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Online tutor

Online tutors support students who are studying courses over the internet.

Annual Salary

£0 to £0

Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)

Working hours

37 to 39 variable

You could work: evenings / weekends; flexibly

2.9%
Future employment

There will be 2.9% more Online tutor jobs in 2027.

Day to day tasks

You will:

  • help students develop their subject knowledge and study skills
  • create engaging courses and learning materials tailored to students' needs
  • assess students' work and give constructive feedback
  • keep parents up to date with their children's progress
  • teach individual students or small groups

Working environment

You could work from home.

You can get into this job through:

  • a university course
  • a college course
  • working towards this role
  • applying directly
  • private training
University

You may need a degree in a specialist subject depending on the level of course you plan to teach online. For example, a degree in maths to teach A level maths.

You might also need to get qualified teacher status (QTS) if you're teaching academic qualifications. Some degrees include this.

If you have a degree in a subject without QTS, you can get it by completing one of the following:

  • a postgraduate teacher training course at university
  • a school-based training programme

You can search for teacher training courses on GOV UK.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths
  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
  • a degree in a relevant subject for postgraduate study
College

You could do a college course like the Level 3 Award in Education and Training to get some of the skills needed for this job. This is suitable if you're not yet in a teaching role or have limited teaching hours.

Entry requirements

You may need:

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course
For more information
  • equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
  • funding advice|https://www.gov.uk/further-education-courses/financial-help
  • search for courses|/find-a-course
Work

You can usually take qualifications while you work. The exact qualification you do will depend on your job but could include the Level 4 Certificate or Level 5 Diploma in Education and Training.

Direct application

You can apply to companies directly if you've got the following:

  • excellent IT skills
  • teaching, training or tutoring experience
  • in-depth knowledge of the subject you're going to teach

Other routes

You can do a course with a private training provider, and some of these can be done online. You should check courses carefully to make sure they meet your needs.

Requirements and restrictions

You'll need to:

More information

Career tips

Tutors often find work through agencies or online learning platforms. Teaching time varies from a few hours a week up to full-time. Rates of pay also vary but can be between £15 to £40 and hour, depending on your experience, reputation, and the level and type of course you teach.

Further information

You can find out more about training to teach online from the Education & Training Foundation.

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You could work in other areas of online education with an education company, like:course development; tutor management; consultancy

You could also set up your own tutoring service.

With the right qualifications, you might move into schools teaching, further education or work-based training.

Skills required and how your skills match up

What skills are required?

You'll need:

  • knowledge of teaching and the ability to design courses
  • the ability to create the best conditions for learning or teaching new things
  • knowledge of media production and communication
  • the ability to use your initiative
  • customer service skills
  • the ability to come up with new ways of doing things
  • to be flexible and open to change
  • the ability to work well with others
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently
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