teacher

instructor

outreach specialist

event marketing specialist

tutor

The Princeton Review

You can get hired here with no teaching experience: you will have to train to teach each test type anyway. The teachers and trainers at TPR are AWESOME. The office staff is really helpful too, and will scratch your back if you scratch theirs (e.g. you agree to teach a class 40 miles away; they hook you up with a convenient - and higher paying - tutoring assignment). There is tons of opportunity to advance. You can train to teach additional test types, for example, which will immediately add to your regular hourly rate. You might start out teaching SAT, and soon cross-train for ACT, GRE, or GMAT. Even if you have no science background (like me) you can teach the non-science portion of the MCAT. (As long as you score well enough on a practice/real test, and the trainer gives you a passing grade.) After you've taught two classes, you can start tutoring (at a higher rate of course). And if the kids like you, you'll get promoted to a higher rank. Most tutors with the company at least a year will be promoted to the middle rank. Few get promoted to the top rank. 

You're thinking "I'm a good teacher, and I could make more money if I charged people privately than by working through a company like this." Let me tell you why you're [mostly] wrong. Working in California for some reason makes networking and referrals really difficult. I don't know if parents don't talk to each other as much, or if they don't want to admit to other parents that their kid needed a tutor, but referrals were few and far between for me. As soon as I moved to Chicago I found myself with a big referral chain of clients. So yeah, you could make a higher hourly rate charging people privately for your services, but you'll have a lot less work. It's reasonable to expect 3 weeknights and full weekends with this company. If you're in school, this is the perfect schedule for you. Teaching classes is really where you can rake in, because even at a lower pay rate, you'll get a ton of work. You can even opt to proctor tests, give demonstrations at free events, train to teach online, write testing materials - the opportunities to make extra money are seemingly endless.

Fair warnings - You are guaranteed to mess something up, at some point. You might be locked out of your classroom. You might oversleep, or forget an appointment. You might be double-booked with another teacher for a room and have to teach your kids in the coffee shop downstairs (angry parents warning). You might go to work Sunday morning with a hangover and not be able to answer a question a kid had about material you have never actually seen before. I can definitively tell you NOT to take your student's offer to play rock band with them in their basement if you're a male teacher. It seems innocuous, but to that kid's dad, you're a creep. If you're a female teacher, be prepared for a 16 year old boy to write you a love letter. You will definitely have a smart aleck student at some point who will call you out in class on not solving a math problem the "real" way (TPR teaches shortcuts to solving questions, and there are some questions written specifically to teach these strategies. These questions are designed NOT to be easily solved the "real" way and some kids might put you on the spot to prove you know what you're doing). 

Some nice perks - the payroll system is effortless. Sometimes the office staff lets you buy your class some pizzas or donuts. You might find yourself tutoring kids in REALLY nice houses (a beautiful escape from your messy apartment, let me tell you). You can swear in front of your students. You can wear sandals to work. You can leave your piercings in, color your hair purple, grow an epic beard, have dread locks - these are all descriptions of different coworkers I've had over the years. Another huge perk: are you planning to take the GRE/GMAT/LSAT/MCAT? Train to teach it. I guarantee you'll ace that test. There are even opportunities to travel to Puerto Rico, Thailand, and some other places I can't remember right now.

The few cons - no healthcare, no sick days, no paid vacation or time off, no retirement benefits. If you're sick, you need to be prepared either to go to work anyway, or deal with calling your 12 students' parents at 8 in the morning to tell them you're canceling their 10am class and no, you can't tell them this instant when the makeup will be (then deal with finding a time when all 12 students can make up the class). Sometimes you can find a last-minute sub. See my note about scratching your office staffers' backs above. Canceling tutorials is easier, however. Another thing I should mention is the slow times. There are some periods of the year you will be completely booked. Other times you might have 5 hours a week. Budget.

This was a great job for that time in my life (age 22-27). Even after graduating, it paid better than a job in my field. I highly recommend it!

