Hi there. This educational post focuses on the topic of back to school hiring of teachers and tutors. The motivation of this post is based on my side hustle company Mathnasium hiring new math instructors for the new school year starting in September.
The contents of this post is more geared for the private sector education businesses. I would not know much about hiring of teachers in the public (government funded) schools.
Topics
- Back To School For Teachers
- After School Education Programs Hires In August
- About Tutors
- Tips & Notes
Back To School For Teachers
It appears that there is so much focus on the students and shopping when it comes to back to school season. What about the teachers, supply teachers and tutors? They need recognition too! Students may not have to do much preparation when it comes to back to school but teachers, schools and education businesses do have to prepare for the new school year in terms of education plans and hiring staff.
After School Education Programs Hires In August
Education businesses in the private sector hire additional instructors to match increased demand and enrollments. These businesses use the last few weeks of the summer before the start of school for the hiring process of new teachers, instructors and tutors. Teaching roles in these after school education businesses do vary. The people who "teach" could be teachers, students who are becoming teachers, recent graduates, specialized university students looking for part-time work and/or tutors.
Hours and wages do vary across different after school education businesses. Instructors and tutors who work in an in-centre environment working with a variety of students tend to receive part-time hours from 10 to about 25 hours a week. In-house tutors who work one-on-one with students receive less hours but can earn more per hour. Wages for in-house tutors I would say would be at least $20 CAD per hour with more experienced tutors earning $35, $40 or maybe even $50 an hour.
About Tutoring
The tutoring business is one of the biggest private industries out there. With technological advancements, the tutoring industry gets a boost too with online tutoring. You still have the in-house tutoring where an assigned tutor visits the student's house and assist the student one on one. These is also tutoring from online listings where tutors biographies are available. Students can pick and choose which tutor they would like based on the tutor's qualifications, specialties, availability and price. The last option is the modern option of online tutoring. Sometimes there are no available tutors in the local area so you would have to go online to find one.
Tips & Notes
When it comes to hiring new instructors/tutors some businesses may require candidates to write an assessment test, do an assignment and/or a teaching trial. From the business perspective, they want to make sure new hires have a certain level of competency and have a good enough personality from the teaching trial. Hiring is a tricky thing at times as the resume, assessment test and/or teaching trial can still not be enough information for predicting for a good worker. (An assessment test is still better than believing everything on a possibly fake credentialed resume.)
From what I know as a Mathnasium employee, do expect assessment tests for new hires.
For those looking to be math tutors and instructors, do review your high school mathematics!
Being smart is nice and all but the personality has to be good too. (Intelligence is necessary but not sufficient enough.) I have seen some "smart" and "skilled" math people do poorly in terms of communicating concepts with younger children and treating younger kids.
As far I as know a Police Vulnerable Sector Check is required in the Toronto area.
Some private teaching jobs do require a Bachelors Of Education degree. Some consider it a plus. I know for sure that Mathnasium does not require a B. Ed degree. (The one I work for at least.)
There are specialized tutors for computer programming, spoken languages (French, Mandarin, German, English), standardized tests such as MCAT, SAT, finance professional designations, actuarial exams and such.
