Private Tutor
A yacht tutor keeps the owner's children on track with school while the family is at sea. Most are qualified teachers. They follow the child's home curriculum, stay in touch with the school, and fit lessons around anchorages, guest plans and long passages. It is a small niche, and the best jobs go to people with solid classroom experience.
The jobWhat fills the day
The job is teaching, one to one or with two or three siblings. You follow whatever the children's school uses: the British National Curriculum, IB, American Common Core or a French or Russian state programme. Lessons usually happen in a spare guest cabin, the sky lounge or the cinema room out of hours. You plan, teach and mark, upload work to the school portal, and prepare older children for IGCSE, A level or SAT papers. The best tutors use the cruising itself, turning a Greek ruin, a coral reef or a night watch on the bridge into a lesson.
Yacht size changes daily life a great deal. On a 50m to 60m yacht you may share a crew cabin, eat in the crew mess and help the interior when the children are ashore with their parents. On 90m and above you are a dedicated specialist with your own cabin, often part of a family team with a nanny, governess and security. With the family aboard you work their schedule, which can mean lessons on Saturday and a day off on Wednesday. When they fly home, you either go with them or go on leave.
Families and their family offices hire qualified, experienced teachers. Expect them to want QTS, a PGCE or a US state teaching licence, plus at least three years in a good prep, independent or international school. An enhanced DBS check or its equivalent is standard. Subject strength matters: maths and sciences up to A level are always in demand, and so are fluent French, Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic or Russian. Discretion counts as much as teaching ability. You will see a lot of private family life, and NDAs are normal.
There is no rank ladder aboard. Progress means bigger families, longer contracts and better pay. Many tutors move into governess roles, where they manage the whole of a child's education, travel and routine, and that can last until the child goes to boarding school or university. Others take the same skills into land-based private family work, go back to international schools, or move into teaching at a yacht training school. A tutor who gets good results and stays discreet tends to be passed on by word of mouth among owners.
Skills captains look for
- 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
A day aboardFamily trip in term time, 75m motor yacht, Cyclades
Breakfast in the crew mess, then a quick check of the day's plan with the chief stew and the family's PA.
Maths and English with two children aged 11 and 8, in a guest cabin set up as a schoolroom.
Snack and a swim off the platform while the deck crew watch the water.
Geography on the bridge. The second officer shows them the chart and they work out the passage time to Milos.
Lunch with the children and the nanny on the aft deck.
Independent reading and homework while you mark the morning's work and upload it to the school portal in London.
Tender ashore with security to an archaeological site, which ties into this term's history topic on Ancient Greece.
Write the weekly progress report for the parents and the form teacher, then plan tomorrow's lessons.
Off duty. The children have dinner with their parents and you eat with the crew.
Pay by yacht sizeMonthly, before tips. Estimates. Bars share one scale.
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. See the Spa, Wellness & Childcare salary guide for figures from live adverts.
Tickets and visas
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
Where it leadsA typical career path
Questions crew ask
Do I need to be a qualified teacher?
For almost every well-paid job, yes. Families want QTS, a PGCE or a recognised licence, plus classroom experience. A graduate with no teaching qualification may find short summer tutoring work, but rarely a term-time contract.
Will I have to do other crew work?
On larger yachts, usually not. On 50m to 60m yachts you may be asked to help the interior when the children are off with their parents, so agree this before you sign.
Are tutor jobs year-round?
Some are, especially with families who live aboard for long stretches or home-school. Many run for a single term or trip, and the tutor then goes on leave or travels with the family to their home ashore.
How do I find these roles?
Specialist tutoring and nanny agencies, family offices and yachting crew agents all place tutors. Get your STCW and ENG1 done before you apply, because a family can need someone at a few days' notice.