Online Tutor

Job Description:

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

Job Category:

Education

See Education jobs

What you will do:

You could:

help students develop their study skills
set clear rules for online behaviour
act as a point of contact for students’ or parents’ queries
give support by email, webchat, social media and telephone
manage online discussion forums
set up audio and video conferencing
conduct ‘virtual classroom’ lessons using web technology
monitor students’ progress
assess students’ work and give constructive feedback

Skills:

You’ll need:

knowledge of teaching and the ability to design courses
knowledge of media production and communication
to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

As well as:

the ability to create the best conditions for learning or teaching new things
the ability to use your initiative (drive)
customer service skills
the ability to come up with new ways of doing things (creativity)
to be flexible and open to change (adaptable)
the ability to work well with others (teamwork skills)

Illustration of employee looking at workspace

Entry Requirements:

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 high level/ 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

College
You could do a college course 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.

Work
You can usually take qualifications while you work. The exact qualification you do will depend on your job but could include:

Diploma in Education and Training (Level 4 Certificate and Level 5 in the UK)

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.

Restrictions and Requirements
You’ll need to pass enhanced background checks

Working Hours and Environment:

You could work from home.

Career Path & Progression:

You could move into other areas of online education, like:

course development
management
private tuition
consultancy