Why I Chose To Become an Online English Teacher

I have been an online English teacher for two years. I have taught, coached, and tutored students from China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea. However, my major is a nurse. But, I decided to get into the teaching profession, mainly because our country treats nurses poorly. The amount of work that nurses have to go through every single day is not compensated well enough, or even, not paid at all. It can be really frustrating, so that is where my decision to become a part time teacher came to play.

Two years back, I happen to stumble paths with an old friend from college. When asked about each other's source of income, we decided that it was a stupid question, since it's almost quite impossible to find a nursing job right away. She told me that she had been having an online part time job as an ESL teacher at a certain conversation school for Japanese students. The pay is about a little more than what the minimum wage was, as she claimed. Since I was recently laid off from a Customer Service Representative job, I decided to go right for it.

I applied for the job the following day. Obviously, the drill goes something like an initial interview, exams and a final interview. Luckily, I passed the screening and was assigned to an ESL tutor position. As a start, the salary wasn't as what I have expected. But, it's better than staying at home and play video games all day.

My first student was a middle aged Japanese man. He asked me to correct his grammar to an ad that he would be posting on a certain website. As a newbie teacher, anxiety kicked in, and I can't seem to get the class on the right track. The class was a total wreck. But I was lucky that the student was nice enough to understand. Although, I never heard from him again, obviously.

A few months past and I eventually got the hang of things. Teaching became a walk in the park for me, and I get to earn a decent amount (although not as much as I wanted) from the work that I truly love. Not to mention that I can also learn about other people's culture and language as well. Currently, I learned quite a handful of Japanese words from our classes, thanks to google translate, and my students of course.

Overall, I definitely enjoyed the perks of being an online tutor, I get to work in the comfort of my own home and spend much more time with my family and friends. Sometimes, it could be frustrating because you can't seem to get the attention of some students, particularly young children. It's a wonderful profession minus the extra hours and school activities that regular teachers do at a real school.

Nursing is my major, and I chose this major because I love to care for others. However, due to the economic struggles of our country, I cannot see myself nursing other people and getting compensated at the same time. The only way that I could practice the profession that I love is to immigrate to other countries. However, I have grown to love being an English teacher and I see myself as being one in the near future.