I checked. About 550k of Asian descent in Houston, about 330k in SF. SF is more Asian percentage wise but a smaller population base.
Of course, tutoring relies heavily upon referrals and word of mouth, so she may wish to explore making connections at some high schools that are likely sources. As everywhere, demand is greater for AP calculus BC and AP science tutors than in other subjects. At many private schools, the teachers will tutor in their off hours, and that is often preferable as they know the school. AP physics C tutors are always in demand, it seems.
roycroftmom: Thank you so much again for the insights. Your posts are very helpful.
Also, I am wondering if anyone knows if parents/students would be willing to drive to the downtown Houston area or Rice area for tutoring or if they would consider that too far. How far is too far for most families/students to commute for tutoring? Would those that live in Katy, Sugarland, Cypress drive to Rice/Downtown Houston for tutoring?
How bad is the traffic after school hours (after 3-4pm) if one were to commute to these areas from Rice/Downtown?
Here in Orange County most families expect me to come to their house.
I don’t know anyone willing to drive far for tutoring-ideally, tutors will come to the student’s home or school, but sometimes meet at a nearby coffeeshop convenient to both. Traffic is bad so I wouldn’t consider any tutor that wasn’t local to me. There seem to be enough teachers looking for extra work that I haven’t had much trouble finding local tutors.
Is there any reason your daughter couldn’t keep her current clientele? When my daughter was getting tutored for SATs she did it via Skype because we were living abroad. Her tutors were from all over the US. Her private college counselor also did counseling via Skype. With all of our technologies now there is no reason why it couldn’t be done remotely.
Yes, she is keeping some of her current clientele via Skype, etc. but she does in-person tutoring as well and may lose some of those clients. She also wants to tutor students in the Houston schools since she will be living there. Also, some parents/students may only want in-person tutoring.
I doubt students or their parents would drive a great distance for tutoring. The traffic in Houston is very bad, especially after school and at rush hour. Some of the areas you mention such as Katy, Sugarland and Cypress are very long distances from the Rice/downtown area. Look at a Houston map. The urban area is very sprawling, and there is little mass transit. The tutor my student used for AP Calculus lived less than 2 miles from her school. Students have very busy schedules and usually have sports and other activities after school as well.
I would expect building up a client base would take time. Though the Rice area is very nice, as noted she will be competing with Rice undergrads and grad students in offering tutoring services there. I would expect the great majority of high school students in the area do not live anywhere near Rice.
Okay I see. Yes, she does tutor for several large tutoring companies that do the advertising for her and provide her with business.
If I may ask, where do you guys think my daughter should live if she wants to reach the most high school students who can pay for her tutoring services (weekly long-term tutoring)? She was thinking of renting first by Rice or Kirby neighborhoods. Where should she live if she wants the most students to come to her place for weekly tutoring? She always tries to live in the middle of her client locations so she can reach the most students in-person.
Thank you guys so much for all of your suggestions/advice!
As in most cities, young professionals prefer to live right downtown or near Rice for the nightlife, activities, etc. Those married with children often move to the suburbs, or at least farther out from downtown, for more affordable housing and school options. So most high school kids don’t live downtown, but your daughter probably doesn’t want the suburbs.
Those remaining downtown with teens are either in elite private schools (much tutoring but hard to break into) or the few very good public schools downtown. Those schools are smaller than their suburban counterparts. It will help if she has a niche to fill-can she tutor math well past BC calculus, for example? Does she have any college friends who went to those schools and can introduce her to moms? Would she substitute teach for a little while to get known? Sign up with the same companies she uses now? Just fyi, I don’t think the plan of students coming to her place works here.
I’m south of Houston in the Clear Lake, Friendswood, Pearland area. They are a fairly affluent area also. I do some tutoring. You will find it hard to get more than $50 an hour in this area. $25 to 45 an hour are more the norms. There are a lot of people who need tutors but college students and teachers get a lot of the business. A lot of the private schools have retired teachers that they recommend. The economy here is good but a lot of people were hit by Harvey in one way or another and are a little more cautious with disposable income. There are a lot of college students willing to tutor and frequently they charge a little less.
Yes, current or former teachers are definitely preferred.
I thought the fiamily was moving, but now she’s going to rent on her own? And tutoring is her full time job? I’m skeptical she can fully support herself in that.
Why is she moving to Houston?
Your subject says…
I’m confused…because this thread makes it sound like the daughter has chosen to move to Houston…
OR is it that you parents are moving…and she is coming along?
Yes, she is moving to Houston first. We may sell our house and follow along in the near future as we live in a very HCOL area (Bay Area). She actually wants to get into medical schools in Texas and wants to work at the medical centers before applying. She is a relatively new graduate but has been tutoring a lot to save up for medical school. She will probably have some time before hearing from schools after applying so she wants to tutor full-time like she is currently in the Bay Area. She tutors 40+ hours a week here (working weekends too) charging $60-75/hr. A lot of her clients are private students. I just want to help her ask about demand in Houston for tutoring and rates.
There are several excellent private schools downtown. Students at those schools usually use faculty members for tutoring, or others their school recommend. I’m not sure how feasible it is for a recent grad with just a bachelor’s and no teaching experience to get on the list of recommended tutors, but for those who do, it is quite lucrative.
Advantage Testing of Houston is one of the well known test prep/tutoring outfits. It is located in the Post Oak/Galleria area of Houston. It is a centrally located close to many of the affluent areas such as River Oaks. Tanglewood, West University and Bellaire. It is not too far from most of the well known private schools such as St. John’s, Kinkaid, Duchesne, and Awty. Perhaps your daughter could look for work there or get an apartment in that area. Testmasters also has numerous locations in Houston.
Thanks again for both of your replies. Are you guys sure that students from the Katy, Sugar Land, Cypress, Pearland, Friendswood, Humble, etc. suburbs will not drive for good tutoring near the Rice/Kirby/Galleria area? Most of these suburbs are 20-30 miles away from Rice/Kirby right?
Conversely, do you guys think teachers/tutors drive to these areas to tutor students?
Thanks everyone so much for all of the insight into this area that we are not that familiar with (i.e. Houston,TX).