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Online instructor vs online tutor

The differences between online instructors and online tutors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an online instructor has an average salary of $45,114, which is higher than the $30,886 average annual salary of an online tutor.

The top three skills for an online instructor include skype, math and zoom. The most important skills for an online tutor are math, GRE, and grammar.

Online instructor vs online tutor overview

Online InstructorOnline Tutor
Yearly salary$45,114$30,886
Hourly rate$21.69$14.85
Growth rate2%-
Number of jobs37,21942,255
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 46%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age4242
Years of experience--

What does an online instructor do?

An Online Instructor teaches remote post-secondary classes through the use of email, discussion pages, and video. They develop a curriculum based on the best knowledge in the field.

What does an online tutor do?

An online tutor is responsible for teaching students on their academic needs through virtual learning processes. Online tutors assist the students' learning progress through visual communication, sending them online resources, and utilizing educational materials such as boards, documents, and visual presentations depending on the course content. They also identify the students' strengths and weaknesses and strategize or adjust learning techniques to address those difficulties. An online tutor should have excellent technology and communication skills, especially to resolving system issues that may delay learning deliveries.

Online instructor vs online tutor salary

Online instructors and online tutors have different pay scales, as shown below.

Online InstructorOnline Tutor
Average salary$45,114$30,886
Salary rangeBetween $32,000 And $61,000Between $24,000 And $39,000
Highest paying CityAlbany, NYSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateVermontAlaska
Best paying companyNew York UniversityBookNook
Best paying industryManufacturingTechnology

Differences between online instructor and online tutor education

There are a few differences between an online instructor and an online tutor in terms of educational background:

Online InstructorOnline Tutor
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 46%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common majorBusinessElementary Education
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Online instructor vs online tutor demographics

Here are the differences between online instructors' and online tutors' demographics:

Online InstructorOnline Tutor
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 33.5% Female, 66.5%Male, 34.1% Female, 65.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% Asian, 8.1% White, 58.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 11.5% White, 56.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between online instructor and online tutor duties and responsibilities

Online instructor example responsibilities.

  • Utilize blackboard management system to encourage online discussions and manage grades.
  • Prepare and deliver instruction to students in topics such as literature, grammar, and writing.
  • Develop course materials such as course calendar, syllabus, handouts, and additional resources for students.
  • Develop rubric syllabus, and introduction materials.
  • Serve as theory instructor for medical-surgical nursing and pharmacology for junior students and leadership and management nursing for senior students.
  • Collaborate with faculty to provide input for student IEP's and PPT meetings.
  • Show more

Online tutor example responsibilities.

  • Used different tools to achieve student success such as the whiteboard, websites, and role playing.
  • Identify necessary technical corrections in areas such as grammar, sentence structure, and accurate word usage.
  • Tutor students in the subject areas of economics and business management.
  • Tutor for high school/college level calculus, economics, statistics, computer science
  • Provide ESL tutoring with structure lesson plans base on individual client needs and goals.
  • Research interesting topics for daily lessons then use Microsoft PowerPoint to create lesson for the virtual class
  • Show more

Online instructor vs online tutor skills

Common online instructor skills
  • Skype, 14%
  • Math, 13%
  • Zoom, 12%
  • Learning Objectives, 10%
  • K-12, 7%
  • Mathematics, 6%
Common online tutor skills
  • Math, 89%
  • GRE, 4%
  • Grammar, 2%
  • K-12, 1%
  • Language Arts, 1%
  • ESL, 1%

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