Being a digital nomad seems like a good life right? Laptop by the beach. Kissing office meetings goodbye. Never again doing the commute. But look into it and you may start to get the impression that you need to be a software engineer or programmer for this to be within reach. It’s just not true.
There’s several ways you can launch into being a digital nomad but let me present a step by step on how to become a digital nomad without having to be a software developer.
You ready for this? You’re going to be an English teacher. You’re going to teach online. You’re going to make around $20 to $40 an hour.
First you can consider teaching for the big online schools. Here’s a list of online english teaching schools.
- DadaABC
- VIPkid
- HaoJ
- QKids
Now if you’re wanting to do these a bit more independently, you can go out on your own and freelance. Here’s how to do it.
Consider a TEFL certificate
This isn’t mandatory but it will help. Consider getting a TEFL certificate to boost your teaching credibility
Create a website with an intro video and your resume
Sign up for a web host like Siteground and build a simple page showcasing your TEFL certificate, education, and a short introduction video to show to potential students so they can an idea what it’s like to interact with you.
Market your website to potential students
I recommend China as a place to look for your students. You can promote your site on WeChat, or Baidu, or Bing just to name a few. There’s billions of people looking to learn English in China so you’re likely to find someone before too long.
You can go on Fiverr to find someone to help you create
Agree on a Price and Time and Start teaching online
You can accept payments with a service like Paypal or Payonner. You can schedule online teaching with a calendaring software like Acuity. And you can conduct your online lessons with Skype or a more sophisticated platform like Zoom.us.
Just try to make sure the lighting and sound are good. Maybe don’t go to the beach for your lessons.
Very nice. I actually know of a friend I went to school with who is making a killing with VIPkid. Do you have a favorite teaching platform?
Hey Art hope all is well. The blog has been a bit neglected recently but I’ll be creating more content soon as I’m traveling this December for a few weeks. These days I do more freelance web design and marketing but when I was teaching I typically used Zoom software. VIP kids might use their own software but I’m actually not sure. How are things with you?