Teaching English Online Without A Degree

Do you want to know more about teaching English online without a degree?

Perhaps you are still a student and want to earn extra cash, or maybe life got in the way and you didn’t get the chance to get a degree. It could also be likely that you couldn’t afford to get a degree due to the ridiculous costs and student loan debt.

Either way, now you want to teach English online and every online school states their minimum requirements are, for a teacher to have a degree.

Don’t worry, I am here to help.

I plonked myself down after work, drank lots of coffee and after hours of research I found a list of 29 online English teaching jobs that allow you to teach English online without a degree.

Related Posts on Becoming An Online Teacher:

• How To Teach English Online With NO EXPERIENCE

DISCLAIMER

1.  Any schools I recommend and their rates, are as I know them, when I write this post.

Nevertheless, things do change, so if the school is no longer hiring, or the hiring rates have changed, please don’t send me a long angry email telling me I am giving out incorrect information ( yes, this happens unfortunately! ), send me a polite note and I will update it as soon as I can.

2– I am not a recruiter and I DO NOT earn anything if you click on any of my links to the online schools. I am providing this information on the schools based on personal experience, research on forums and by speaking to various teachers in those online schools.

You are welcome to choose any school that suits your circumstances as I DO NOT earn any money from online school referral links.

3- However, there may be links to products and services recommended on here that are affiliate links and I may earn if you click on them, AT NO EXTRA cost to you. Hope you find the information here useful! Thanks.

DISCLOSURE: THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS, MEANING I GET A COMMISSION IF YOU DECIDE TO MAKE A PURCHASE THROUGH MY LINKS, AT NO COST TO YOU. 

PHEW! Needed to clear that up, no where were we?

Recent market update for teaching online without a degree:

The online English teaching market in China used to be WILD. It was a free for all. You could teach English online without a degree and no one cared, as long as you were a native speaker.

Then China’s Ministry of Education decided it wasn’t about that cowboy life and clamped down on online teaching platforms.

So now, any online schools based in China require their teachers to have at least a 120-hour TEFL qualification AND a BA degree.

Naturally, this meant the list of schools shrunk and everyone panicked.

However, I had a look at various companies and a few online teaching schools in China are still hiring teachers without a degree. And there are still MANY online English schools OUTSIDE China hiring online English teachers without a degree.

Either way, I’m going to list the ones that are hiring now and if they are hiring and want to pay you … go for it! But keep your options open and have a backup plan for the Chinese schools 🙂

I have created a list of Chinese and non-Chinese online schools that will allow you to teach English online without a degree.

Requirements for teaching English online without a degree

Teaching English online is a relatively easy industry to get into, but like any job, it has basic requirements you need to meet.

1. Speak clearly
2. Have a Teaching English as a Foreign Language ‘TEFL’ certificate
3. Have a headset and a laptop
4. Good WIFI
5. Teaching experience

 

1-Speak clearly

 

If you are teaching a language, the student needs to understand you. So, speak slowly and clearly, it’s your job as a teacher to be understood.

Ps; If you spit when you speak, the student can tell. Sort it out.

2- A Teaching English as a Foreign Language ‘TEFL’ certificate

This is NON-NEGOTIABLE. If you don’t have a degree, the ONLY way a school is going to overlook it and hire you is if you have some form of qualification.

The good news is, you can get one quick and cheap. Waaaayyy cheaper than getting a degree.

There is a 120hour online course ran by Let’s TEFL which focuses specifically on online teaching and has specific training to ensure your application, resumes, introduction videos for online English recruiters is done right.

The great thing about this TEFL compared to other providers, is it specializes in preparing you to teach online. It also prepares you to teach English as a second language.

By the end of the 120-hour TELF certificate, you will have a strong grasp of the online teaching industry, online teaching jobs, how to motivate your students in an online classroom and how to prepare your lesson plans.

As far as i’m aware, Let’s TEFL are the only course available online now which comes with a whole extra video module with specific training for teaching online – presented by an actual teacher. They are also endorsed by DaDa and iTutorGroup as one of their recommended courses. (Both are two HUGE online schools)

You can also see a preview of a module lesson here.

You must get a TEFL if you want to begin teaching English online without a degree

 

3.A headset and a laptop

If you want to teach English online and get paid, most schools require you to teach over a computer/laptop but some let you download an app on your phone. A headset is nice to have, but I just use my Apple headphones.

4. Good WIFI

I think this is self-explanatory, as you are teaching students online, so your WIFI needs to have a good enough connection to make that happen.

Ps; Using your Personal Hotspot from your phone wifi just won’t cut it, I tried.

5.Teaching experience

This will help a lot, especially if you don’t have a degree.

But what if you don’t have any teaching experience?

Then get some! Teach friends, foreign relatives, volunteer to teach, it all counts as experience.

