How much can I earn at iTutorGroup?

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog 🙂

Today, we are talking all about money and how much you can earn working as an online English teacher for iTutorGroup. All the information below is in GBP and correct as of May 2020.

How much will I earn at iTutorGroup?

There are many types of sessions at iTutor: one-to-one with children, a 1-on-2 session with children or group sessions with up to 6 adults. But, there are primarily two types of pay.

A one-to-one session will be 25-minutes long, and you will receive £7 /session, which equals £14 /hour.

However, if you arrive to class on time and teach the full class (which is very easy to do), you will receive an extra £1 /session. If you teach 50 sessions in one month, then you again receive an extra £1/ session. Suddenly, your £14 /hour is now £18 /hour. In order to receive these two bonuses, you must not accumulate absences or put in requests for cancellations of lessons.

A group session can be with up to 6 adults and is 45-minutes long, but it pays a lot less. You will receive the base rate pay of £6.92 /session.

However, depending on how many students you have in the class, and how they RATE you, your pay increases. You should always strive for a 10 rating in every session, but in the group sessions they are particularly important because they mean more money!

My best group session ever was with 6 adults, and I received four 10s and one 9, which gave me a grand total of £26.99 for one 45-minute class. My worst group session has been with one adult who didn’t rate me, which earned me £6.92 for 45-minutes.

As you can see, group sessions really vary. My best advice is to open the peak hour slots, as that is where all the one-to-one classes are (and the more money). If you open less popular slots, you will most likely be scheduled with adult group classes.

Can I choose which sessions I teach?

No, you can’t. Some people strongly dislike this about iTutorGroup but it can be a pro or a con. On the one hand, it can be very annoying if you’re only getting scheduled with adults, and you want to be teaching children, or vice versa. On the other hand, it can be amazing for making you more adaptable as a teacher and stronger in being able to confidently teach any student who arrives in your classroom.

Can I get a pay rise?

The only pay rise route with iTutorGroup is when you accumulate 1000 teaching hours with the company who then give you a 5% increase on your base rate pay. I have been teaching since December 6^th 2019 part-time and I have recently marked 260 hours.

When do I get paid?

You will be paid on the 10^th of the following month.

For example, it is currently May. If you teach from the 1^st – 31^st May, you will receive payment for this month of teaching on the 10^th June.

How do I get paid?

You will be paid through a direct deposit into your chosen bank account. Once hired, and you are filling in your bank details, you will be required to enter a IBAN and BAC number (if you are from the UK), so iTutorGroup can make international payments to your bank.

Will I be paid on time?

Yes, however, do remember it will be an international transfer. Therefore, if there is a national holiday in China or your country where you will receive payment, then it is highly likely there will be a delay due to banks not operating on bank holidays etc. In April 2020, the 10th (payday) fell on Good Friday, which meant I did not receive payment until the following Tuesday 14^th after the weekend and Easter Monday.

Is there an international transfer cost?

You must earn over a certain amount in order for the transfer to come through, and you must earn over a certain amount in order to avoid any international transfer fees. Please see below.

Is it a scam?

No, it is not a scam. I have always been paid the correct amount. There is a payroll tab on your consultant page which accumulates every session you teach throughout the month and totals your pay. This is very useful for seeing what you have earned as the month progresses. Here you will see your total pay at the end of the month.

If you are interested in applying or have any questions, feel free to get in touch at onlineteachingwithmegan@gmail.com 🙂

UK-based and want to teach English online?

Hello and welcome back 🙂

Today, we will talk about companies you can teach English online with while living in the UK.

I live and work in the UK and when I first entered the world of online teaching, I naturally came across VIPKid and GoGoKid, two of the top companies, however, you have to be eligible to work in America or Canada to apply for either of these. Therefore, I started researching which companies will hire you if you live and work in the UK.

The top four I came across were iTutorGroup, Education First, DaDa and PalFish.

You all know I work for iTutorGroup part-time and am very happy with my experience there thus far – check out my top five reasons why I enjoy working for this company.

