Zombie Teacher
Ah, how can we let things like blogs slide? Why? I know for me, it is easy to lose myself in work—not work that I enjoy at all. Just work. Get up, teach online, break to play with the dog, teach more online… Thank goodness for coffee and playing ball with the dog; those things keep me going in the daytime.
Teaching online can be a rough thing. I typically start my teaching day at 6:30am and go until 6:00pm. I split my time between VIPKID (yes, they’re still kicking—growing in fact) and Cambly.
VIPKID is pretty well known. The pay is pretty good if you don’t live in the States (I’m lucky that the exchange rate is always in my favor) and I love the flexibility. They have all of the materials ready for you, they’re easy to follow, and even easier to prep for. You do have to be good with kids and with teaching, in order to be successful you really have to build a “brand” around yourself and deliver. No matter how you feel, when that camera turns on—you do too.
Cambly has some good material and I’ve been lucky enough to cultivate great students and friends on there. At this point, I basically limit myself to “regulars” only. The beauty of Cambly is that I deal mostly with adult on there and every day is a trip around the world: Japan, Taiwan, China, Korea, Brazil, and Turkey are where most of my students come from. I get to see sights, learn cultural, and news that you don’t hear on American news outlets.
The pay… Cambly is $10.10hr. VIPKID depends on your experience, how many classes you teach per month and a separate tier system based on your overall classes with them. I get a $7 base rate per 25min class and a bonus for each tier; they vary in the amount of classes and in amount as well. So, at the beginning of the month I’m paid $7.20 per 25min and I end at $10.10.
But, here’s the bad thing: being an online teacher zombie. There’s no passive income. And you feel, especially in the beginning, as if each booking could be the beginning of a drought. So, you work and work, tethered to your computer, not leaving the house, pounding down coffee after coffee…Well, at least I do.
As an expat American, I find it to be a great option to make income and the flexibility gives me time to travel and take time off. Just be careful of doing it too much.
If you’re curious how it works, drop me a message and I will give you some tips that helped me be successful on it, and I’ll tell you what I’ve done wrong as well…