Can I Be A Freelance Teacher?

Can you freelance as a teacher? Can teachers be freelancers?

It may be surprising, but yes, teachers can be freelancers. Many teaching jobs mean being employed by a school, but the other side of the coin is that you can work as a freelancer and be your own boss. 

Freelancing as a TEFL teacher is becoming more popular because of the growth of the gig economy. 

When you think about it, being a freelance teacher gives you the best of everything:

• It’s a job where you help people.
• It’s a job where you make your own hours.
• It’s a job where you can travel.
• It’s a job where you can work from home.
• It’s a job that you can make whatever you want it to be.

The draws of being a freelancer in any industry are endless: work when you want, nobody telling you what to do, you can set your own salary – and teaching English is no different. 

However there are some downsides. How do you go about being a freelancer? And, what if work suddenly dries up? Here we’ll give you the low down on being a freelance English teacher, what it takes, and how to go about getting started.

The pros and cons of being a freelance teacher

As a freelancer, you are your own boss. Teachers are usually employed by a school, be it online or a brick-and-mortar school, but as a freelancer you won’t be answering to anyone.

You have more freedom and flexibility with your work-life situation. You don’t need to ask for time off for holidays or sick leave – but they’re not paid. 

You have to deal with tax. As an employee, tax is usually quite straightforward – and HR takes care of it for you! As a freelancer, you need to keep track of your income and expenses – and be sure to submit your tax return on time!

As a freelancer, you organise your own visas. There is no employer to guide you through the process of getting a work permit or visa. At the same time, freelancers can qualify for particular visas which other teachers can’t. 

Read more: The Digital Nomad Visa: A Ticket To Your Best Life

As a freelancer, there is no fixed salary. Being employed by a school, you should know pretty much how much you’ll be earning each month. As a freelancer, this amount varies from month to month based on how much you work – and who your clients are.

Work is never guaranteed. You need to source your own clients and students. Beyond word of mouth, advertising on Gumtree (or the local equivalent), putting up flyers in the local universities and using social media are all great ways to gain clients.

The good thing about freelancing is that because it pays better, you often need fewer students than you might think to make a living

As you can see, as a freelance teacher you wear many hats:

English teacher

Marketer

Human resources manager

Customer services agent

Teacher

Product developer

Scheduler

What is the salary of a freelance teacher?

Your monthly salary as a freelance teacher depends entirely on you and how much you work. Some months you may not want to work much because your focus is somewhere else. Other months you can work every spare minute you have. It’s totally up to you. 

How do I start as a freelance teacher?

Freelancing as a TEFL teacher is easy peasy lemon squeezy, but there are a few steps you need to take. 

• Get TEFL-qualified. Invest in a TEFL qualification which is reputable and internationally recognised. 
• Decide if you want to work face-to-face or online, or a combination of both.
• Set up a website or online profile. Update your LinkedIn profile and other local websites which might be useful.
• Register for tax. Make sure you understand what your tax situation is. 
• Make a payment arrangement for your clients – Wise, Paypal, Stripe and Payoneer are all good options.
• Start signing up students!

While many freelance English teachers work with students face-to-face, there is of course the option to teach English online as well.

Are all online teachers freelancers?

Usually, but not always. 

Teaching over the internet via Zoom or Teams is an ever-expanding market for the freelance English teacher. There are a few different ways to teach English online.

One option is to teach totally as a freelancer. This means sourcing your own students and teaching through a platform like Zoom.

Another option is to teach as a freelancer through a digital platform. This means signing up to a teacher marketplace, so to speak, and advertising yourself. You can set your own rate and choose your schedule but the platform takes a commission as a middleman. You are required to source or develop your own teaching materials.

A thrid option is to sign up with an online school, such as EF. In these cases you are a freelance contractor for the school. The school sets your rate but you can choose your schedule, provided you commit to a certain minimum number of hours every week. Lesson materials are often provided, as well as a teaching platform. You are paid monthly but you must invoice them yourself.

As you can see, the issue of being an online freelance teacher is a complicated one. To be honest, it doesn’t really matter if you are technically working as a freelancer or not – as long as you’re working and earning money!

Read more: To Be Or Not To Be A Freelance Online English Teacher?

But let’s look at a real-life example of a teacher making it work teaching English as a freelancer:

Chris was a personal trainer in London before moving to Poland to teach English. He is now a freelance teacher there.

Since July 2015 I’ve been teaching in Poland to various age groups and levels. I started by working in a language school to help me build confidence and get me on my feet.

I was working around 10 hours at the language school plus another 10 hours of private students per week.

Over time the demand for me to teach private students was becoming too much. I was working 10 – 12 hours per day for most of the week and arriving home normally around 9pm every night.

So in February 2016 I made the decision to quit the language school and go it alone to build my own language school services.

I currently teach English in companies to professional business people and to a range of private students in their homes. I have 2 more English teachers who I’ve employed since realising I cannot keep up with the demand of people wanting to learn.

Read more: Teach English in Poland

The reality is, though the idea of freelancing might be tempting, it requires a great deal of self motivation. You’re a one-man business and must be prepared to put in the work to be successful.

If you’re not great at time management and love procrastinating it might not be for you.

But for the motivated amongst us it can be the perfect career opportunity!