Why Korean University Students Like To Take On Tutoring As Their Part-time Jobs

Do you have experience working a part-time job?

I worked various part-time jobs while attending college, and the longest part-time job I had was tutoring.

Tutoring is one of the most preferred part-time jobs for Korean college students.

Today, I will go in-depth about how tutoring jobs work and why it's in such high demand.

What Is College Student Tutoring?

Unlike hagwons where several people are taught in a class together, private tutoring takes place in a one-on-one (1:1) setting.

College student tutoring refers to college students who teach specific subjects to elementary, middle, and/or high school students.

These college tutors are mainly hired to help these students get accepted into college.

To get into a competitive and reputable university in Korea, it's necessary to get good grades in school or do well on the national university entrance exam.

Therefore, these college tutors help these students get good grades in school or do well on their entrance exams.

Which Subjects Are Taught?

Source: KBS news

The most important subjects on the Korean college entrance exam are Korean, English, and mathematics.

The subjects that Korean students find particularly difficult are English and math.

Therefore, Korean students begin to learn English and math from a young age at school and through private tutoring.

So, these are the subjects that college students teach the most.

Who Are Qualified To Teach?

Seoul National University - Main Gate (서울대학교)

Just because you're a college student doesn't mean that you can be a tutor.

First, you must have a strong academic background, which adds to your credibility as a tutor.

If you're attending a reputable university, it shows that you have studied hard and received good enough grades to get into a competitive university.

Korea University (고려대학교)

For students who attend the top universities in Seoul including Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University (often referred to as SKY), it's easy to find tutoring jobs.

It's also easy for students attending KAIST, a research-oriented science and engineering university, and those in the medical, dental, and education fields to find tutoring jobs.

Those attending the above universities are usually in the top 10% of performers on the national university entrance exam.

Where Are The Classes Held?

Since tutoring usually takes place 1:1, classes are often held at the student's home.

In some cases, students will visit the teacher's house, but it's more common for teachers to go to the student's home to teach.

If the situation is not ideal, sometimes sessions are held in cafes.

When I was a student, I would sometimes visit my teacher's home.

Then, later when I became a tutor myself, I would visit my students' homes or meet up with them at a cafe.

Personally, I was more comfortable teaching at my students' homes.

Their parents were very caring and involved, so they would often prepare snacks and drinks for each class.

Salary Of College Tutors

With private tutoring, teachers, students, and parents discuss when tutoring sessions will take place and for how much.

The average monthly salary for 2-hour sessions twice a week is between 300,000 won and 500,000 won.

It's usually about 300,000 won for elementary school students, 400,000 won for middle school students, and 500,000 won for high school students.

Tutoring fees are sometimes higher in areas with a higher demand for education such as Daechi-dong in the Gangnam area of Seoul.

Also, if the teacher has a very strong academic background, they can charge a lot more.

If the average monthly salary is 400,000 won for 2-hour sessions twice a week, the hourly wage comes out to about 25,000 won.

Considering that the minimum hourly wage in Korea is 8,720 won, this is about three times this amount.

One hour of tutoring is equivalent to three hours of work at a regular part-time job.

According to a job platform website called Job Korea, the average annual salary of an entry-level employee at a large corporation is 41.21 million won (about 36,000 USD).

This comes out to about 17,000 won per hour.

In other words, you can make more money working as a tutor than you can working as a new hire at a large corporation!

Why College Students Prefer Tutoring

Below are some reasons why college students prefer tutoring jobs over other part-time jobs.

1. Higher Wages

As I explained above, the hourly wage for tutors is quite high.

Most regular part-time jobs at restaurants and cafes pay minimum wage.

So, college students who tutor can earn the same amount of money as those who work at a restaurant or cafe in 1/3 of the time.

So, it can be a really great side hustle during their studies!

If you're a college student who can devote a lot of time to tutoring, you can make a good amount of money.

One of my friends who has been tutoring since they started college does around 8 to 10 private lessons a month and earns more than 4 million won (approximately 3,500 USD).

