Make money teaching English online can be a lucrative business. There are many people who want to make an extra income by teaching English as a second language, but don’t know how to do it effectively. The good news is that you can start making money from home today, even if you have never taught before.
Teaching English online is a great way to make money. If you know how to teach, you can earn from home and use your time more effectively. This is a completely legal method of earning money with little effort on your part. We will teach you everything you need to know about teaching English online and how to get started without any hassle.
The English teaching industry is a huge one, with tens of thousands of teachers around the world. And it’s not hard to get started! In fact, if you have a few spare hours each week and have some basic computer skills, you can make money teaching English online.
How Much Money Can I Make Teaching English Online? Can you teach English online full-time?
Teaching English online is very literally what you make it. With most online English companies , you can work as much or as little as you like, which means your online English teaching gig can be anything from a small-time side hustle to a full-time career hustle.
Briefly, online English teacher salaries vary depending on a variety of factors:
- The company with which you teach English online;
- The number of hours you put in;
- Your qualifications and experience;
- Your base pay and bonuses.
Some online English teaching companies provide a flat rate of pay per hour, while other platforms allow you to set your own hourly rate.
Does teaching English online pay well?
Generally speaking, online English teachers typically make anywhere between $10 – $40 USD per hour depending on their level of qualification. If you’re a first-time English teacher with a TEFL certification, you will likely be making $10-$20 per hour to start.
How Much Money Can You Make Teaching English Online?
You can make money teaching English online via three different methods: by teaching with an online ESL company; offering your teaching services on an open marketplace; or creating your own online ESL business and working for yourself. Let’s explore each of these three options below:
1. Teach with an online ESL company
Arguably the easiest of the three options, teaching with an online ESL company is ideal for those that want to omit a majority of the legwork. Companies structured in this way such as Lingoda and Open English often provide you with lesson plans and teaching materials that you can base your classes on. They also have a large, global network of students looking for online ESL teachers to take lessons with, which makes securing students less of a challenge for you.
However, companies of this nature do not let you set your own hourly rate. When you interview for a teaching job with them, you are assigned an hourly rate based on your experience and qualifications. These rates can vary from anywhere between $8-$20 USD per hour, but will also often have an incentive-based program built into them. Incentives may include bonuses like an extra $1 of pay per class if you teach more than 45 classes per month.
If you’re looking at ways to make more money teaching English online with an ESL company beyond the minimum base rate that they offer, you may want to consider:
- Getting your TEFL certification: Most online ESL companies will require that you have a 120-hour TEFL certification (at minimum) to secure employment with them. Having this credential on your teacher profile may help you secure a higher base salary. Check out both our in-person and online TEFL certification courses to see which is a better fit for you. See also, teach English online salary.
- Teaching experience: Like any job, employers value experience. If you’ve taught ESL in-person, great, and if you have experience teaching English online, even better! Our International TEFL Academy (ITA) TEFL certification courses require you to complete a practice teaching (practicum) component as part of your course, so at course completion, you’ll already have a minimum of 20 hours of teaching experience under your belt!
- University degree: Do you have a university degree (in any field)? While by all online ESL companies, a majority of them require one. Holding a degree usually means you will receive a higher rate of pay.
- Look for companies that offer incentive-based bonuses: Incentive bonuses may include things like an extra $1 of pay per class if you teach more than 45 classes per month; bonuses for the number of positive reviews you receive at the completion of each class; attendance bonuses for not skipping or canceling any classes, etc.
2. Create a teaching profile on an open-marketplace
Open marketplaces are a type of platform that helps connect students looking to learn English with ESL teachers who have a profile listed on the marketplace. Your teacher profile should highlight your qualifications, experience, and any additional training or certifications you have earned. For example:
Qualifications:
- Include your TEFL Certification course (in-person, online, number of hours, and training school that certified you, etc);
- Your degree (if you have one) and where you obtained it.
Experience:
- Include the practice teaching component you had to complete as part of your TEFL course, including the number of hours completed;
- If you’ve privately tutored in the past, include this;
- Have you taught English online before?
- Have you taught in a classroom here in the USA?
- Have you taught ESL abroad in a classroom before?
Additional Trainings:
- Did you undergo any specialized training in addition to your TEFL course? For example, at ITA, we offer 2-week Teaching English Online, Teaching English to Young Learners, and Teaching Business English speciality courses that you can take during or after the completion of your TEFL certification course.
In conclusion, we recommend that you use your free time to learn about the certification process and its requirements. We also recommend that you attend some of the information sessions offered by your school or training centre.