Explore the New York City Organization Where Math and English Educators Can Earn Annual Incomes Reaching $1 Million
Within a few years into his finance career, working as an equities trader in bustling New York City, Steven Menking felt unsatisfied. He had accomplished everything society expected of him—graduating with high honors in math and economics from Williams College, and securing a job in investment banking straight out of college after completing numerous internships. However, he soon realized he wasn't ready to compromise his work-life balance to Wall Street's allure. "If they have young kids, I have no idea how much time they spend with them," shared Menking, 36, frankly, about the executive peers he interacted with. "Every person makes the choices that they believe are best for them. And for me, that wasn't the tradeoff I desired to make."
Inspired by his time as a high school peer-to-peer tutor, Menking decided to step away from finance and pursue a career as a self-employed mathematics tutor. After shifting between agencies, he discovered Forum Education, a company that labeled itself as a tutoring talent agency, catering to affluent families in New York City's exclusive private school system. Today, Menking is one of Forum's top-tier earners, racking up approximately $500,000 annually. Earning more as a full-time tutor than in finance, he remarked.
Tutoring was traditionally considered a side gig. A decade ago, The Atlantic labeled tutors as "the new waiters" as Ivy League graduates in New York City resorted to tutoring to make ends meet while pursuing auditions or postgraduate programs. With the advent of online tutoring platforms—the global industry projected to fetch over $10.42 billion by 2024 as per Grand Valley Research—obtaining a remote, part-time tutoring job has become relatively easy. Edtech venture capitalists view the tutoring market as oversaturated, with competitors such as investments giant Princeton Review and Kaplan, along with startups like Wyzant and Studdy AI. For a tutoring company to succeed, it must offer something distinctive. Forum manages to do just that.
Before launching Forum, co-founder and CEO Thomas Howell was himself a tutor. Post-graduation from Yale University in 2008 with a degree in comparative literature, he tutored New York City high schoolers in subjects like math, science, humanities, and standardized test prep, earning $45 per hour (the agency charged around $200), all while pursuing a post-baccalaureate degree in medicine. His co-founder and college roommate David Phelps was doing the same. Howell described his tutoring experience as underprepared and underpaid gig work.
"At one point, I was under contract with seven different agencies all at once," shared Howell. "I remember feeling a little crazy. I was thrust into some intense teaching environments with students struggling with complex learning challenges—and high-stakes academic careers, exams, and college admissions—with minimal vetting."
With $8,000 in savings, Howell and Phelps decided to build the tutoring agency they had longed for when they first moved to New York City in 2010. "If you view tutors as gig workers, you'll construct a business one way, but if you view tutoring as a career, then construct a business in a completely different way. Forum represents the latter," said Howell. "The model is more like a talent agency than a staffing agency, and the tutors are the asset. They're the talent."
Self-employed tutors "hire" Forum to represent them and attract clients, just as a talent agent would an actor. Forum matches clients with appropriate tutors, handles payments, negotiates rates for each tutor, and markets the tutors. In return, Forum takes a 15% cut—a smaller portion of the tutors' earnings than many tutoring companies, according to Howell. Reston, Virginia-based K12 Tutoring (formerly Stride Tutoring), for example, takes a 20%-25% cut, which covers platform development, marketing, sales, and operations, according to Jenn Moore, general manager at K12. Most K12 tutors work part-time, earning between $38 and $65 per hour, with top earners raking in up to $53,800 annually. At Forum, the average tutor brings in "high six-figure earnings," Howell declared, with top earners surpassing $500,000. Two of their all-star tutors are renowned for their expertise in top private school subjects, specializing in assisting neurodivergent students and enhancing critical organizational skills—also known as "executive functions." These top performers charge $1,000 per hour and gathered over $1 million in fees last year. Albeit Howell refrained from sharing Forum's revenues, our estimation suggests the company might bring in around $10 million annually.
Five individuals operate Forum behind the scenes, including Howell as CEO. Phelps no longer collaborates with the company but serves on the board. After he left in February 2022, 21 Forum tutors acquired a piece of Phelps' ownership stake in the company, and became partial owners. "They have a stake in the business and receive profit shares, like a law firm," Howell explained. The profit share is an added bonus on top of their already substantial earnings.
The Forum team comprises 35 instructors hailing from various backdrops, including ex-industry experts like Menking, and scholars or seasoned private tutors. Howell and his crew are choosy when it comes to recruitment. Prospective coaches must boast a minimum of three years of tutoring experience for elite New York City private school students, followed by multiple job interviews and a trial lesson. Out of over 2,000 applicants, only 35 have been accepted by Forum since its inception a decade ago, boasting an acceptance ratio lower than both Harvard and Caltech.
A Forum patron, a downtown Manhattan resident with a penchant for costly tutoring services, recently enlisted a "sharp shooter" for her college-aged son. "Our son is enrolled in one of the world's toughest college classes with an notorious professor. Forum was able to pinpoint and procure a doctorate in computer science—an individual who balances a job with brilliance in their field, having previously taken the class," she shares.
This unnamed mom has relied on Forum's tutors since her twins were in elementary school, now sophomores at an Ivy League institution. She shells out between $400 and $1,000 per child per hour-long session, and her offspring have received everything from math assistance to test preparation, with emotional support, too, from their coaches who have become like family. "It's invaluable for us. I know each one personally, and I consider myself fortunate to be able to compensate them generously for their support of our children," she concludes.
Of the 200-odd Forum students, ages range from first grade to graduate studies. "Our core clientele are the pupils attending private schools in New York City and parents who grasp the significance of investing in the finest private educational support abortion for their youngsters," says Howell. The majority of Forum's clientele attend expensive New York City private schools, where the annual tuition at secondary institutions averages $27,322, according to educationdata.org. At some prestigious New York City private schools, tuition surpasses $60,000. For example, tuition at Horace Mann School amounts to $64,070 for the 2024-25 scholastic year, and Dalton School enrollment costs $64,300.
Accessible only to the affluent, Howell views his tutors as a priceless investment. "I'm adverse to the thought of being so nonchalant about the guides I recommend to these young learners," he states.
- Recognizing the potential in tutoring, Menking considered shifting his career to become a private school English tutor, leveraging his experiences as a high school peer-tutor.
- In his pursuit of a distinctive tutoring agency, co-founder Thomas Howell sought to provide mentorship and better compensation to tutors, viewing them as assets rather than just gig workers.
- Forum's top-earning math tutor, Steven Menking, not only earns more than his finance career but also finds more fulfillment in his work, emphasizing the significance of work-life balance in his career change.
- Some Forum tutors have transitioned from part-time tutoring jobs to full-time careers, driven by the company's focus on offering mentorship, career development, and a supportive community for its tutors.