2. Comfortable Working Conditions

As I explained earlier, college students who did well in school are the ones who are able to tutor privately.

Because they mainly teach materials that they have previously studied, this job comes naturally to them.

Moreover, since you can teach at the student's home or your own home, you can work a lot more comfortably than a part-time job that may require long hours and standing.

3. Highly Respected

Generally, when college students work part-time, they are not treated as well.

Most of them are in their early to mid-20s, so it's easy to be mistreated by others due to their young age.

However, tutoring is very different.

Although they are hired by parents, they still hold the title of being a teacher, so they are treated with great respect.

Why Students/Parents Prefer College Student Tutors

Below are some reasons why students and parents prefer tutoring lessons with college students.

1. 1:1 Personalized Lessons

At a hagwon, the student to teacher ratio in the classroom is much higher.

While the quality of the classes may be high, it's difficult to give each student individualized attention.

In addition, at a hagwon, there is no set curriculum, so students must try hard to keep up with the lessons.

However, since tutoring is taught on a 1:1 basis, it has the advantage of being more personalized to suit the needs of the student.

The teachers can also help manage the student's studies, which improves learning efficiency.

2. Friendly Relationships

In the case of college tutors, there is often not that much of an age difference between them and the students.

For example, when I was 21 years old, I taught a 19-year-old student who was a senior in high school.

We were only two years apart, which made it possible to conduct lessons while having friendly conversations.

Therefore, students may often feel more relaxed with college tutors because they're around the same age.

Students can open up to tutors about some problems they're having in their personal lives that they don't feel comfortable sharing with their parents.

The tutors can then try to give helpful, relatable advice to the students.

I remember when I was younger, my tutor used to give me the best advice, and I was able to share many things about my life with her.

This helps build the students' trust in their teachers, which encourages them to study harder.

How To Get Tutoring Jobs

Below are some of the ways that college students look for tutoring jobs in Korea.

1. Going Through Their Network

The best way to find a tutoring job is through someone you already know.

If you are attending a reputable university in Korea and someone in your network is looking for a tutor, you can easily become a tutor.

When my friend got into a great university, a lot of her younger sibling's friends asked if she could tutor them.

However, there are two disadvantages to this method.

First, if no one in your network is looking for a tutor, then it'll be hard to get started with teaching.

Second, just because you know someone, that doesn't guarantee that you can immediately start.

So, you have no choice but to seek out other ways of finding a tutoring job.

2. Handing Out Flyers

Source: OhmyNews

Posting flyers is the traditional way of getting tutoring jobs.

Usually, you can find flyers at the entrance of apartment buildings in areas where many students live or on the street.

On the flyer, the strengths of the teacher are listed as well as their experience and what subjects they teach.

Source: Sjpost

This method requires a lot of effort because you have to first identify areas with a high demand for tutoring.

Then, you have to make sure that you put up enough flyers so that many people will see them.

In addition to this, in order to post a flyer in an apartment complex, you have to get permission from the management office and pay a fee.

Because of this, this method is not widely used today.

3. Using A Recruitment Service

Source: Kim Study

In recent years, there have been many online recruiting websites in Korea that connect teachers and students.

If you want to become a tutor, you can sign up on such a website and complete a profile.

You can list your university and major, the subjects you teach, the times you're available, and your hourly wage.

Source: Kim Study

After you set up your profile, you can book tutoring jobs in one of two ways.

The first is to wait for a student to reach out to you.

Parents and students can view your profile and request a tutoring session.

The second is to contact students directly.

Just like how tutors upload their profiles, students also upload their profiles with the subjects they need additional support in and their budget.

You can view students' profiles, find a student you feel matches your qualifications, and send them a message.

After sending a message, if you go forward with tutoring a student, a portion of the monthly salary will be paid to the recruiting service.

In the case of Kim Study, the largest recruiting platform for tutors in Korea, 25% of the first month's salary is paid to the website.

Today, we learned about the culture of tutoring jobs, the most preferred part-time job for college students in Korea.

Are tutoring jobs among college students also in high demand in your country?

If so, what are the similarities and the differences?

Let us know in the comments below!