How To Start Teaching Online
If you love teaching but also love your pajamas, teaching online could be perfect for you! But even for experienced teachers, figuring out how to start teaching online can feel overwhelming. So let’s break it down.
Many teachers got a taste of what it was like to teach from home during the COVID pandemic. If you never want to go back to in-person learning, or just want to add more flexible work options to your life, consider looking into online teaching jobs. Teaching online let's you teach in your pajamas, then seamlessly head back into your home life.
What is Online Teaching?
There are a variety of ways you can work as an online teacher. Are you interested in K-12 online teaching jobs, online tutoring jobs or other opportunities? No matter what your interests, the first step toward learning how to start teaching online is to explore your options.
You can teach large or small groups on an ongoing or one-off basis. This can be done through an organization such as VIPKid, Homeschool Coaches, or Outschool. Or you can create your own virtual classes that you lead on a platform such as Zoom and market independently.
You can find full-time online teaching jobs from home, but there are lots more flexible part-time online teaching jobs, too.
Usually, online teaching doesn’t require you to teach an entire class for multiple hours at a time. Instead, you may teach an hour-long class to an individual or small group of students. You can choose how many classes you teach, when you teach them, and how many students you will take on. Hello, flexibility!
How to Start Teaching Online: Job Opportunities
If the flexibility of working online teaching jobs at home sounds like a good fit for you, then it’s time to start exploring some of the job options available.
Teach English Online
When people think of online teaching, many of them think of sites that focus on teaching English to students overseas. Luckily, learning how to start teaching English online is simple. There are tons of sites that follow this model, giving you curriculum to teach and access to students.
When you are approved to teach English from home on the platform, you can open up your schedule and families can book your time. If you are interested in teaching English and want to be part of a bigger company, definitely consider looking into sites like VIPKid, Magic Ears, and Dada.
Teach Homeschool Online
If you’re exploring how to start teaching online and would prefer to work with homeschoolers, there are many homeschooling families looking for guidance and assistance from experienced teachers. Homeschool Coaches is a company that connects homeschooling families with educators looking for homeschool teacher jobs online.
You can also sign up to develop your own engaging classes for homeschooling or traditional-schooling families through a site like Outschool or AdLife. When you create your own classes, they can be around any topic and can be either one-off or ongoing. Teaching on these platforms can be a wonderful way to add more autonomy and creativity to your teaching.
Explore Online Tutoring Jobs
Prefer to work one-on-one in specific subject areas? Consider being an online tutor. There are many opportunities for full- or part-time online tutoring jobs at home through tutoring companies. (There are so many out there, both virtual and location-specific centers, many who also have virtual options.) But you can also venture into online tutoring on your own.
If you’re exploring how to start teaching online — or tutoring online — starting your own business can offer ultimate flexibility. Do you have former students or other youth in your life who would benefit from tutoring? Reach out to their families to offer your services.
Decide if you will offer more generalized help for a variety of grades/subject areas or more specialized services. For example, you may want to focus on teaching reading or leading online arts classes. If you really enjoy a particular subject/grade level, it is more than okay to keep your focus there.
Getting Started with Online Teaching Jobs
Feeling uncertain about trying something new? Exploring how to start teaching online can seem unknown, but instead of focusing on the differences between online teaching and classroom teaching, think about all the experience you’ve gained doing similar work before.
When you try a new way of working, it’s normal to feel a little uneasy. Take a deep breath and embrace all the skills you’ve developed as a teacher. Practice identifying and articulating your marketable teacher skills, then dive into the flexible world of online teaching!
If you want a little extra support along your journey to becoming an online teacher, then be sure to check out our resources for teacher career coaching. From our Beyond the Classroom course to individual coaching, we are committed to helping you stay in education while building a more flexible, balanced life.