Digital Nomad Salaries: What To Expect (From Full-Time TEFL Teachers)

But first, what remote jobs can TEFL teachers do to help them realise their dream of being a digital nomad?

Teaching English online

Teaching English online can be a lucrative gig, as the demand has been and will always be there, with English being seen as a universal language. Many companies cater to this based around the world. It’s your job to sift through them and find what’s best for you. 

When it comes to niche roles in TEFL or remote work that are actually in demand and pay well, there are some hidden gems out there that a lot of people don’t talk about.

Teaching English for Specific Purposes

One of the biggest ones is teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP). Basically, this means teaching English to people in specific industries. Think business, medicine, law, and aviation. 

These aren’t your average “What’s your favourite colour?” lessons. These students are professionals, they have real goals, and they’re willing to pay more for quality. You don’t need to be an expert in those fields, but being able to tailor your lessons around that kind of language can really boost your value.

Teaching Exam classes

Another solid niche? Exam prep, especially for IELTS, TOEFL, or Cambridge exams. 

These students are motivated, often need to pass for immigration or university, and they’re usually willing to pay top dollar for someone who knows how to get them there. If you’ve taken a prep course yourself or have experience helping students pass, that’s gold.

Curriculum design and instructional content creation

If teaching isn’t something you want to do full-time anymore, curriculum design or instructional content creation is worth looking into. 

There are platforms, schools, and companies that pay you to build lesson plans, courses, or educational content— usually all remotely. It’s not as fast-paced as teaching live, but it pays well and gives you more control over your schedule. Definitely something to consider if you’ve already got years of experience and want a break from Zoom fatigue.

If you’re more on the creative side, a fun way to stay in the education space is working for EdTech platforms like language-learning apps. You could be writing lesson scripts, recording videos, designing quizzes, you name it. It’s more behind-the-scenes, but the work is interesting and usually pays well if you know your stuff.

Corporate training

We’ve also seen friends do really well with corporate training, which consists of teaching English to employees at big international companies. You usually have adult students, more structured hours, and higher rates. It’s a different vibe from teaching kids online, and a lot of teachers actually prefer it once they get into it.

Teacher training

And finally, if you’ve been doing TEFL for a while and have some extra qualifications under your belt (like DELTA, MA TESOL, or just loads of experience), TEFL teacher training can be a great pivot. That’s where you’re training other teachers how to teach— and yes, it pays more.

This is exactly what TTA teacher trainer Yasmien did! 

Now let’s talk money. 

What can affect your income as a digital TEFL nomad? 

and 

Why can income differ so radically between TEFL teachers working from their laptops? 

We’ll let Matt & Perlie explain:

Qualifications and experience

Personal factors that can impact how much a digital nomad can earn stem from their experience and certifications. It also depends on the companies and platforms you choose to use.

The first thing you want to consider when applying for a company is to make sure that only native-level English speakers [and qualified TEFL teachers] are eligible to teach. Many platforms will hire just about anyone who “can speak English”. 

“If you can speak English, you can teach English.” We’ve heard that SO. MANY. TIMES. And it’s just not true! For more TEFL myths and misconceptions, check out this blog post: TEFL Myths Busted.

These positions will be low-paying. With more reputable companies, your experience and certifications can result in a higher hourly rate. 

Matt & Perlie’s top tip: Much like applying for a teaching position in person, it’s important to show how you are different from those you are competing with for the job. Hiring managers love to see your TEFL qualification and to hear about your previous experience because these demonstrate your suitability for the position.

Our top tip: A TEFL course from The TEFL Academy is one of the best ways to make your job application stand out.

Aside from your qualification and experience, there are factors outside your control which can affect your income. Such as time zones

Time zones

As we’ve been bouncing around between countries, spending each month in a different country, we have seen many time zones. If you are working for a company, this can affect your sleep/work routine quite dramatically. 

Many of the big online companies cater to students in Asia, mainly East Asia. For younger students, this means that the peak time is after 5 pm in their time zone, right after school. Depending on where you are, this can make your routine more difficult or easier. 

Theoretically, if you’re in a time zone that makes these working hours less feasible, you will make less money. From our experience, we’ve worked for some of these Asian-catered countries, and it was no problem when we were travelling around Asia. 

But in Europe/Latin America, it became more difficult, and we had to look elsewhere for other gigs that fit our schedule. If you are okay with working through the night, by all means do it! So don’t forget to be mindful of time zones when applying to companies.

We were sick of navigating time zones with particular companies, so we were able to scout out many of our students to join in private lessons, sometimes in group settings. Because you are your own boss in this way, your earning potential is not capped at a set hourly wage by a company. We have found this to be quite lucrative, especially when you consider forming larger groups. 

But this is not something you can just jump into. You need to build a clientele, which can take time. 

In other words, this isn’t a “Get Rich Quick” scheme. 

We were able to build a fuller schedule this way solely after having worked several months with other companies and getting to know our students. 

Taxes

Taxes — the not-so-fun part of digital nomad-ing. 

As you are a digital nomad, either working for yourself or a platform, you will 99% of the time (I’d say 100% but can’t say it definitively) be paid a net amount each month. Taxes will not be taken out because this is how these online companies work. You are, for legal purposes, a “contracted employee”. 

