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Not Luxe ☼ Travel
  • ABOUT NICK & RAYCHEL
  • WHY “NOT LUXE”
  • Cambodia
  • Australia
  • Travel
  • Teaching ESL
  • Move Abroad
  • Travel Insurance

teach english online no degree

    Teaching English Online Vs. Teaching English Abroad

    Teaching English Online vs. Teaching Abroad

    by Nick & Raychel August 30, 2019

    You know you want to you know you want to travel and you’re thinking about teaching English. Amazing! That’s where I was in December of 2017 when I decided to blindly take a TEFL course in hopes of creating a new life for myself. Now, nearly two years later, I’ve lived in 3 different countries teaching English abroad, both in person and online.

    After receiving my TEFL certification, I had two options: teach English online, or move abroad to teach English. Regardless, I knew I wasn’t going to do it in the same old city I had been living in for the past five years. So that’s when I made the call: I moved to Cambodia to teach English.

    I fell in love with teaching ESL to children, and that’s why I’m still here today teaching English online. 

    In this blog, I will tell you about what I’ve experienced on both ends in terms of job security, income, personal connection and preference. Hopefully it will help you decide whether you want to travel abroad to teach English in-class, or rather, set up on an online platform and bring your classroom around the world with you.


    Prefer to listen / not read? Same. Find the topic on our YouTube channel here.

    So here we go: the pros and cons of teaching in-class abroad vs. teaching online. 


    Pros: Teaching abroad in-class | Connecting with the students 

    • In a classroom, you really get to know the students. You get to spend more time with them. It’s just the truth.
    • I spent roughly 10 hours a day with the same 25 students. Now, we all know that if you spend 10 hours a day with anyone, you really get to understand who they are.
    • You get the chance to learn all of their quirks, little signals, emotions, how they started their day, what they ate that day, and other contributing factors that make it easier to teach them properly and effectively.
    • You get to sit down and speak with their parents. I had the opportunity to talk to the parents in-depth about the children’s goals, dreams, and things we had to work on. I built a trusting relationship with the parents, which made my job a whole lot easier. 

    This is not to say you cannot connect with students online. You can certainly connect with students online, especially if they are your regulars! That said, I would be lying if I didn’t say I really miss giving students real-life high fives, not just over the screen.


    Pros: Teaching English online | Flexibility

    • Let’s go back to when I said I was working roughly 10 hours a day in Cambodia. Yep, I would get to school around 6:00am and leave around 5:45pm. 
    • You’ve heard it before. Obviously a huge benefit of teaching English online is that you get to choose your own hours.
    • On the platform I’m on, I get to pick my own schedule – so I have the opportunity to get what I put into it. Sometimes I spent 8+ hours a day, tweaking my profile, creating live videos, and trying to attract new students. That’s my choice. If I wanted to work just two hours a day, however, I could.
    • You can just close your hours if you need some time off or if you’re planning on travelling to a place that you know will have weak WiFi.

    The downside of this is that if you’re booking regular students, you might lose them if you have an inconsistent schedule. The most successful teachers on online ESL platforms have their schedules open during consistent hours, so it’s clear to the students when that teacher could be booked.

    That said, you don’t have to do that if you don’t want to! If you want to have close your time slots, you can do that at any time. This would be a huge perk while traveling, especially if you were planning to travel to a place that has weak WiFi.


    Cons: Online | Waking up for peak hours

    • If you really want to succeed as an online teacher, you need to be available when the students want to learn – easy, right? 
    • Since I live in Canada, I wake up at 3am to be online at the peak hours for students in Beijing. I stay awake for 4 hours then I sleep during the early afternoon and I’m back online from 5pm-9pm which is the other batch of peak hours.

    If I were to be living in China, or even Australia, this wouldn’t be as much of an issue. Since I’m on the other side of the pond, I’ve really had to adjust my sleep schedule and lifestyle around the job. 


    Pros: Online | Location flexibility

    • You can work from anywhere you want as long as you have a good Wifi connection. Enough said.

    Pros: In-class | Culture experience

    • Teaching abroad in Cambodia really gave us a good insight on the Khmer culture and what it was like to work abroad. 
    • We were able to really immerse ourselves, learn some of the language, get to know family dynamics, meet local friends and travel outside the country when we had our specified time off.
    • We built a community and were able to feel like we were really contributing to the country we were living in.

    I think if I had taught English online the first time I was living in Cambodia, I would’ve felt like I was missing the experience of getting to know the country and would’ve felt like less of a “local”. 

    Hey, that’s just me.


