Are you someone with an educational background looking for a side hustle?
Perhaps you’re a college student in search of an online job to help pay for books and tuition.
If this sounds like you, consider yourself in luck.
Because of your educational experience and training, you’re in the unique position of being able to offer tutoring services.
Now more than ever, online tutoring is accessible and easy to find.
However, because there are so many options available, trying to compare your options can be overwhelming.
Today, we’re going to review one of the options available to you: Wyzant Tutoring.
Wyzant offers expert tutors in more than 250 subjects and provides test prep services for students.
After reading this article, you should have a much better idea of whether Wyzant is a worthwhile online tutoring platform to start your career.
What Is Wyzant?
Wyzant is an online marketplace that offers professional tutors to students in a one-on-one atmosphere.
The company says that its goal is to change the way people think about education by building a platform that makes it easier to connect students in need with private tutors who can help.
Wyzant seeks to make the platform:
- Accessible
- Affordable
- More convenient for everyone
Wyzant, Inc. has been around for nearly 15 years.
It was founded in Chicago in 2005.
At the time of its founding, Wyzant was one of the first services to connect students to independent tutors.
The company has grown since then and now has more than 100 people on staff.
This number does not include the 80,000 tutors who work for the company.
How Does Wyzant Work?
Wyzant works by connecting students in need with tutors who can help them succeed.
Students start by visiting wyzant.com and answering a few questions about their tutoring needs.
They start by indicating the subject matter they wish to learn.
Then, they state whether they’re looking to learn that subject for work, school, or other reasons.
Follow up questions can then include things like what grade the student is in and how quickly they need help.
The platform will then provide a list of tutors who are qualified to help the student.
From there, students can scroll through the tutors to find the one that best meets their needs.
Students can:
- See the tutor’s credential, including whether they’ve had a background check
- Read reviews from other students
- View the tutor’s availability
If a student wants to work with a tutor who has not recently undergone a background check, the student can request that the tutor have one.
Once the student selects a tutor they’d like to work with, they can message the tutor directly.
Students can do so either on the desktop platform or through the company’s mobile apps.
Mobile apps are available in both the Google Play and Apple Stores.
Finally, students will need to provide a method of payment to get started with their online lesson.
Students can book lessons based on the tutor’s availability.
Wyzant guarantees that students will love the first lesson.
Otherwise, it’s free.
Lastly, the platform offers in-person tutoring as well.
Although the company primarily focuses on its online offerings, it does also connect students with tutors for in-person lessons.
As a tutor, this is not something you have to do, and you can set the maximum radius you’d like to travel for in-person lessons.
But if you’re looking to make a bit more money and expand your tutoring business, then the in-person option could help you connect with students in your area.
How Much Does Wyzant Pay?
If the above system sounds intriguing, the next step is to figure out how much you can earn while working as a Wyzant tutor.
The good news is that you can set your own rate.
So, there’s technically no limit on how much you can make, as you can set your rate at what you feel you’re worth.
The downside to this system is that, when you’re competing against 80,000 other tutors, you need to be fair about your rates.
Other tutors may undercut their rates to get business.
Because students can pick their tutors — and many students aren’t swimming in cash — they may end up simply choosing the cheapest tutor available.
So, you’ll want to be cognizant of this when setting your rates.
If you set them too high, you won’t find many students who want your services.
You should take a look at some of the other tutors in your field to find out what they’re offering so you can set a similar rate.
You should also know that Wyzant takes a cut of your earnings.
The company recently changed its policy to a flat-rate fee.
Tutors retain 75% of their earnings, while Wyzant withholds the remaining 25%.
Additionally, Wyzant charges students 9% of your hourly rate as a “processing fee.”
So, let’s say that you charge $50 per hour.
Your take-home pay from this lesson will be $37.50.
The student will pay $54.50.
Wyzant walks away with $17 — $12.50 from you and $4.50 from the student.
One of the ways you can increase your take-home pay as a tutor is by referring new students to the platform.
If you refer a new student to Wyzant and the student books lessons with you, you’ll receive 100% of your rate as opposed to the standard 75%.
The student is still required to pay the 9% service fee.
There’s no way to pinpoint how much you’ll make on Wyzant since it depends on how many hours you work and the rate you set.
The rate you set is often determined by the subject matter you’re teaching and the experience you have in the field.
For instance, math tutors teaching advanced calculus can charge more than those teaching elementary basics.
But, we’ve determined through our research that tutors tend to make $30-$60 per hour when working as a tutor for Wyzant.
It’s also worth noting that as a tutor, you work as an independent contractor.
Wyzant says you cannot list it as an employer.
This means that the company will not withhold taxes from your pay.
You’ll need to be diligent about paying freelancer taxes since you’re the sole person responsible for doing so.
How to Get Started With Wyzant
If you’re ready to become a new tutor with Wyzant, start by going to the Tutor Sign Up Page.
From there, you’ll enter the subjects you’d like to tutor in.
Then, Wyzant will take you through a brief rundown of what you can expect while working as a tutor for the company.
As long as you have no objections to this, you’ll continue to the free-response portion of the application.
Here, you’ll provide a detailed description of your background.
Information that you’ll need to provide in this section includes:
- Previous teaching or tutoring experience
- Licenses and certifications that you’ve acquired
- Degrees you’ve obtained
- Your educational history
- Your hourly rate
- Your maximum travel radius for in-person lessons
You should be specific about your experience.
Students will see this information.
The more detail you provide, the better your profile will appear to students.
Similarly, after you complete the free-response form, you can personalize your tutor bio.
The company recommends you add things like a photo, a catchy byline, and detailed information about your background.
All of these things will help you appear more personable to students, which could help you gain schedulings.
Lastly, Wyzant requires that you sign its Independent Tutor Agreement before getting started.
After submitting this agreement and verifying your email address, you can begin booking students for online or in-person tutoring.
When you look at your profile, you may notice that you don’t have approval to teach in all of the subjects you requested.
Wyzant reviews each of its tutor’s applications.
If you do not have the proper qualifications or credentials, the company will not allow you to teach in a particular subject.
So, you’ll want to make sure you only request to work in subjects where you have extensive experience or qualifications.
You can always request to work in other areas if you improve your qualifications over time.