I enjoy coming into work every day and helping students find the best prep program that fits their needs best for test preparation.  I am a competitive person, so the ability to sell and work on a successful outbound team makes me strive to do the best job I can daily, and to make the most revenue possibly in a day to surpass my monthly goals.  Our company has a lot of great people to work for and with.  This makes it very easy to wake up every day, and want to come into work to put in a great days work.  Having the ability to utilize my personal time and vacation time when needed also is a great benefit to have especially when you have a family and children.  The highlight of this past year was growing our outbound team again to a four person team, and also getting adjusted to the new commission payout scale.  Also then having tutor.com join The Princeton Review, and knowing that there will be a lot of great new things to look forward to with growth, opportunities, and success.
I feel that my most significant accomplishments come with looking back on certain months where I crushed my individual monthly revenue goals with bringing in much success to myself and overall for the company.  I feel that I have achieved working with sales force ten times over from when we first brought it into our company for use.  Utilizing sales force and operating it at a high standard level shows in my individual goal success that working with accounts on a daily/weekly basis does have impact.  
I really believe that our management team has come a long way to understanding how the outbound side of the company works with bringing in the type of revenue we achieve.  Understanding that abandoned shopping cart leads from the website and chat leads are a big source of outbound’s revenue but also coming a long way with working with the local offices to achieve more efficient and qualified lead lists for our team to work with.  Possibly implementing monthly or quarterly meetings to just go over all aspects that may need to be covered on a sales team basis to make sure we are achieving the best individual and team overall revenue success.
Lastly, I feel that we need to just keep up with the continued success as an outbound team and an overall sales team in general for the contact center, and we will have great benefits to come for the future.  I really feel that we are continuing to change and grow daily, in which makes us a better sales team.  Staying focused and organized is key to success, and in order to maintain that I still feel that we need to implement some sort of contact center monthly or quarterly sales meetings to just go over everything necessary.

I have been really disappointed at the lack of work provided by Princeton in this area.  I work as a private tutor and make about $25,000 a year doing that.  I was planning to make Princeton my "second job" but they fell by the wayside because they couldn't compete.  They gave me $21 an hour for tutoring when they get $114 for every hour I tutor.  Imagine driving 30 minutes to North Raleigh, tutoring for 1 hour, making back enough money for lunch and then TPR magically gets $93 profit for all your hard work.  Of course they provide you with all the curriculum, paid training, and the client base, which helps you save time and effort drumming up your own work and prepping for work.  That's just the way this model is.  Also they give you some really nice mileage reimbursement if you travel long distances.  Teaching classes is more profitable over time, you get $18 an hour for a 3-hour class meeting every week for 6 weeks.  The TPR staff is awesome, they are really friendly, easy going, easy to work with, etc.  They coach you a lot on how to deal with teenagers and parents.  They are completely supportive anytime you have an issue with a class or student.  Sometimes they have trouble remembering their own policies.  But there have been many long months where I heard NOTHING from them about area work, and when I do it's often last minute, or they aren't sure if the program is running.  I don't know how they stay in business.  I guess by charging such high rates and taking 80% for themselves.  Anyway - good folks to work for, if you aren't worried about making a living!  And a good segue into other teaching work if that's what you're interested in.

My typical day at work consists of corresponding with facility vendors, students, parents, and teachers.  Because I oversee all of the facilities we use to run our courses, there is a heavy responsibility of maintaining professional relationships.  I assist the Director of Operations with day-to-day operations of the DC, Maryland, and Virginia course management, but extend my help to the Tutoring and Marketing department when needed.

I have always had wonderful supervisors who supported by professional and academic goals.  If I fell short of a goal, they made me feel that it was not a personal failure.  I work with great people in my office - funny, entertaining, and hard-working.  They provide just the right mix of productivity and enjoyment.

The most difficult aspect of my job is the changing market of test prep education.  The standardized tests go through so many changes, and we always have to be ready with strategies.  The most enjoyable part of my job is scheduling MCAT classes with our teachers - it is like a puzzle, and you have to make sure all the pieces fit together for a successful calendar.

I have held a variety of roles in this office, and I love is that I have gained exposure to different industries.  What is more fulfilling is that you are more than just an "assistant."  I was bestowed many tasks beyond my initial capabilities and learned how to fine-tune each one.  People here treat you like an equal, not a subordinate.

The office is often understaffed so there are a couple of people who grind and work hard to get things done, and the others just kinda do a deadman's float and do the bare minimum to stay afloat. For those of us who grind, it can get grueling really quickly. There is good amount of flexibility though. Upper management is open to hearing new ideas and they're pretty approachable to boot. Middle management is pretty weak and were primarily promoted based on seniority/retention (to be blunt, they're least likely to quit).

