A student somewhere in America is stuck on an assignment or homework right now, needs help and are willing to pay for help. This is the premise of the Studypool platform which acts as the intermediary to connect students and tutors. As an online tutor for Studypool you bid on homework questions posted by students, answer them on your own schedule and get paid when the student is satisfied. The earning potential is real and the work never runs dry for 8 months out of the year. Read on to learn more about this gig.
Quick Facts
| Platform Name | Studypool |
| Earning Potential | $1,000+ per month |
| Typical Duration | Varies per question, from hours to a day |
| Payment Frequency | On-demand with min $50 balance |
| Required Equipment | Computer, college degree or enrolled |
What’s Inside
- Is Studypool real and safe?
- How hard is it to sign up?
- Can I do this whenever I want?
- How much money can you really make?
- When and how do you get paid?
- What stuff do you need to start?
- Is the work easy or hard?
- The Pros and Cons of Studypool
- Final Verdict: Is Studypool worth your time?
- Frequently Asked Questions
Is Studypool real and safe?
Based on our research, Studypool is a legitimate platform with a long-standing reputation in the ed-tech space. The company has a public A+ rating from the BBB (Better Business Bureau), not to mention reports of millions of students using the platform. They have an interesting backstory as the service was founded by Richard Werbe while he was actually a college student himself. That alone is pretty cool but more impressive is that it has grown into one of the most active homework-help sites online.
They employ an escrow system, so prior to you doing any work the platform itself charges the student in advance and releases it once you complete the work. Tutors seem to like that a lot.
How hard is it to sign up?
The requirements to join are a bit steep as you will need either a college degree or be actively enrolled in an accredited college to apply. During the application process you will be asked about your academic background and then to validate that, you are required to answer three short-answer questions to test your subject matter knowledge.
There is no automation as Studypool manually reviews every application, which is actually a good thing. If you have the credentials you are fine and frankly it’s better that the tutors are vetted because your profile won’t be lost among millions of fake bookworms. Prepare that the process can take a few days up and even up to a week depending on their queue. You can imagine September is typically one of the busiest months for instance. Once approved, you are live and can start browsing questions immediately and bid accordingly.
💡 Insider Tip:
When you first start, bid low. New tutors have no ratings and no track record, so students are taking a chance on you. Once your profile shows a strong rating you can bid higher.
Can I do this whenever I want?
There is no schedule and no minimum hours but once you start answering a question you can’t bail and get back to the student weeks later. Imagine they are in a bit of crunch time working on an assignment and need guidance sooner than later.
Tutors report that questions will pour in at all times around the clock because students are studying from every time zone. This said, you are answering individual questions so you are still able to bid and work at your own pace. We don’t recommend it, but there are reports that some tutors treat this as a full-time job. Others pick it up on weekends or late evenings while they are seniors in college themselves.
How much money can you really make?
Remember, this is a tougher gig to get accepted into because of the pre-requisites. As a result the pay is quite good with some active tutors reporting income of $1,000 to $3,500 per month. Interestingly enough there are some full-time dedicated tutors who are experts in high-demand subjects like accounting, statistics, and computer science where earnings can jump significantly to $5,000+ based on reports. Like any gig opportunity of high quality, we suggest giving it a try and the income potential will vary based on your subject expertise and bidding success.
When and how do you get paid?
Assuming you have successfully answered a question and it is approved by the student, the money that is being held in escrow will be processed within a few days. The caveat is that there is a minimum cash-out requirement of $50 but with a wide range of payout options including PayPal, direct deposit (ACH), Wise, Payoneer, and Western Union its worth it.
We do get questions in general about why some gigs institute minimums. The truth is it costs them both labor and their own processing fees to send money out. If they lowered the threshold to $5 for example they would likely get 10x the amount of cash-out requests which for a business like this is not sustainable. Sometimes you just have to be reasonable in situations like this and accept higher minimums, especially when the gig is good like this one.
What stuff do you need to start?
This is computer work, not smartphone work. A laptop or desktop computer with a reliable internet connection is needed and before you start, once again you need either a college degree or to be actively enrolled in college. That is a full-stop requirement and there is no way around it. There is no special software or anything as everything happens through the Studypool platform in your web browser. Also make sure you have your preferred payment mechanism already setup such as PayPal so you don’t experience further delays when you are ready for your first cash-out.
Is the work easy or hard?
This is not a gig you can breeze through, especially at the start. Your reputation is everything on this platform so providing thoughtful and thorough answers is critical. Students will be rating every answer you provide and those ratings directly affect your ability to win future bids which in tern impacts your earning ability. Rushed answers will always get poor ratings and you will win fewer bids. See the chain of events there?
Lastly, the platform also has strict plagiarism policies and requires original explanations, so if you plan on using ChatGPT to provide your answers you may as well not even bother.
The Pros and Cons of Studypool
| The Pros | The Cons |
|---|---|
| High earning ceiling: Top tutors can earn a lot. | Studypool commission: 15 to 30% plus a % of tips. |
| No set hours: Work any time, from anywhere. | Clawback policy: Payment can be reversed up to 30 days later. |
| Constant work: Thousands of questions at any time. | Disputes favor students: Hard to win a challenge from the platform. |
Final Verdict: Is Studypool worth your time?
If you have an existing or are working towards college degree and strong subject knowledge, this is one of the best gigs out there. Especially if you are in college yourself, the flexibility and pay are both great while allowing you to still focus on your own studies. We don’t love the the commission rate Studypool takes but the volume of questions and earning potential offset it.
The Bottom Line: This one is fully worth your time to try out and if you get approved you are likely to stick around for the reasons we’ve gone over. If you are a good writer and enjoy explaining things, this is your opportunity to get paid well for it.
Frequently Asked Questions
No teaching license required. What is required is that you are either actively enrolled in college or hold a college degree.
Math at every level, accounting, statistics, computer science, economics, and nursing consistently see the most questions and the highest bid values. Writing and business subjects also see strong volume.
The student can request a revision or open a dispute. Studypool mediates disputes and tends to side with the student in ambiguous cases. If the dispute goes against you, payment can be withheld or reversed up to 30 days.
If you are travelling abroad this is something you can still do. Questions are posted in English primarily so strong written English is a must regardless of your location.
Yes. Studypool treats tutors as independent contractors. Nothing is withheld. You receive the full payout and report it yourself at tax time. In the US, if your total self-employment income from all sources goes over $400 in a year, self-employment tax rules apply.
