A little bit about me:
My name is Jess and I am from Canada. I had a lovely life in Canada on beautiful Vancouver Island, but something was missing. In 2019, I set off for Belfast, Northern Ireland to study for the Cambridge CELTA Certificate, and my life has not been the same since. Armed with my new teaching certificate, I began to search for teaching jobs in foreign countries. I was accepted to teach in Poland and I was so excited to start a new adventure. Unfortunately, Covid-19 happened and my visa for Poland was cancelled. I had to think quick and that is when I discovered the world of online teaching. I applied to VIPKid and PalFish and was accepted by both companies as an independent contractor. Working online gave me the freedom to teach from anywhere, and so I left Canada for beautiful Italy and spent the beginning of the pandemic teaching online from there. Eventually I received news that Poland had once again opened its borders and were processing visas. I could not give up the opportunity to teach abroad, and so I moved to Krakow and spent one year teaching at a bilingual kindergarten. Teaching abroad was one of the best experiences of my life, but I did not like the lack of vacation time and having to ask for permission to take some days off. I missed the freedom of online teaching and decided to get back into it full time once again. I ditched PalFish because I did not feel comfortable teaching from my phone, but I kept my contract with VIPKid. I applied to another online school called Xueersi Online School and between Xueersi and VIPKid, I was fully booked with students. I moved back to Italy (I am Canadian born and raised but to an Italian immigrant family, and Italy is my second home) and returned to my independent contractor life. I love the freedom with online teaching. I had so much more time for beach days and travelling around Europe. Unfortunately in August 2021, the dream came to an end when China announced its Double Reduction Policy which prevents foreign teachers from tutoring Chinese children. Many people lost their jobs overnight. Some companies tried to hang on and market themselves globally. Everything was a mess and teachers were frantically trying to find something to replace their income. There were three main options for online teaching: Find another company outside of the Chinese market, find or create your own curriculum and get involved with a marketplace, or just straight up go independent and work for yourself. Since August 2021, I have done all 3.
How can I help you?
I have been through it all with online teaching and I have experience teaching abroad. I can help you create a CV and portfolio that will stand out and get you noticed. I can help you find out which type of online teaching is best for you and how to get started and thrive. Whether you are interested in working for a company, a marketplace, going independent, or going abroad to work in a school, I have lots of information and resources to guide you on your journey. It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it!