Did you know that remote educators are in high demand? Not only are online tutoring jobs plentiful, but there are many different ways to make money from home if you enjoy teaching others. So, let’s first talk about the difference between online tutoring and teaching jobs.
A tutor is an informal professional who gives students of all ages extra instruction in any given subject. You’ll need to have expert knowledge of a subject like English, calculus, Spanish, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, physics, and so on, but in some cases, you don’t need any specialized training to be a tutor. Some examples are a college student majoring in chemistry, a retired school teacher, or a person who is fluent in more than one language.
When you’re working as a tutor, you can work as an employee or an independent contractor, or you can choose to open up your own home-based tutoring business. Tutors generally charge by the hour and make an average of $19.71 per hour.
On the other hand, a teacher is a highly skilled and trained professional who teaches a group of students. Teachers in the United States are required to have a bachelor’s degree and a teaching license or state certification. Pay rates for teachers vary considerably depending on the grade being taught, the level of education that they have (bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, or Ph.D.), which state they reside in, and whether the position is full- or part-time. Remote teachers might be hired as employees or independent contractors, depending on the company.
Employee, Entrepreneur, or Independent Contractor? Which Route is Right for You?
When you work as an online tutor, you can work as an employee or independent contractor or set up your own business. There are pros and cons to each arrangement.
When you work as an employee, you don’t have to invest any money upfront or find your own clients, but your pay rate, work hours, and how you work will be more restricted. Also, note if you as an independent contractor or a freelancer — you are considered self-employed and will need to pay quarterly self-employment taxes.
When you start a tutoring company, you’ll have more flexibility with scheduling, choosing clients, and setting your own rates, but you’ll also have to find your own customers, set up your business, and pay self-employment taxes. Establishing a tutoring business is easy and has relatively low start-up costs. Some items you’ll need to get started are a phone, a laptop with a microphone and webcam, a stable internet connection, and a website to market your business. Don’t worry, you can set up a website in a few easy steps for little to nothing by using Podia.
Where to Find Online Tutoring Jobs
Now that you know about the various ways you can teach online, here are some teaching and online tutoring jobs, their requirements, and hiring companies and platforms where you can educate students for cash!
1. Achieve Test Prep
Achieve Test Prep hires part-time and full-time instructors and substitutes to work from home. These positions require a bachelor’s degree and one to three years of teaching experience.
2. Amplify
Amplify hires remote professional learning specialists for K-12 students in various subjects. Most of the positions are part-time, independent contracting roles. You must have a bachelor’s degree and two years of teaching experience. To locate remote positions, click the “remote” box on the left-hand side of the screen.
3. BookNook
BookNook hires online tutors to help students in grades K-8 improve their reading skills. For these independent contracting positions, you must have at least three years of teaching or tutoring experience or one year of experience and a bachelor’s degree, or one year of experience and current enrollment in a teaching certificate program. Tutors earn $18 per hour and can work as little as 1.5 hours per week and up to ten hours per week.
4. Bundle
Bundle hires virtual instructors to teach online in a wide variety of topics like cooking, finance, coding, yoga, and more! To teach with Bundle, you must have a college degree, three years of teaching experience, and pass a criminal background check. These are independent contracting roles where you must dedicate at least 10 hours each week.
5. Cafetalk
Cafetalk is an online teaching platform where you create your own lessons in topics like language, business, music, art, yoga, and many other lifestyle specialties. With Cafetalk, you’ll fill out an application, create an online profile, and then interview. Once your credentials are approved, you can start making money online. Cafetalk is open to teachers and tutors around the world.
6. Care.com
Care.com is a platform that connects families with caregivers, such as child care, senior care, housekeepers, pet sitters, and tutors. To get started, create an account, set your hourly rate (it will suggest a rate for your area), and pay $18.99 for an annual background check. Once you’re approved, you can build out your member profile, adding your availability, expertise, and a photo, and once that is finished, you can start applying for tutoring gigs. With this platform, you can tutor students online or deliver instruction from the comfort of your home.
7. Course Hero
Course Hero is an online tutoring platform that connects students with tutors to get help with homework in various academic subjects. With Course Hero, you don’t need to be a certified teacher, but you’ll need to prove your credentials. Tutors earn money per question, and top tutors earn up to $1,500 a month.
