Job Discussion Forums

madhatter109 · Joined: 09 Jul 2010 Posts: 75

Hey everyone. I actually just posted a thread looking for advice on online teaching, but deleted it once I scrolled down and saw this one. I taught for about 3 years online while doing my MA-TESL a few years ago. I recently taught for 2 years in a traditional IEP setting, but my wife and I are moving to a new city next week and so I had to quit my regular full time job. We will be moving to Chicago and the only traditional classroom gigs I've seen are adjunct positions that pay around 20 bucks an hour. I've seen quite a few online job adverts which say they offer around 20-30 per hour and I'm just wondering if it's too good to be true. I loved teaching online in the past (flexible hours and no commute), but the school I used to teach for online only paid about 10 bucks an hour. It was okay as a student, but now that I have high qualifications and experience, I'd love to find something online and legit that pays at least 18-20 per hour. Let me know if you have any recommendations for companies online.

LongShiKong · Joined: 28 May 2007 Posts: 1082 Location: China

madhatter109 · Joined: 09 Jul 2010 Posts: 75

nomad soul · Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world

madhatter109 · Joined: 09 Jul 2010 Posts: 75

LongShiKong · Joined: 28 May 2007 Posts: 1082 Location: China

nomad soul · Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world

madhatter109 · Joined: 09 Jul 2010 Posts: 75

LarssonCrew · Joined: 06 Jun 2009 Posts: 1308

I'm gunna say these things I found.

Firstlly, if you want a job you can find it, I don't want to name names but schools which pay$10 an hour I found generally could fill your schedule. Some days I worked 6am til 3pm, but at the end of the day you are tired from 9 hours work and only get $90 in your pocket, which is poor. Plus they expect some detailed school reports etc. so you probably do 35 minutes but get paid for 25.

The one I work at pays very well [about 17 GBP an hour] and have a great classroom and great kids[mainly because it's so expensive the kids have previous experience or have other foreign teachers], unfortunately some parents use it as a way to entertain their kids for 30 minutes so you'll get a kid who only wants to draw Pokemon for 30 minutes, but customer is always right. I literally have 3 or 4 students at the school who only are interested in chatting like friends, they're around 14-15 and with the Olympics around it's literally a breeze, getting paid upwards of $25 to talk to a 15 year old about the Olympics and them being overjoyed is nice.

Some of the material is rough and some students are obviously on lower books than their experience. Some 12 year olds just learning 'happy birthday' and 'cake' and that's it, and you need to get 30 minutes out of the class, it can be grim.

Other than that I had an online school from Singapore who needed proof of 5 years experience with 1 year online PLUS any other skills such as law,marketing,business degrees etc. to gain an extra $5 an hour. Speaking Chinese was a bonus as they have many Malay, HK and Singapore kids as well as Mainland China. They paid $35 an hour BUT the catch was that they required a no compete clause. I wasn't prepared to give up a chunk of income [around $1500 at this point, sometimes more] to then build up again.

I should also point out I have found:

Poor, cheap paying online schools can cram you with students, who are often just trying it out, many of those schools offer cheap groupon deals [6 classes for $15!] and such in the hope of luring the kids in, so you rotate alot. BUT, if you open 15 hours a day they'll fill 15 hours. Not bad for fodder. I got demotivated that the pay was so low though, so gave up on that school.

Higher paying schools generally require proof you can teach, the cheaper schools let you open your schedule and go from there on your own, no checks, except that you're white and can talk English ok. Looking through the cheap school tutor list ALOT were Africans, Indians and Filipinos, and most parents at this price point think it's expensive and I found were very picky. One complained I started the class at 1 minute past 9, even though their kid was playing with toys in another room!

The more expensive schools generally cannot fill your schedule and you might be limited to 15 hours a week say, and actually the parents and students often have LESS expectation than the cheaper schools, perhaps because they just value their kid having a chance to speak with a native speaker and love the conveniance.

Even though I'm moving back to teaching in a brick and mortar school, I'm still going to continue teaching online. It's great to think I can live on my online teaching work and pocket my entire brick and mortar pay.

madhatter109 · Joined: 09 Jul 2010 Posts: 75

Well said, thanks for posting that, LarssonCrew!
I hope the occupation keeps growing. I'm currently taking language classes online and must say that I prefer them a great deal to the traditional classrooms out of convenience and low stress. Hopefully wages will go up in the future for teachers on this platform because I think they/we deserve it!

santi84 · Joined: 14 Mar 2008 Posts: 1317 Location: under da sea

I recently interviewed for an online position with a college that ranges about three times higher than typical online companies. It's a good option for those who need higher pay due to cost of living. I'm within two hours of the employer though, so that may be a factor. It's worth exploring that many US/Canadian colleges are transitioning ESL programming to online/blended delivery.

LarssonCrew · Joined: 06 Jun 2009 Posts: 1308

I will post a little bit more.

As a full time job I just cannot see it being viable for me, mainly because:

a)I don't take it seriously enough. It just seems to be that because I'm not having to turn up I can sort of roll out of bed ten minutes before my classes. It doesn't help the classes begin at 7am my time and I'm a night owl so I naturally stay up til 2am.
b)The lack of social interaction with others. If your job revolved around this all the time it would drive me mad. I actually force myself to go to the shops to buy things some days just to meet other people in real life, rather than spend ALL my time indoors.
c)The high paying jobs just do not have enough hours at the minute to satisfy me. If I could do it 25 hours a week at 25 dollars an hour it'd be viable, but only 15 mean it's on the brink but not quite there.

I had a plan in my mind of studying for a masters online whilst traveling, and online teaching would allow me to do that.

I could move around SEA and South America for a year, spending one month in each country, quite happily making 1500-2000 USD a month, and I doubt except flights I'd have to fork out much more.

It's an idea I'm taking very seriously and will see how it goes. It'd be a little annoying being invited to do something or wanting to go out early morning to hike nad not being able to due to working but thems the negatives of having a nice lifestyle and only working 15 hours a week.

madhatter109 · Joined: 09 Jul 2010 Posts: 75

santi84 · Joined: 14 Mar 2008 Posts: 1317 Location: under da sea

piglet44 · Joined: 26 Aug 2010 Posts: 157

Article I wrote about this topic recently
http://jimmyesl.com/teach-english-online/want-online-english-teacher/
There are many more companies popping up daily.
Basically there are problems to going it alone.It is a business and you have to be prepared to spend time to develop it. What you save on not paying a third party you are going to lose on promoting, upkeep of your website etc.