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With endless ways to make money online, teaching English usually shows up on the list. Companies like VIP Kid and GoGoKid come out on top. Thousands of dollars in monthly income is advertised to lure you in about how easy it is.

But just how easy is teaching English online?

Expectations

1. I will make thousands of dollars per month.
2. All my students are so sweet and cute. They do exactly what I say.
3. My schedule is fully booked all the time.
4. Parents always give me 5-star reviews.
5. Making my own schedule is great. I get to work whenever I want.

Reality

I will make thousands of dollars per month.

• While it is possible to make thousands of dollars per month and have this workload become a serious income, it takes a lot of time to reach this point. Upon signing your contract, an influx of students are not going to suddenly appear in your schedule. It can take 2-3 months to reach this level.

All my students are so sweet and cute. They do exactly what I say.

• It is not uncommon to be teaching children as young as 3 years old online. And, let me remind you that this child doesn’t speak any English. They probably are not interested in sitting in front of a device to watch you try and keep their attention. Their desire to play with a toy offscreen, that you can’t see, is much greater.

My schedule is fully booked all the time.

• Different ESL teaching companies have different scheduling requirements. VIP Kid, for example, allows you to open your schedule to create hours on your own. DadaABC requires a set schedule and the company will book students for you. In either case, it is uncommon for your schedule to be completely booked and all your students to show up for class.

Parents always give me 5-star reviews.

• Asian parents have very high expectations for their children. They can be difficult to please. Some parents expect a certain number of props in the lesson. These props must be age appropriate. Don’t use a puppet with a 10 year old. The parents want their child to speak English well, even if they themselves are unable.

Making my own schedule is great. I get to work whenever I want.

• While this is partly true, you don’t actually get to work whenever you want. You are required to work on China time which is the opposite time of day in North America. So, you can expect a lot of very early mornings. You might even completely reverse your sleep schedule and start teaching at 9 PM until 8 AM the following morning.

Advice from a 3 Year Veteran of Teaching English Online

Meet Julie, she has been teaching English online with VIPKID since 2017. She has also tried other companies such as Whales English and GoGoKid.

Julie, can you explain how you first discovered VIPKID?

Living in Beijing in 2017 and 2018, I learned from a friend that I could make spare change on VIPKID. It turns out you can actually make decent money as a VIPKID teacher!

What are some things that you enjoy about teaching English online?

I like the low prep-time (no prep-time). That’s to say: I like having my day free from work-related tasks. After teaching, around 9 AM EST, I’m done for the entire day. The classes are incredibly straight forward and the curriculum is thorough and complete.

Do you have any memorable students?

 I have a few regular students with whom I’ve had over 100 classes. They’re all girls around the same age! I feel connected to them and we often talk about everything from their friends and their families to Chinese pop artists and movies. They are so interesting and fun and they keep me motivated to deal with the kids that I can’t stand. 

What are some things that you dislike about teaching English online?

 I really hate the early wake-up time for North America. I often start teaching at 3:30 AM (this is my only source of income, so others may not choose to get up so early).

On VIPKID, I don’t like having random students every day. My regular students are amazing, but you often get new kids who can’t or won’t focus, kids who aren’t placed at the proper level, kids who are rude or rebellious.

These issues are hard to deal with when you’re online. However, there are teachers who think that it’s easier to handle behavioral issues online because you can sit back and just have the platform team call the parents for you.

What are some characteristics that someone new to online teaching needs to have to become successful?

 If you’re new to this and you want to have a career in online education, remember that technology changes all too frequently. You will have to keep changing as the technology changes in order to keep your job.

To be successful, you should be innovative, energetic, and open-minded. You should be relaxed, as I think that high-stress individuals will only find more stress working as an online teacher.

How do you think teaching with VIPKID has changed over the years?

The hiring process and incentive process have both changed dramatically since 2017. It used to be a breeze to get hired, and you’d be automatically certified for several levels upon hire. I think I had levels 2, 3, and 4 automatically added to my course load when I was hired.

Now, from what I hear, it’s more rigorous and it’s harder to get certifications and bookings. The company really needed teachers to take off, but now that’s it’s a leading online platform…they don’t rely on new teachers nearly as much. The incentives are almost nonexistent, so it’s important to enter the job with teaching experience so you can start with a higher hourly wage. 

Do you think teaching online in 2020 is worth it?

Simply put, I don’t. Contrary to popular belief, it can be exhausting, especially given the weird hours when you’re working for a Chinese company. It can also be lonely because you don’t have “real” coworkers. Yeah, there are other teachers on the platform; and yeah, they have a place for teachers to congregate and communicate (known as the Hutong); and again, yeah, there are Facebook groups that you can join.

But at the end of the day, these groups tend to foster “drama” and unnecessary, unproductive complaining. I think that the exhaustion and loneliness outweigh the work-from-home perks that come along with the job.

Is the market too oversaturated now?

I’ve heard some teachers say yes, and others say no. For me, I am regularly fully, or almost fully, booked. But it did take time to get bookings, and I see the bookings dip and rise throughout the year at random times. It’s not very consistent.

And as new teachers join the platform, it is a legitimate fear that you will never get booked (or get enough bookings). I would say: join at your risk and be prepared to work for your bookings if you’re new! In the early days, bookings came with no work at all.

Nowadays, you really have to shine by impressing parents with your introduction video, making supplemental videos, and having a nice profile.