    Pros: In-class | Job security

    • One of the reasons we chose Cambodia to teach English is because we were qualified to teach there without a 4-year bachelor degree.
    • We both have college educations and TEFL certificates, but Nick went to trade school and I went to art school, so we have diplomas and tickets rather than bachelors degrees.
    • The requirements are changing in China all of the time. There are constantly rumours about the Chinese government cracking down. If the rumours prove true, and a 4-year bachelors degree is ever required for the platform I teach on, I will lose my job.

      I think you can understand why that would be unsettling.
    • The rules are also very specific and strict on online platforms and they vary. There’s little empathy for when you need to cancel a class during an emergency. You may even get put on the bad list if your wifi keeps dropping out. This would not be ideal whilst travelling, especially if you’re going to new places where you’re unsure about the WiFi.

    Generally speaking, when you’re teaching in-class, you will sign a standard contract. As long as you abide by the contract, you will not have to worry about losing your job. Online teaching platforms do not always provide that type of security for you. 


    Pros: In-class | Income security

    • If we’re comparing my wage in Cambodia vs. my wage online, I put in many less hours for my pay now (teaching online) than I was putting in in-class (teaching abroad).
    • You get what you put in when it comes to online teaching, but I always knew what my paycheck was going to be in Cambodia.
    • Since I’m new at online teaching, I don’t have a regular clientele, so my wages will vary each month. They will likely vary forever.

      Especially being a new teacher, I frankly worry I will lose students and one day wake up with no bookings. It is a possibility, especially with the online market becoming more saturated.

      Although this won’t necessarily happen, it was nice to know what my monthly salary would be each month so I knew I could make rent.

    Pros: Online | Income 

    • The income can really be a pro or a con, depending on where you live.

    For example: In Cambodia, I was making 1,200 USD/month and working 10 hour days. To make the same amount now, I would only need to work about 19 hours a week.

    That said, 1,200 USD a month isn’t enough to live in Vancouver, so I do need to get full-time online teaching hours, which is easier said than done.

    Remember, we’re talking about SE Asia vs. Canada here which is a huge jump in cost of living. 

    This would be a whole different ballpark if you’re considering teaching in-class English in a country like South Korea or Japan.


    So what wins?

    I don’t regret teaching in-class. Teaching in-class is what made me fall in love with teaching English. If you’ve never taught before, and you’re seriously considering teaching ESL for a while, I would really recommend teaching English abroad.

    That said, I’m working on building a consistent clientele online so I can work from anywhere in the world, and have time to work on other things like this blog and our YouTube Channel.


    Right now, I’m teaching English online on Palfish and it has been wonderful so far.  I’ll be doing a write-up on the Palfish requirements and how I got accepted onto the platform very soon. 

    If you’re interested in teaching in Palfish, you can apply using my referral code: 02851747 or by clicking this link. 

    Disclaimer: If you use this referral code, I will receive a bonus at no cost to you.


    As always, you can reach out to us on Instagram @notluxxe. We take pride in responding to every single DM. 

     

    Want to move abroad but you’re broke AF? Read this article to find out how we did it. Trust me – we were in the same boat.

    Does teaching in Cambodia appeal to you? It did to us! Find our blog: How to move to Cambodia and teach English

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Nick & Raychel
Nick & Raychel

In 2018, we sold everything we owned and moved to Cambodia to teach English.

Let’s make this clear: this journey didn’t start with money. This journey started with a desire to see the world and to do something different for a change.

We’re not going to fool you with photos of floating breakfasts and private jets. We know what it’s like to be on a budget. Although we like to take pretty pictures, we aren’t going to wake up at an ungodly hour to give you unachievable travel jealousy. We aren’t going to censor ourselves or lie to you.

What we are going to do is stay in cheap hostels, find ways to make money, give the advice that we would want to hear, and share our experiences with you honestly.

Are you in?

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ABOUT NICK & RAYCHEL

About Us Hi! We’re Nick & Raychel, the Canadian travel couple behind the brand ‘Not Luxe’. Far before we were married (and on a mission to see the world), we were working…

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Instagram

  • Working to TRAVEL✈️🚐

If you’ve been following along with our vlogs and stories, it will come as no surprise to you when I say that our days are long right now. When we chose to start travelling, we signed up for a work-save-travel-repeat cycle and have been living in for the past 4.5 years. 

We chose this life.
But we still get tired. 

And between fixing up the van, preparing for our next adventure and working full time in that Southern Ontario heat - it’s a lot. But our minds are set on travel, on exploration, on adventure, culture, and learning. So we adapt to the seasons and understand that this point in the cycle is  just that - a season -  and we are so damn grateful to be doing it together.