8. Edmentum
Edmentum hires part-time and full-time virtual teachers and tutors to teach a wide variety of subjects. Positions require a teaching certificate and experience in the subject matter area. To locate their work from home positions, look for the keywords “virtual” or “remote” in the job listings.
9. FlexJobs
FlexJobs is a paid subscription site that caters to flexible and remote positions. The nice thing about FlexJobs is that you can search for jobs by occupation, location, schedule, or remote work level. But my favorite aspect about FlexJobs is that they hand-screen each job posting, so you know you’re dealing with legitimate companies and not scams.
10. Imagine Learning
Imagine Learning hires virtual instructors for grades K-12. With this online teaching job, you must have state certification in the core subject and at least three years of teaching experience. Imagine Learning offers a competitive salary and benefits. To locate these positions on their career page, search for the keyword “remote.”
11. Kaplan
Kaplan hires part-time and full-time remote-based tutors and teachers for a broad range of subjects and areas, from test prep and higher education to international and professional training. To find the work from home positions on their career portal, click the checkbox on the left-hand sidebar that says Remote/Nationwide USA.
12. Made For Math
Started by Adrianne Meldrum, a certified teacher, Made for Math teaches math to students with dyscalculia, dyslexia, and MLD. Made for Math hires part-time math remote specialists from Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. These are W2 positions that pay $22.50 per hour. Tutoring sessions are late afternoons and evenings; no weekend work is required.
13. Outschool
Outschool is an online teaching platform where you create your classes in various topics like English, life skills, arts, music, social studies, coding, tech, wellness, math, science, and more! To start, create a profile, design your course, and make money teaching online. With Outschool, you earn 70% of your lesson price, and it’s free to join. Teachers must pass a criminal background test and reside in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, or the UK.
14. Pear Deck Learning
Pear Deck Learning hires highly qualified tutors to teach over 300 different subjects. According to their website, they only accept about 4% of tutors that apply to the platform. With this opportunity, you can earn an average of $16 per hour, you get to make your own schedule, and payments are distributed weekly.
15. Pearson
Pearson Online & Blended Learning K-12 (formerly Connections Academy) is an online public school system that hires online teachers, product consultants, test scorers, functional tutors, and curriculum writers. Teaching positions require a bachelor’s degree and active teaching certification. To find the work from home roles, type in the keyword remote.
16. Preply
With Preply, you can earn money teaching students online in over 100 different areas of expertise, including languages, elementary, middle, and high school students, university curriculum, and even hobbies and art. To get started, create an account, fill out your profile, add your availability, and record a short introduction video (up to two minutes). With Preply, you can create your own schedule and set your own rates. According to their website, a popular online instructor can earn up to $550 per week.
17. PrepNow
PrepNow has tutoring jobs for the following disciplines: SAT and ACT exams, college admission essays, and math and science. Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree and at least two years of teaching or tutoring experience. You’ll also need a score of 28 or higher on the ACT or a 650 or higher on the SAT. You should be able to work a minimum of six hours during nighttime and weekend hours.
18. Skooli
Skooli connects students to qualified tutors with at least a bachelor’s degree, teaching certification, and core competency in the subject being taught. With the Skooli platform, you can work when and wherever you’d like. Online tutors earn a competitive hourly rate based on their qualifications and experience.
19. Stride
Stride offers individualized and tuition-free online public schooling and has a variety of job openings for part- and full-time virtual teachers in grades K–12. Remote positions are designated with the keywords virtual, online, or remote.
20. Study.com
Study.com hires online educators for online tutoring, writing, editing, researching, curriculum designing, and lesson writing. Each assignment has different qualifications. For instance, for the nurse educator expert position, you’ll need a degree, either a BSN or MSN, a current license, and experience as a nursing educator. These are independent contracting roles where you can create your own schedule. Payments are distributed twice a month via PayPal.
21. Studypool
Studypool is an online learning portal where you can answer students’ questions for money. According to their website, you can choose when you want to work how many hours, and you can earn up to $7,500 a month working as an independent contractor.
22. Sylvan Learning
Sylvan Learning hires online tutors, test prep instructors, and teachers. Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree and at least one year of experience teaching or tutoring students. Full-time positions come with benefits. They also have the My Sylvan Marketplace, where you can connect with parents who need tutoring services for their kids. With this platform, you can set your own rates and schedule.
