Who teaches for Kaplan?

[wxl31]

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hi guys,

i've been teaching for another test prep company for about a year now. i teach the SAT and make about 19d/hr, but i'm looking to switch to kaplan. why? i want some classroom experience vs. one on one tutoring. plus, i work maybe 3 hrs a week for this other company. my question for all you kaplan teachers is this--what can i expect if i make a switch? would my pay drop? will i still have limited hours? if my pay is gonna drop, how easy are pay increases? and what's training like? 10 hrs? 20 hrs? i think i want to continue teaching SAT and maybe MCAT.

things are easy for me now at this other company (it's not nearly as big as kaplan and only based in CA) so i'm hesitant to switch, but part of me wants that large classroom interaction. plus kaplan is everywhere so if i move for med school, i'll have a job. i was offered a kaplan job today and i am so unsure about taking it.

any advice would be appreciated.

thx!

 

[KNightInBlue]

hi guys,

i've been teaching for another test prep company for about a year now. i teach the SAT and make about 19d/hr, but i'm looking to switch to kaplan. why? i want some classroom experience vs. one on one tutoring. plus, i work maybe 3 hrs a week for this other company. my question for all you kaplan teachers is this--what can i expect if i make a switch? would my pay drop? will i still have limited hours? if my pay is gonna drop, how easy are pay increases? and what's training like? 10 hrs? 20 hrs? i think i want to continue teaching SAT and maybe MCAT.

things are easy for me now at this other company (it's not nearly as big as kaplan and only based in CA) so i'm hesitant to switch, but part of me wants that large classroom interaction. plus kaplan is everywhere so if i move for med school, i'll have a job. i was offered a kaplan job today and i am so unsure about taking it.

any advice would be appreciated.

thx!

Hey wxl,
I just finished training for Kaplan and am starting my first class this saturday. Training is 5 sessions of 4 hrs each. It's not too bad, they just want to see you can teach and relate to people. Definitely doable. Plus you get paid for training also.

As for pay, I am starting at $20/hr, but after I finish my first class, I move up to $22/hr and then raises after that. However, that's for MCAT. SAT teachers start off at #16/hr, but its the same deal. After your first class, you get a raise and then based on your performance and student evaluations, you get raises after that.
(P.S. You also get paid for out of class preptime at $7/hr. So if you are teaching a 3 hrs class for which it took you 3 hrs to prepare, you'll get 16+7 = $23/hr.)

As for # of hrs available to work, Kaplan teachers have options other than teaching. For example, if you wanted to teach 3 classes next month, but only got 2, you can ask to write questions, proctor exams (there's always an exam somewhere), or help staff a center in your free time. Hours shouldn't be a problem. I am gonna be pulling about 15 per week this month and once interview season ends, maybe up it to 20-25 hrs (I need the dough!!)
Then again, this is at my Kaplan center in Queens, NY which is pretty busy so I can't say it's the same all over the country.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Good Luck

 

[MeowMix]

I taught for Kaplan. If they really want you, they will increase your pay rate. Depends how desperate the local center is. As an experienced teacher, you are in high demand in some locations.

Yes, you get paid a nominal amount for training and prep time, but only to a limit. If it takes 9 hours to prep a 3-hr MCAT class (not unusual with a new curriculum), you still only get paid 3 hrs training time. You are supposed to follow their lesson plans EXACTLY and advocate only their techniques, so your prep time will be long the first time around while you learn their thing.

Except for summers, you won't have time for a job in med school, so I wouldn't make that a factor.

 

[wxl31]

Can someone tell me how pay increases after reach season? I'm currently receiving a 2-3 increase after every fall or spring season. Plus, do you get other perks like discounted courses/materials...The USMLE stuff is expensive!

So I'm one of those ppl who hates contracts and Kaplan has a one year after termination no-compete clause...meaning if I quit, I can't work for any other company for a year! I just want to be totally sure of the switch before I make it.

 

[VFrank]

One of the reasons I was so worried about teaching for Kaplan was because I thought it might interfere with my interviews. Is Kaplan pretty flexible about giving you days off (or finding replacements) for days you need to be gone for interviews?

 

[wxl31]

One of the reasons I was so worried about teaching for Kaplan was because I thought it might interfere with my interviews. Is Kaplan pretty flexible about giving you days off (or finding replacements) for days you need to be gone for interviews?

ack!!! That's something else I didn't think about...Right now I currently have 5 students through the other company...It's almost like independent contracting; they send me names, and I schedule independently with the student so working around interviews is easy. I think though, that kaplan classes are sorta spread out so at most, I'd miss once class the week I'm interviewing.

I hate this...I really, really need a job that pays more...do you hear the desperation in my voice? I can't pay for my interviews!

 

[bkmonkey]

My center was great about letting me take time off for interviews. I guess it depends on how cool your academic manager is...

 

[lorelei]

Except for summers, you won't have time for a job in med school, so I wouldn't make that a factor.

Really? The guy who ran my training at Kaplan was an MS2. It didn't sound like he worked a LOT, but he was definitely there once a week for my training. And he mentioned that his favorite thing to do was proctor tests, because you can study then.

I had kind of thought I would work a little (like 5-8 hours/week) in med school just for some extra cash and variety. I do realize I can't count on that.

The MCAT classes I'm teaching don't start until next month, so I'm not an expert yet. But it seems like I'll be able to get basically as much work as I want - my manager just emailed me last night and asked me to take like half a dozen more sessions.

 

[MeowMix]

Really? The guy who ran my training at Kaplan was an MS2. It didn't sound like he worked a LOT, but he was definitely there once a week for my training. And he mentioned that his favorite thing to do was proctor tests, because you can study then.

I had kind of thought I would work a little (like 5-8 hours/week) in med school just for some extra cash and variety. I do realize I can't count on that.

The MCAT classes I'm teaching don't start until next month, so I'm not an expert yet. But it seems like I'll be able to get basically as much work as I want - my manager just emailed me last night and asked me to take like half a dozen more sessions.

for MOST people...
med school is very expensive
your income will hardly make a dent in that
but your time spent working will eat into precious time for studying and relaxing

proctoring is completely different from teaching because it requires no prep time at all and you can do other things

but I wouldn't do it anyway