Are you a teacher looking to teach online? Perhaps you want to capitalize on your real world skills and experience (with or without having formal teaching credentials), make a side income, or travel the world while working.
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Outschool for Teachers
The popularity of online education and homeschooling has jumped to levels never seen before –due to the pandemic, but also because the pandemic allowed parents to see what their kids are being taught and they didn’t like what they saw. Garbage in, garbage out.
As a result, parents are turning to Outschool and other platforms to curate the education their kids receive.
Online teaching could be an incredibly lucrative option for you, many online teachers take home over $10k/month. If you’re living abroad like I am, where the cost of living is much cheaper –you could save money and get ahead at a rapid rate.
But getting students, setting up your own business, and taking classes (especially when not many people know about you) can be incredibly tough. That’s when online marketplaces like Outschool save the day.
Start Teaching on OutschoolWhat is Outschool?
Outschool is an online teaching marketplace headquartered in the US. Started in 2015, Outschool has built a base of 1M learners and over 10,000 teachers on its platform. The platform allows teachers to design and manage virtual classrooms, set prices, and interact with students in real time through video chats.
Credentials Optional
Teachers enjoy the perks of independence by teaching on Outschool even if they don’t have standard teaching credentials –and their online teaching portal is easy enough to set up that teachers don’t have to be the most tech savvy, either.
Not every subject requires standard teaching credentials, and depending on what you’re teaching, your real world experience with a subject could be a bigger asset to prospective students.
This allows passionate teachers to share their knowledge on one of the largest professional teaching platforms on the internet.
Teachers can teach anything from maths, science, and English to media literacy –even unusual one-of-a-kind classes that you can dream up as long as it meets the needs of kids of age between 3 and 18.
How Much Do Outschool Teachers Make?
In my personal experience I’ve found that the pay structure on Skillshare and Udemy has been dismal for online teachers.
The accounting of Skillshare is questionable, and Udemy randomly gives your courses away to new students at extreme discounts without consideration of your hard work –you have no choice in the matter.
Outschool shines bright because they’re more professional and don’t nickel and dime teachers. You set the price, you are in control of your income without surprises.
Outschool’s fee for teachers is 30% with no additional fees; well worth the price because they market your courses for you, they keep everything running reliably, and they have an established audience and reputation.
How much you earn is up to you –how much time could you commit?
Simply put, you charge students by the session (ie. 40 minutes per class, if you choose). If you charge $14 per session and have 7 students, that’s $98 for 40 minutes.
One course could be 8 sessions (or more, or less) so that’s $784 for one course. Drilling that down, time wise –that’s $784 for 5.3 hours of being live with your students.
Of course, there are also off-session tasks like email correspondence, grading assignments, developing your courseware, et al. But you can streamline that work and still take home a handsome payday.
Start Teaching on Outschool“Earning potential has no ceiling on the platform. Teachers on the platform can work as little or as much as they want and make anywhere from $1,000 a month to 10,000 a month depending on how much they want to work and what kind of content they provide.” – Source
Why is Outschool Unique?
From the flexibility of scheduling your classes to deciding when, how, and what you want to teach. Here is a comprehensive list of benefits of training at Outschool:
1. Complete flexibility over your schedule
Whether you’re a work-from-home mom or enjoy the freedom of being an independent teacher, Outschool has got your back.
You can select the date, time, and duration of each class you want to host. You can even determine how many students you want in each batch.
If there are times when you want to reschedule the class, you can –although you may need to refund some parents if their schedules don’t line up.
Outschool vs VIPKid: Unlike other online learning platforms like VIPKid, which penalize you for not taking the scheduled classes and can revoke your account, Outschool allows you complete autonomy over your schedule.
2. No formal teaching credentials required
Outschool accepts applications from professional teachers and those with no formal teaching credentials. This makes it fun for teachers and parents looking for informal training for their kids.
However, a few essential requirements are passing the criminal background check, ID verification, and following the teacher code of conduct.
3. Complete control over the curriculum
Any experienced individual would know the best about the topic. Outschool realizes this and allows teachers to set their own curriculum. So you can include all the topics of your choice, decide the flow of teaching, and customize your teaching experience.
4. Training and resources
Online teaching can be cumbersome if you aren’t tech-savvy. With OutSchool’s training and resource hub, you can find all learning materials in one place. This helps you get acquainted with teaching online and providing the best experience to students.
5. High earning potential
Finally, being an independent teacher, you can set your class price. While Outschool takes a commission (discussed below), you’re free to place your prices based on your level of education.
The idea is to start low and raise your rates as you build reputation, reviews, get more students enrolled, and publish more classes.
Outschool Pros and Cons
Let’s do another flyover and look at the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Pros of OutSchool
- You get global exposure to an established student base
- Parents love and trust it
- You can teach anything; whether that’s academic or not which means it’s a great way to monetize your passion
- Being a platform that caters to only students from 3 to 18 age groups, you get a niche and highly-engaged set audience for your classes
- Complete autonomy over your schedule, which is ideal for working moms and avid travelers
- No penalty for rescheduling or canceling classes
- You can regulate your class size and build deeper relationships with your students and their parents
- You can set your rates and pay a cut of 30% to Outschool without committing to pay a certain amount
- You get a classroom full of diverse groups, which allows you global exposure
Cons of OutSchool
- Only teachers from the USA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, England, and Wales can apply to become teachers at Outschool, although there’s no restriction to student geography
- A commission deduction of 30% may seem high but the benefits like marketing, promotion, access to an engaged student base, and more definitely outweigh it
- There’s no fixed schedule, but again, you can work on your own time
Conclusion
Outschool has earned an impressive reputation on trusted reviews platforms. With a rating of 4.5 out of 5 on Glassdoor and an even higher rating of 4.6 on Trustpilot, it is evident that the platform has earned the trust and satisfaction of its users.
Outschool is a highly appraised platform loved by kids and their parents. Even their software engineers employed directly by Outschool think it’s the best place they’ve ever worked.
All in all, OutSchool is an incredible platform where there are minimal restrictions and a high amount of benefits for independent teachers.
Don’t put it off –sign up for OutSchool today and explore the independence of making a living doing what you love!
Whether you’re living in a van, an apartment in the city, or a suitcase in Bali; Outschool is for everyone that wants to teach.
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