school teacher

instructor

camp counselor

school program staff

school aide

Magnus Chess Academy

I’ve worked at silver knights chess clubs, camps, and tournaments that they offer and at each one I felt that the comradely between other coworkers is really good and you meet with a lot of people who’s also interested in teaching kids, and in chess as a whole. I’ve never had a bad experience or problem with management over the clubs, camps, and tournaments, or in general as they have always been very professional with me and also very understanding if issues come up for me.

A typical day of work is showing up to the school or rec center that you are working at, checking in with the staff there, then heading to your room and teaching a lesson. Afterwards, you watch the kids play chess and then afterwards you help them get sent home. The hardest part of the job is mostly the last part, getting the kids to the right place after your session with them. At tournaments they handle it themselves, at camps they always get picked up, but at clubs it’s difficult at each place you teach. It’s consistent week to week but learning where each kid goes in the first week needs special attention, but after that first week it’s easier. After that it’s mostly about remembering each lesson before teaching it. But to this, I’d say the most enjoyable is actually teaching it in front of a group of kids as they are all mostly there to learn how to play, and I’ve always loved seeing the excitement and passion they have to play. At many clubs I’ve run, going through the hallways to the room I’ve been recognized as the “Chess Coach” from students I’ve never met before. It’s an experience I haven’t had at any other  job.

I wake up and beat the morning Northern Virginia traffic to travel to whichever location I need to attend for the week.  My co coach and I both arrive a half an hour before the children so we can set up the room in order to teach them chess.  When the children arrive, my co coach and I an pair the kids to play chess while we greet the parents and discuss our plans for the day.  Each camp is a different experience because the kids we receive come from a diverse background.  We try and separate them in groups based on age, maturity, and ability.  We begin the day by teaching the kids a lesson on chess fundamentals.  After the lesson, the coaches will have the children play chess games against each other for around a half an hour.  We will take a short snack break.  Teach another chess lesson.  Have the children play games against new opponents.  Break for an hour lunch and recess.  After lunch, we repeat the morning routine for the kids until it is time for the parents to pick them up.

The hardest part of my job is when we have one child who is completely new to the game of chess, while the rest of the children know all of the rules.  This requires one of the coaches to  give them extra assistance and private lessons.  While this can be difficult, the most enjoyable part of the job is seeing the improvement made by the children in their chess playing.  Typically, there will be one child who came into the camp or club not knowing how to play chess, and by the end of the week, he or she will record checkmates without the help of either of the coaches.

This has been a fantastic company to work for and a truly rewarding experience overall. HR has always been responsive and friendly, which makes communication simple and stress free. Management is also very understanding and accommodating, especially when it comes to scheduling or personal situations. A typical day is pretty straightforward: I arrive 15 minutes early, teach a one hour after school chess club, and then spend about 15 minutes signing students out to their parents and cleaning up. The work itself is really meaningful because you get to teach kids, see them improve, and have fun with them along the way. I started with no formal work experience, just a strong chess background, and that was never treated as a problem during the hiring process. They gave me the opportunity to grow, first by pairing me with other instructors and then helping me become more confident leading classes on my own. There are also extra opportunities beyond regular clubs, like working as a tournament director or helping with chess camps. The hardest part can be managing classes with a few unruly students, but that is a normal part of working with kids. 

Work consists of bringing company issued computers and chess sets to schools in DC and Baltimore area.  This is proceeded by setting them up.  This job requires computers to be charge at home.  At the beginning of each class instructors spend 5 minutes explaining an important concept in the class.  They also take attendance at this time.  For the remainder of class aides and instructors help students by answering questions.  Each class is 1 hour long.  At the end of class instructors and aides sign out students by bringing them to their parents.  They then back-up equipment.  Instructors also are required to send a generic email to parents about what the students learned in class as well as an email for how successful each class was to their managers.

Due to the nature of the job co-workers rarely see each other so there are company socials about once a month.

The hardest part of the job is dealing with students that refuse to listen to instructions, interrupt lessons or have other behavioral issues.

