Ask HN: How much do programming instructors make?

6 points by instructorq 12y ago ↗ HN

Hi all- Regular HN user here, made a throwaway account just in case my current or future employers ever google me. I'm applying for a part-time programming instructor position (at a place like General Assembly, App Academy, etc) and I was wondering how much these positions generally make, and whether I should attempt to negotiate salary like I would with a development job. I've googled around a bit, and I can't find any information on Glassdoor or elsewhere. Do any of you have experience w/ these kind of jobs? Thanks!

5 comments

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Felix21 12y ago ↗

We could use someone like you at www.codetuts.co

let me know if you're interested.

Email felix(dot)oginni (at) outlook(dot)com

wikwocket 12y ago ↗

You should always negotiate your salary. It is in the company's interest to hire you for as low as you will work for; counter this by attempting to get as much as you can.

If Glassdoor/salary.com/payscale.com don't have any info, you could look for people in that profession on LinkedIn, and try to ask them for more info. If you phrase it like you are new to the industry and looking for guidance from a pro like them, some will probably be willing to "mentor" you, including on expected salary ranges.

mjn 12y ago ↗

Is it hourly? As an extremely general baseline, TutorSpree found the average rate for tutors in SF and NYC going through them to be ~$55/hr last year: http://blog.tutorspree.com/post/15257341578/state-of-tutorin...

That's not broken down by areas, though, and programming tutors are probably higher.

argonaut 12y ago ↗

A lot. If the program has been around for some time, competitive with engineering salaries in SF (I would estimate 200k+).

Do the math. Number of students per class x classes per year x tuition x percent of students that get jobs through each program's hiring network x $20k (recruiting fee) and holy shit you have a cash cow.

Subtract rent, taxes, utilities (internet+electricity), and janitorial services and you still tons of cash flow (before accounting for salaries).

It's like consulting: very lucrative and cash-flow positive, but very difficult to scale.

Though I would imagine that part-timers don't make as much.

mjn's estimate is quite off the mark. This is not tutoring.

rdouble 12y ago ↗

I worked with a well known group who paid their instructors $2500 to $4000 per week long class. The classes cost the students $3500 to $4000. The salary variance was due to seniority and whether or not the instructor was "famous" in his niche. Clearly, if you can run the class yourself you are better off than working with a group.