Varsity Tutors
Varsity Tutors Employee Reviews
Showing all 60 reviews
Organized, Helpful
Tutor (Current Employee) – Work at Home – October 7, 2016
This is a contracted job. I work when their students' needs fit my schedule.
I learned about the pros and cons to being in a per-job type of work experience.
Management is organized and helpful.
Hardest part of the job is random work.
Most enjoyable part...teaching.
I learned about the pros and cons to being in a per-job type of work experience.
Management is organized and helpful.
Hardest part of the job is random work.
Most enjoyable part...teaching.
Pros
teaching
Cons
random scheduling
Great Place to work
Online Math and Test Prep Tutor (Current Employee) – New York, NY – October 6, 2016
This is a great place to work if you want additional hours. The industry itself is very seasonal. Some weeks it is great income other weeks I am counting my coins.
What you put into it is what you get out of it.
The management is fantastic. Always ready to address issues.
The hardest part of the job is the consistency of students. But that is the business.
The most enjoyable part of the job is the reward of helping the students.
What you put into it is what you get out of it.
The management is fantastic. Always ready to address issues.
The hardest part of the job is the consistency of students. But that is the business.
The most enjoyable part of the job is the reward of helping the students.
payment is sucks
Tutor (Former Employee) – San Diego, CA – September 24, 2016
One of the worst tutoring companies I have ever taught in the last 10 years. They are not honest at all. They ask a lot money from students and pay only 20 percent of that to the instructor who has the first role in their income.
Flexible and Fulfilling Job
Private Tutor (Current Employee) – Tucson, AZ – August 27, 2016
I have worked at Varsity Tutors for over 4 years, and it was been a wonderful and fulfilling job. Being able to see so many different clients and adapt to different learning approaches really expanded my knowledge base and increased my ability to change my approach depending on the situation. The wide variety of students gave me a chance to improve my patience, creativity and focus. The hardest part of the job was working with special needs children and working to adapt their way of learning, and the most enjoyable part was seeing students not only succeed but realize that learning can be a positive experience.
Pros
Flexible, interesting, helps broaden your knowledge base, rewarding
Cons
Can be frustrating when students do not succeed despite your best efforts
low pay, flexible schedule
tutor (Current Employee) – home – July 20, 2016
i've been working for varsity for about a year. i tutor about two students a day. i do A LOT of prep work for sessions, but you're only paid for the session itself. if i earned $30/hour as another reviewer on this site stated, i'd be THRILLED, but i earn a little over half that. so it's pretty terrible in terms of pay. but i do get steady clients, so i'm going to stay until i can figure out how to get local students. i do not work weekends or late nights, and they never gave me a problem about that. management is always very nice and cooperative.
Pros
flexible schedule
Cons
low pay, no benefits
Market saturation of tutoring companies drives down tutor wages
Math, Science, ACT, SAT tutor (Former Employee) – Palo Alto, CA – July 9, 2016
While I was completing my undergraduate and graduate studies, I tutored privately in the Boston/Cambridge areas, earning enough to survive relatively stably through intense programs. The year between finishing school and accepting a post-doc appointment (this past year), I traveled to the West Coast, thinking I could supplement my income while working in a lab for a short research stint. I'd noticed the ads for Varsity Tutors in nearly every college town across the US in the year or two previously as I'd started looking for research positions, so applied. I was shocked to learn that they were offering tutors less than 1/4-th what private tutors like me had been earning prior to the rise of the Walmart-tutoring model.
Just as Walmart kills local business, driving mom-and-pop shops out of business, Companies like Varsity Tutors, now rampant anywhere with a college community, have so driven down the value of tutoring that except for undergrads desperate for an extra buck here or there, tutoring is no longer a viable way to earn a living. I made so much less working with Varsity Tutors for the year that I tutored with them that on returning to the Boston area to start my post-doc I decided not to tutor going forward, despite glowing customer reviews and multiple requests from management.
Oh, and you'll notice that in all the Varsity Tutors ads for tutors they list "competitive pay" as a supposed perk. By "competitive" they mean the new standard low that results from tutoring being wrested from the purview of the private tutoring professional and peddled instead as a low-skill more... service gig.
If you're serious about tutoring and have a highly competitive degree (math, CS, the sciences--from a top-ten university), skip the Walmart-style tutoring box centers and check out the new, small, elite tutoring organizations that cater to clients who value your 4.0 math/science degree from the Ivies. You can earn in a few hours a week working with such companies what it would take you 20+ hours to earn with Varsity Tutors. And clients win, as expert private tutors know, an unparalleled holistic tutoring experience.
