HOW TO MAKE MONEY TEACHING ENGLISH ONLINE – GREAT EXTRA INCOME IDEA!
Overview
I have to admit, I’m very excited to write about how to make money teaching English online. This is one of the side hustles I have personally had the most success with. And I’ve been around the side hustle block. This is a fantastic opportunity! Not sure about the details? Awesome! Let me sum it up for you.
There are several companies that offer the opportunity to teach English online, many of them connecting native English-speaking adults to children living in China. Teachers on these platforms have a few requirements they’ll need to meet to be hired, but generally the bar isn’t too high. The hours are incredibly flexible, and most of the available teaching times are outside of traditional American business hours, making this a great second job. Considering that teachers work from home on a self-created schedule, the pay is very competitive.
While there are several companies using this model, I have personally earned the most through VIPKid. You can find out more about this company below.
That’s the gist, but I’d like to go a little deeper into a few of the more commonly asked questions relating to this opportunity. Let get into those.
How Does It Work?
Before we get too deep into the hours and the money, I’m sure you’d like to know exactly what we’re talking about doing. After all, food delivery services are pretty self-explanatory, but this is a little less familiar. But, it’s still really pretty simple.
Let’s start by walking through a class. You’ll log onto the platform, navigate to your schedule, and find your classes. There, you’ll open up the classroom. Most companies have a classroom that includes a timer, an interactive slide presentation of some sort, a chat box, and a few other tools. You and your student will log in and communicate through what really boils down to a video call within the classroom.
Once you and your student are in, you will take 25 minutes to guide them through the slide presentation. This is built by the company and fits within the curriculum your student is taking. For most companies, there is no expectation for you to design any content. Most presentations are around 25-30 slides, meaning you’ll be doing around one slide per minute. By the time you get some call and response type practice in, this is basically the perfect amount of time.
At the end of the class, you simply say by and log off. There is usually a five minute break between classes if you choose to schedule them back to back.
The classes, for most companies, are one-on-one. That means you only have one student to work with at a time. Unless you specifically choose to certify for beginners, most of these children will already speak enough English to easily work through the presentation and understand simple questions and phrases.
YOU DO NOT NEED TO SPEAK THEIR LANGUAGE. I definitely don’t speak Chinese, and that’s never been an issue.
That’s basically it!
If I was putting it into one short sentence:
Teaching English online means guiding one student who already knows some English through a 25-minute slide presentation that has been prepared for you beforehand.
Not too bad of a gig, right?
What Experience Is Needed?
But what if you’ve never taught anything in your life? Honestly, that’s probably fine.
Some companies do require some teaching experience. Others, like VIPKid, require experience with children, but not necessarily formal teaching experience. As a general rule, if you have kids or have ever done some child care, you can probably count that.
Some companies also require a degree. In fact, at this point, it’s probably safe to say most companies do. But, generally, this doesn’t need to be in education. Just something that shows you have some higher education.
If you do not have a degree, there is one company called Palfish that, last I checked, does not have this requirement.
Aside from those things, most companies will want you to have some sort of “classroom,” which is just a nice way to say a child-friendly backdrop in a quiet area of your home. And, of course, you’ll need to meet their tech requirements for internet speed and have a device that will run their software.
How Flexible Are The Hours?
The flexibility of the hours is probably one of my favorite aspects of this gig. Because most companies connect American adults to Chinese children, working hours are usually late night or early morning. (This is after school for the children living in China.)
I typically set my schedule up for early morning before my primary job. Others choose to do late at night. Full-time online teachers may even teach through the night.
It’s really up to you. Many companies have no minimums or maximums on classes taught per pay period, so you can typically open up as many slots as you want. Does that mean they’ll all get taken? No, definitely not at first. But, as you build up your student base, you’ll see your schedule become more consistent.
How Much Does It Pay?
And of course, the big question. How much can I make from this?
Pay is calculated differently for each company, but the structures tend to be a little confusing. Again, I’m most familiar with VIPKid, so I’ll use that company as an example.
With VIPKid, you’re given a base pay rate per class. You’re then assigned a “tier” based on the number of classes you’ve taught. You’ll earn a bonus for every class you teach, and the amount of your bonus is affected by your tier and the number of classes you teach each pay period. Confused yet? Don’t worry, once you get in there and see it in action, it’s really not too confusing.
I’ll just keep it simple and tell you what I’ve found personally here. My best month to date has brought in over $1,700. That’s going part-time. Many working this job full-time can report much higher numbers.
In reality, because the schedule is up to you, how much you make will be up to you too.
Conclusion
Hopefully that answers some of the bigger questions about teaching English online. Again, I have found this to be an absolutely fantastic second job/side hustle. If you don’t mind some early mornings, this can be a way to pretty easily bring in an extra $1,000 a month, or even more.
To review one more time, there are several companies that offer the opportunity to teach English online, many of them connecting native English-speaking adults to children living in China. Teachers on these platforms have a few requirements they’ll need to meet to be hired, but generally the bar isn’t too high. The hours are incredibly flexible, and most of the available teaching times are outside of traditional American business hours, making this a great second job. Considering that teachers work from home on a self-created schedule, the pay is very competitive.
If, after reading this, you’re interested in getting started, I’ll say again that I have personally had the most success with VIPKid. They are one of the largest and most established companies using this model. You can apply below. Once you register, you’ll have access to their getting hired resources. If you find you’d like more detailed information, I was able to find everything I needed to supplement for free on YouTube.
Remember, regardless of your money goals, you can “Bank on a Budget” to get you from where you are to where you want to be!
If you don’t mind some early mornings, this can be a way to pretty easily bring in an extra $1,000 a month, or even more.
Latest posts by Alex (see all)
- Financial Coaching Services - January 18, 2022
- TOP 10 PERSONAL FINANCE MYTHS THAT ARE HOLDING YOU BACK - February 26, 2021
- HOME BUYING EXPENSES CHECKLIST – 14 COSTS TO BE READY FOR - February 26, 2021
Do you have any online teaching experience? Do you enjoy it?
[…] Teaching English Online […]