Getting enough hours when teaching online

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neocarbunkle

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Joined
Oct 27, 2015
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English Teacher
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American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Hi everyone,

About a month ago I decided to start teaching English online. There are a lot of companies out there so I did a lot of searching on which one I should join. I ended up picking a Japanese based company that pays well above average. The problem is I am just not getting enough hours to justify doing this kind of work. I know it takes time to get enough regular students to have a consistent schedule, but it is going really slow.

So my question is to anyone else teaching English online, are you getting enough hours? How long did it take you to get a schedule that you like? Are there any companies that might pay less but have enough students to let you teach full time?

Thanks
 

emsr2d2

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Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
For the time being, why don't you just try to drum up business for yourself? When I worked in Spain, I got only 8 hours work a week from the academy is worked for. I had to find all my other students myself. I advertised online, on library noticeboards, I dropped my business cards in bars and cafes and I relied on word-of-mouth. Your member profile shows that you are based in the United States. If you're teaching online, you can easily teach anyone anywhere in the world. I would start searching for the most popular job/social websites in each major city of any country you're interested in teaching in (that could be every country in existence, of course!) and post an ad offering your online services.
 

davefranco

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Joined
Oct 23, 2015
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Hindi
Home Country
India
Current Location
India
Find a teaching platform that works for you. You could create a course on your own domain and market to attract your own students. You can create accounts on multiple online tutoring portals to get enough hours when teaching online.
 
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Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
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Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
It can take time as you have to get known on the site. I agree that registering with others would make sense.
 
J

J&K Tutoring

Guest
I think you over-expect. I can't guess the number of people who think this can be a way to have fun and earn a little money in their spare time, but it must be a very large number. It sounds like you want to earn a living full time.

It's like contractors trying to compete with firemen. Firemen already have a job that pays a living wage, so anything they do on the side is extra money for them- they don't need to charge a living rate for their work, and people want to 'support' the firefighters.

I tried teaching on-line with a company where I set my own rate. I found I spent almost as much time preparing (setting the appointments, getting materials ready, getting myself ready, etc.) as I spent in contact with students. No-shows, late shows, haggling over the price/payment, students with bad equipment, etc. turned me away from on-line teaching.

I happen to live in a place where I can attract students for face-to-face lessons, and that has worked out well, but that may not be a good option for you.
 

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
In our links database, sites offering private lessons by Skype are constantly closing- it seems to be an area where the bigger sites dominate.
 
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