Many students at the primary, secondary, or post-secondary level require additional guidance outside of the classroom, and a tutor is a person who will provide that guidance. Some tutors work full-time for a school, while others may work for a tutoring agency in a full-time capacity. Others may find part-time tutoring jobs that allow them to make extra money while giving students the guidance they need. Part-time tutoring jobs are often available at schools, school districts, or private companies; anyone taking such positions is likely to need certain credentials and qualifications, not to mention fingerprint clearances if applicable in a specific region.
Part-time tutoring jobs are available in just about every subject area, though some of the more specific subjects may offer fewer opportunities than broader subjects. A chemical engineering tutor, for example, will cater to a niche audience of engineers, usually at the post-secondary level. English tutors, on the other hand, will find plenty of part-time tutoring jobs at all levels of education in the United States and other English-speaking countries because this is a broad subject that just about every student will study.
Online tutoring companies will offer part-time tutoring jobs to applicants who prefer to work in an online environment. This is a good way to work part-time with a flexible schedule, as online tutoring sessions do not necessarily need to occur synchronously--that is, when both the tutor and the student are online at the same time. Instead, the tutor can design a session that requires the student to work at his or her own pace, and the tutor to assess the student's work shortly thereafter. This is known as an asynchronous model. Synchronous tutoring sessions are also possible and are usually easier to conduct.
A tutor may choose to consider part-time tutoring jobs at a specific grade level only, or he or she may choose to work with students of varying ability levels and grade levels. It is usually best to work with one type of student population, as certain tutoring techniques may work well at one grade level but not at another. Some tutors, for example, may choose to work only with primary school students, or only with high school students. Less often, the tutor may work with both populations, or even college populations in addition to primary and secondary school students.