Why PhDs Make Fantastic Tutors (and Working Professionals in General)
In the summer of 2016, I remember heading to my new student orientation. A professor I really admired gave us a spiel about how studying to get one’s PhD is not for the faint of heart. The Director of Graduate Studies at the time also gave a rousing speech on how almost everyone in the room—at some point or another—will have a PhD crisis and ask themselves: “What is the meaning of life? Why am I doing this?,” and “should I just quit?” At the time, I was not fazed by the comments, but I soon came to realize that all of this was true.
I eventually earned my M.A and then my PhD in Hispanic Languages & Literatures in November 2022, but by then I knew I was ready to leave academia. The lack of jobs, work-life balance, and unfair and abusive practices on the part of professors left a horrible taste in my mouth. I knew I just wanted to be happy and enjoy my life, while also making enough money to support myself. I thought that if I left academia, I could easily pivot. I thought to myself: “I have a PhD, which is really cool and impressive. Who would not want to hire me?”
Turns out, a lot of people!
I soon realized that having a normal, non-academic 9 to 5 was harder to come by than I expected, but I soon found my niche in the public sector and social services. My first non-academic job was at an American Job Center. As much as I enjoyed it, it was there that I also discovered that with inflation—and an emerging white collar job crisis—what I once thought was a survivable wage was not enough. I later secured a position as a Social Services Worker, which made more than my first position.
That is why throughout trying to figure out what I wanted to do, I spent quite a lot of time tutoring for online companies teaching K-12 English and Spanish as a side hustle. I felt content making a positive impact on young people’s lives, being in control of my own lessons, and making my own schedule. However, I felt that in the world of tutoring, I was at a slight disadvantage as well. I noticed that a lot of the higher paying tutoring positions demanded that applicants have a teaching license. Again, here I was with a whole PhD that just did not seem to be enough for employers. As I sat with my frustration, my brain rapidly spit out thoughts of how unfair such a barrier was : “Why are only licensed teachers considered for this position, why not open the doors to self-taught people or those with PhDs and other specializations? (Don’t get me wrong though, classroom teachers are awesome!)
This got me thinking that somehow, some way, I needed to try harder to prove my professional worth. It got me thinking of all of the non-academic skills that I have acquired that I honestly find more valuable that any academic knowledge I have every gained
As I start on the path to becoming a tutor again, these are some reasons why you should consider PhDs as fantastic tutors and overall capable professionals.
We have the ability to break down, process, and efficiently explain complicated concepts.
Even in the Humanities, there are some really complicated theories that might as well be rocket science! For my thesis and term papers, I've had to read long theoretical works and summarize them within one or two paragraphs.This practice for us is typical, which means if we can break down Deleuze and Guittari, Sylvia Wynter, and Heidegger (Google them if you don’t know, but as the young people say IYKYK) in one or two paragraphs, we can also break down complicated lessons and learning materials for children and adults).
We can work under pressure (like, a lot of it) and multitask.
PhD candidates face an unethical amount of stress and pressure in their studies. Juggling teaching and research assistantships, conferences, papers, and preparing for weekly classes and presentations (while also trying to have a social life, and you know, eat, sleep, and shower) is extremely daunting. Although I am striving to create a more stress-free life, I somehow find it comforting that my body and mind were able to survive being under so much stress and that I came out on the other side intact. While prolonged high stress situations aren't recommended, a strengthened stress tolerance means that PhDs are capable of handling multiple students and the creation of various quality lesson plans to accommodate different stages of learning with ease.
We don’t want learning to be hard.
Well, at least I don’t! Looking back on obtaining my PhD has really made me think of my entire educational journey and how much I overstressed, thinking that if I didn't get perfect grades, or get into this or that college, my life was going to be over. Obviously, I am still here. Part of my motivation for wanting to tutor students comes from the fact that—simply put—I want to let them know that they got this! School is hard and challenging at all levels these days, and one way I believe we can relieve some of that stress and anxiety for students is to give them as many tools as possible to face those educational barriers. For example, a child may become discouraged because they don’t understand a specific lesson due to the way that it is being presented in class. I can help by implementing different techniques to help the student break down and understand those concepts better, as well as take the time to determine how they learn best. I love learning and believe that education is important, but I would hate for anyone, children or adults, to tie their academic performance to their sense of self-worth. We are more than our titles, grades or education levels. Let’s lift eachother up and figure out the hard things together!
This being said, although my aim is to apply these skills to tutoring, they are truly valuable in any career field. The diligence, strength, and growth mindset acquired by PhDs is impressive and much needed across all industries.
What is an unexpected skill you have learned during your PhD and how have you applied it to your current work?