There are some people who have worked there for a loooong time and they can get cliquey. There's also a high turnover rate for newer people, likely because of the grueling work load and because there's that coterie of veteran employees who aren't that friendly or open to helping--they're not mean, but they are very insular. 

Not a terrible place to work, but the level of professionalism needs to be stepped up. The Princeton Review was just bought out by IAC and there are some changes coming up. The tech situation is pretty horrible, but The Princeton Review does a good job at hiring people who are smart and compelling. Said people can be lazy, but they're sharp non-the-less.

The interview process to become an instructor is fairly simple -- prepare and deliver a presentation on a topic of your interest. If you pass you then undergo a 2-3 week long training course. Most of this course is to familiarize you with the Princeton Review's material and to prime whatever teaching skills you have. Depending on whatever certification you receive (SAT, ACT, etc.), you are now qualified to be an instructor for that specific test. 

From this point forward, instructor work is independent and is dependent upon your own personal efforts. A typical non-teaching workday would consist of me prepping lessons for my students, working out solutions, and coming up with solutions for questions students emailed to me.

Teaching really varies from school to school. Since I worked in a fairly affluent school system, the majority of students did well in the course and went on to do well on their tests. One thing I cannot stress enough is that if an instructor struggles, then their students will too. In my case, some of the managers at the office were able to mentor me and help me improve my approach in the classroom.

I took this job because of the promise of flexibility, remote work that allowed and encouraged autonomy and agency in my tasks, and the apparent job satisfaction of those I interviewed with. Unfortunately, a pandemic-related restructure has taken away all of the benefits I previously saw - while there still is some flexibility, new policies (including my role suddenly including customer service when prior I was strictly internal-facing) have taken away the feeling that I can have true flexibility in my schedule. As well, all autonomy that I previously felt was taken away, and I am no longer in the position I was hired for in almost any capacity. Leadership/upper management isn't taking the time to make responsible, smart choices nor taking the time to appropriately prepare, train, or support the staff affected by these choices. All that said, it is a fine job besides that, not too difficult and generally laid back in terms of the management directly above me. Not a lot of room for advancement these days.

Working as a Campus Ambassador for The Princeton Review has been a rewarding and enriching experience. The role offered great flexibility, allowing me to balance work with a busy academic schedule. I was responsible for promoting test prep services, coordinating events, and engaging with students both online and in-person, which helped me develop valuable skills in marketing, communication, and public speaking. The team at The Princeton Review was incredibly supportive, providing clear guidance, resources, and regular check-ins to ensure success. I also appreciated the opportunity to earn performance-based incentives, which made the work both motivating and fulfilling. Representing a reputable brand that genuinely helps students achieve their academic goals made the experience even more meaningful. Overall, this position not only helped me grow professionally but also allowed me to make a positive impact on my campus community. I highly recommend this role to any student interested in marketing or education.

A typical day is comprised of assisting customers in selecting classes for their students, enrolling them in said classes, and answering any questions they may have regarding the company. While with the Princeton Review, I have learned more about office administration as well as education, be it high school or graduate studies. The company is very well managed and works effectively with all branches across the company. The hardest part of the job was not always being able to please every customer. Sometimes a class that was selected needed to be cancelled and rescheduled due to low enrollment and there were times that a student's schedule would not allow them to participate in the rescheduled course. On the other hand, the most enjoyable part of the job was getting calls from ecstatic parents when their students got their official test scores back and/or got into the college they wanted. It is a great feeling to assist someone on their way to achieving their dreams.

I walk into work with a positive energy that i want to infect everyone with. I feel that a positive energy is a great way to get people selling happy and being happy at work. What we do here, at The Princeton Review, is not cold calling or telemarketing. We target a specific market for test preparation for all major exams a student must take, starting from SHSAT up to SAT/ACT even further up to LSAT/MCAT.

I love helping students advance to the next level. I discuss all of their options to prep with us, which changes each phone call because every student is different. Being part of one of the bigger moments in a student's career in a positive manner is a very fulfilling feeling and makes you proud of what you do for a living.

I would like to say that every day has its own struggles, but the hardest part is dealing with the inability to satisfy a customer no matter what you try.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Teacher 2 salaries reported	$28.00 per hour
Instructor 23 salaries reported	$24.17 per hour
Outreach specialist 1 salary reported	$47,000 per year
Event marketing specialist 1 salary reported	$45,750 per year
Tutor 8 salaries reported	$28.09 per hour

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