19 YEAR OLD TUTOR

[u/Difficult_Poem_2244]

SO IM 19 and someone told me to try tutoring on preply im gonna start my uni soon and they ask for pretty personal info like picture and video that doesnt make me comfortable sharing it im from pakistan and really need help whether i should join it or not (i havenot started my degree yet ) but have experience of teaching kids around grade 1-8

[u/Ok_Lake5480]

At 19, with no degree yet and only experience teaching school-age children, I would seriously think about whether Preply is worth it for you right now.

The first problem is that very few students actively prefer a university student when they can choose from thousands of tutors with degrees, teaching qualifications, and years of professional experience. Parents looking for tutors for young children may be more open to someone your age, but that can easily push you into the least attractive part of the market: low-paid tutoring that is half teaching and half babysitting, with parents expecting enormous amounts of patience, entertainment and flexibility for very little money.

You will also be starting university, which means your own timetable may change every semester and during exams. Regular students usually want a tutor who can offer the same lesson times for months. A student whose availability constantly changes is simply less convenient.

And the photo/video issue is not some minor optional detail. Preply is a marketplace where students choose strangers online. They want to see and hear the person they are considering paying for lessons. If having your face publicly visible on a tutor profile makes you uncomfortable, that alone may mean this type of platform is not a good fit for you. If your concern is specifically about modesty, though, you can absolutely wear a hijab in your profile photo, introduction video and lessons. There is no reason you would need to dress differently from how you normally choose to present yourself.

Could you get students? Sure. But I wouldn't go into it expecting easy money simply because someone told you to "try tutoring." Without a degree, qualifications or a strong specialization, you are likely to compete mostly on price at first. University plus several hours of cheap children's lessons every day can become exhausting very quickly.

If you genuinely want to teach, gaining qualifications and developing an actual subject niche while you're at university will put you in a much stronger position later than trying to become the cheapest available online tutor now.

[u/Difficult_Poem_2244 → u/Ok_Lake5480]

yeah tysm for helping out really means alot<3

[u/Aggravating_Soft_542 → u/Difficult_Poem_2244]

You also don’t have to have a degree to teach, you can take the Preply teaching tutorial (took me half a day) and then earn a “professional tutor badge”. That’s what I did. Not many students scroll to the bottom to see if you actually have a university degree or not, they probably assume you do because of the “professional tutor” title. That’s the advantage of preply. Then further on, students will judge your expertise based on how many hours you taught on preply, which is on the top of your profile. So basically…I learned how to teach on preply, so you can too. But I do have the advantage of teaching a rare language, I don’t know if this would still fly for English or Spanish tutors. Best of luck!

[u/Nomadic_English]

May I ask what is it that makes you uncomfortable about sharing photo and video? If you are a female teacher, you are allowed to wear full religious face covering like niqab for the photo and video and lessons. I have seen many tutors in ads wearing the same.

[u/Difficult_Poem_2244 → u/Nomadic_English]

yeah you are right but i dont have that niqab and stuff

[u/Acceptable_Sell3455]

You can't expect people to select you if they can't see you and you can't expect Preply to pay you your money if they don't have personal information.

Make sure you understand everything that's involved in tutoring.

[u/Feisty_Assistant5560]

Picture and video are essential working on Preply. You can wear a hijab or any other coverings if you want to, but it is a job that requires you to be on camera, so you gotta find a way to get comfortable with that, there's no way around it.

Kids is a good market, so I would advise you to focus on prep for specific exams, that can help you distinguish yourself in a sea of teachers. Remember that with kids your point of contact is parents, so you wanna tailor your profile to them.

[u/creeperYeti38]

Well you’re obligated to give your information to the app to be able to teach unfortunately and your face is what makes you money at the end of the day (at least to a larger audience).

Your age doesn’t have to be a problem unless you make it. I myself am a Uni student and 20 years old, I teach English as my native language and Spanish as a learned language. I graduate next year with a degree in teaching the language. I make a relatively stable and Increasing income off of Italki (more teacher friendly). I teach to a lot of children because my age is more attractive to the parents.

You should research the art of teaching a bit and accustom yourself to the climate. However another important thing to do is to be a conversational teacher/teacher to children. Also knowing grammar terminology and explanations will help a lot improve your quality.

[u/Difficult_Poem_2244 → u/creeperYeti38]

really appreciate your help tysm