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MIT Ugrad, Cal PhD, 10k+ hrs tutoring exp. Math, physics, std tests!
Faruk B.

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Hourly Rate: $150
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About Faruk

Bio

I am a professional engineer, with an undergraduate degree from MIT and a PhD from UC Berkeley. I started my career as a university professor, but later switched to industry, where I am still active. One thing I missed about working in academia was the teaching. As a result, I got back into teaching as a side gig many years ago, and taught classes and tutored at Manhattan Prep, among others. All told, I have accumulated over 10,000 hours of teaching and private tutoring experience.

My...

I am a professional engineer, with an undergraduate degree from MIT and a PhD from UC Berkeley. I started my career as a university professor, but later switched to industry, where I am still active. One thing I missed about working in academia was the teaching. As a result, I got back into teaching as a side gig many years ago, and taught classes and tutored at Manhattan Prep, among others. All told, I have accumulated over 10,000 hours of teaching and private tutoring experience.

My specialty is in teaching math (all topics) and physics, along with various standardized tests. I am able to connect with students ranging from middle school students to university graduates with equal ease. In fact, my teaching journey began when I was in middle school myself, as my classmates would turn to me to explain in plain language what the teacher tried to teach the class.

I am passionate about teaching alongside my day job as an Engineering Director. I recently relocated to the Bay Area after 25+ years in Boston, and now that I have settled in, I am interested in re-starting my tutoring practice. Be advised that, therefore, I do not yet have a local track record in terms of word of mouth, though that is something I intend to build over time by providing excellent service combined with a human touch.

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Education

(MIT) Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mechanical Engrg
University of California, Berkeley
PhD

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Approved Subjects

ACT Math

ACT Math

I have taught students preparing for various standardized tests over the years. While I normally would teach all aspects of each test, I am currently focusing on the math and science aspects only, based on my current limited availability. The best way to utilize my help is to come prepared with topics and your specific struggles with them.
ACT Science

ACT Science

I have taught students preparing for various standardized tests over the years. While I normally would teach all aspects of each test, I am currently focusing on the math and science aspects only, based on my current limited availability. The best way to utilize my help is to come prepared with topics and your specific struggles with them.
Algebra 1

Algebra 1

Algebra is the foundation of math, and Algebra 1 is the "foundation of the foundation." Master it, and everything else will come more easily, too. I favor an approach that aims for a deeper understanding that (as my own experience shows clearly!) does not get forgotten over time.
Algebra 2

Algebra 2

Algebra is the foundation of math, and Algebra 2 is where it starts to get interesting - and challenging for some. I can help you overcome that hurdle to position you well for even more challenging subjects that build on Algebra 2. I favor an approach that aims for a deeper understanding that (as my own experience shows clearly!) does not get forgotten over time.
Calculus

Calculus

Calculus is, in the eyes of many, a hard subject. I don't disagree, but I also know that it is a beautiful subject when you truly understand it. To get there, though, we will focus first on deep-seated understanding. You actually use calculus without even realizing it, every day of your life. If you're driving and you notice that you're running late, you speed up, don't you?
Geometry

Geometry

Geometry is the most visual of math subjects. It can also be fascinatingly beautiful. Google the Golden Ratio Spiral for an example. I can introduce you to the basics, and we can also visit the heights together.
GRE

GRE

I have taught students preparing for various standardized tests over the years. I have personally scored 170Q, 170V on the GRE. While I normally would teach all aspects of each test, I am currently focusing on Quant only, based on my current limited availability. The best way to utilize my help is to come prepared with topics and your specific struggles with them.
Linear Algebra

Linear Algebra

Like many students, I was exposed to linear algebra concepts like matrices, determinants etc. in a piecemeal fashion. That changed when I took an actual Linear Algebra class taught by Gilbert Strang at MIT. He was a great teacher, and I left with a deep understanding of the fundamentals that have stuck with me ever since. I have had occasions to use that knowledge in my day job more often than I imagined.
Logic

Logic

I can teach you about sets and Boolean operations, such as intersection and union. We can then go into propositions, inferences, converses, contrapositives, and so on, and construct truth tables. I can also help with more conceptual things along the lines of types of reasoning and fallacies.
Mechanical Engineering

Mechanical Engineering

I studied Mechanical Engineering as both an undergraduate and a graduate student, and also taught it in a university setting for 5 years. Since then, I have continued to practice it in industry, and also passed the FE and PE exams. I am broadly competent in all core subject areas, and have specific expertise in statics, dynamics, controls and design.
Physics

Physics

Physics has always been my favorite subject, and that had a lot to do with my choosing to study Engineering in college. At the moment I work as a Director at a robotics firm, where I have occasion to use my physics knowledge quite often, keeping my knowledge fresh. I find that study of physics is more effective and fun when it is tied to real world experience and intuition that most people already possess.
Precalculus

Precalculus

Precalculus is a key link between Algebra, which one must master for many later applications, and Calculus, which is a challenge for most people and cannot really be understood properly without the foundation of Precalculus. Whether you go on to study Calculus is up to you; but I can fairly state that knowing Calculus makes me a much more effective teacher of Precalculus.
Probability

Probability

Probability is actually a more important (and fun!) math topic that a lot of people realize. That is because knowledge of probability concepts have more relevance to daily life than most other math topics. And no, its not just for gambling! It is also my observation that many people already have a well-tuned innate sense of probability regardless of formal study. My approach leverages that familiarity.
SAT Math

SAT Math

I have taught students preparing for various standardized tests over the years. I personally scored a perfect 2400 on the "old" SAT. While I normally would teach all aspects of each test, I am currently focusing on math only, based on my current limited availability. The best way to utilize my help is to come prepared with topics and your specific struggles with them.
Statistics

Statistics

Disraeli supposedly said that there were 3 kinds of lies: Lies, damned lies, and statistics. That is presumably because those who aren't familiar with how Statistics works are easily misled by them. Beyond its utility in daily life, Statistics is also a key subject for many research endeavors - including those in medicine and the social sciences, beyond my own field of the physical sciences.
Trigonometry

Trigonometry

So many terms - sine, cosine, arcsine, and on an on. They all ultimately boil down to the same thing when you grasp it. Trig comes in handy for a lot of things I do in my day job as an Engineer, but you don't have to be one to still get the flavor of it and thrive.
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Hourly Rate: $150
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