Why does tutor pay rate(such as in Kaplan) not increase with class size?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

fl322

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Jul 21, 2009
Messages
46
Reaction score
0
Sometimes I see class with 10 students, sometimes 30. It would only be reasonable that as more students come in, tutor gets paid more. But tutor has a fixed rate of being paid usually. So there is something I am not getting. Please enlighten me if you have an idea. 🙂
 
Sometimes I see class with 10 students, sometimes 30. It would only be reasonable that as more students come in, tutor gets paid more. But tutor has a fixed rate of being paid usually. So there is something I am not getting. Please enlighten me if you have an idea. 🙂

Giving a PowerPoint presentation to 30 is the same as giving it to 10?
 
Yes they are similar. But that doesn't mean the total income for the company offering the course stays the same. It increases to 300% from 10 students to 30 students. As a part of the company, should tutors not share part of the overall income increase?
 
Yes they are similar. But that doesn't mean the total income for the company offering the course stays the same. It increases to 300% from 10 students to 30 students. As a part of the company, should tutors not share part of the overall income increase?

Kaplan tutors should start their own biz to maximize their income, but I guess there's a non-compete clause somewhere in their contract.
 
your pay changes depending on how you're rated by your students. the higher the rating, the higher the pay. the classes with 30 kids are taught by better instructors, as a general rule of thumb.
 
Personally, I have found that the only difference between tutoring 1 vs. 1 and 1 vs. more than 1 is the amount of silly questions I get asked. Also, there was a direct correlation between the number of students being tutored and the number of face palms I experienced.

Kaplan, much like Bill Gates, didn't get rich by writing a bunch of checks. They pay you the same because they know that if you quit they can easily replace you.
 
Kaplan, much like Bill Gates, didn't get rich by writing a bunch of checks. They pay you the same because they know that if you quit they can easily replace you.

Exactly. And this works at higher levels too - I don't think professors get paid more for if their class fills up or not, that's just the way things are. If more students actually equates to more work, it should also equate to more time, in which case you'll work more hours and get paid more. If not, well, what are you complaining about? Just because THEIR advertising brought in more students doesn't mean you should reap the benefits when you're not actually doing more.
 
I am with the belief that tutors should receive a percentage from the overall profit. It just seems more common sense.

But if the company regards tutors as a machine with a fixed monthly maintenance fee, then the static pay rate for tutors becomes the logical way of doing things.

I guess the reality of static pay rate disproves my common sense and proves that tutors are like machines to MCAT review companies.
 
I am with the belief that tutors should receive a percentage from the overall profit. It just seems more common sense.

But if the company regards tutors as a machine with a fixed monthly maintenance fee, then the static pay rate for tutors becomes the logical way of doing things.

I guess the reality of static pay rate disproves my common sense and proves that tutors are like machines to MCAT review companies.

Most larger companies treat their employees like this. If you find yourself working for one that doesn't, consider yourself lucky.
 
How much do kaplan instructors get paid?
$21 an hour.... WHILE you're teaching

for every hour I spent teaching, they dragged me into 1-5 hours of other crap at $7/hour.

It worked out to really not be worth my time. Each class worked out to $75, but that was a night of prep and a night of teaching. I guess if you need money badly it was good, but that was in addition to my normal job. It just isn't worth the amount of effort you have to put into it.
 
Top