Online ESL Jobs: Companies to Apply For

I have been teaching ESL (English as a Second Language) online for almost two years now. I work for three companies and make a full-time income from what I do. Teaching online is a huge passion of mine. I love it because it’s flexible and fun and allows me to teach from wherever I am in the world. I’ve taught from my home in Mexico City, from my aunt and uncle’s place in Ontario, from a porch in Vermont and so many other places. It’s also super nice to be able to make my own schedule. These are just some of the benefits I’ve found from teaching online. I’ve compiled this list of online ESL schools that are almost always hiring by including the three companies I work for. I have also included some companies that I don’t work for and just did some research on. Not all of the pay rates were easy to find but I’ve included links to all the relevant information you need to apply to each company. So, without further ado, here are just a handful of some online ESL jobs and companies that are almost always hiring.
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Online ESL Jobs: VIPKid

VIPKid is one of the three companies I work for and I’ve got to say, it’s my favorite. The pay is the absolute best that I’ve found. With VIPKid you teach ESL to children in China. This means you work when Chinese students are home from school or on weekends so pay attention to the time difference. They pay up to $22 USD per hour which is one of the highest pay rates of any of these companies. Each class is 25 minutes long and the sessions are one-on-one meaning you teach one student at a time. All the class materials are prepared for you and you just go through an interactive slide show using props to teach your students.
VIPKid requires you to be legally eligible to work in either Canada or the USA. You also must have a Bachelor’s Degree and a TESOL or TEFL Certificate. VIPKid also prefers that you have one year of teaching experience (this experience doesn’t have to be in teaching English, it can be in teaching anything). To read more about the application process and how to get hired, check out this other article that I wrote. To apply right away, click here and be sure to use my referral code: APRIL0275 .
Cambly

Recently I also started working for Cambly. Cambly is quite different from VIPKid and SayABC because you tutor adults from all over the world. This means you don’t have to work around China’s hours. The pay is significantly less at just $0.17 USD per minute or $10.20 USD per hour of ‘talk time’. The reason the pay is lower is that your title is ‘Tutor’, not ‘Teacher’ which means YOU DO NOT NEED A BACHELOR’S DEGREE OR A TESOL CERTIFICATE to tutor with Cambly. You also don’t need previous teaching experience. With Cambly, the classes are mostly conversational and you plan your own materials. Cambly has a large library full of exercises that you can pull up to do with your students when you’re talking to them.
To find out more about tutoring with Cambly and how to apply, check out this article I wrote. To apply right away click here.
Cambly Kids
At the time of writing this article, Cambly Kids is currently not hiring but you can add yourself to the waitlist by following these instructions on the main Cambly website. With Cambly Kids you teach kids from all over the world so there’s no need to work around another country’s hours. The materials are pre-prepared for you and you just teach what’s on the slides.
To find out more about tutoring with Cambly Kids check out this article I wrote about tutoring with Cambly. To apply right away apply to the waitlist here.
iTalki
With iTalki you can apply as either a Tutor or a Professional Teacher. To be a Tutor you don’t need a degree or TESOL Certificate but to apply to be a Professional Teacher you need a Bachelor’s Degree, a TESOL Certificate or an equal amount of certificates and experiences. With iTalki you teach adults from all over the world. You prepare your own materials and you can even set your own hourly rate! Obviously, Professional Teachers are able to set a higher rate than Tutors, so it’s a good idea to at least get a TESOL Certificate before applying. The cool thing about iTalki is that you can also teach other languages aside from English. So if you’re also fluent in Spanish or French or another language, you can teach that as well. To find out more and apply to iTalki click here.
Outschool
Outschool is quite different from the other options listed here because it’s not just for teaching ESL or even other languages. On Outschool’s platform, you can teach any subject that you want. It’s like having your own business in that you are the main one responsible for marketing yourself to students, although Outschool does take a cut of your pay to help create Facebook ads for you. I’ve taught a few ESL classes on Outschool and I’ve seen everything from math to yoga to coding classes offered there. You can apply to teach on Outschool here.
Other Posts You Might Like:
- Become a Cambly Tutor: How to Get a Job Tutoring ESL Online
- Honest Pros & Cons of Teaching ESL Online
- Get Hired to Teach ESL Online with VIPKid and Work from Wherever
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