I don't have a computer science or programming background, and I'm not planning to pursue a career in tech. My romantic partner is currently unemployed, runs a struggling startup, and earns some income through freelance work. He offered to teach me programming fundamentals before moving on to topics such as large language models, retrieval-augmented generation, and natural language processing.
I'm considering paying him for structured private lessons because I want to support him without simply giving him money, which he has never asked for. I've also tried helping through networking and referrals, but those efforts haven't led to a job yet. What would be a fair hourly rate for lessons from someone with experience in AI, machine learning, and data science?
3 Answers
For a genuinely qualified software or machine-learning engineer who can teach clearly, roughly $75–$150 per hour would be a reasonable professional range in many markets. Experienced consultants may charge $150–$250 per hour, while less-established instructors might charge less. The exact number depends on location, teaching ability, credentials, and whether the lessons are actually structured and useful—not just on the job title.
Before discussing price, confirm what he can realistically teach. An AI engineer or data scientist should generally be able to cover programming, Python, statistics, machine learning, and practical projects. Terms like LLM, RAG, and NLP are advanced topics, so jumping into them before learning basic programming may be frustrating. Ask for a beginner-friendly curriculum and perhaps start with a paid trial lesson.
This sounds partly like a financial-support decision rather than a normal tutoring purchase. That’s okay, but it may be healthier to acknowledge it openly instead of pretending the lessons are worth a market rate if you don’t actually need them. You could agree on a modest tutoring rate, a fixed number of sessions, and clear boundaries so neither the relationship nor his job search suffers.
He hasn’t asked me for money directly, so I thought paying for something useful would feel more respectful. I’ll make sure we discuss expectations and keep the arrangement separate from our relationship.