We came to Kuwait with minimal expectations. Since arriving, we’ve learned a lot about living and teaching abroad (in general) and in Kuwait. Some people might think we make lots of money. We don’t really – we just don’t pay taxes.
We’ve learned that the real money comes from tutoring. Some people tutor just before big assessments, others tutor 10+ hours a week. The going rate is anywhere from 15 to 30 KD…an HOUR! That equates to $50 to $100+ an hour! Wow is all we had to say. And tutoring is extremely common. Lots of students ‘need’ it (elementary through high school), for a variety of subjects and skills. The tricky part of tutoring is making sure that you are indeed tutoring and not actually doing the students work for them. We’ve heard that many students just hire a tutor to complete his/her assignments. Not okay.
Although not many students are looking for tutors in Social Studies or French, Chemistry and Science is quite popular. So I’ve been sitting back waiting for the right time and the right student to come along. After communicating with the father of a grade 11 boy (from Kuwait), I had my first tutoring session on Tuesday. The student came with his driver to pick me up. We drove to their villa passing the Switzerland Embassy on the way. We entered through the garage into a gorgeous room that had a couple round tables and an area of couches for a social gathering (diwaniya?). A maid was just leaving and had left a tray for me with water, juice and a couple pieces of some cake/bread. For the next hour we talked Chemistry – what he was struggling with and where I could help him. He taught me, I taught him. He is an incredibly respectful, nice young man who seems like he actually wants to learn and understand. At one point his mom came down and I was able to meet her. She was nice and very grateful. (I’ve heard that many tutors rarely see the students parents.) After our allotted hour he walked me back to the car, getting his driver on the way out (he lives off the garage). Starting next week, his driver will be at our apartment every Monday and Wednesday at 7:45pm. We’ll work for an hour and I’ll be home by 9:15pm.
Life is crazy…good 🙂
Living in Laymans' Terms 
Way to go! When you come back maybe you can tutor on Hollywood sets!
haha it’s nothing like that! But it is fun to go see big fancy villas 🙂
I’m so happy I found your blog! My fiance and I will be getting married in October and are looking into teaching in Kuwait towards the beginning of 2014 (we will have just finished 2 years of teaching in Korea). Do you have any advice about finding a good job? I hear there are good jobs and bad jobs .. not much in between. Thanks!
Hi Denise! AIS and ASK are the 2 schools that I would advise looking at. We got our job through Search Associates (both are American schools that require teaching certificates from North American institutions). However if you keep an eye on the job openings in the fall/winter you might not have to attend a fair. There is also a group on Facebook called Check It Out! Kuwait. That’s a great place to look around and find other people living here. Good luck!