Is online teaching worth trying

[taiwanatoa]

Which company is a good one?

I'm afraid the wifi in my building might be too slow. Can you use Skype?

[attrayant]

I can't help you with selecting companies because I don't know their names, but I once sat next to an expat friend who does this and watched him do a 25 minute lesson.  It was very easy.  The student reads a bit, while the tutor listens and stops the student periodically to make corrections.  At the end of each page, the tutor reads the same selection back to the student.  That was it. 

 

The reading material is supplied either by the company or the student, so he did not need to provide anything other than a reliable internet connection.  He says the company has their own proprietary software but he prefers to use Skype, and that is what he used while I was watching.  You don't need an especially wide internet connection (5-10 Mbps will do), but you will need a fast one (low delay) if you want to have video going both ways.  He says his students often participate via wireless devices like iPads, which slows down the connection a bit so he tells the student to turn off their video during the call.  I'm not sure how slow it would seem if both you and the student are on WiFi.  Maybe you have a friend in the target country you could call to see how good the WiFi-to-WiFi connection is?

 

The guy says he gets $4 USD per 25 minute lesson, which works out to about 250B per hour or 40K per month if you can book an 8 hour day and work 20 days per month.  That's decent money considering how easy the work is.  If a student cancels without at least a few hours of advance notice, he still gets paid.  I saw his schedule and he opens up lots of slots but not all of them get booked, so it depends on how popular you are.

 

I know the guy on facebook and can ping him with additional questions if you have any.

[bkkgriz]

I work for VIPKID and it is a very good gig. All the materials are prepared for you on their platform. You will need a very solid internet connection though. If you have any questions, PM me. I've worked for this company for two years and I really enjoy it. Most of the students are fantastic.

[puukao]

2 hours ago, bkkgriz said:

I work for VIPKID and it is a very good gig. All the materials are prepared for you on their platform. You will need a very solid internet connection though. If you have any questions, PM me. I've worked for this company for two years and I really enjoy it. Most of the students are fantastic.

I am curious how you get a "very solid internet connection."  I should go buy some equipment first?  I can do a hotspot of 10 gigs but I'm sure it's not enough.   Or maybe I get a contract and rent their equipment.....not sure, thanks.  

[connda]

So - down to brass tacks my friends.  What's the compensation.  Be really specific - how much money do you make in order to make online teaching worthwhile.  How are you paid?  Or should I say, how much is a Native English Speaker with extensive teaching experience paid.  Per session.  Per day, week, month.  Class size?  Equipment needed.  What are the pros of working for these organizations / what are the cons.  Be real.  And $4 for 25 minutes <laughs>.  I can only imagine what the company is making off your sweat labor - really!

You can get a fiber connections out in the rural sticks nowadays, so connectivity should not be a problem on your end although it may be on your student's end. 

Edited April 1, 2019 by connda

[taiwanatoa]

I am curious how you get a "very solid internet connection."  I should go buy some equipment first?  I can do a hotspot of 10 gigs but I'm sure it's not enough.   Or maybe I get a contract and rent their equipment.....not sure, thanks.  

My building only has wifi. I tried to have AIS or True installed in my room and they said it cannot be done.

[flbkk]

I’m retirement age,nurse and college teacher before. VIPkid and most Chinese schools work with very young kids. It looks like pay is between $10-25/hour. They prefer white, young Americans and Canadians, but others can apply. I wanted to teach adults so I was accepted to Cambly, Preply and PalFish Freetalk. PalFish has schedules classes, Cambly you just log in, PalFish spontaneous lessons or a schedule are possible. I make $10 maximum per hour, but I enjoy the work. I hope to get more great ratings on PalFish and start my own school.

[attrayant]

2 hours ago, puukao said:

I am curious how you get a "very solid internet connection."  I should go buy some equipment first?  I can do a hotspot of 10 gigs but I'm sure it's not enough.   Or maybe I get a contract and rent their equipment.....not sure, thanks.  