Unless you think your engineering degree from MIT is worth the starting hourly wage for many entry-level office posts, find a more profitable way to put your years of hard work to use and bypass Varsity Tutors--and the other tutorial/scholarship devaluing corporate entities. less
Just as Walmart kills local business, driving mom-and-pop shops out of business, Companies like Varsity Tutors, now rampant anywhere with a college community, have so driven down the value of tutoring that except for undergrads desperate for an extra buck here or there, tutoring is no longer a viable way to earn a living. I made so much less working with Varsity Tutors for the year that I tutored with them that on returning to the Boston area to start my post-doc I decided not to tutor going forward, despite glowing customer reviews and multiple requests from management.
Oh, and you'll notice that in all the Varsity Tutors ads for tutors they list "competitive pay" as a supposed perk. By "competitive" they mean the new standard low that results from tutoring being wrested from the purview of the private tutoring professional and peddled instead as a low-skill more... service gig.
If you're serious about tutoring and have a highly competitive degree (math, CS, the sciences--from a top-ten university), skip the Walmart-style tutoring box centers and check out the new, small, elite tutoring organizations that cater to clients who value your 4.0 math/science degree from the Ivies. You can earn in a few hours a week working with such companies what it would take you 20+ hours to earn with Varsity Tutors. And clients win, as expert private tutors know, an unparalleled holistic tutoring experience.
Unless you think your engineering degree from MIT is worth the starting hourly wage for many entry-level office posts, find a more profitable way to put your years of hard work to use and bypass Varsity Tutors--and the other tutorial/scholarship devaluing corporate entities. less
Pros
Varsity Tutors handles the back-end of client relations
Cons
Horrendous pay for scholar expertise
low pay, no jobs
tutor (Current Employee) – Indianapolis, IN – July 8, 2016
Jobs are few and far between. You may go weeks or months between tutoring sessions. Pay is low compared to what they charge the client. My last client said she wanted to make sure she got her money's worth since she was paying $50 an hour. I received $18 per hour so Varsity Tutors gets the bulk of the pay.
Pros
You can choose when you want to work
Cons
little communication. poor pay.
Productive, Flexible Work Place
Private Tutor (Current Employee) – Evanston, IL – June 5, 2016
I work my own hours and have the privilege of interacting with students from different walks of life.
I love the flexibility and the fact that I get to learn new things and meet new people.
I love the flexibility and the fact that I get to learn new things and meet new people.
Pros
limited number of students
Cons
limited number of students, self contractor so no benefits.
The pay should be higher.
Tutor (Former Employee) – Chicago, IL – June 3, 2016
I found out what my client was paying and when she wanted to do more hours, they were going to charge her 1,400$!!! for an additional 9 or so hours. I was making 15$/hour online. It was absurd.
Ok company
Director of Sales (Former Employee) – Phoenix, AZ – May 18, 2016
This company started off good but grew to fast for its level. Management did not have a good grasp on changes. New changes meant longer hours.
Pros
Great co workers
Cons
management was not great
Wish the pay was better
Tutor students (Current Employee) – NY – May 11, 2016
Working for VT has been great. The staff check in from time to time to see how we tutors are doing. The only con for working for VT is you're better off tutoring on your own because they pay is significantly more. The pro is they find you the students.
Great company to pick up extra hours
Private Tutor (Current Employee) – Riverview, FL – May 6, 2016
Varsity Tutors is a fantastic company to work for when you need to pick up a few extra hours working in education. The only complaint I have is that I do not get many matches - it took two months before I was assigned my first student. However, since I accepted my first client I have steadily had three students at a time. This works great with my current schedule and working two other jobs.
Totally unfair
Tutor (Former Employee) – New York, NY – May 5, 2016
I worked for Varsity. Everything seems good except how they share the money they get from client with the tutor. They charge a client for about 120$ per session, but the tutor receives only about 30$. Other companies treat the tutors more fairly.
Why did I work there? Well, just as first experience I recommend it. But for sure, not good for long term. You can earn at least twice if you work in other companies.
Why did I work there? Well, just as first experience I recommend it. But for sure, not good for long term. You can earn at least twice if you work in other companies.
Pros
flexible shedule
Cons
unfair salary
waste of time
PHYSICS/MATH TUTOR (Current Employee) – Orlando, FL – April 30, 2016
so many tutors that you may never get a client. · As a tutor it’s my responsibility to analyze a student’s weaknesses in a subject, I then develop a strategy best suited to their learning style that targets their weaknesses to help with their understanding, and confidence, so they are test ready.
