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Online tutor vs instructor

The differences between online tutors and instructors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an instructor has an average salary of $53,426, which is higher than the $30,886 average annual salary of an online tutor.

The top three skills for an online tutor include math, GRE and grammar. The most important skills for an instructor are customer service, CPR, and course curriculum.

Online tutor vs instructor overview

Online TutorInstructor
Yearly salary$30,886$53,426
Hourly rate$14.85$25.69
Growth rate-12%
Number of jobs42,25539,273
Job satisfaction-4
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age4242
Years of experience--

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.

What does an instructor do?

Instructors are responsible for imparting knowledge to students. They are well-versed in different topics related to their area of teaching. They prepare lessons, create presentation materials and other collaterals, and present these to the students. They manage the classroom and ensure that students are attentive. Instructors are also responsible for creating ways to check the students' knowledge retention through schoolwork and examinations. They also evaluate their teaching style as well to further improve their skills for the next batch of students. Instructors should be patient, creative, and well-versed in classroom management.

Online tutor vs instructor salary

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

Online TutorInstructor
Average salary$30,886$53,426
Salary rangeBetween $24,000 And $39,000Between $30,000 And $94,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CANew York, NY
Highest paying stateAlaskaConnecticut
Best paying companyBookNookKern Community College District
Best paying industryTechnologyGovernment

Differences between online tutor and instructor education

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

Online TutorInstructor
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common majorElementary EducationBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Online tutor vs instructor demographics

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

Online TutorInstructor
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 34.1% Female, 65.9%Male, 51.2% Female, 48.8%
Race ratioBlack 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%Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% Asian, 9.5% White, 56.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between online tutor and instructor duties and responsibilities

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

Instructor example responsibilities.

  • Discipline kids when necessary, and manage lifeguarding duties during swimming portions of the camp.
  • Own and manage a small business as a CPR and first aid instructor and consultant for diverse clients.
  • Instruct all areas of massage therapy program including anatomy, physiology, pathology, contraindications and ethics.
  • Teach a broad range of ESL classes, such as pronunciation, grammar, and conversation classes.
  • Develop curricula for college-level philosophy and ethics courses with clear expectations and objectives in mind.
  • Plan and provide human anatomy and physiology course instruction and laboratory activities for students in the nursing program.
  • Show more

Online tutor vs instructor skills

Common online tutor skills
  • Math, 89%
  • GRE, 4%
  • Grammar, 2%
  • K-12, 1%
  • Language Arts, 1%
  • ESL, 1%
Common instructor skills
  • Customer Service, 11%
  • CPR, 11%
  • Course Curriculum, 8%
  • Professional Development, 7%
  • Classroom Management, 5%
  • Student Learning, 4%

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