How to become a Private Tutor
Private Tutor is a role people enter from work ashore, not from a junior yacht job. You need no yacht experience. You do need the qualifications and the background below.
Where you startAnd where it leads. A typical path, not a rule.
Private Tutor
Year 0, after 3+ years teaching ashore. Pay from about US$5,000 a month. A qualified teacher who lives aboard and delivers the owner's children's school curriculum while the family cruises, often for a full school term.
Governess
Year 2-5. Pay from about US$5,500 a month. A governess educates and cares for the owner's school-age children aboard, running lessons, routines and supervised activities while the family cruises.
Yacht Training Instructor
Year 6+. Pay from about £32,000 a year. Teaches STCW, deck, engineering and interior courses at yacht training schools, drawing on years at sea to prepare crew for MCA tickets.
Before you applyWhat a Private Tutor needs, from the Private Tutor guide
Must have
- STCW Basic Safety Training
- ENG1 medical certificate
- Teaching qualification (QTS, PGCE or US state licence)
- Enhanced DBS or equivalent background check
Gets you hired
- Paediatric First Aid
- PDSD
- Safeguarding training
- Exam board familiarity (Cambridge, Edexcel, IB)
- TEFL for non-native speaking families
Visas
- Schengen visa if non-EU
- C1/D or B1/B2 for US waters
What counts instead of yacht experienceOur advice
Captains hire a Private Tutor for one-to-one teaching, curriculum planning and IGCSE and A level prep. With no yacht job behind you, show the same skills from work ashore. For a Private Tutor, that means your qualifications and the years you have worked in the profession.
Write each job on your CV as what you did, with numbers: how many guests, how many boats, how many covers. Then list every skill below that you can prove.
- One-to-one teaching
- Curriculum planning
- IGCSE and A level prep
- Liaising with home schools
- Adapting lessons on the move
- Second language teaching
- Discretion with UHNW families
Your first stepsIn the order we suggest
Get the tickets a Private Tutor must hold
You need STCW Basic Safety Training, ENG1 medical certificate, Teaching qualification (QTS, PGCE or US state licence) and Enhanced DBS background check before a yacht can put you to work as a Private Tutor.
STCW and ENG1: what they are and what they cost →Write a first Private Tutor CV
Keep it to one page. Put your tickets and your start date at the top, then your qualifications and your work ashore, with dates.
See a Private Tutor CV example →Create your crew profile
Upload that CV and we build your profile from it. Your name and contact details stay hidden. Captains and recruiters contact you. It is free.
Create your crew profile →Apply and look for daywork
Apply to open jobs and to crew agencies, and take daywork: a few paid days on a yacht is how most first-time crew get a reference.
Private Tutor guide →Step up to Governess
The usual path puts Governess at year 2 to 5. Pay starts from about US$5,500 a month.
How to become a Governess →
QuestionsMore in the green crew guide
Can I become a Private Tutor with no experience?
With no yacht experience, yes. With no professional background, no. Private Tutor is a role people enter from work ashore, and you need STCW Basic Safety Training, ENG1 medical certificate and teaching qualification (QTS, PGCE or US state licence).
How long does it take to become a Private Tutor?
It is a starting role, so the time is what it takes to get the tickets and find the first job. From there, the usual path puts Governess at year 2 to 5.
What does a Private Tutor earn at the start?
From about US$5,000 a month, by our Private Tutor guide. Private family yachts rarely tip like charter yachts do. To make up for it, contracts usually include flights, full board and paid leave or a retainer when the family is ashore. Strong A level science or language tutors can negotiate at the top of the range.
Let the yachts come to you
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