How do I start tutoring for reals?

Create a flyer advertising your availability that has those tear-off strips with your phone number. Put them up on grocery store bulletin boards, gyms and workout clubs, anywhere that gets heavy mom and dad traffic.

I would start with counselors, or even make a suggestion to start a tutoring binder so that tutors can put their contact information inside for students/parents to look at. Something I've done before is distributing flyers to parents picking up their kids from summer school classes, since the kids that are there for remedial classes likely failed a course and likely need the extra help. Also check with you provincial/state government to see if they offer any entrepreneurial programs in which they give you seed money to start your own business. The Ontario government offers $3000 grants to high school and university students to start their own company. It's a great program and it allowed me to tutor as well as hire a few other tutors so there was a lot of good experience gained there. Best of luck!

Some schools have an issue with recommending any specific tutor (especially if costs money). Handing out cards in the parking lot or at PTA/PTO meetings is great as long as it doesn't violate school rules (it might) I would start by asking your girlfriend to introduce you the parents of her student, recommend you for the job and you can let her know that you are looking for students. Contact anyone else you know (or your parents know) who has a middle school student It would be perfect if you could buy a small ad in the school newsletter. Our library has a spot for people to leave flyers advertising their services. Put up a flyer at church or other family-oriented organizations. Talk to math teachers who know you and let them know you are available. (long-shot but might work)

Check Craigslist. You can post your own ad to let people know that you're available to offer your services as a tutor, but also check for postings from families who are already seeking tutors in specific subjects. You'll definitely need to do a lot of filtering to get past all of the ads from professional tutoring agencies, but depending on where you live, there just might be a decent number of people whose needs fit with your qualifications and interests. Better yet, set up a custom RSS feed from your Craigslist search and let all of the results come directly to you. Good luck!

I used to do this in high school, on a somewhat smaller scale than you have in mind -- I tutored two or three kids to make some extra money for the prom. To be honest, I don't remember how I got the _first_ client -- but once you have the first client, and you do a good job, it's going to be easy to get more -- your student tells their friends, the parents tell _their_ friends, and so on. I think talking to the math teachers in your school, especially one who knows you and thinks highly of you, is a great idea and not a longshot at all -- they're the one who know who's struggling in math and are in position to suggest to those people that they get tutoring! I charged $10/hr as a high school senior in the late 1980s, so the rates you're suggesting are quite fair -- parents are going to save a bundle from what they'd pay a professional. (Finally, if your girlfriend is coming here to UW, you should follow her! It's a great place to study math.) Oh, and: don't blow the money on prom. What a waste that was, in retrospect.

In addition to the great suggestions above: You are likely capable of tutoring students at a local community college if you've taken the equivalent courses. Also consider expanding the list of subjects you tutor, if you're comfortable with that. I tutored in high school in addition to working at a convenience store, so I can relate to your situation. I think all my referrals came from teachers -- foreign languages are good for this, because usually teachers have to 'approve' that students move on to the next level, and people are pretty well aware that they don't get a fresh start each year. Otherwise it'll be hard to find lots of clients at the beginning of a year -- but be very alert for interest after major tests, parent-teacher conferences, etc. One thing you should be aware of is that the whole business won't be as predictable or professional as your current job -- students/parents will be likely to discontinue tutoring, cancel appointments, want to change appointments, etc. So you can't expect to block out 8 hours on Saturday and have students back to back, and if you *need* the $100 a week, be careful. I regret not charging more for housecalls; even though gas was just over a dollar a gallon back then, it sometimes doubled the time I spent on the session. It might be useful to contact the libraries of middle schools in your area to see if you could hang out with a student after school, etc. Or depending on bus routes, middle schoolers might be able to take a bus to your school. Good luck!

Oh, and I charged $15/hr in 2001-03. It wasn't enough then -- please take into account the hassle/time required outside of each hour block.

I started tutoring elementary-age kids when I was your age. I segued into it from babysitting, and charged $10 an hour. Most of what I did was just help the kids keep focused on their homework, helped them study for tests, etcetera. Perhaps you could try advertising as "homework help," and that would make you attractive to parents whose kids aren't necessarily struggling in school, but could use a scheduled time for homework.

Aside from tutoring privately, you might also consider teaching ACT/SAT prep classes for Kaplan or similar, if there's one in your area. Yeah, it's a little corporate, but it was good money and I had the choice of whether I wanted to teach particular classes or not, and I ended up meeting my husband in my first training class. (Okay, he's my ex now, but we're still friends...) Bonus over tutoring one-on-one: you get teaching experience and confidence in front of a class, and that is always a plus.