(this is, of course, debatable.)
I started teaching EFL online in early 2018. I have worked with VIPKid, SayABC, BOXFiSH, Whales English, and Palfish—some of them very briefly, others for longer. I work on Cambly, too. I applied to 51Talk but didn’t complete the application process because of reasons. I applied to Naativ but haven’t heard back about scheduling an interview, but that’s ok because they don’t actually exist at this point (December 2018), which you would not know by reading all the effusive praise being exuded by their teachers on facebook.
I’m not a stay at home mom, a bricks-and-mortar teacher, or a constantly travelling digital nomad type. I’m a middle aged female human who was looking for a safety net sort of job that I can do wherever I am and to some extent whenever I want. It’s not my calling, it’s not my long-term plan, but I enjoy it and it makes a lot of things possible that otherwise wouldn’t be possible. I’m transitioning between stuff along several axes, and while I’ll probably shift most of my attention to my real work within the next 12-18 months, I could totally see continuing to do this as a side hustle indefinitely.
I started this blog for a few reasons, none of which I’m particularly sure of. To vent, to share the experiences with other people who are currently doing this somewhere that is not the Hutong or facebook, to document it for my future amusement, to share information with people thinking about doing this but needing info…
There aren’t a ton of blogs that talk about this stuff yet, and those that do tend to have a few posts and that’s it. I’ve seen several travel/digital nomad blogs that have some posts about their experiences with various online English teaching companies, but the focus is mostly on the travel. I’ve seen a few work-from-home blogs or family blogs (or just proper personal blogs, which I love) that have a few posts about online English teaching, but that’s not the main focus. I’ve seen at least one website (not really a blog, though) that seems to be focused on getting referrals and helping them through the application process and starting out. Generally speaking I haven’t seen a blog that just babbles about the experience long-term and lets you tag along for the ride. Some youtube channels, but not so much with the blogs. As I find them, I’ll add them to the sidebar. Recommendations welcome!
I hope folks will find this and be interested in chatting as well as reading.
Diary of an Online EFL Teacher 