Even if you didn’t get into education for the money, it’s always a good idea to know what the average teach English online salary is. Knowing this not only helps you identify quality jobs, it also helps you evaluate your current job.
There’s just one problem: there are a dizzying amount of options and factors out there that can determine how much you make as an online teacher. Besides the obvious like experience and accent, things like the lessons you teach and the type of employer you work for can affect your teach English online salary.
We set out to reduce the confusion by examining and evaluating over 20 different jobs and companies in order to figure out what teachers can expect to earn and what you can do to increase your earning power.
What We’ll Cover:
- The 4 Different Types of Employers
- What Each Pays
- How to Make More Money
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The 4 Different Types of Employers
There are four main ways to make money when it comes to teaching English online:
- Online Schools
- Make-a-Profile Companies
- Working for Yourself
- Selling Your Own Courses on Established Websites
Online Schools
Online schools hire like any other school – you apply, interview, and start teaching knowing that the school will be providing the students and usually the curriculum. You teach a consistent schedule and tend to have the same students.
Online schools are great for people just starting out as they handle all of the planning, marketing, and scheduling so all you have to worry about is teaching.
The downside is that online English schools also tend to pay a bit lower because they do all these things and teachers have very little say when it comes to increasing your rates.
Make-a-Profile Companies
Make-a-Profile companies require you to complete a profile on their site and market yourself in order to find students. These companies allow you to set your own rates so it is a good opportunity to make more money, but you are also competing against other teachers that are often willing to work for less than you.
If you have experience or are certified in things like test preparation or college admissions, using a profile site is a good way to stand out and charge a premium for your skills.
However, there is no guarantee of students and it might take a while for you to build up the reviews and feedback needed to make decent money.
Working for Yourself
Working for yourself gives you ultimate control – you set your own rates, find your own students, and work when you want.
However, while the payoffs might be great, it is the most difficult on this list because of the work required. You not only need to pay for and set up a website but also compete for students with some much larger companies. However, when done correctly, this type of business can be incredibly rewarding.
Selling Courses on Established Websites
Selling courses online is a great way to create passive income, meaning once you create a course the majority of your work is pretty much done. Yes, you do have to market your work, but you are not teaching the material every time a student buys it.
A plus to this method is that you can teach about anything – there is no requirement for it to be related to English.
The downside is that if you do teach English, students don’t typically look to places like Udemy for or Lynda for online English courses. Still, these sites are a great way to showcase a niche or specialty you have can expose you to a lot of potential students.
What Each Employer Pays
I wish I could say each of the aforementioned employers pays a specific and predictable rate, but as is the case with all jobs, there is quite a bit of range involved with each. Employers take into consideration your experience, nationality, accent, specialty and even location when hiring but we have done our best to document the average pay ranges associated with each
Online Schools: $9-$20/hr
VIP Kid is a good example of the standard pay range for a teach English online salary. They pay up to $18 or $22 if you achieve all your bonuses.
This Japanese school, Lyngo, is a bit on the lower end of the pay range but promotes the chance to get promoted to manager.
Make-a-Profile Companies: $10-$40/hr
It’s all about the specialties when it comes to profile companies and you are going to have a hard time standing out without one, unless your rates are very low/
Teachers set their own rates on these sites so the minimum tends to be a bit higher than the minimum for online schools. As we mentioned earlier, if you do choose to create a profile on these sites, it’s better to start low and slowly increase your prices as you gain reviews and students.
Work for Yourself: $25-$50/hr
Obviously, the sky’s the limit when you work for yourself, but most rates we say fell within the $25-$50/hr range. Smart teachers should offer discounts for multiple lessons and even multiple students.
Selling Your Own Courses: $40-$100/course
The setup is a little different here because you are selling courses, or classes, as opposed to hours. I’ve seen courses sell from $40/ea like in the above example to $100 each for a teacher with an established following and proven track record.
While courses take a lot of work, the payouts can be great because you can theoretically sell that course forever!
How to Make More Money with Your Teach English Online Salary
If you’re looking to really step up your online teaching game there are some really easy ways to double or even triple your earning potential:
Teach for More than One Company or Profile Site
The great thing about online education is that it’s global – you are able to reach students from all over the world at any given time of day. Those of you looking to increase your teach English online salary can use this to teach one group of students in the morning and another in the afternoon or evening. For example, you might wake up and teach foreign students enrolled in US universities and still be able to reach other students in Asia later in the day. It makes for a long workday but can pay off quite handsomely.
Have a Specialty or Niche
Being able to offer more than just oral English will put you ahead of the competition when it comes to teaching online. If you can offer students specialized instruction you will be able to charge a premium for your lessons.
All these test prep options above allow this teacher to charge nearly $30/hr!
Offer Discounts or Trials
Before you bemoan the thought of giving something away for free or at a discount, let me reassure you that it can be a very smart business decision, especially long term.
Most people prefer to try things before they buy them and students are no exception, you can easily stand out from your peers if you are willing to offer a trial lesson or a discount for multiple students or multiple classes. Your willingness to do this will not only demonstrate confidence in your abilities but also help to lock in a bigger payment from students if they buy in bulk.
Wrapping Up
It should be easy to see that there is not universal teach English online salary thanks to the diverse amount of jobs and specialities. When just starting out teachers should focus on gaining experience at a fair pay before attempting to seek out higher paying or niche positions.
However, once you have experience and/or students, try experimenting with higher prices for tailored lessons and discounts for bigger classes in order to up your earning potential.
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