But, I have still explored other companies and opportunities out there, too. I enjoy learning more about the industry and seeing what other companies offer in regards to lesson plans, pay, scheduling, etc. Let’s talk about some key points I learned about each company.

There is a more thorough application process in which you need to submit a DBS check, but the company will pay for this.
There is availability to teach from 09:00-13:30 GMT every day.
Classes are one-to-one.
The pay is lower compared to other companies.
The company/the parents want you to build a more long-lasting relationship with the students, therefore, regulars are extremely likely, but, as the teacher you are expected to open consistent slots every week for a long period of time.

The hiring process seems very straightforward like iTutor (fill out information, have an interview and do a mock lesson).
There is availability to teach 18:00-21:00 CST.
Classes are one-to-one.
The pay is similar to iTutorGroup.
Classes are 30 minutes in length which means classes can start at odd times to allow breaks in between.

PalFish is different from other companies in that it is an app, therefore, it works off a smartphone or tablet, and not a computer or laptop.
Teachers have a ‘social media’ profile in which you can post ‘moments’ and ‘lives’ and interact with students through comments and messages.
There is availability to teach 18:00-21:00 CST.
Classes are one-to-one.
The pay is similar to iTutorGroup.
It is the teacher’s responsibility to use the social media platform in order to market themselves and attract students.

These are some of the key aspects I have learned while researching other companies. YouTube is a great resource for seeing people’s first-hand experiences working for a company as well as job review websites. There may be other online teaching companies that will hire you if you live and work in the UK, but I have not found any more yet. Many online English companies are still relatively new and, therefore, their rules change very regularly to accommodate a growth in students and/or teachers, etc., so I encourage you to research any company thoroughly before applying.

Are you based in the UK and considering teaching English online?

Why I love iTutorGroup!

Good morning everyone 🙂

I have been teaching English part-time at iTutorGroup for five full months now and I am very happy. I have regular students every week now and I am always fully scheduled.

Today, I want to share with you five reasons why I love working for this online teaching company.

No-show students = full pay

With most online teaching companies, if a student doesn’t arrive to their scheduled session, you only receive a percentage of your pay, such as 40% or 50%. But, at iTutorGroup, you still receive your full pay when a student doesn’t show up! I have looked back through my records and counted I have had 32 no-show students since I started teaching on December 6^th 2019. That is almost £300 I have earned from not even having to teach!

No marketing

Unlike some other companies, at iTutorGroup you don’t need to market yourself through your profile or video to attract students. Although it is necessary to create these once hired, they are not the focus in increasing your scheduling. Focus on your teaching. If you always arrive on time, do not cancel lessons, do not accumulate absences, and receive high ratings, then you will always have a regular flow of students to fill your bookings. My profile video is not the best quality, but I followed these rules and have never experienced issues in getting myself scheduled.

The students make me smile

Of course, it is natural you will encounter some students who are in a bad mood and don’t want to have the lesson. But, for the majority of my students, I really love teaching them. They genuinely make me laugh and put a smile on my face every time I see them.

£££

The pay during peak hours is well above the national minimum wage in the UK. If you arrive to class on time, and teach over 50 sessions during one month, then you will be paid £9 / session = £18 / hour. I tend to teach 1.5 or 2 hours every day during the peak hour slots (to ensure I get scheduled) which is £36 earned without even leaving the house.

24/7 classes available

You can open your availability to be scheduled at any time during the day. Most online teaching companies block out the 12 hours during the night when children are sleeping in China, therefore, your schedule is limited to half of the day. But at iTutor you can open sessions at any point during a 24-hour period. I live in the UK and am based in GMT, and I once opened hours from 19:00-22:00 and all the sessions got scheduled with groups of adults. 19:00 in the UK was 03:00 in China! Therefore, you really can teach any time during the day and get scheduled.

Of course, every company has its disadvantages too, and like most things in life, there are always aspects that could be improved. However, as a part-time job I am so happy working for iTutorGroup and don’t have any major complaints!