Most lucrative/best summer job for professional

Be very careful if you decide to go the tutoring route. Some (many?) private places (think Huntington Learning Center) will make you sign a contract with them that restricts your ability to tutor privately. I looked into HLC a while back. They wanted to offer me $14 an hour, way below what I can charge privately. Plus I would have to sign a contract that barred me from tutoring on my own both while employed there and for a full 2 years after. That was the final straw. I backed out.

Also, look into your school’s policies on paid tutoring. At my school we’re not allowed to charge our own students for tutoring. That’s just part of your job. I can however tutor kids that have different teachers. The summer might be different since you technically don’t have any students, but still check out the policies in place. Does your school maintain a list of teachers willing to tutor? If so, it’s definitely worth getting on that as parents often check there first before looking at outside companies. I’ve gotten lots of tutoring jobs that way.

If you decide to try it, I would suggest looking into private agencies that send tutors into students’ homes. I made a ton from that one summer. You take a pay cut for sure since the company keeps some. But it’s made up for in volume. Or put up flyers in your neighborhood and give it a go on your own.