 

It's not the port speed that matters in a video call, it's the latency between you and the other side.  A 50 Mbps internet connection is worthless if there is 500 milliseconds of latency in the call route.  There is nothing you can do about this.  Sometimes it's good and sometimes bad.  I've made a few calls to friends in Beijing and the path always seems to route through Singapore, which is sometimes a chokepoint.

 

 

2 hours ago, connda said:

What's the compensation.  [snip] How are you paid?  Or should I say, how much is a Native English Speaker with extensive teaching experience paid.  Per session.  Per day, week, month.  Class size?  Equipment needed.  What are the pros of working for these organizations / what are the cons.  Be real.  And $4 for 25 minutes <laughs>.  I can only imagine what the company is making off your sweat labor - really!

 

What's with the district attorney-style questioning?  People have already offered this information.  Whether or not it's "worthwhile" is surely going to be a personal decision.

 

As for class size, my contact says it's one-on-one.  As for what the company is making, why does that matter?  Do you think anyone has ever turned down a job offer by saying "I don't want to work here because your company is too profitable"?

[bkkgriz]

5 hours ago, connda said:

So - down to brass tacks my friends.  What's the compensation.  Be really specific - how much money do you make in order to make online teaching worthwhile.  How are you paid?  Or should I say, how much is a Native English Speaker with extensive teaching experience paid.  Per session.  Per day, week, month.  Class size?  Equipment needed.  What are the pros of working for these organizations / what are the cons.  Be real.  And $4 for 25 minutes <laughs>.  I can only imagine what the company is making off your sweat labor - really!

You can get a fiber connections out in the rural sticks nowadays, so connectivity should not be a problem on your end although it may be on your student's end. 

I make $20/hour working with VIPKID. I set my own schedule. I can work as much or as little as I want. I am paid directly into my bank account in the US. Class size is one on one. You need a computer and preferably a headset with a microphone. The pros are the work is pretty easy and steady. I am always fully booked. The cons are you have to show up for the classes you schedule or you will get canned. I don't recommend this kind of work for people who have no motivation or can't keep commitments. Oh, also, you do have to plan a couple of weeks ahead. So if you want a night off, you had better keep that in mind. Anyway, I like the job and it has rewarded me quite well. 

[Happy Grumpy]

12 hours ago, attrayant said:

The guy says he gets $4 USD per 25 minute lesson, which works out to about 250B per hour or 40K per month

That's really low.

 

2 of my friends are doing it, they get around 750 baht an hour. They do around 25 hours a week though, and they're happy enough with their 80,000 baht a month without leaving their living room. 

 

Any of the packages available now would surely be enough. I think the lowest out there is around  30mps, and 100mps is around 700 baht per month. 

[taiwanatoa]

1 hour ago, Happy Grumpy said:

That's really low.

 

2 of my friends are doing it, they get around 750 baht an hour. They do around 25 hours a week though, and they're happy enough with their 80,000 baht a month without leaving their living room. 

 

Any of the packages available now would surely be enough. I think the lowest out there is around  30mps, and 100mps is around 700 baht per month. 

As I said, I tried to have AIS or TRUE installed in my room. AIS even sent  someone  to my Apartment building, and the woman at the front desk told us that it is not possible. We have to use the crappy wifi for 400 baht per month, 1st month was  800 

[taiwanatoa]

2 hours ago, bkkgriz said:

I make $20/hour working with VIPKID. I set my own schedule. I can work as much or as little as I want. I am paid directly into my bank account in the US. Class size is one on one. You need a computer and preferably a headset with a microphone. The pros are the work is pretty easy and steady. I am always fully booked. The cons are you have to show up for the classes you schedule or you will get canned. I don't recommend this kind of work for people who have no motivation or can't keep commitments. Oh, also, you do have to plan a couple of weeks ahead. So if you want a night off, you had better keep that in mind. Anyway, I like the job and it has rewarded me quite well. 

