{"id":2515,"date":"2026-08-17T16:02:04","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T16:02:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/?p=2515"},"modified":"2026-09-03T17:22:41","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T17:22:41","slug":"teaching-or-tutoring-whats-best-for-you-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/teaching-or-tutoring-whats-best-for-you-career\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching or Tutoring? What\u2019s the Best Choice for Your Career?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Is teaching a bad career choice? If you find yourself asking that question, then you&#8217;re not alone. For several years now, there\u2019s been a clear, ongoing trend in the UK of skilled <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/education\/2026\/jun\/04\/teachers-englands-state-schools-drops-second-year-in-row\">teachers leaving the profession<\/a>, often transitioning to non-classroom-based roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, private tutoring has become increasingly commonplace, with many parents feeling the need to supplement their child\u2019s education outside of school hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But is tutoring really the solution? How much do private tutors actually make? And which job provides more satisfaction in the long run?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Becoming a Private Tutor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So how do you become a private tutor? Does it require the same qualifications as teaching?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Actually, there\u2019s good news on this front. The bar to becoming a private tutor in the UK is much lower than becoming a teacher. Of course, you will still need to be an expert on your subject. While they won\u2019t demand a teaching degree, most parents will want to see some qualifications and, ultimately, you won\u2019t be able to teach what you don\u2019t already know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you\u2019re already a teacher, then this is a huge added bonus when transitioning into private tutoring. Being able to tell parents that you\u2019ve worked in a classroom environment shows from the get-go that you\u2019re comfortable working with all kinds of children from all kinds of different backgrounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Private Tutoring Careers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of course, while qualifications aren\u2019t as important, you do still have to think carefully about your career as a private tutor. While there are some companies you can work with &#8211; particularly if you\u2019re willing to take online tutoring jobs &#8211; practically speaking, you\u2019re looking at a self-employed career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s not to say you can\u2019t make good money. Build up a strong reputation with a good base of clients and word of mouth will carry you far. What parents want more than anything else is someone with a proven track record, and they\u2019ll often take recommendations from other parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is another case where a teaching background can help massively. All that time you spent in class, doing parent\/teacher meetings, and working hard to get those kids through their exams will now pay off massively in the form of networking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This really is a job where trust can make a whole world of difference. Parents are much more likely to put their faith &#8211; and their money &#8211; in someone they\u2019ve already built a rapport with and who knows the needs of their child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Teaching Vs Tutoring<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We\u2019ve talked a lot about the benefits of tutoring over teaching, but when you stack the two against each other, the case is far from clear on either side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the short term, tutoring seems like the better option. It\u2019s lower commitment and, once you build up a base of clients, the income per hour is often better than teaching. Furthermore, you don\u2019t have to put in out-of-hours work or deal with stressful classroom environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But tutoring can be stressful in its own right. Like any self-employed work, it\u2019s far from stable. You\u2019ll have to be constantly networking and getting your name out there &#8211; even when you have a stable base of clients. Keep in mind that kids age, curriculums change, and the demand for tutors often shifts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On top of that, while teaching may be difficult and stressful in the short term, it does offer some <a href=\"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/teacher-career-path\/\">long-term career benefits<\/a>. Teachers with experience often get promoted, become department leads and even head teachers. Some choose to leave the classroom altogether, focusing more on the management side of the education system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So is teaching still a good choice? Well, ultimately, a lot of this comes down to your personal needs in a job. If you look at it as a long game to earn a good salary, then teaching wins out. If you want to minimise daily stress but don\u2019t mind a little job instability, then you\u2019ll enjoy being a tutor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There\u2019s also the entrepreneurial aspect to consider. For private tutors with their eye on long-term earnings, there\u2019s a lot of appeal in shifting to an agency model. Once they\u2019ve managed to fill out their working hours, they hire other tutors. Depending on your approach, these types of small businesses can scale quite well, leading to better stability in the long run.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Is teaching a bad career choice? If you find yourself asking that question, then you&#8217;re not alone. For several years now, there\u2019s been a clear, ongoing trend in the UK of skilled&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1560,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mentoring-advice-opinion","category-mentoring-101"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Teaching or Tutoring? What\u2019s the Best Choice for Your Career?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What\u2019s the difference between a teacher and tutor? And which is a better career choice for you? Let\u2019s talk salary, job satisfaction, and career trajectory.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/teaching-or-tutoring-whats-best-for-you-career\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Teaching or Tutoring? What\u2019s the Best Choice for Your Career?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What\u2019s the difference between a teacher and tutor? And which is a better career choice for you? Let\u2019s talk salary, job satisfaction, and career trajectory.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/teaching-or-tutoring-whats-best-for-you-career\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Career Navig8r\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/careernavig8r\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-17T16:02:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-03T17:22:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/The-Teachers-Toolbox-min.