The most enjoyable part of the job is helping advanced students develop a level of understanding above Silver Knights Enrichment's expectations.  Unfortunately many of the lessons are cookie cutter assignments where the answers are given to them.

This job seems less like a job than a hobby, but I take the opportunity to teach kids in school very seriously.  It is rewarding and fun.  Management is "legit," supportive, and gives you everything you need to succeed. Important to me was the opportunity to work only one or two days a week, which is ideal work-life balance for me as I'm retired from real work.  There is an opportunity to work more if you want to.  The culture is excellent, with attention to important matters and a good sense of humor as well.  The hardest part of the job is helping kids at different skill levels and ages, keeping both new beginners and more advanced kids engaged and interested.  That just takes some thought and planning.  Before each class/club session, you do need to think ahead about how to reach kids with different abilities.  But it is very rewarding when you do. 

I'm a college student and have been at SKE for 3 years. I love working here because I get the benefit of advancing my personal teaching strengths will getting above average pay with low time commitment; which is very valuable to college students. Typically Chess or Coding classes take one hour to teach at and then you're on your way. I've really had the chance to personally know all the staff members and they're very friendly people that care. I started out as a Chess aide and now I am a Chess coach, there are great growth opportunities here if you want them. The company culture is very open and staff members are always open to hearing your problems and ideas. One thing I can really appreciate is that SKE doesn't make a big deal when asking for time off, this is something you don't find everywhere.

JOB: It's wonderful training kids on Computer Coding. It gives me an opportunity to "play" with kids while putting them on a life long learning path.  (I'm a retired Technology teacher so this is a PLUS).

It's great teaching them the skill of coding and helping them learn logical thinking from the coding. What they learn is so much fun, I have had students bring in the next week new things that have found out and programs or games that they made.

SUPPORT: Couldn't have a more helpful group of co-workers and all in the office. They are there for you with the curriculum prepared; instructions on how to do it; willing to listen to all suggestions for enhancing or ideas for a better way.

So happy that I found this as a part time job. It's nice, wonderful, great, fabulous as a part time.

The office people are so wonderful and helpful, too.

I tried to find reasons not to give a 5 star review for Magnus, but that's not possible for me. The full time staff and management are incredibly helpful with all that the chess coaches need. I think it shows a lot to the company's character and respect to the coaches by not simply signing us on as contract workers which many similar organizations would do. On top of that, the compensation was far beyond my expectations from working other education-related positions for the area.

The only negatives I can say about my position are for the most part out of the company's control. Occasionally there will be classroom management issues with unruly students, but coach concerns are heard and the managers put in effort to helping with the situation.

Overall, this is one of the most satisfying and rewarding positions I've held and I'm glad that I was able to return once schools opened up again. 

The compensation is great, and the work is rewarding.  It allowed me to quit my two other jobs and focus on my school work.  I don't see it as a future career but it is one that has given me quite a bit of freedom in both time management and finances.

A typical day involves teaching a short lesson and directing chess games.  It is easily as long as you are good with children and atleast a weak tournament chess player.  

The biggest weakness this job has is the drive times.  I lose a lot of time driving to and from a 75 minute shift.  Luckily, even with commute included the compensation is still good.

As for management, it is hit or miss.  The good ones knock it out of the park, and the bad ones are grating.  Its not like it really matters though because between promotions and quitting, no manager really sits in one place for too long.

The people at SKE are caring and constantly work to asset their employees. They take time to ask for feedback and it is evident they use that information when writing new curriculum and policies for clubs. The pay is fantastic for part-time work and it’s flexible enough to be a full-time student or hold another occupation. The office staff has always been kind and are available to answer questions whenever anything arises. Having come to SKE with a limited knowledge of chess, and no knowledge of coding, they have been incredible in training the skills needed for the job. Truthfully, if you are able to manage a group of elementary students and like working with children, SKE is the company to go to!

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
School teacher 32 salaries reported	$65.00 per hour
Instructor 34 salaries reported	$64.56 per hour
Camp counselor 5 salaries reported	$19.00 per hour
School program staff 5 salaries reported	$55,000 per year
School aide 8 salaries reported	$27.75 per hour

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