How it Started vs How it’s Going

I had my first paying job at 12, it was at the local recreation center.  After a month, I felt like I had enough work experience to apply for a “real job.”  I didn’t.  Nobody wanted to hire a twelve year old.  Two years later, I had what I considered a “real job” at Cinnabon.  I considered it a real job because I could work more than five hours/week.  But, there were still limitations to how many hours I could work, so I applied for a second job.  While I was in high school, I always had two jobs and a side hustle (my very first side hustle was doing other people’s homework…).

 I never stayed at in one position for more than two years, so as my four year anniversary creeped up on Outschool, I will say that I am pleased with myself.  Over the last 15 years, I have worked for multiple platforms, had private online students (in Brazil and Korea), started an online homeschool, and switched from an independent teacher on Outschool to an organization.

One thing I always tell new online teachers is to not put all their eggs in one basket.  This simply means, make sure you have alternative sources of income if you only plan on teaching on these platforms.  Even though we are independent contractors on these platforms, their policies can change at any given time.  There may be policies that you don’t agree with or policies that impact your current class structure.  It is really important to stay updated about any changes because it can affect your income. (Example: The new Chinese mandates about American teachers has impacted several ESL platforms – VipKid, GoGoKid, Magic Ears… Or the current changes on Outschool related to website usage).

If you see my listings from November 2017 to the present day, it has changed.  I removed all my Black history courses from Outschool as I didn’t like the direction they were going with their approval process.  This was a course I was already offering on my website and I needed full autonomy in the way that I taught this course.  While I am in the process of doing an overhaul on my website (currently removed my classes and homeschool products), I intend on bringing it back along with my book club classes that I also won’t offer on Outschool.  Having my classes on multiple sites allows me to determine which types of classes I want to offer and sometimes I have to adjust them to fit within the guidelines of that particular platform. 

Simply put, keep your options open and read through policies to determine if they match your values and what you want to teach.

If you’re ready to start teaching online, check out these options below to help get you started.