Why would you be interested in getting an online job? Maybe you want to live and travel abroad and you would like steady income while you’re away. Perhaps you’re looking for something part-time, without a lot of responsibilities, commute time, or because you like working in your pajamas. Well, don’t lose your head too high in the clouds, all of the above is possible, but as with any real job, there are responsibilities, and it will always require a significant amount of energy to be successful. But today I’m going to tell you about the online job that my husband and I have been working for the past 3 years that have been the sole income for our family…. Teaching ESL classes online to Chinese children.
It’s not difficult to get into, but navigating the highly competitive market of online ESL companies can be a little overwhelming, and underwhelming when you get a job that doesn’t meet your expectations.
I’ve always enjoyed helping others to accomplish a goal. So, whenever I experience something or hear someone else’s experience, I make notes. Lots of notes.
I started living abroad 15 years ago (before the online ESL craze) and I was always looking for ways that I could support myself while being outside of the USA, and actually make a decent wage. While living in Mexico and later Nicaragua, I met many other expats who had the same goals and frustrations trying to find online work. It became my goal to collect information that could help others with a similar situation, but ultimately you don’t have to live in another country for this job to work. It just happens to be a special perk for us.
So, I’d like to share a bit of knowledge with you regarding this industry. In this two-part post, you’ll learn the answers to the following questions!
- How much time, energy, and money should I expect to invest in this endeavor?
- What are the differences between the hiring companies?
- How much income can I realistically expect to make?
Let’s get started….
My husband and I have had personal experiences with 5 different online ESL companies: Idapted (no longer in business), TutorABC, BOXFiSH, Sprout4Future (now Whales), DadaABC, and Magic Ears.
I also have good friends who work teaching ESL classes online with iTutorGroup, Palfish, VIPKid, Landi, Cambly, EnglishFirst, Wonderkids, OpenEnglish, and SayABC.
It is definitely important to understand the difference between each company when you’re ready to apply. Each company has its little quirks which may or may not work out with your schedule/lifestyle. The obstacle, especially when you’re just starting out, is understanding the differences between the companies, the way they work, and what they offer, to find what works well for you. Frankly, if you don’t know how to ask the right questions in the interview or anywhere else, then it can be hard to figure out before you waste your time doing an interview or even you could go as far as getting hired and then feel disappointed with some aspect of it.
Should I choose:
a Chinese company?
An American company?
Or a European company?
In my experience, teaching ESL classes online to Chinese children is where you will get the most bang for your buck…. rather, the most bucks for your time. You will find that the European companies that focus on Business English may pay pretty well, I’ll venture a guess of around $15/h…but teaching English to Chinese adults as well as to Spanish or German adults will bring in around $10-$12/h compared to the $15-$30/h that you can make teaching English to Chinese children.
This also plays an important factor in planning your schedule. Since these children are primarily between the ages of 5 and 14 this means that the “peak hours” where these kids take their classes are between the times of 6:00pm and 9:00pm Beijing time. Use this TIME CONVERTER to see what time this would be in your time zone. Also, China does not follow “daylight savings”, so their time never changes. If your country follows daylight savings then your working time may be an hour earlier or an hour later during different months of the year.
Also, an important thing to note is that a foreign company typically won’t have any dealings with American tax laws. This means that you will be hired as an independent contractor and you will be responsible for paying your own taxes.
How do I get started?
First, let’s take a look at all the things you’ll need to think about before you start applying.
What qualifications do I need?
Different companies will require different things, but the most important qualification is to get a TEFL, TESOL, or CELTA certification. The first two certifications aren’t difficult or expensive to attain. Expect a course that you can take online and the certificate can be mailed to you. However, if you’re a digital nomad like me, you’ll only need to have your certification in PDF or JPG format so that you can email it to the companies that you wish to interview with. They will not require a physical copy. The course that you take should be ‘accredited’ and the PDF that you attain should display a certificate number. In January 2019 most Chinese companies that I know of made it mandatory to submit this document immediately due to a new law (or proposed law) that the Chinese government was looking to pass.
If you will be limiting your ESL teaching to online work, then I would recommend taking a TEFL or TESOL certification by International Open Academy. Their courses are often on sale for just $19 for the 120-hour course. It’s very cheap, and it doesn’t take 120 hours to finish! Trust me. If you put your mind to it, it’ll take a long afternoon to complete the course, and it’ll provide the basics that you need for online teaching.
Tip: If you purchase it with the link that I provided above, then they will pay me a commission on the sale which enables me to continue helping new teachers find their ideal online job!
If you wish to eventually dive into teaching ESL in a classroom in a foreign country, then you may wish to invest more money in a more intensive program that will help you better prepare for this kind of teaching environment. Remember, you get what you pay for! However, for the online ESL companies that I will be discussing, the curriculum and lessons are already provided. They mostly include lessons for very young children that cover the ABCs, basic reading and repeating, and improving pronunciation. The lessons are generally very fun and simple. You just need to show up to “teach” it.
What kind of experience must I have?
