If you want to make money online as a teenager and are knowledgeable in a certain subject, the idea of becoming an online tutor might have crossed your mind.
Online tutoring is a very popular way to make money online. After all, experienced tutors can easily earn $15 to $25+ per hour, or even more!
However, finding online tutoring jobs for teens can be tricky because many tutoring gigs require you to be 18 or older or to even have a bachelor’s degree.
But, if you want to become an online teen tutor, you’re not out of options!
What do you need to become a teenage tutor?
Generally speaking, you need to be in the top percentile of a certain subject to be a good tutor. This is because you need to know the material you’re teaching like the back of your hand so you can effectively teach it.
Aside from that, some other requirements you’ll probably encounter for online teen tutoring jobs include:
Reliable Internet: You need to have stable, decent internet speed for pretty much any teen tutoring gig.
A Headset & Microphone: This isn’t always a requirement, but some online tutoring jobs for teens require you to have a headset and mic to instruct with.
A Friendly Persona: While you might tutor kids your own age, you’re probably tutoring students who are younger than you and in elementary school. It’s important to be friendly and patient as a tutor and to adapt your teaching style to each student.
Spare Time: Taking on an online tutoring job as a teen means you have to set time aside from your studies, extracurricular activities, and your spare time, so keep this in mind.
Also note that some online tutoring jobs for teens might require having your TEFL certification if you plan to teach English as a secondary language to people.
Benefits of online tutoring jobs for teens
Now that you know some of the best online tutoring jobs for teens, let’s cover why this is such a great side hustle idea for students in the first place.
Here are the main perks high school students should think about when considering this job:
High Hourly Pay: Online tutors can easily earn $15 to $25+ per hour, so it’s likely you can earn more than most part-time, minimum wage jobs.
Expands Your Resume: When you apply for college or university, you can put your tutoring experience on your resume to stand out from the crowd
Entrepreneurial: If you start your own tutoring business, you’re gaining first-hand experience at what it’s like to run your own business.
Flexible: An advantage of tutoring jobs is that you can usually set your own hours and work with your pupils after school, so this job won’t interfere with your studies.
How to get tutoring jobs for teens
There are two main ways to become a teenage tutor:
Find Online Jobs: A few companies hire tutors under the age of 18, so you can apply for open positions to find online work.
Try Freelancing: This is the best way to become an online tutor as a teenager in my opinion since you’re not restricted by your age and you can usually earn more money if you find your own clients.
Freelancing takes more time to get started, but I really think this option is best for teens since most tutoring companies require you to be 18 or older.
But when you turn 18 in your final year of high school, you can apply to larger tutoring companies, like Tutor.com, Preply, VIPKid, Student-Tutor, HappyTutors, and dozens of more companies that are always looking for new tutors to join.
The best online tutoring jobs for teens
If you’re ready to start a new digital side hustle and want to help other students, it’s time to dive into the top online tutoring jobs for teens you can use to make money as a teenager!
Here are some of the online platforms you can explore
PalFish
If you want to teach English online to students in China, PalFish is one of the easiest tutoring jobs to land.
Most ESL tutoring jobs require you to be 18 or older, have lots of previous teaching experience, and hold a bachelor’s degree.
So, while companies like VIPKid and QKids are very popular for older tutors, they aren’t viable online tutoring jobs for teenagers.
Thankfully, the requirements to become a PalFish tutor are quite lenient:
Teach from your smartphone or a tablet through the PalFish mobile app
Be an English native speaker
Be friendly and patient with students
Have your TEFL/TESOL certification
PalFish doesn’t state anything about an age requirement, so really, the main requirement is getting your TEFL/TESOL certification.
However, you can find affordable TEFL/TESOL courses on Groupon, so there aren’t many starting costs with this tutoring gig. Plus, PalFish is also a more laid back tutoring job than most ESL tutoring jobs that require teaching a set curriculum.
As a PalFish tutor, you set your own rate per minute, and all you have to do is chat in English with your pupils.
PalFish takes 20 per cent from tutors, and on average, PalFish tutors earn $12 to $17 per hour on average.
Pros: Lenient hiring requirements, high hourly wage.
Cons: Takes a while to find clients on PalFish.
Age Requirement: PalFish doesn’t have an official age requirement for tutors.
Average Pay: $12 to $17 per hour.
Fiverr Tutoring Gigs
While it might surprise you, another way to find online tutoring jobs for teens is to list your services on Fiverr.
Fiverr is a bustling freelancer marketplace, and you can actually create an account and use the platform as young as 13 years old.
So, if you can teach a particular subject or skill, you can list your services on Fiverr and try to attract clients.
I’ve made money with Fiverr before selling other skills. And, in my opinion, it’s an excellent way to make money online for beginners since it has so much opportunity.
Fiverr is also quite popular for tutoring, and you can get paid to answer questions for subjects like:
- Economics
- Languages
- Math
- Programming
- Religious studies
- Science
- Statistics
Of course, some of these subjects are probably a little advanced for a teenage tutor, but you can get really creative with Fiverr.
For example, some sellers on Fiverr teach people how to play instruments over the internet.
You can also find people offering online coaching services for different video games or general life coaching, so there’s plenty of room to get creative here.
Care.com
Care.com is a popular marketplace for services like elderly care, babysitting, cleaning, and running errands.
But, what might surprise you is that Care.com also lets you post online tutoring services, and plenty of people use the platform to find tutors for various subjects.
Some of the most popular tutoring categories include:
- English
- French
- Math
- Homeschool tutors
- Homework help
- Physics
- Spanish
What’s great about Care.com is that if you’re between the ages of 14 and 17, a parent or legal guardian can create an account for you and help you apply for jobs.
Now, this isn’t the go-to platform to find online tutoring gigs for teens since most of the tutors on the platform are over 18.
But, if you want to try another marketplace, Care.com is worth a shot.
Plus, a lot of gigs pay around $16 to $25 per hour or pay a set amount per week for a dedicated number of hours, so the pay is quite competitive.
- Pros: High-paying tutoring gigs and a variety of subjects.
- Cons: Most of the tutors on Care.com are college tutors or are older.
- Age Requirement: 14 or older with a parent or guardian’s permission.
Average Pay: $16 to $25 per hour
