Teaching English has always been a popular way to fund traveling. Teachers are always needed and in high demand in countries like China and Japan and as the middle class continues to grow in many developing countries, so does the demand for native English speaking teachers.
Like all industries, technology is disrupting education and this brings in a whole new realm of opportunity. Rather than teaching at a school for a year, now English teachers can work online and teach students from anywhere in the world. The best part about it is that it allows you to be completely location independent.
I started teaching English online to Chinese children two years ago with Dada when I was finishing my master’s degree in Prague. Although I never saw myself as much of a “kids” person or very bubbly and had absolutely no experience teaching kids, I quickly discovered that one on one teaching was actually quite a good fit for me. I have worked for a few different companies since then and have been lucky enough to have some truly wonderful students that I actually look forward to seeing every week. So far, I have taught from Czech Republic, Germany, Brazil, Mexico, Europe, Sri Lanka, India, Ukraine, Argentina, Thailand, and Hong Kong. All I need is stable internet, my laptop and some headphones and I am ready to go!
So how do you get started?
First off, join one of the Facebook groups for online English teachers. People are happy to share their experiences working for different companies and you may end up finding new companies that you hadn’t heard about.
Next, get your TEFL certificate! This is extremely important as the laws in China have recently changed and this is one of the requirements (along with a bachelor’s degree) to be able to teach Chinese students. You can get discounted prices on websites like Groupon for online TEFL certificates or you can do a full TEFL certification. This can get pretty costly though and unless you want to score a school placement abroad, it may not be necessary.
Then, start applying. The application process differs per company but most will expect you to give a demo class either to company staff members or actual students. I was lucky to do a demo class focusing on geography (one of my favorite subjects) to a very smart little girl when I got hired by Dada. For most people, giving a demo class that is meant for students to company employees is way more nerve-wracking than an actual student. Be prepared with some props that you will use in the class, chug some coffee to get the energy levels up and dive in!
