Here's how to be a top earning private tutor in Singapore

Standing out in the "Tuition Nation".

Singapore has been dubbed the “Tuition Nation”. Even Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong recently commented that tuition has become a “minor national obsession”. Singaporean parents are certainly willing to splurge on tuition services for their children. In the last report on Singapore household expenditures in 2008 by the Department of Statistics, figures showed that Singapore households spent around $820 million on centre- and home-based private tuition, up from $470 million a decade earlier.

In this million-dollar industry, what does it take to succeed as a top tutor in Singapore? We spoke to Mr Anthony Fok, the principal Economics tutor of JCEconomics.com and the author of best-selling GCE ‘A’ Level Economics Ten-Year-Series in Singapore for his views on how to succeed in the competitive tuition industry. He was featured as one of the top 5 “super tutors” in Singapore.

Here are several points to consider:

Credentials
Ensure that you have the right credentials for the subject matter. A graduate degree might suffice to teach primary/secondary/junior college subjects. Nonetheless, parents are more discerning now. Some parents prefer tutors with postgraduate certificates such as a Postgraduate Diploma in Education from National Institute of Education (NIE) or a Masters in Education as well. It is good to upgrade your qualifications to compete with hundreds of other tutors in Singapore.

Offer value-added services
Provide your contact number for students to SMS you even after tutoring hours. Mark additional assignments for the students for free. You may also wish to customize your lessons to suit the individual needs of the students. Share exam smart techniques and tips on how to score well with the students.

Keep Abreast of Changes in Syllabus
Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest syllabus and examination trends. Equip yourself with the various examination papers and ten-year-series to look at the current examination trends.

Advertise aggressively
Advertise on various media platforms. Be active at online forums to share your expertise and learning materials. Word-of-mouth advertising is also useful. Parents and your former students can vouch for you and spread your contact to others.

Tutoring is a challenging but rewarding career. The satisfaction gained from helping a child improve in his/her academic studies is immensely rewarding. Always have a positive outlook and deliver interesting lessons that students will remember for life.

Anthony Fok is a Principal Tutor and Founder of JCEconomics.com, an A-level Economics tuition centre in Singapore. 

For more information, visit www.jceconomics.com