Pros
make your own hours
Cons
you may never get hours
Undependable and Uncertain Work
Tutor (Current Employee) – National – April 21, 2016
Varsity Tutors is a work-at-home opportunity that fails to provide ample opportunities. Student matching is done via an announcement to all of the tutors for a particular subject matter, after which follows a scramble to see who actually gets paired to the student. At times an automatic match is made available; however, these are often students that just want help on a particular assignment or paper that's due within the next couple of days, and have no interest in regular sessions.
Outside of tutoring for the GRE, there is no greater compensation for tutoring advanced subject matter (i.e. graduate level engineering, computer science, chemistry) versus more rudimentary material (i.e. algebra, English composition), and as one may expect, you will not be paid for time taken before a session to prepare to assist a student.
As an adjunct means of payment, there is the option to create problem sets. However, the times between the submission of a set and its approval is terribly inconsistent, and communication between the team that works on them is nearly nonexistent. Prepare to have over a month go by while waiting to be told whether or not your work is acceptable, let alone to be paid for it. The caveat is given that such wait times may occur.
If you wish to have a minor means of side income, perhaps an extra one or two hundred dollars a month, Varsity Tutors may not be a bad option for you. However, there is no means for career advancement since you are an independent contractor, and even if you make sure to apply to and take advantage of all opportunities, there is no more... guarantee of work or income.
Do not expect to make a living wage doing this. less
Outside of tutoring for the GRE, there is no greater compensation for tutoring advanced subject matter (i.e. graduate level engineering, computer science, chemistry) versus more rudimentary material (i.e. algebra, English composition), and as one may expect, you will not be paid for time taken before a session to prepare to assist a student.
As an adjunct means of payment, there is the option to create problem sets. However, the times between the submission of a set and its approval is terribly inconsistent, and communication between the team that works on them is nearly nonexistent. Prepare to have over a month go by while waiting to be told whether or not your work is acceptable, let alone to be paid for it. The caveat is given that such wait times may occur.
If you wish to have a minor means of side income, perhaps an extra one or two hundred dollars a month, Varsity Tutors may not be a bad option for you. However, there is no means for career advancement since you are an independent contractor, and even if you make sure to apply to and take advantage of all opportunities, there is no more... guarantee of work or income.
Do not expect to make a living wage doing this. less
Pros
Work from home
Cons
Poor student matching, unreliable income, slow review of work
No guaranteed students, not great tutor representation
Tutor and Test Writer (Current Employee) – Portland, OR – April 19, 2016
I have been a contracted tutor for 5 months and have still not received any students. They send out possible student applications to a pool of tutors across the country and even when confirming tutor availability, the likelihood of actually getting work is close to none. The only plus side is that you can write test questions if they approve your initial test which generates a small amount of money.
Pros
Free lance test writing
Cons
Zero student guarantee
Decent pay for ease of access to clients
Professional Tutor (Current Employee) – Hyattsville, MD – March 13, 2016
Can be difficult to get a large number of hours but acquiring consistent clients is quite helpful with that. The job allows for scheduling around your home life which is excellent. I've found that by tutoring with Varsity my skills in the subjects I've tutored have gotten significantly better as you see a variety of ways things are taught. Working with young kids is always a joy and varsity takes out a lot of the legwork to get new clients.
Pros
Flexible Schedule
Cons
Difficult to get a lot of hours.
Fun self motivating math assistance
Math tutor (Current Employee) – Los Angeles, CA – March 11, 2016
I set appointments with students who I choose, build a lesson plan based on their comprehension and skill level.
I meet with students at their home or a public setting.
We cover review homework or lessons and prepare for upcoming tests and assessments. I have learned how to create custom lesson plans for students based on their needs and abilities I work independently and have no co-workers. The hardest part is building a schedule that allows me enough time with students when they available. The most enjoyable part is when a student has that eureka moment they grasp a topic or problem fully they have been struggling with and are relieved and excited to learn more.
I meet with students at their home or a public setting.
We cover review homework or lessons and prepare for upcoming tests and assessments. I have learned how to create custom lesson plans for students based on their needs and abilities I work independently and have no co-workers. The hardest part is building a schedule that allows me enough time with students when they available. The most enjoyable part is when a student has that eureka moment they grasp a topic or problem fully they have been struggling with and are relieved and excited to learn more.
Pros
Freedom to build my own scehulde and clients
Cons
benefits and not enough hours