Teaching your foreign cousin twice a week over the kitchen table, eating cupcakes, totally counts as:  ‘created  structured lesson plans and coached foreign students over 6 months to ensure they met their learning goals’

It’s all about how you spin it!

I volunteered to teach a few hours a week at a women’s shelter for asylum seekers after work and used that as my experience when I applied for jobs.

Related Articles on Online English Teacher Jobs: 

• How To Teach English Online To Korean Students 
• Online English Teaching Jobs For Non Native Speakers In Japan

Teaching English Online Without A Degree

Non-Chinese Online Schools

 

1.Cambly

Pay: $10.20 per hour, paid every Monday

Hours: Flexible, whenever you want

Cambly is great if you want to teach English online without a degree!

I started my online teaching career with Cambly. It has a platform that connects you with students from all around the world.

Most of the students are adults who just want someone to practice their English conversational skills.

It is easy to stand out here as many teachers upload unprofessional profiles, so if you get accepted, you are on to a winner!

Bonus- If you get good ratings you will be eligible for ‘Priority Hours’, which means you are guaranteed payment for a set time, regardless if the student turns up or not.

2. SkimaTalk

Pay: Set your own rate but SkimaTalk takes 20% of your hourly rate, paid once a month

Hours: Flexible, whenever you want

SkimaTalk is also perfect for teachers who want to get into teaching English online without a degree

They look for native English speakers with American, British, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, Irish or English accents. Prior experience is not required but is preferred and you will be teaching adults.

3. Lingoda

Pay: €7 – €11 per hour ($7.85 – $12.34 per hour).

Hours- Flexible, whenever you want

Lingoda allows teachers to teach English, Spanish, German and French. This means you don’t necessarily need to teach just English!

All lesson materials are provided and there are 1-5 students per class.

Note – You need to have at least 2 years of teaching experience and be a native speaker of the language you want to teach in.

4. Open English

Pay: $8 to $12 per hour

Hours: Have availability during evenings hours (USA ET)

Minimum: 10 hours, maximum 36 hours

Open English runs online classes for Spanish speaking students. You need to be a native North American English speaker.

They give preference for Spanish or Portuguese speakers and you also need 1-year teaching experience.

5. italki

 

Pay: You set your rate and they take a 15% service fee

Hours: Flexible, whenever you want

Italki is another flexible teaching platform for teachers interested in teaching English online without a degree

You can set your hours and rates. You just set up a profile and start getting booked.

You can teach any language that you are a native speaker in.  You create your own lessons and decide what the student learns.

To get started, create an online profile, which should include a short video introduction and detail of your skills and experience.

6.Tutlo

Pay:  $7.50 – $11 per hour

Hours: Flexible, whenever you want

Tutlo is a Polish company that is looking for both native and non-native English teachers. You don’t need a degree but a TEFL and at least 6 months teaching experience is required.

It looks like they are quite flexible with this requirement as offline/online classes, private tutorials, language volunteer programs all count as experience.

7. Berlitz

Pay: $13 per hour

Hours: Not specified

Berlitz caters for teachers interested in teaching English online without a degree. It allows you to teach in any language you are a native speaker in. There isn’t much detail on there about them, to be honest.

8. Amazing talker

Pay: You set your rate and they take a 0-15% service fee depending on hours you work

Hours: Flexible, whenever you want

To teach English on Amazing Talker, you need to be a Native English speaker and hold some form of teaching certificate like a TEFL.

No bachelor’s degree is required. Tutors can set their own rates and hours and also create the teaching materials. According to the company, some teachers earn up to $27 per hour.

9. Tutoring Go

Pay: Minimum: $10 Maximum: $14

Hours:  Flexible, you set your own hours.

Tutoring Go focuses on Korean students and doesn’t mind if you are teaching English online without a degree. There is no requirement to have a TEFL but you need to have previous teaching experience and enrolled to begin a degree.

You log in and if you are online, students will call you. You can also message students to ask if they want lessons.

10. Brown Cow English

Pay: Minimum: $10 Maximum: $15

Hours: Minimum 5 hours a week

Brown Cow English only hires teachers from the UK and all lessons are taught on Skype.

There is nothing on their website that directs you to an online application but they are highly active on their Facebook page. So, it’s worth contacting them directly for more information.

11. BIBO Global

Pay: Minimum: $2 Maximum: $10 per 25 minute lesson

Hours: Flexible class schedule open 24/7

Bibo Global hires native teachers and non-native teachers with a neutral accent. Perfect for teaching English online without a degree, regardless of where you are from.

If you are hired, you will teach English lessons to students from Japan, Taiwan, and other parts of the world via Skype.

You need a TEFL but recently, there have been quite a few bad reviews about how they treat their teachers. Keep a beady eye on them.

12. English Hunt

Pay: $14.50 per hour

Hours: 4 am-7 am EST

To teach with English Hunt you need to be a native English teacher with an ESL certification like a TEFL.

