Why I Started Charging for My Physics Notes (And How It Changed Everything)

There is an unwritten rule in university culture that academic help should always be free. If you understand a concept, you are expected to spend your Sunday afternoons explaining thermodynamics or electromagnetism to your roommates out of the goodness of your heart. For a long time, I followed this script. I would spend hours organizing lecture slides, redrawing complicated free-body diagrams, and distilling complex equations into plain, easy-to-understand summaries—only to hand them over for a polite “thanks.”

The turning point came during my second year when I realized the glaring unfairness of the system. We had brilliant students sitting in lecture halls who completely dominated the modules, yet they were struggling to buy basic groceries or pay for transport. Meanwhile, formal institutional tutoring required rigid, expensive credentialing that locked out the very peers who understood current course dynamics best. I decided to change my approach. I packaged my comprehensive physics revision notes and study guides, put a small price tag on them through Class 35, and offered direct, peer-to-peer consultations.

The shift was monumental. Not only did I start earning a reliable income that covered my monthly data and study materials, but the quality of my engagement skyrocketed. Students who paid for the notes took the material much more seriously. They came to sessions with targeted questions, and I felt a professional accountability to deliver absolute clarity. Monetizing my academic strengths didn’t make me selfish; it made me sustainable. It proved that when students value their own knowledge, others will too.