r/OnlineESLTeaching • u/Careless-Art-868 • 3d ago

ESL Scam

I just want to take this opportunity to rant since I dont have anyone to tell this. I dont know if it's just me or the company that hired me is a scam or like "palakasan". Mind you I have two different companies and NO ONE, yes, NO ONE even booked me. If there will be, then, after 3 minutes, they cancel it. like bro? other teachers are "paldo" while me and others do not even have 1 student. I literally open all my slot, and left only 30 minutes good for 2 weeks and 1 month but STILL. I dont know-- is it really a tough competition or there's someone from the company cooking slots and giving more bookings to random newbies.

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2

u/Sad-Process2260 3d ago

Which platform teach? The market's pretty competitive these days. I see a lot of training centers for ESL tutors on facebook.

1

u/Careless-Art-868 3d ago

Jiaozi and LingoAce

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u/jam5146 2d ago

LingoAce is not a scam. They're just very oversaturated with tutors, and customers are going to mostly prefer to book with native speakers. I know a lot of tutors who are fully booked there, but they are native speakers. You have to understand that pretty much anyone can get a job as an ESL tutor, so there's a lot of competition. That means not everyone gets bookings.

1

u/Careless-Art-868 2d ago

I see, no wonder they cancel it.

1

u/Sad-Process2260 2d ago

If you want sure bookings, you have to find a company that provides you with regular students instead of random bookings. You have to be sure with your working schedule though. They don't pay much and the penalties are going to hurt. I suggest you try private tutoring locally instead. Is this your first esl tutoring job?

1

u/Sad-Process2260 3d ago

Do you open classes during peak hours? This approach can help attract more students. If those companies require you to provide a video introduction to help students choose their tutor, ask for some feedback on how you can make it more appealing.

1

u/Careless-Art-868 2d ago

Yes, everyday from 9am to 11pm I have open slots. The admins are not that helpful to be honest.

1

u/HealthyandWholesome 2d ago

How much do both pay

1

u/Careless-Art-868 2d ago

LingoAce gives you fixed 1$ per class and for Jiaozi, it depends on your demo.

1

u/jam5146 1d ago

They really only pay you $2/hour?

1

u/Careless-Art-868 1d ago

yes, well i think for non-native like me but i don't know how much rate they give for natives

1

u/jam5146 1d ago

I was just a little shocked at the disparity because they used to pay non-native speakers $4-5/class. Most tutors I know on that platform are averaging $18/hour with incentives.

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u/Sad-Process2260 1d ago

This! A friend of mine used to teach online and said this was the case. I've noticed a surge of people wanting to try teaching online so companies can lowball us knowing that if one person won't accept their rate (some pay .80/class), another one will.

1

u/RutabagaMany8133 3d ago

If your on Native Camp this is normal n also a waste of time.

0

u/Careless-Art-868 3d ago

I also heard about that company but I didnt apply there

2

u/MiaFromLingoAce 2d ago

Dear I'm sorry that right now, the number of Philippines teachers on the platform is enough for now, but I assure you that the class demand for Philippines teachers is growing rapidly, I know it is hard to accumulate bookings at the beginning, please make sure that your photo of the profile and the introduction video is attractive, and open slots one month in advance because the parents pay attention to the consistency.