You will be teaching Japanese students. Teachers get around 8 to 12 hours per week.

13. Ryeapp

Pay: Minimum: $9, Maximum: $11

Hours: Flexible class schedule open 24/7

Rypeapp is a Canadian company where you can teach English, German, Spanish, French, Mandarin, Italian, and Arabic.

The company is headquartered out of Canada. They accept non-native teachers as well as teachers that don’t have a degree.

14. PREPLY

Pay: You set your own rate

Hours – Flexible class schedule, open 24/7

I am a big fan of Preply and highly recommend them. I have seen many teachers teaching English online without a degree, on this platform.

It allows you to set up a teaching profile on their platform listing all your qualifications and experience. If students like your profile, you will be fully booked.

If you are popular with the students , you will be invited to their Preply Enterprise Program, which is essentially a corporate program. They supply you with teaching materials.

Tip- It’s ok to start with a lower than average rate, I think I started at $15 per hour and quickly increased it to $40 over 6 months.

Start collecting good student reviews. This will boost your profile. You can raise your rate after the first 5 reviews.

Tip-Have a look at the popular tutor profiles and see if you can emulate them to increase your chance of being booked. Here is my video which was accepted. Take notes and see if you can replicate it to increase your chances of getting booked. Good luck!

15. Savvy

Pay:  You set your own rates but they deduct a fee

Hours: Flexible class schedule, open 24/7

You can teach any language or even subjects like Music, Coding, Business or Math with Savvy. You create a profile and share what you teach and how much you charge.

There isn’t much information about them which may be a good thing as it may mean not many people know about them so there is less competition.

16. Tandem

Pay:  It’s not clear but I think you set your own rate and they take 20%

Hours:  You set your own hours

Tandem connects teachers with students via their app and doesn’t mind if you are teaching English online without a degree.

All you need is a phone or tablet and you are good to go. You don’t need to have a degree but their website mentions they only ‘only accept certified language tutors’.

This could mean you need to have some sort of qualification like a TEFL to teach. You can actually teach English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Portuguese and Chinese.

You just set your rate and availability and students can book a lesson of 20, 40, 60 or 90 minutes and pay automatically to the app.

17. Verbling

Pay: You set your own rate, but Verbling takes a 15% commission.

Hours: Flexible class schedule, open 24/7

You can teach a variety of lessons on Verbling, not just English and you don’t need a degree.

Verbling is essentially an online marketplace for teachers. You have to come up with your own teaching materials but you can set your own rate and hours. Super flexible J

18. Samespeak

Pay: $10 per 30 mins

Hours:  Flexible class schedule, open 24/7

Samespeak hires native English speakers who are at least 16 years old. They hire you even if you are teaching English online without a degree. The great thing about this company is you can just teach conversational English, over skype. Payment is made weekly via PayPal as long as you’ve earned $100.

19. Ginseng English

*not hiring at the moment but keep an eye on them

Pay: Not specified but they claim to offer ‘double what competing companies pay’

Hours: Not specified but they say ‘some flexibility in availability is required’

Ginseng English seems to be quite understanding about who they recruit.

According to their website, ‘You don’t need to be a native speaker, have a degree or a teaching certificate.When it comes down to it, if you show us that you’re a fantastic teacher, we want you on our team’.

You just need to create an introduction video about yourself and why you would be an awesome asset to the team. How about that eh!

Tip- Please play ‘ Eye of the Tiger’ before you create the video, it will help 🙂

20. Skyeng

Pay: Minimum $5, Maximum $10, per 50-minute class

Hours:  Flexible class schedule, open 24/7

Skyeng is an online English school based in Russia.  Most of the students are Eastern European or Russian and teachers teaching English online without a degree.

The company provides resources and automated study assignments for their students and they want you to be a live resource to help the students achieve their learning goals. They will provide the teaching materials

21. iBestTeacher

Pay: $12 -$23 per hour

Hours: Minimum 2 hours, 2 days per week

*Recent Update– There have been some robust discussion by some teachers about the pay and bad treatment by this company. Some advise to stay clear, and that their teachers aren’t paid, some say it’s fine. My advice is to be cautious.

IbestTeacher doesn’t require teachers to have a degree or experience, they are keen to train you up as long ss you have a positive and professional attitude.

You will be teaching Chinese students, grades K-12 and classes could be one on one or up to 4 students in a group

Note: Your pay will be determined by how well you did in your demo class interview.

You provide your available time slot and they allocate you hours in their timetable below.

Monday to Friday 9:00 am-10:00 pm (Beijing time (UTC+8))Saturday and Sunday 9:00 am-10:00 pm (Beijing time (UTC+8)).

Note 2 – They review tutors every 3-6 months, with the potential for a pay raise.