Are they only children ? Is it easy ? Do they  prepare the teaching material ?

Edited April 1, 2019 by taiwanatoa
forgot

[taiwanatoa]

11 hours ago, bkkgriz said:

I work for VIPKID and it is a very good gig. All the materials are prepared for you on their platform. You will need a very solid internet connection though. If you have any questions, PM me. I've worked for this company for two years and I really enjoy it. Most of the students are fantastic.

Oh, I see. Sorry !

[quandow]

Anyone here working for an outfit that doesn't require a Bachelors degree? I have years of experience teaching ESL in Thailand, I just never got around to turning a 2 year degree into a 4 year. Cheapest I could find was around $17k US, it wasn't cost effective.

[ThaiWai]

Have you posted this in Ajarn.com?

[bkkgriz]

8 hours ago, taiwanatoa said:

Are they only children ? Is it easy ? Do they  prepare the teaching material ?

Yes, only kids. You can kind of choose which age group you want to teach. I don't really enjoy teaching really young learner's, so I don't teach level one students. Yes, the material is all prepared. The curriculum is pretty good too.

[davidst01]

19 hours ago, Happy Grumpy said:

That's really low.

 

2 of my friends are doing it, they get around 750 baht an hour. They do around 25 hours a week though, and they're happy enough with their 80,000 baht a month without leaving their living room. 

 

Any of the packages available now would surely be enough. I think the lowest out there is around  30mps, and 100mps is around 700 baht per month. 

could you please ask them the name of the company they work through. thanks

[simon43]

I usually take home around 100,000 baht each month from teaching online.  I refuse to work for the "Be a clown" Chinese employers, with teacher rating systems by non-NES, fines, compulsory training programs etc etc! 

 

Instead, I work mostly directly with Chinese and Burmese parents and their young sons/daughters.  I teach English, Science (most of my lessons), Maths, French and Thai language (I studied Thai to MA level at Chula university yonks ago). I prepare all my own lesson material, based on freely-available curricula.  I teach - they learn - I get paid - no clowning about, no fines, no BS.

 

I also teach large classes (50 students) of primary age students in Chinese government schools, using their prepared lesson material. This is an easy and fun task in my morning time.

 

My hourly rate varies from $15 (for the government school lessons), up to $36.

 

I'm almost 60 years old and usually rejected by Thai schools for in-class teaching because I'm "too old to teach kids".  That is their loss, not mine ????

 

Update - a comment about the required internet speeds for online teaching.  Many of the big Chinese companies use their own in-house teaching applications.  As an ICT 'guru', I know that many of these apps are 'bloated', greedy with bandwidth and laptop resources.  You need a fast internet connection.

 

With all my lessons, I use Skype, Zoom or Webex (depending on which employer).  All these apps are light on bandwidth requirements.  I usually use a DTAC 4 MB/sec connection from my mobile phone and never have any problems maintaining a good video and audio connection.  I pay 700 baht per month for unlimited usage 4g connection...

 

Update #2:

A comment about latency - this can definitely be an issue, but is not a show-stopper.  When I teach the government school kids in the middle of nowhere in north China (they all wear thick coats, so it must be freezing), my latency is about 150 msec, but also with a 1.5 - 2 second delay in my signal (must be going via satellite). I can hear my own voice on the classroom loudspeaker some 2 seconds after I speak!  So I have to pace myself and not get confused between 'now' and 'then' at their end.

Edited April 2, 2019 by simon43

[taiwanatoa]

I know what you mean. I can't stand the thought of dealing with those idiots, and I speak Chinese pretty well after living in Taiwan for many years. But how do you do it by yourself? I already over 60 but look 50 ( honestly).

I didn't know about the 700 baht deal. With true or ais?

