Genuine work-at-home opportunity; not for everybody
Pros
-flexible hours: They recommend that you work at least 5 hours/week, but they generally leave you alone as long as you are tutoring regularly (a couple sessions or 1-2 hours every week) and pulling in good student ratings after the initial probationary period. They do a lot of onboarding during the summer and I see a lot of new hires complaining about the lack of hours/sessions. That's not really Tutor.com's fault though. There is just lower demand during the summer due to most students being on summer vacation. High demand points are when schools start back up again in late Aug/early Sept and before finals/major exams (Spring Break in March, finals in late May/early June). During the regular school year (Sept-June), I have also never had a problem picking up sessions either through scheduled hours or just by floating but I do tutor in the high-demand math subjects. - no commute/work from anywhere with a good Internet connection - making a positive difference in students' lives; wide variety of students - performance bonuses - doesn't require you to have a master's degree; allows you to work your way up
Cons
- no benefits - As an independent contractor, you have to handle the self-employment tax. - As a tutor, management can only confirm dates of employment and cannot give you a reference letter. - limited career advancement: There are tutoring tiers but after you have reached the top tier (Tutor 3 status) and been a mentor, there really isn't anywhere else for you to go (or at least if you don't live in NY). I would like to see different professional development opportunities offered. - unable to interact with other tutors (can get lonely) - Mentor quality is highly variable. Some mentors are clearly better than others and there seems to be high turnover in this role. Even with all of these cons, I am still glad I am in this role and generally quite satisfied with the company. You just have to know what you are getting yourself into and take the initiative for your own improvement since this is a virtual role where you have a lot of independence.
