Is Sylvan Learning Centers a good company to work for?

Sylvan Learning Centers has an overall rating of 3.6 out of 5, based on over 1,335 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has decreased by 1% over the last 12 months. 68% of employees would recommend working at Sylvan Learning Centers to a friend and 52% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about Sylvan Learning Centers have been left by employees working as Tutor , Administrative Assistant and Teacher/Tutor .

Does Sylvan Learning Centers pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Sylvan Learning Centers employees rate their compensation and benefits as 2.5 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Sylvan Learning Centers. This rating has decreased by 5% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Sylvan Learning Centers?

68% of Sylvan Learning Centers employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Sylvan Learning Centers 3.7 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.5 for culture and values and 2.8 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Sylvan Learning Centers?

Tutor (223) , Teacher (147) , Center Director (88) , Math Tutor (65) , Director of Education (59) , Instructor (46) , Academic Tutor (43) , Director (39) , Administrative Assistant (21) , Teacher/Tutor (17) , Centre Director (9) , English Tutor (9) , Lead Teacher (9) , Teaching Assistant (8) , English Teacher (6)

What are the pros of working at Sylvan Learning Centers according to real employee reviews?

"Flexible hours and days off can be accommodated" ((in 76 reviews)); "Caring staff and great experiences" ((in 64 reviews)); "Great people to work with and laid back enviroment" ((in 48 reviews)); "Flexible Schedule but not a lot of hours" ((in 40 reviews)); "Some great coworkers (your mileage may vary)" ((in 32 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Sylvan Learning Centers according to real employee reviews?

"Low pay and highly emotionally taxing" ((in 158 reviews)); "Poor management, lack of support, and absolutely no interest in the actual people doing the job." ((in 60 reviews)); "He'll work you 38 + hours a week with no benefits just to save money." ((in 33 reviews)); "No training and new executive directors are revenue driven with no support systems in place." ((in 31 reviews)); "Low salary Too many students often" ((in 22 reviews))

What are employees saying about Sylvan Learning Centers layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Sylvan Learning Centers layoffs and their outlook for job security at Sylvan Learning Centers in 2026.

What are the top reviewed Sylvan Learning Centers locations?

Baltimore , Houston , Austin , New York , Los Angeles , Dallas , San Francisco , Hunt Valley , Chicago , Long Beach , Rancho Cucamonga , Detroit , Indianapolis , Bakersfield , El Cerrito , Portland , Gainesville , Lincoln , Omaha , San Antonio , Minneapolis , San Jose , Fairfield , Salem , Atlanta , Saint Louis , Phoenix , Washington , Round Rock , Arlington

Sylvan Learning Centers reviews

3.6

68% would recommend to a friend

(1,260 total reviews)

John McAuliffe

75% approve of CEO

52% positive business outlook

Company ratings over time

Ratings trend for the last 6 months (1,260 reviews)

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Sylvan Learning Centers has an employee rating of 3.6 out of 5 stars, based on 1,260 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Sylvan Learning Centers employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Education industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

1K reviews

4.0

Jun 11, 2012

Great place to work at!

Tutor

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Fabulous pay, excellent co-workers and they move around you schedule, looks highly professional on your resume.

Cons

Not enough hours to make a living. Need another job along with this.

1.0

Jun 9, 2012

13 years of heading down hill

Center director

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Sylvan has a legitimate system that really helps students. Most teachers say that working at Sylvan allows them to do teach like they always wished they could. All instruction is one to one or in small groups, with each lesson individually tailored to the individual student. Many of the franchisees are very sharp and are dedicated to providing value for the tuiton the parents pay. If they were just out for the money they would have opened a pizza place or a quick oil change business.

Cons

The best year for revenues was in 1999. Sylvan is a high ticket discretionary expenditure that has suffered with the recession. There has been little money for raises at the local centers. About 25% of the franchises have gone out of business and there have been large cutbacks at the central office. Central office employees are great people but have become more and more overworked. There is distrust and conflict between management and franchisees.

4.0

Jun 6, 2012

Became a better business person due to my experience at Sylvan

Business consultant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

I worked for the company for 10 years in the franchise community and the corporate office. There were plenty of opportunities for me to move up or into other departments until the last 2 years. I traveled most of the time in the last 4 years and was able to keep all of my reward points....definitely a perk. I loved the people I worked with and loved that the end result was helping kids be better students and better citizens. I really grew as an individual professionally and personally. I consider myself a strong business person and I owe it to Sylvan.

Cons

The culture changed and I felt that the executive management was too far removed from life in a center. At one point there were zero women in those positions and zero that had ever worked in a center. Sometimes I felt I was taken advantage of by being single and much more flexible than most other employees. I worked on so many other projects, I felt at times I was working 2 full time jobs for the same amount of money.

Viewing 1213 - 1215 of 1,260 Reviews

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Jobs at Sylvan Learning Centers

Part-Time Test Administrator

Teachers for Reading, Writing, Math, Upper-Level Math, College Prep (SAT/ACT) and Science

Harker Heights, Bell, TX

Sylvan School Counselor- Part Time

Production Technician

Sylvan School Counselor