Online tutoring has topped a ranking of flexible jobs for parents, offering an average annual salary of £55,148, recruitment site CV-Library reported.
An analysis of job postings from May 2025 to July 2026 revealed 55,087 openings for remote tutors across the UK. Tutors specialise in a variety of academic subjects and deliver lessons online, helping families where logistics present a challenge or where pupils are preparing for entrance tests like the 11-plus exam.
The 11-plus is a selective entrance examination taken by primary school pupils in England and Northern Ireland to govern admission into grammar schools. Demand for specialized tutoring for these selective tests has driven high earnings in the remote education sector.
High earnings and flexible hours for tutors
Holly Goodwin, 47, a single mother of two from Canterbury, Kent, earns up to £30,000 of her annual income through online tutoring. She has been tutoring exclusively online since 2022 while also working as a safeguarding consultant.
Canterbury, a historic cathedral city in Kent, is home to several top-performing independent and grammar schools, making exam preparation a major priority for local parents.
Goodwin works 40 hours a week through the specialist platform Owl Tutors, charging between £45 and £55 per session. She previously worked 100 hours a week as a head of boarding school for the same total earnings she receives today. In her main listing, she noted charging up to £80 an hour as an online tutor.
Each week, Goodwin teaches between 15 and 25 students for one to two hours at a time. She explained that overall income, lesson duration, and student numbers fluctuate depending on the exam season.
"The flexibility is amazing because I can choose when I have my lessons and if I want to go on holiday I can work from there," Goodwin said. "It basically pays for the holiday."
Goodwin, who qualified as a teacher in 2009 and specialises in English, 11-plus, and 13-plus exams, advised other parents to consider the profession. "It's a great thing to do, especially if you are a qualified teacher," she said.
"You can also do it as an unqualified teacher but there will be less work because a lot of parents are looking for someone who has worked in a school and parents are often looking for someone who has prepared children for that specific exam," she added. Her 20-year-old son also tutors online without formal teaching qualifications, earning under £1,000 a year.
"It's also something that parents can get involved with if they've helped their children pass their 11+. But it really does help to have that qualification," Goodwin said.
Classroom teachers moving to online lessons
Finnian Fitzpatrick, 64, a married father of two from South London, generates a third of his annual income from online tutoring, earning under £25,000 overall. He qualified as a teacher in 1996 but stepped away from school classrooms in 2020, citing "covid being the catalyst."
Fitzpatrick teaches 25 students every week, including ten who receive lessons online. He charges £80 per hour and typically sees each student on a weekly basis, specialising in 7-plus, 8-plus, 11-plus, 13-plus, mathematics, English, and geography.
"I've been down in Cornwall and said to my family I'm disappearing for an hour and found somewhere in the hotel with decent wifi and did class from there," Fitzpatrick said. "There's a huge amount of flexibility which means I can take more holidays than I used to."
Cornwall, located on the southwestern tip of England, is a popular holiday region where remote professionals frequently work while travelling.
"After the initial few minutes, it is as if you are in the same room and I find results and learning of skills mirror that of a student sitting at a kitchen table with an exercise book and a past paper," he added.
Top remote jobs for working parents
Virtual assistant ranked second on the list compiled by CV-Library, boasting an average salary of £45,132. The recruitment platform reported more than 178,000 job postings for virtual assistants over the 12-month period, making it one of the fastest-growing flexible career paths.
Virtual assistants provide remote administrative support to businesses by managing diaries, handling email correspondence, and processing administration. A virtual assistant operates remotely, allowing parents to earn an income while remaining present at home.
Uber driver rounded out the top three flexible roles, offering average earnings of £40,677. Independent driving allows parents to maintain control over their working hours, making it easier to arrange work around school holidays and childcare.
Uber is a ride-hailing service that enables drivers to work independently and choose their own shifts through a mobile application.
Workplace flexibility eases holiday financial pressure
Katie Emerton, a recruitment expert at CV-Library, noted that flexible roles provide crucial relief when household expenses spike. "For many parents, the summer holidays can bring added financial pressure, particularly when childcare and holiday club costs quickly add up," Emerton said.
"The good news is that flexible working is no longer limited to a handful of careers," Emerton explained. "There's now a growing range of roles that can be done remotely, full-time or part-time, giving parents the freedom to work around school holidays and family life without being tied to the traditional nine-to-five."
Emerton highlighted that opportunities span evening tutoring, administrative business support, and social media management. "As flexibility becomes one of the most sought-after workplace benefits, these roles make it easier for parents to build a career that works around their family, rather than the other way round," she said.
