Whether you want to make some money online or you want to work from anywhere in the world, an online teaching job can help you accomplish your goals. The best part about it is that you can teach English online with no experience at all. That’s right, as long as you enjoy learning and teaching about languages then you’ll be able to do online teaching.
There are a few different components you must know so you get an online teaching job. Read on to find out what these different components are and how to get an online teaching job with no experience.
The Basics
First things first, you’re going to need the right at-home office setup to get started teaching English online. Creating an at-home office background will make the scenery look professional behind you while you’re teaching and will keep you organized. Also, it’s important to have a working computer.
Your computer might have to be updated or have a working webcam depending on the company that hires you to teach online. For example, online teaching platforms such as Cambly require your computer to be able to handle video chat functions meaning a working camera on your computer and a microphone. Most computers are able to use the microphone on plug-in headphones as their microphones so really it’s important just to make sure your computer has a webcam.
Some other basics that you’ll need before you get started teaching online are a bachelor’s degree, living in the right country and a caring personality toward children. Once you have all of these
Get the right certifications
In the application and interview process, many platforms look for specific qualifications in their candidates that separate them from the rest of the candidates. Whether you want to teach English online on the VIPKid platform or the QKids platform, a TEFL/TESOL certificate will make your profile stand out from the rest.
It’s important to get your TEFL certificate before you even think about teaching online because of how valuable it is. It’ll show platforms that you’re qualified to teach English online and you have gone through the proper certifications. It’s suggested that you clock at least 120 hours under your TEFL certification. Before you start to teach online, it is highly suggested that you take a 120 hour face-to-face TEFL class from a reliable provider for the certificate to be issued.
You’ll obtain a certificate of completion when you’re finished and even job placement assistance. All of these reasons are why the TEFL certification is so crucial to teaching English online, even if you have no experience. You’ll be taught everything you need to know and you’ll even have some help in the job placement process. This is a crucial step of teaching English online that can’t be overlooked.
Finding the right platform to teach on
Once you’ve set up your home office and gotten the right certifications, the next step will be to find a platform to teach on. There are a ton of different online platforms to teach on that will recognize your certification and you’ll have a great chance of being hired after the interview process.
Some of these platforms are GoGoKid, Palfish, Magic Ears, Skooli, Whales English, QKids, Topica Native, Landi English. It’s important to keep in mind that some of these platforms are by location only. This means that you can only teach them if you live in a certain location in the world. It’s important to research this kind of information long before you apply on each different platform.
Another option you have besides teaching on a platform is teaching through a marketplace. Preply and iTalki are examples of these marketplaces where it’s more free than a platform in the sense of finding students to teach, creating your teacher profile and scheduling your lessons. Since these marketplaces offer more freedom, it’s also important that you market yourself more because it will be harder to find students to teach. You need to create a really alluring teacher profile and find students on your own.
Another option you have when thinking about teaching online is starting your very own online teaching business. You could be an independent teacher, you’ll never have to report to anyone and the best part is you still don’t need to have any experience to do this. This is a great option for anyone who already might have a few students that they teach or even potential students to teach.
You can really make your own business as big, or small, as you want it and you have no boss to report to since you’re working for yourself.
Stay resilient in your search
If you don’t find an online teaching job immediately after completing your certification, it’s important not to give up. There are online English teaching jobs out there that will hire you as long as you have the right certifications and background.
If you’re worried about finding students to teach then use a platform that will schedule students for you and not a marketplace. That’s one of the best ways to start. After you’ve worked on an online platform for a while, then you can decide how you want to proceed and if you want to try working in a marketplace or start your own business. You can start small with your online English teaching and then decide yourself how big you want to scale it.