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1182\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"416\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Career Navig8r\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@careernavig8r\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@careernavig8r\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Career Navig8r\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/teaching-or-tutoring-whats-best-for-you-career\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/teaching-or-tutoring-whats-best-for-you-career\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Career Navig8r\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/714cdf7d03d168e413c004bc93867caa\"},\"headline\":\"Teaching or Tutoring? What\u2019s the Best Choice for Your Career?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-17T16:02:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-03T17:22:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/teaching-or-tutoring-whats-best-for-you-career\/\"},\"wordCount\":750,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Advice\",\"Mentoring 101\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/teaching-or-tutoring-whats-best-for-you-career\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/teaching-or-tutoring-whats-best-for-you-career\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/teaching-or-tutoring-whats-best-for-you-career\/\",\"name\":\"Teaching or Tutoring? What\u2019s the Best Choice for Your Career?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-17T16:02:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-03T17:22:41+00:00\",\"description\":\"What\u2019s the difference between a teacher and tutor? And which is a better career choice for you? Let\u2019s talk salary, job satisfaction, and career trajectory.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/teaching-or-tutoring-whats-best-for-you-career\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Career Navig8r\",\"description\":\"Resources for Mentors and Mentees\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Career Navig8r\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Logo.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Logo.svg\",\"width\":110,\"height\":50,\"caption\":\"Career Navig8r\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/careernavig8r\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/careernavig8r\",\"https:\/\/linkedin.com\/company\/career-navig8r\",\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/careernavig8r\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/714cdf7d03d168e413c004bc93867caa\",\"name\":\"Career Navig8r\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f86c1060809fea8673469c04d554afd7b4391c5bba63a62b20f0cc2a934f87e9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f86c1060809fea8673469c04d554afd7b4391c5bba63a62b20f0cc2a934f87e9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Career Navig8r\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Teaching or Tutoring? What\u2019s the Best Choice for Your Career?","description":"What\u2019s the difference between a teacher and tutor? And which is a better career choice for you? Let\u2019s talk salary, job satisfaction, and career trajectory.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/teaching-or-tutoring-whats-best-for-you-career\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Teaching or Tutoring? What\u2019s the Best Choice for Your Career?","og_description":"What\u2019s the difference between a teacher and tutor? And which is a better career choice for you? Let\u2019s talk salary, job satisfaction, and career trajectory.","og_url":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/teaching-or-tutoring-whats-best-for-you-career\/","og_site_name":"Career Navig8r","article_publisher":"https:\/\/facebook.com\/careernavig8r","article_published_time":"2026-08-17T16:02:04+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-09-03T17:22:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1182,"height":416,"url":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/The-Teachers-Toolbox-min.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Career Navig8r","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@careernavig8r","twitter_site":"@careernavig8r","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Career Navig8r","Estimated reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/teaching-or-tutoring-whats-best-for-you-career\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/teaching-or-tutoring-whats-best-for-you-career\/"},"author":{"name":"Career Navig8r","@id":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/714cdf7d03d168e413c004bc93867caa"},"headline":"Teaching or Tutoring? What\u2019s the Best Choice for Your Career?","datePublished":"2026-08-17T16:02:04+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-03T17:22:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/teaching-or-tutoring-whats-best-for-you-career\/"},"wordCount":750,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Advice","Mentoring 101"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/teaching-or-tutoring-whats-best-for-you-career\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/teaching-or-tutoring-whats-best-for-you-career\/","url":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/teaching-or-tutoring-whats-best-for-you-career\/","name":"Teaching or Tutoring? What\u2019s the Best Choice for Your Career?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-08-17T16:02:04+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-03T17:22:41+00:00","description":"What\u2019s the difference between a teacher and tutor? And which is a better career choice for you? Let\u2019s talk salary, job satisfaction, and career trajectory.","inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/teaching-or-tutoring-whats-best-for-you-career\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/","name":"Career Navig8r","description":"Resources for Mentors and Mentees","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Career Navig8r","url":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Logo.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Logo.svg","width":110,"height":50,"caption":"Career Navig8r"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/facebook.com\/careernavig8r","https:\/\/twitter.com\/careernavig8r","https:\/\/linkedin.com\/company\/career-navig8r","https:\/\/instagram.com\/careernavig8r"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/714cdf7d03d168e413c004bc93867caa","name":"Career Navig8r","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f86c1060809fea8673469c04d554afd7b4391c5bba63a62b20f0cc2a934f87e9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f86c1060809fea8673469c04d554afd7b4391c5bba63a62b20f0cc2a934f87e9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Career Navig8r"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2515"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2515\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2516,"href":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2515\/revisions\/2516"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/careernavig8r.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}