[simon43]

8 hours ago, taiwanatoa said:

I know what you mean. I can't stand the thought of dealing with those idiots, and I speak Chinese pretty well after living in Taiwan for many years. But how do you do it by yourself? I already over 60 but look 50 ( honestly).

I didn't know about the 700 baht deal. With true or ais?

To answer the second question first - I use DTAC as my main mobile connection.  They used to have a 10 MB/sec unlimited deal, but it seems unavailable this month.  Their 4 MB/sec offer seems fine.

 

I also have a True 4 MB/sec package as a back-up.  I think the unlimited usage price is about the same.

 

How do I do it by myself?  It's not totally alone.  I use a Chinese 'broker/liaison' guy in BKK who finds the students for me and pays me via Paypal each month.  I have no idea what commission he takes from the parents, and I'm not interested in that, so long as I get paid on time (which I do), and so long as the students/parents are happy (which they are!).

[taiwanatoa]

So you use your phone's internet? When I have used my phone 's hotspot thing for my laptop the phone gets extremely hot.

It's good that he pays you. Since I have never done this before, I would worry about not being paid.

[taiwanatoa]

That's really low.
 
2 of my friends are doing it, they get around 750 baht an hour. They do around 25 hours a week though, and they're happy enough with their 80,000 baht a month without leaving their living room. 
 
Any of the packages available now would surely be enough. I think the lowest out there is around  30mps, and 100mps is around 700 baht per month. 

Which company is it with?

[simon43]

1 hour ago, taiwanatoa said:

So you use your phone's internet? When I have used my phone 's hotspot thing for my laptop the phone gets extremely hot.

It's good that he pays you. Since I have never done this before, I would worry about not being paid.

I use the USB tether, not the hotspot. The phone seems 'happy'.  If I have a wifi or fixed line LAN connection that is faster than my 4g, then I'll use that.  I always try to have a back-up internet connection.

 

If people don't pay me on time, then I stop working immediately and leave the payer 'in the sh*ts' with the angry parents.... 

 

I always get paid on time by all of my employers ???? I work for 4 different online companies/B&M schools/brokers - none of them are the big companies that are heavily promoted on the FB group as 'great, wonderful, amazing, I love them...'

[taiwanatoa]

Sounds good. You really know what you're doing. I wish I knew how to do it. I am thinking of just going with Canby. It only pays 17 cents per minute but it looks like everything is very simple and convenient for someone like me who doesn't have any experience with online teaching.

[puukao]

Have we come to a consensus about which online teaching company is the best?

 

I want to try it, but hopefully I can start with a decent company.

 

thoughts?

[taiwanatoa]

Sounds good. You really know what you're doing. I wish I knew how to do it. I am thinking of just going with Canby. It only pays 17 cents per minute but it looks like everything is very simple and convenient for someone like me who doesn't have any experience with online teaching.

I mean Cambly.

[55Jay]

Also know a guy here who teaches on-line.  Didn't take long, quit his lower paying job at the brick and mortar school, online only now.  Another guy I know kept his day job at the school house and does online in the evenings, days off, etc.

[taiwanatoa]

AIS says 4g unlimited 7.5 is 400 baht. TRUE says there is no unlimited because speed decreases!
I don't understand what 7.5 unlimited means.

[simon43]

Actually, as I just found out, DTAC 4g unlimited is 650 baht/month for 4 MB/sec speed up to 20 GB usage, then it drops down to 128 KB/sec for the rest of the month.  You can top up another 20 GB for 650 baht.

 

In practice, my 20 GB lasts about 10 days for online teaching - it's still cheap at 650 x 3 baht/month for the freedom of teaching from my new rented house by the Mekong river.. ????

[simon43]

15 hours ago, taiwanatoa said:

AIS says 4g unlimited 7.5 is 400 baht. TRUE says there is no unlimited because speed decreases!
I don't understand what 7.5 unlimited means.

Maybe 7.5 GB usage, then speed drops down (see my previous post about DTAC).