22. Go Fluent

Pay:  $15 per hour

Hours: Minimum 5 hours per week, on weekdays.

Go Fluent focuses on Business English in both group and one-on-one lessons.

You need to commit to at least 5 hours a week during the weekdays. They hire native English teachers who have an understanding of the corporate environment. You won’t need a degree but demonstrating experience in a corporate /office environment will help.

Note- Priority will be given to students who are fluent in a second language.

23.English Ninjas

Pay:  Minimum: $9 Maximum: $13

Hours: Flexible class schedule, open 24/7

English Ninjas focus on the Turkish student market, so their peak hours are between 6 PM to 2 AM Turkish time. You can select any hours you like and they also hire non-natives as long as you have a neutral accent and teachers teaching English online without a degree.

They prefer degree holders but they also consider students working towards a degree. They pay $.16 per minute of tutoring along with a bonus structure.

24. Nice Talk

Pay: $10 per hour

Hours: Flexible, whenever you want

NiceTalk is similar to Palfish.  It is an English-teaching app that connects Chinese students with teachers. They prefer native English speakers and TEFL/TESOL/CELTA certificate holders.  You log into the app and receive calls from students. The better your teacher rating, the more calls you will get.

25-Verbal Planet

Pay – You decide on your rate

Hours – You decide on your hours

Verbal Planet allows you to teach any language you are fluent in, not just English. You decide on your rate and hours and then the student selects you if they like your profile.

They are open to teachers teaching English online without a degree, but your profile has a better chance of being approved if you have a TEFL and some experience.

26. Refraktion

Pay: $7 to $10

Hours: Not Specified

Refraktion has partnered with a Chinse school to provide South African on-line teachers.

You will be teaching children between ages 4-15. A degree is preferred but not a must and you need to be a Native speaker and have at least 1 year of teaching experience.

Chinese online English schools

27.Palfish

Pay: Teachers set own rates but Min: $10, Max: $30

Hours: Flexible, whenever you want

PalFish is a mobile app that connects teachers and students. You just need to download the app and apply by sending positive and professional videos of yourself. Being energetic is key.

You can teach both one-on-one and larger groups of students.

The great thing about this platform is they also encourage non-native English teachers to apply. Perfect for all teachers interested in teaching English online without a degree.

As long as you are popular with students.. you will earn well! So, let your personality shine.

28. Qkids

Pay: 16-$20 per hour

Hours: Minimum 6 hours per week, maximum 19

Qkids PREFER a bachelor’s degree but they also allow associate degree holders that have a TEFL/TESOL/CELTA. You must also be a native English speaker that can legally work in the U.S. or Canada. Also, prior teaching experience is preferred.

29. Acadsoc

Pay: Minimum: $2 ,Maximum: $10

Hours: Minimum 5 hours per week

Acadsoc is an ESL online company catering to the Chinese market. You need to be a fluent English speaker with a neutral accent and know the basic principles of teaching ESL.

You can teach ESL online with them but you must have a TEFL certification and be willing to take on training to upskill and develop your skills.

There you have it. A list of 29 online English schools that will hire you if you are thinking of teaching English online without a degree.

How to increase your hourly rate when you are teaching English online without a degree :

I am going to be honest.

Due to the fact that you don’t have a degree, some companies may pay you less than degree holders. But I have a solution:

Niche down to become an IELTS Specialist or Business English Tutor

Why ?

Because these two areas are in high demand and students will pay GOOD MONEY to learn how to pass IELTS exams.

Also, working professionals who want to improve their language skills and climb the corporate ladder, have the money and desire to pay Business teachers to help them 🙂

How to become an IELTS Specialist:

The  Teaching IELTS 30 Hour Online course, will train and guide you through the ins and outs of becoming an IELTS teacher.

You will learn how the exam is assessed, how to improve a student’s grade and help them pass the exam.

How to be come a Business Teacher 

Take this Teaching Business English 30 Hour Online Course. You get an internationally recognised certificate, personal tutor support, training on lesson plans and the job market.

Once I upskilled and became an IELTS and Business English tutor, my rate went from $15 per hour to about $40-$65 per hour.

I could work less because I earned more and spend my free time motorbiking thorough the countrysides! 🙂

(Ps; If you also like motorbikes, add me on IG, I love connecting with motorbike peeps :))

Note- if you need 2-3 hours training, get in touch. My rate is reasonable and I have course materials, my own lesson plans and training summarised for anyone that wants to learn it!

I don’t have time to teach more than 2-3 hours so my intention is to train you up and get you ready in 2-3 hours max.

So you can be on your way to raising your teacher rate ASAP!

Teaching English online without a degree doesn’t need to be daunting or complicated. As long as you have a TEFL and some work experience, don’t let it hold you back from teaching English from home and earning money from your skills.

If you have any questions, comments or any schools I can include, please mention them in the comments below!

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