How to earn money by teaching online and Where to Get Started

Even before the global pandemic, the trend of online teaching was becoming more popular. The global market is supposed to reach $325 billion by 2025 from so much demand for online teachers. 

That means right now is an excellent time to learn how to teach online, offer tutoring services remotely, or create a course from which people can learn a new skill. You do not have to be an expert in a specific field. Even a tiny passion can be something people are willing to pay to learn. 

Here are some excellent tips about building an online teaching career and earning a living.

What is Online Teaching?

Online teaching is moving the classroom to the internet and digital communication. It is offering a flexible space where students can learn at their own pace. This could be through pre-recorded videos you create. You can also offer in-person instruction using Zoom or some other digital communication tool. 

Many online platforms do not need you to have a certificate or degree to teach online. If you have something you are passionate about, you can teach about the subject. There are plenty of people who teach things like cooking, gardening, and even computer programming that are self-taught.

Online Teaching is a Job with Many Perks

For one thing, teaching gives people the opportunity to offer their knowledge and expertise to others. And in doing so, you’ll likely be giving someone else the tools they need to succeed in work or life. You might even play an integral role in helping students realize their potential abilities.

This all adds up to a job that’s rewarding for most people who choose to pursue it. As you help others improve their skillsets and learn new things, you’ll also feel like you’ve accomplished something worthwhile.

Teaching takes time and patience. You’re teaching other people, which means you have to be patient with them. That is sometimes easier said than done. It’s important not to get irritated if your students are struggling, as long as they’re trying.

It also means being patient with yourself. Every teacher makes mistakes at some point. The important thing is that you learn from those mistakes and try not to repeat them next time around. This will help you grow and become a better teacher for your future students!

Teaching Online Provides a Comfortable Work Environment

The best part about teaching online is that you can do it from home. You don’t have to wear a suit and tie or dress up every day. You don’t have to commute to a classroom or deal with students in person.

You can teach from anywhere in the world as long as you have a computer, internet access, and somewhere for your students to meet.

You can even wear sweatpants and flip-flops if you want. You need to create a space where your subject can be understood, and your students feel they are receiving answers to their questions.

How to Start Teaching Online

The first thing you need to do is figure out whether you have the right equipment for teaching online. To be an online teacher, you’ll need:

• A reliable and fast internet connection with a speed of at least 10 Mbps (Megabits per second)
• A functional webcam that can record video in high quality
• A functional microphone that can record audio in high quality
• A quiet place to teach from without distractions or background noise

Finally, you will need a platform. You can create YouTube videos and rely on ad sales for profit. Or you can sign up for an official online academy and work as a teacher. Some people elect to create a course people pay for as they learn on their own.

Good examples of online learning platforms you can teach from include:

• Lrnkey
• CoursearaUdemy
• Skillshare
• MasterClass
• EdX
• Udacity
• Pluralsight

Next, you will need to create a profile on these platforms. You can showcase your teaching background, degrees, certifications, or any other relevant skills.  

Some look for specific online teaching jobs through an institution. This can be done by finding the website of the school, college, or organization. You can also try these platforms:

• VIPKID
• DaDa
• Instructional Connections
• K12
• American Public University System

What are the Benefits of Teaching Online

Assuming you’re a reputable teacher and you treat all your students with respect, there are tons of advantages to teaching online. 

Once you have established yourself as an online educator, you can:

• Set your own hours. The flexibility of being able to teach when and where is one of the greatest aspects of being an online tutor.
• Work from anywhere in the world. Teaching online means that all you need is a laptop or computer with an internet connection. You could be in your home office, at a coffee shop, or even on the beach in Thailand!
• Make your own schedule by balancing out when you want to work and when you want to play (or sleep). You may decide that waking up early every day is best for you, so that allows more time for yourself in the evening.

How Can You Make Money from Teaching Online

Online teaching is an excellent way to earn extra income, but it can also be a full-time career. There are many different ways to earn money by teaching. Here are a few:

One-on-one tutoring

As long as you have expertise in a certain subject or area (math, music, etc.), you can offer one-on-one tutoring. This helps students who may be struggling in those areas.

You may even want to create your own website that promotes your services. This allows students or parents to book lessons with you through the site.

Group classes

Some platforms allow teachers to hold group classes where they allow up to 4 or 6 students at a time. Group classes usually cost less than private lessons because they allow more students in each class.

As the teacher, you will be able to see all the students’ faces and engage with them as if they were right next to you!

 Online courses

 The best thing about online courses is that they don’t need as much preparation as private lessons do. You can make extra money without having to put much effort into it. Сreating your own online course is easy with services like Kajabi or Thinkific. SendPulse EDU, for instance, let’s you create your course as well as market it using a variety of channels.

 There are different types of online teaching jobs available. They depend on your background, subject, and students. Some of these include:

• College level
• K-12 online educators
• Adult Education
• Language-Specific Tutors
• Online Tutors
• Course Development Experts
• Instructional Aids
• Subject Matter Experts
• Nutrition online courses

How Much Money Can You Make Teaching Online?

This is going to depend a lot on what you are teaching and the type of platform you are using. For example, the national average for an online teaching job in the United States is $21.71 an hour.

However, more in-demand parts of the nation will pay more, especially if you have previous experience. The average annual salary for an online teaching job in California is over $57,000.

An online tutor is different. You make money based on the time spent with your student. Most online tutors make anywhere from $20-$60 per hour. You can expect to make more if you are tutoring a challenging subject like Calculus to an entry-level subject like basic arithmetic.

Creating an online course and then selling it on a platform or your private website has the most risk and reward. Depending on how popular your subject is with consumers, you can earn anywhere from $500-$500,000 per year.

For example, Udemy, one of the learning platforms we suggested, had First Quarter 2022 earnings of over $152 million. That is all from people signing up for the many courses offered on their platform.

How Your Experience & Knowledge Helps Your Teaching

While you may feel like you aren’t qualified to teach due to a lack of teaching experience, don’t let that discourage you. You can become an online teacher by drawing from your personal experiences and interests.

You can’t teach what you don’t know, but teaching is not about your knowledge. Teaching is about transferring what you know to your students in a way that they understand. You need to explain concepts so they are clearly understood. So it isn’t something that requires formal training or years of practice.

The most important thing is understanding your student and how they learn best, whether it be through interactive discussions or by seeing examples of how to do things on the screen in front of them. Know who your student is and provide the type of instruction that will help them succeed with their learning goals.

In fact, being interested in learning new things translates into being an effective teacher. The best teachers are life-long learners. These are the people who are still trying to figure out all this stuff for themselves. They help others by letting them benefit from their experience – even if it is one other person at a time!

Get Started Today!

Schools are struggling to fill in the gaps of teachers choosing to retire or move to other careers. That means the demand for online teaching is only expected to grow.

Right now is the best time to start a career in online teaching, as an online tutor, or to develop your own course to sell. Students have already adjusted to online learning platforms because of the pandemic. This makes the transition easy.

You can earn a good living working from anywhere in the world and improving the lives of your students all through online teaching.