23. TakeLessons
With TakeLessons, you can teach online or in-person subjects like piano, singing, guitar, violin, acting, dance, drawing, English, and more! To start making money with TakeLessons, create a profile, explain your credentials, and pass a background check. With TakeLessons, you’ll work as an independent contractor, and you’ll earn up to 90% of your lesson price.
24. Tutor.com
Tutor.com is a company that offers online tutoring services 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To become an at-home tutor, you must complete an application and pass an extensive screening test. Tutors can work anywhere but must work at least five hours per week. Tutors are paid monthly, and rates are based on the number of subjects tutored and the subject.
25. Upswing
Upswing hires online tutors in subjects like engineering, nursing, and more. In these part-time roles, you’ll work as an independent contractor. Pay is $14-$16 per hour, and payments are distributed via PayPal. Tutors must have gained their knowledge through college or professional experience. Upswing allows tutors to create their own schedule and work anywhere in the world as long as they have an internet connection and computer.
26. Varsity Tutors
Varsity Tutors connects online tutors with students who need help in a wide variety of subject matter. In this independent contracting role, you choose when to work and the students you’d like to instruct. According to its website, applying to be a tutor only takes three minutes.
27. Wyzant
Wyzant is a freelance marketplace that connects students with tutors. Tutors do not need a teacher certification, but you will need to prove your academic expertise in the application process. With Wyzant, you can teach online classes or in person, and payments are made via direct deposit.
Where to Find Online English Tutoring Jobs
If you’d like to help non-native English speakers learn English, there are plenty of online platforms where you can teach ESL classes.
28. Cambly
Cambly is an online, foreign language tutoring platform that lets individuals practice their English language skills with a native speaker. Online tutors make $0.17 per minute teaching adults ($10.20 per hour) and $0.20 per minute ($12.00 per hour) teaching kids. To get started, you must be a native English speaker from anywhere in the world (hires in all US states except California); you must also have a computer with a webcam and a high-speed Internet connection. Payments are made via PayPal, and you can work on a flexible schedule; no prior teaching experience is needed.
29. EF (Education First)
EF hires part-time ESL teachers. Applicants must be native English speakers from the US or the UK, hold a bachelor’s degree, and a TEFL certificate of at least 40 hours. Teachers can earn between $12-$16 per hour to start through a combination of base fees and incentives.
30. iTutor
iTutor hires individuals to teach English as a second language (ESL). Applicants must have their TESOL or TEFL Certification (or a willingness to obtain it). Must have a bachelor’s degree and one year of teaching experience. ESL teachers make a base rate for each class, and rates are based on experience and qualifications. Payments are distributed monthly via direct deposit.
31. VIPKid
VIPKid hires individuals with a bachelor’s degree and some experience with kids to teach English online to students worldwide. The pay is $14.00-$22.00 per hour, and payments go through direct bank deposits between the 10th and 15th of each month. With VIPKid, you can create your own schedule, and they’ll provide the lesson plans needed for classes.
For more companies that hire ESL teachers, read: Work From Home Teaching ESL Classes Online
Start Your Own Online Tutoring or Teaching Business
Would you like to start your own tutoring or teaching business, but you’re unsure where to start? These business-in-a-box solutions and courses can help guide you down the right path.
32. Club Z
Club Z is a tutoring franchise that offers one-on-one home and online tutoring services in math, science, music, foreign languages, reading, writing, studying skills, and test prep. You do not need teaching or tutoring experience to open a franchise; the startup costs are $19,750.
33. Healthy Hands Cooking
Healthy Hands Cooking is a home-based franchise that offers a business opportunity for individuals who enjoy healthy cooking and children and want to make money running a business. Online training, certification, and marketing materials are $997.
Make Money as an Online Tutor Today
Whether you want to teach young kids or college students, there are many online tutoring jobs available, with new opportunities popping up all the time. Many of these companies require afternoon or evening availability, as that is when most students are available for tutoring sessions. Another thing to consider is your employment status. If you’re working as an independent contractor, you’ll need to set aside money for quarterly self-employment taxes.
If you want a full-time job teaching students online, there are positions available, but you will need an education degree from an accredited university and a state teaching certification.
For more ways to turn your teaching skills into cash, check out these business ideas for educators!
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Originally published in March 2009. Content updated March 2024.