As American citizens, we have been responsible for paying between 15-20% of our wages to both federal and state taxes. This is something that you always have to be aware of when cashing out either monthly or weekly, because the company doesn’t take taxes out for you. 

If you don’t do this, you will be an unhappy camper come tax time because you will be expected to shell out a chunk of cash. 

PRO TIP: Put aside 20% of your income every time you get paid.

Read more: Do I Have To Pay Taxes When Teaching English Abroad?

What are the typical upfront costs for starting a digital nomad lifestyle? 

So, you’ve been hired by an online TEFL company and are ready to get out there and begin your adventure. Well, you might be looking to know more about start-up costs. 

A reliable laptop

First, you need to have a reliable laptop because your livelihood depends on it. If you have a laptop that has been acting slower than normal or is just plain old, you need to think about investing in a new one. The last thing you want is to have computer problems abroad or even worse —  a broken laptop. 

Travel insurance

It’s smart to look into travel insurance before you get on that first plane, bus, or train to begin your adventure. You will be on your own and need to have that peace of mind in case something bad strikes. There are many companies, so the choice is yours.

Accommodation

Regarding accommodation, we recommend long-term AirBnb stays because the costs will be cheaper when paid monthly rather than nightly. Depending on what part of the world you are going to be teaching, you may need to pay more for a solid wifi connection in your accommodation. Make sure you speak to your host regarding the connection. Don’t just rely on the reviews, ask the host to send you a speed test. 

If you end up being locked into a property without sound internet, don’t fret – cafes or co-working spaces can be your best friend. But teaching online requires a lot of talking, so you may or may not want to do this at a cafe because of external noises. We have always focused on teaching at home and using cafes to plan, but of course, you need to decide from your preferences. 

Teaching schedule

In order to save for your online adventure, you need to evaluate how full your schedule is to sustain your travels. 

If you are just starting, you need time to get more classes and students. So, maybe this isn’t the best time to actually start your move abroad. 

This is a big mistake that many online TEFL teachers make… they think getting hired guarantees a full schedule off the bat. Unless a company tells you that you will start with a full-time schedule, don’t expect this to be the case. 

We recommend that you hone in on a destination and calculate the expenses (housing, groceries, activities, etc.) for two months to use as a baseline for saving. The last thing you want to happen is to fly to the other side of the world expecting to be a full-time digital nomad, and then run out of all your money because you didn’t plan accordingly.

Now that we’re raring to go, the question is: where should we go? Which countries are most popular among budget-conscious digital nomads? 

When looking for the most popular budget-conscious destinations for digital nomads, treat it as selecting a backpacking destination. Depending on your money situation, you’ll most likely look for countries with a lower cost of living. 

Psst: We have a very handy series in our TEFL Guide on the cost of living in different countries, such as Japan, Spain and Thailand.

From our experience, we have opted for popular destinations in Latin America and Southeast Asia where there’s an abundance of cheap long-term housing and a solid cafe scene with good wifi.

Generally, the capital city is always the most expensive but has more housing options. As we are two people, we try to keep a month-long AirBnb under the $700/month range. 

The countries in both Central and South America have mostly had cheap food options that make it comparable with buying groceries – ie, meals always under $10/person. 

Public transport in this part of the world has always been cheap, in addition to inexpensive taxi apps like Uber. 

Having spent the last two years on the road, we would say that:

•  South American countries have cheaper housing than Central America,
• Eastern Europe is cheaper than Western Europe, and 
• SE Asia is cheaper than East Asia. 

You can find cost of living information on any of the many expat Facebook groups available for any of the places you are looking to go. 

We even used an Expat Page to secure long-term housing in Japan, which proved to be a major money-saver in comparison to AirBnb. 

There are so many websites and groups that benefit digital nomads — use them to your advantage!

The best ways to boost income are, of course, transitioning to becoming a private teacher so that you can dictate the terms of your job. 

Alternatively, you can look to diversify and work online doing other things based on your interests. Whether you decide to get paid to write about your experiences or create content for a company, you have that power with the computer. 

If you want to see how Matt & Perlie use social media as a way of boosting their digital nomad income, check out their Instagram for inspiration.

This is the digital age, where everything is online — seize that opportunity to continue to make money without having to physically be somewhere. 

As an online English teacher, you can certainly work for several companies at once to maximise your schedule. We, as teachers, work for ourselves in addition to working for two other companies. This has been ideal in working a full schedule. 

If you are looking for other opportunities outside teaching, use LinkedIn, UpWork, or Fiverr. These platforms have every type of job imaginable across all industries. Being a digital nomad is a modern-day rat race with uncapped potential. 

Read more: Exploring The Teacherpreneur Movement

Frankly, we cannot speak for everyone’s income levels and goals pertaining to a timeline. But we recommend everyone should aim to save a little every month, much like you would in a job in-person back home or abroad. 

The first few months can be devoted to breaking even, but after that you should focus on saving so that you can keep going as long as possible abroad; of course, if this is something you want to do. 

Take on as many clients as possible to boost your income. When you are getting started teaching online, you may find yourself looking for lower-paying jobs to get a foot in the door. This is okay in the beginning, but don’t minimise your value as time goes on. 

Know yourself, know your worth. 

If, after reading this, you are interested in dipping your toes in the teaching online industry and becoming a digital nomad, work to make it a reality. The world is out there waiting, and money is there to be made. Seize the day and don’t forget to have fun at the same time!