Tutorgigs Review Summary

Tutorgigs is an online tutoring company that partners with US schools to support K-12 students. The application is simple, no formal qualifications are required, but you must be able to work in the US and pay for a background check. Payment is $20 per hour, with tutorials lasting between 10-60 minutes.

Tutorgigs Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Competitive pay rate
• No qualifications or experience necessary
• Simple application, with no live interview or demo
• Actively hiring (at the time of writing)

Cons:

• No longer pay by session but by hour
• Must be legally allowed to work in the USA
• Applicants must pay towards their own background check (and fingerprinting for certain jobs)
• Must be able to commit to the same time slots for the entire semester
• No hours available outside of term time
• Some glitches and disorganization reported by teachers

What Is Tutorgigs and Is Tutorgigs Legit?

Tutorgigs is a relatively new online tutoring company based out of Houston, Texas. Their legitimacy is underlined by partnerships with organizations such as the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) and school districts across the USA to provide tutoring to children identified as needing additional assistance.

Tutorgigs recruits for all K-12 subjects, though especially Math and English, and the children connect online from either their home or the school.

How Much Does Tutorgigs Pay its Tutors?

Tutorigigs pays $20 per hour, however, they used to pay by the session. A current teacher reached out to share this policy change with us, and to reveal how they earn less overall now:

“I’ve worked at this company since it started. We have always been paid $20 per session regardless of time. Recently, they sent out an email stating it was now per hour, and they have always been transparent. This is far from the truth. Today I received my first pay from my first week of work this school year and I no longer get $20 per session but $20 per hour. I had two 30-min classes and 1 10-min class and made $23.33. How can a company do this and get away with it?”

In the case of student no-shows, you are still expected to teach the session as it is recorded for later viewing, but will receive full payment for doing so.

Tutorgigs pay out once a week via a choice of payment methods – e.g., direct deposit, ACH, electronic check, PayPal, mailed check, etc.

Tutorgigs Hours

Tutorgigs tutorials take place on weekdays between 7.30am and 5pm (Central Time), and last anywhere between 10-60 minutes.

Tutorgigs tutors are flexible in choosing their initial schedule, but must commit to teaching identical times/days each week as they stay with the same students for the duration of the semester.

Tutors teach between a minimum of 1 and maximum of 40 hours per week.

Lesson materials are provided and just need to be downloaded and reviewed before the tutorial, saving on prep time.

Tutorgigs teachers receive school holidays off and can cancel sessions without penalty if 48 hours’ notice is given.

Sessions still have to be taught in the case of student no-shows (as they are recorded), with payment as normal.

Tutorgigs Requirements

The only Tutorgigs requirement is that ‘You must be legally permitted to work in the US‘. Tutors can work from any US state.

No experience is necessary, though it is advantageous if you are a college student or a current/retired teacher with a teaching certificate.

While Tutorgigs accepts applications for all K-12 subjects, they are especially looking for Math, English, and Bilingual Spanish tutors.

Tutorgigs Application Process

There are 8 stages to the Tutorgigs hiring process:

1. Application
2. Quiz
3. One-way recorded interview
4. Background checks
5. Payment info.
6. Legal documentation
7. Training
8. Schedule tutorial session

You must first sign up by registering with your:

• First name
• Last name
• Email address
• Password
• Mobile telephone number

Once you have confirmed your email address and logged in, complete your Tutorgigs application form with the following information:

• Confirm your email address, first and last name
• What is your phone number?
• Do you have a computer or tablet and reliable internet access?
• How did you hear about Tutorgigs?
• When would you like to get started tutoring?
• Have you ever tutored before?
• Have you ever tutored online?
• If you have tutored, where and what did you tutor?
• How many years have you tutored?
• What grade levels do you want to tutor?
• What subjects can you tutor?
• What languages do you speak aside from English?
• Are you a certified teacher? (upload certification)
• Are you certified in ESL? (upload certification)
• How familiar are you with TEKS and STAAR?
• Take a clear photo of yourself and a photo ID to confirm your identity (clearly showing your name and face)

You will then be given a Tutorgigs quiz to take for each subject selected. There is no time limit in which to answer between 8-20 multiple-choice questions (depending on the subject).

Here is an example of one question from the English quiz:

This is an example from the Elementary Math quiz:

Should you fail a quiz, you cannot retake it from the same account. In such instances, Tutorgigs have themselves suggested that teachers sign up with a different email address to make another attempt.

Tutorgigs Interview

Upon passing a Tutorgigs quiz, you will then be directed to record a one-way video interview on SparkHire.

Begin by updating and verifying your:

• Name
• Email address
• Primary phone number
• Avatar (upload)
• Resume/CV (upload)

You will have to watch an introduction and tutorial video, allow access to your computer’s camera and microphone, and pass an internet speed test, before being given the option of recording an unassessed practice question.

Tutorgigs Interview Questions

There are 4 questions you will have to answer as part of the Tutorgigs interview. For each, you are given unlimited thinking time, 3 attempts, and a 3-second countdown before the recording begins. There is a time limit of 2-3 minutes for each answer.

These are the questions that were asked when we attempted the interview (in March 2022):

1. “Why do you want to be a tutor with Tutorgigs?” (answer time limit = 2 minutes)
2. “What kind of tutoring or teaching experience do you have?” (time limit = 2 minutes)
3. “How would you handle a disruptive student?” (time limit = 2 minutes)
4. “Teach a brief lesson on the math problem 8×8. Present the material and be sure to check for student understanding.” (time limit = 3 minutes)

It can be a few days before you receive the outcome of your Tutorgigs interview.

You may only start tutoring once you have passed a background check, which takes another 1-2 business days at a cost of $19.95 to the applicant (unless you can provide a copy of a valid check completed in the previous 6 months).

Tutoring jobs with certain schools requires fingerprinting, done through Identogo. The cost of this is $40 if you live in Texas, $80 if in another state (Tutorgigs reimburse 50% of this).

Tutorgigs Reviews

The Tutorgigs Glassdoor page gives the company an average rating of 3.2 out of 5, with 60% willing to recommend them, though this is calculated from just 5 reviews (at the time of publication).

Positive comments mention the students, the software/platform, pay rate and schedule. Tutorgigs’ overall score is dragged down by a couple of critical reviews written earlier, describing teething problems around the company’s payment system, curriculum provision, and policy changes, e.g.:

This more recent Tutorgigs Reddit thread provides some indication that the payment issues have since been resolved, and that there are bookings available:

The Tutorgigs Indeed page provides more reviews (8 – at the time of writing), giving an average score of 3.5 out of 5. Here, the company’s ‘growing pains’ are acknowledged in regards to technical glitches and poor communication from management. The pay rate and schedule flexibility are, again, commonly cited as positives:

Conclusion – Is Tutorgigs Worth It?

Tutorgigs are worth considering for their low barrier to entry, upward trajectory, and still-competitive hourly pay rate. Some teacher reviews do leave question marks over the company’s technical problems, communication and management, the extent to which such issues have been resolved, and whether they are symptomatic of being a growing startup or are more systemic flaws in the organization. Having to pay towards one’s background check and fingerprinting will also put off some applicants.

You can apply for Tutorgigs jobs here.

Specific queries can be directed to the Tutorgigs Facebook group.

A full list of other online teaching companies can be found here.