As a traveller who loves to explore, i was very hooked on the idea of having a remote job and being able to support myself by travelling. I did a very big research on my options and of course the most popular ones were - start a travel blog, digital marketing opportunities, photography, virtual assistant etc.
The thing is, i wasnt fitting those profiles at all. I had either to obtain some training, or it was going to a lot of time before it becomes profitable, or i had no idea on the matter at all.
So i decided to use what i've got and see where it takes me.
I have graduated Theatre and Professional Practice in the UK, i speak fluent English and Spanish with a neutral accent and i am very artistic and full of energy . So ... in the search of opportunities on the web, i found out about teaching english online.
In this article i am going to tell you everything i know about it, i am going to include info on how i became an online english teacher, what are the opportunities on the market(trust me its a huge one) and what do you need to do if you want to become one.
When i started this quest, i wanted to find something that will bring me a consistent income, would be flexible in terms of hours, would not be too tiring, would give me options for development, and would bring me enough money on the table.
1.So what is teaching english online?
Usually its done by skype or the company's platform. The company provides you the lessons, most of the time they are about 25-30min long . You choose your availability and how many you want to teach during which days and hours. Usually lessons are very engaging and fun, so you dont need preparation, you can just jump in 5 min beforehand to check on the lesson and then start teaching it. Its usually children that you are teaching and to be honest i was a bit skeptical about it, but after the first couple of classes i found it fun and stress-free. Some companies offer bussiness english classes too, or adult ones, but themajority of them teach children aged between 7-15.
- What is the market?
The biggest client is China, followed by Korea and then you have the occasional European companies too.
Yes Chinese and Koreans want to learn English and the market is never ending. Competition between companies is huge and so are the opportunities. Priviliged are the native speakers. Peak hours are between 6PM nad 9PM Beijing time ( so mind your timezone) For me its perfect because thats around my early aftrenoon hours in Europe. - Payment
Payment is usually conducted through paypal. An average rate is around 15-20$ per hour, depending on location, experience and qualifications. Usually you would work for around 20hpw, depending on your availability - you can have less or more classes. - Do you need to have any qualifications?
Here comes the best part. You dont. You can try it out, see if you like it and then decide for yourself if you want to be serious about it.
Depending on how much time you want to invest on this, those are your options :
- you have to have a degree ( companies require you to have one ( any degree is good, plus points if its relevant to the field)
- natives are preferred (most companies require natives , which means that even if you havent taught in your life at all, you have a 90% chance to get the job) So are you american, canadian or british? Go for it. Foreigns also have a chance, preferrably you should have a neutral accent and choose the companies that accept those ( there are reviews and FB groups about that)
- a certificate for teaching - if you want the highest pay ( like i said pay varies depending on qualifications and experience ). You should invest a little money and time on an online TEFL course ( teaching english as a foreign language). Trust me those arent expensive, search for the 120h ones, because they are the most valued. But then again, this is OPTIONAL, because a lot of teachers i know have started without a certification. As a foreign, i did obtain one, so i have more options, hence i dont have a native passport
4.Advantages
FULL-TIME payment for a PART-TIME gig
The bigggest advantage i have found is, that if you want to start from somewhere and have enough income to support you, but also have some time for yourself to work on your dreams- this is the perfect job! It requires little to no effort, its a fairly good pay and if you are living in a country with low currency rates, you might get a fulltime payment for a part-time gig (which is my case)
- Development
Now the best part about the job, is that the more you become better at it, the more possibilities you have. You can create your own platform (professional website), start teaching the type of english you want there and offer the service you find are best for you.. Or you can sign up on the platforms created for this, and advertise your own profile with your own rate. You can advertise academic writing, proofreading, or anything that you are good at, the market is huge and so is the search for those. Opportunities are endless.
So to all of you out there - maybe you have thaught english before and you want to try it out online?
Or maybe you are a nomad traveller searching for an easy way to make some money on the side. Or maybe you want this to be your next remote job job? I say - give it a try!
Let me know what you think about this article and if you are curious and you want me to write more on the matter ( company names , websites and more info) comment below please!
Images : pixabay