will learn."
Phil Collins
You may have already done some research on the role of a tutor and how to get started as a tutor in South Africa. However, you may not know what it takes to set yourself apart from all the other tutors offering lessons in South Africa. In order to become a tutor, you will have to find your niche.
Usually, aspiring tutors look for tutoring jobs or advertise tutoring services for the subject or subjects that they know well.
While it is attractive if you can tutor all the subjects for a particular grade, or phase, you are much better off specialising in one specific subject for all ages or for a set age group. You need to pick a subject that you are confident in and that you don't mind advancing your knowledge in.
Once you have identified your niche, take a look at some of the qualities a tutor needs to possess. These attributes may help you to decide if tutoring is still a professional career choice for you or not. To be a tutor, you must:
While there are a few overlaps in terms of tutoring and being a teacher, a tutor has to also remember to go above and beyond for his or her students. Tutors usually take on smaller group classes or focus on private tutorial lessons and as such have to devote a considerable amount of time and effort to ensuring all their learners improve, succeed, and do well.
Should you tick all the above boxes, you certainly have the right mindset to become a tutor. You can become a tutor in South Africa by:
- Applying to work at a registered tutorial centre in your area.
- Registering your tutor profile on an online platform that connects learners to tutors.
- Advertising and starting your own tuition centre in your area.
- Approaching a school or two to offer extra lessons for their learners after school at an added charge.
The truth is deciding to tutor is the easy part. It is building a good reputation as a tutor and being a tutor who comes well recommended by parents and learners that takes time, effort, and patience. To become a tutor, you must be willing to give each tutorial your best shot. This will help set you apart as a tutor and help you become a highly recommended tutor.
Finding Tutoring Vacancies
When you initially decide that you want to become a tutor, you need to take the plunge and find relevant tutoring vacancies.
Finding tutoring vacancies may not be an easy task, especially for a beginner tutor. If you are lucky, you may find a tutorial centre advertising a post for a tutor via Instagram or Facebook. More established and formal tutorial companies may advertise tutorial vacancies on LinkedIn too.
Again, stumbling across a tutoring vacancy online may be a long-shot. It is a good idea to do some research on tutorial centres and established online tutorial platforms. Your research will lead you to visiting websites where you may also find tutoring vacancies begin advertised under the career section on the webpage.
Another option is to visit a tutoring website.
Platforms, like Superprof, allow aspiring tutors to sign up and create a tutor profile. Once your Superprof tutor profile has been created, students will be able to find your profile and see if you fit their criteria and if you are suited to their needs.
The good news is that signing up as a tutor on Superprof and advertising your services via the platform is entirely free. .
A simple sign up to Superprof may connect you to students in your area, across South Africa, and around the world too.
Now that you know what you can do in order to don a tutor's hat, you may have one burning question left: How much can I earn as a tutor?
How Much Can You Earn from Tutoring in South Africa?
"An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest."
Benjamin Franklin
The first thing to remember when you become a tutor is that tutoring is an investment in knowledge, and you will earn the most from helping students to succeed and overcome their stumbling blocks in a subject or in subjects.
The more motivated you are by the internal reward aspect of tutoring, the better off you will be as a tutor.
However, you can gain financially as a tutor as well.
However, how much you earn will depend on how much time you invest in tutoring. Like with most jobs that are paid hourly, the more hours you have available to tutor, the more financial benefit you will reap.
You must also remember that while you can charge a higher hourly rate for private lessons, you will potentially earn more from giving group tutorial lessons. While each learner in the group pays a reduced hourly fee, having 4 or 5 students at a time will yield a better overall payout.
To understand you earning potential you need to decide on a few things:
- Whether you want to tutor full time or part time
- If you want to charge per hour, per lesson, per month, or per term
- Will you offer online options only or travel to your students' houses.
Once you have established what works best for you, you can more or less gain an idea of your earning potential. The average hourly wage for a tutor in South Africa is R140 per hour.
However, this is not a one size fits all estimation. There are many tutors who charge more and many tutors who are just starting out who charge far less.
To determine your earning potential, you should look at several other factors such as:
- The cost of living in a particular area
- How many other tutors offer their tutoring in your area
- Your qualifications, professional background, and teaching experience
- The type and frequency of lessons that you are willing to conduct
- Word of mouth referrals or recommendations.
Like with most careers, you may need to play the field and test the waters. See what works for you and what doesn't.
While opening your own tutoring centre is a great ambition, we would not recommend it for a beginner tutor. The running expenses, advertising costs, website set-up fees, tax payments, and company registration charges that you will have to consider may not make this a lucrative option. We suggest that you keep it simple and sign up to tutor on an existing tutoring platform or apply to work at an established tutoring centre first.
Why Consider Online Tutoring Jobs in South Africa?
"Faith is taking the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase."
Martin Luther King Jr
While testing the waters is a good suggestion when starting out your journey as a tutor, you don't want to start by biting off more than you can chew.
So, why not opt for an online tutoring job in South Africa?
When tutoring learners online, you won't incur any transportation cost or property rental fees.
You will also have the opportunity to tutor from the comfort of your home. By tutoring online, you will be able to assess if tutoring is the right job for you or not. Online tutoring in South Africa gives you a glimpse of the tutoring scene without showing the whole picture before you are ready to view it.
Besides, to start tutoring online, you will only need a strong internet connection and the right frame of mind.
Once the tutorial ends, you can immediately carry on with your day. Online tutoring can provide therefore help to free up more time for everything else that you need to do.
With the world moving in an online learning direction, you are much better off climbing the ladder of educational success right from the onset.
If you are sold by the idea of offering online tutoring in South Africa, we suggest that you sign up on the Superprof platform and take it from there.
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I am interested in becoming a tutor I currently only have a matric certificate.
Hello Thulisile,
With a Matric certificate, you can become a tutor. You can sign up directly on our website, https://www.superprof.co.za.
As soon as your advert is complete, it will go live on our website and be visible to students. Students will reach out to you if they are interested in taking lessons.
If you have any difficulty completing a particular section of your ad or if you have any further questions, do not hesitate to contact our customer support team at hellozar@superprof.com
I am a grade 9 learner with a desire to tutor grade 8 Mathematics. What can I can do, do I have the right to tutor
Hi Luphelo,
It’s great that you are interested in becoming a tutor. However, you can only register as a tutor on our platform when you have reached the legal working age in South Africa.
Once you are of age, you can sign up directly on our website, https://www.superprof.co.za.
If you have any further questions, do not hesitate to contact our customer support team at hellozar@superprof.com
Hi there I am a grade 12 learner who is good in math (pure maths) I was wondering if it is possible for me to start tutoring learners in lower grades I’m 17 and the legal working age is 15. My highest mark for maths this year was a 97% I have my report card as proof. I’m available to start now.
Hello Nosa,
It’s great that you are interested in becoming a tutor! Since you have reached the legal working age in South Africa, you may register as a tutor directly on our website, https://www.superprof.co.za.
If you need any help during the process, do not hesitate to contact our customer support team at hellozar@superprof.com