📍 Traditional territories of the Erie, Neutral, Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee and Mississaugas.
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Tags: #notluxe #worktotravel #travelcouple #vanlifecouple #traveldiaries #vanlifediaries #travelgram #livetoexplore #vanlifeculture #budgettravel #worktotravel #traveljobs #travelblogger #vanlifestyle #vanliving
  • **CLOSED** GIVEAWAY!! 🎉

We are giving away a Bluetti EB70 portable power bank. Having a power station on hand is a sweet backup for those who are already set up completely for off-grid living and/or a good start for weekend campers looking to try out van or camper van life. We are stoked to have another way to work outside, charge more appliances and get out adventuring.

The winner will win ONE Bluetti EB70 power bank & charging cables. 

Specs:
• 716Wh capacity and 800W rated wattage
• The ultra-stable LiFePO4 battery chemistry,2500+ life cycles
• 4*110V AC outlets, 2*100W PD ports, 2*5V/3A USB-A ports, 2*regulated 12V/10A DC outputs, 1*12V/10A car port,1*15W wireless charging pad.
(Note: does not come with solar panels)
-

HOW TO ENTER:

1. Like this post 
2. Must be following @nickandraychel & @bluetti_official
3. Tag a friend in the comments below (more tags = more entries)
4. Bonus entry - share this post to story for 5 extra entries! 

Open to USA & Canada residents. Giveaway closes on June 22, 2022. 
Winner will be announced on 06/25/22. 

-

Disclaimer: No purchase necessary. Giveaway is not sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Instagram.

The contest period will run from 06/15 to 06/22 2022.

— 

Tags: #vanlifecouple #vanlifeing #notluxe #vanlifediaries #vanlifegiveaway #campinggiveaway #campervan #vanconversion #camperliving #tinyliving #tinyhomeonwheels #tinyhomes #vanlifenewbie #vanlifers #livinginavan #livingoffgrid #offgridliving #vanlifedreams #travelinspo
  • Slowing down 🚐 

The whole appeal of van life and many alternative living options is the freedom to take a go at your own speed.

But sometimes it feels like you just want to see it all.
And we’ve seen SO much in the past twenty months. 

Especially in the past six.

As Canadian travellers, I find that our slow season is the opposite of others. We escape the cold weather and have been abroad for many Christmases and snowfalls. During those times, we’re cliff jumping, waterfall hopping, cruising, skatepark hunting, friendship building…

Then, when lake season rolls around we’re ready to take on a more conventional work schedule, to save up to do it all again.

But we have to tell ourselves to relax, to enjoy the downtime, to take in the peaceful moments just as much as the epic ones. To soak up the sun, to drink water, to slow down.

It’s a constant learning process.

📍Traditional Hohokam, Patayan, and Yavapai land ⁣

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  • But how do you SHOWER? 😅

This photo is from the most ridiculous YouTube thumbnail we’ve had to date. We took so many funny photos this day, we couldn’t NOT share. Or maybe we could. Oh well.

But let’s answer the question while we’re at it.

🚿 We primarily go to Anytime Fitness which is a little pricier than Planet Fitness. In our opinion, however, the equipment is way nicer, there are usually less people, they’re all over Canada & the US, it’s open 24/7, and the showers are private.

🚿 When we’re not near an Anytime Fitness (this has only happened one time when we were in Quartzsite), we find a truck stop shower to go to.

🚿 And that’s about it. We bought a camping shower at the beginning of van living and only used it one miserable time.

Do you think a shower is necessary in a van build?

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  • We have been doing so much stealth city camping lately that we felt like we needed a break. When we first moved into our van, we set off to Vancouver Island, where we were constantly surrounded by nature - and even though we had no idea what we were doing, it was just easy to be outside.

As you guys know, we’ve lived all sorts of van life. From brick & mortar jobs, to off-grid living, to city dwelling, to full-time travelling. Lately, we’ve seen A LOT of cities and while we’re grateful to have covered so much ground, we knew we needed nature. 

So we nestled ourselves into Starved Rock State Park and reset.
Full video is on YouTube. Link in bio.

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  • “The life you have led doesn’t need to be the only life you have” – Anna Quindlen

I can’t imagine committing to being the person I was 5 years ago for the rest of my life. I can’t imagine committing to one mindset or one way of life. 

It would be impossible to put into words how much we’ve changed through travel and meeting people. And as we start to hype ourselves up for our next big journey, we’re excited to dive head first with an open mind. 

Whether you’re building a van, starting a new job, buying a plane ticket, or even walking out of the house every morning - you have no fucking idea what’s in store.

Travel has a special way of changing you. 
And the best thing you can do is allow it. 

📍 Traditional Kumeyaay land
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