Some companies will hire you without any teaching experience, but you should expect that, due to this, they will offer lower pay. In many cases, someone may have lots of “in-person” teaching experience, but no “online teaching” experience. This may also result in lower pay. Having 6 months of online teaching experience under your belt is especially important when expecting competitive pay. If you’re just starting out, my suggestion would be to apply to a few companies that you’re not especially excited about working with. Perhaps one that offers lower pay, but has a reputation for hiring those without experience. After doing a few interviews, teaching a few demo classes, and getting some experience with online teaching under your belt, then you’ll be ready to apply and interview with one of the companies that offer higher pay! Now, because you’ve practiced, and you have the experience, you’ll be able to ace the interview, teach an awesome online demo class, and get hired with the company you really wanted initially.
What kind of experience really counts as “experience”? You don’t have to be a brick and mortar kindergarten teacher to claim experience teaching. Do you have any experience tutoring others? Did you home-school your children? Have you taught one-on-one art classes? Bible classes? Music lessons? You may have more experience as a teacher than you initially thought. Think outside the box, and mention this experience in your resume and on the interview. Added bonus if you have worked specifically with children!
Also, if you’ve lived or traveled abroad, or otherwise have experience dealing with non-native English speakers and other cultures, make sure you find a way to include that on your application profile.
Do I have to have a degree?
First, let’s talk about Chinese companies. In the past, it was known that most of the ESL schools claimed to require a degree. However, if you could WOW them in the interview/demo then you could still be hired. Unfortunately, some big changes came to Chinese law in November 2019 when the government started requiring all online ESL schools to enforce the requirement of a degree.
Remember: These companies want to advertise to their customers that they offer educated teachers for their children, so they don’t even care what your degree is in. It could be a degree in architecture, but it would still get you the job. Ultimately, if you can impress them with your teaching skills, and do a good job with your demo class, then they will hire you.
If you do not have a degree, but you would consider an online Bachelor’s of Science Degree Program that goes at your own pace, they call it a fast-tracked program, and offered for a very reasonable price, then write me at homesweetwherever@gmail.com and I will connect you to an admissions counselor that I know who can give you information about the program.
All of that being said, there still are companies that will hire those who do not hold a degree, but you’re looking at making around $10/hour, and potentially more however more work is involved in vigorously promoting yourself within the company’s social connections with customers.
Do I have to be a native speaker?
The short answer is: NO. But it really depends on the company that you want to apply with. Some companies will hire non-native English speakers (many of my friends are). This generally means that they’ll get a lower pay rate, but there are still plenty of companies that hire non-native English teachers.
For Native English Speakers: it’s important to understand that some companies won’t hire you based on your accent. For example, Magic Ears is very strict about only hiring American / Canadian accents. (I feel sorry for all of you proper English speaking, Brits!) The unfortunate part is that some applications will be rejected just based on your nationality, and not on your accent itself.
What kind of equipment/workspace do I need?
Don’t mind my messy workspace! I was almost swimming in props for the “Healthy Food vs. Junk Food” class I taught above!
Most ESL teachers like to have a colorful background, perhaps with an educational theme, such as with the alphabet, or a map. Since I previously didn’t have a wall to teach against, I used the awesome portable green screen called “Webaround” This is also a great product if you do a lot of traveling and aren’t sure about what kind of teaching space you’ll have. Paired with a cool app called ManyCam, you can use their chroma key feature and superimpose anything on your background. Recently, I’ve found a wall to teach against and now I use it as a stark white background because I like to use the prop feature in ManyCam. Since I can’t carry so many of my niece and nephew’s toys around in my travels, I can display colorful digital images on my camera instead. So, to avoid having my images lost in a busy background, I keep my background bright white.
Regarding the technical requirements for your teaching equipment, each company will give you a specific list of requirements for your computer or laptop to run their teaching software. But it’s safe to say that as long as you have a fairly modern computer or laptop, a good quality webcam
(internal or external), and at least 5mbps download speed and 2mbps upload speed, then you can get started. The internet speed mentioned above is the absolute bare minimum. You should aim for higher, much higher, if possible. The lower the speeds, the more delay and lag will be noticed in the video conference with your students, which will displease the company and the parents.
Lighting is an important aspect to consider when preparing an area where you’ll be teaching ESL classes online. Since I’ll principally be discussing classes for Chinese students, this means that the time difference for North American teachers could have you teaching when it’s dark outside. You may want to invest in a few (white light) lamps, a couple nice 6″ ring lights, or even softbox lighting to have nice, clear lighting with as few shadows as possible. Also, don’t forget that your webcam software may have settings where you can adjust the brightness, contrast, and sharpness of your image.
ARE YOU READY?
Now that you know the answers to the questions that will get you started with your application, let’s continue to my next post to get the low-down on the various companies that I am personally familiar with. Don’t forget to read a variety of reviews online, and don’t forget to take each review, good or bad, with a grain of salt. Also, remember that Chinese company policies are significantly different from American company policies. (For example, taking time off, penalties for being late to class, and emergency cancellations.) Don’t expect American standards, based on American laws. You won’t get them. You’ll get Chinese standards and Chinese laws. If you aren’t familiar with them, then expect the worst, then you’ll get something decent, and be pleasantly surprised!
