Teaching ESL online has become one of the best and easiest ways to bring in some additional income. It’s perfect for the digital nomad, the stay-at-home mom or the brick and mortar teacher who wants to make a few extra coins. There are TONS of companies you can teach English online with, but this particular company is one that not many have heard of. LatinHire has been a great addition to my monthly income for the last six months, so I’m going to be spilling all the details on how you can make money teaching online with LatinHire and what to expect.

What is LatinHire?

LatinHire was founded in 2006 and is definitely one of the lesser known online ESL teaching programs. Many people may be familiar with Chinese companies such as VIPkid, DaDa, iTutor Group etc. However, LatinHire is a company catered to people in Latin America. There are a lot of pros and cons teaching with them, which I’ll get to a bit later.

Who do you teach?

With LatinHire, you can teach kids or adults. I, personally, teach kids and the ages range from 7-15 (sometimes 16) years old so that’s what I’ll be discussing in this post. With LatinHire you can teach anywhere from 1-4 students at a time. This may seem a bit overwhelming, teaching four students at a time, but I actually prefer it to 1:1 with this particular platform.

One thing about LatinHire that I strongly dislike is the fact that the company does not require the students to turn on their video camera. So, most of the time you are talking to a black box and cannot see the student. You cannot see if they stepped away from the computer and that’s the reason they aren’t responding, or if they’re just sitting there like a bump on a log, not responding because they know you can’t see them.

About the Platform

LatinHire’s platform is very straightforward, there are no bells and whistles and it is not interactive, at all. The most interaction you’ll find is having students type in their answers and/or match answers. There are no songs, no interactive buttons, no gold stars, no games. It’s basically nothing more than a slide show. There is a lot of reading on the students’ part, again because it is not an interactive platform. You have to do your best to make it as entertaining as possible and incorporate your own games.

Since LatinHire assigns classes to available teachers, you do not actually know what you will be teaching until you enter the classroom. This does not leave any time for preparation as you literally have no idea what lessons you will get until you get them, right at teaching time. LatinHire does provide a calendar of all the lessons for the day (there are 8 lessons each day, one for each level), so you can look over the full lessons there. But, again, you don’t know what lessons you will or won’t get. This can be a little nerve wrecking at first if you are someone who really likes to be prepared, like me, but then the lessons start to become repetitive and they are a breeze.

Hours 

One thing I love about LatinHire is that the classes are all on Eastern Standard Time (EST), so no waking up at the butt-crack of dawn. Shifts start at 10:00 a.m. and end at midnight EST. You can schedule shifts anytime between those hours.

Each class at LatinHire is 25 minutes long. LatinHire assigns classes to you, so you do not have to rely on the parents booking you or not booking you. You are almost guaranteed classes if you are scheduled for a shift. Each shift with LatinHire is 2 hours. That is a total of four classes per shift. You are required to teach at least 16 hours per month. You cannot work more than 8 hours per day, unless you request an exception.

What I also like about LatinHire is it is very flexible! You can pick up any available shifts as long as the times do not overlap. You can also drop shifts up to 1 hour before teaching time. If someone else picks up the shift, you are covered. You don’t have to teach. If no one picks up the shift then it is still your responsibility to teach. If you absolutely cannot teach the shift then you can submit an absence form. If you are a no-show and did not submit an absence for, it counts as a miss. If you get 3 no-shows in a month, you are subject to termination.

If a student is a no-show, you are only required to stay in the classroom for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, you can end the class.

Upon hire, you make your own schedule. But, beware! Once you select that schedule, you are technically stuck with it for the entire quarter. LatinHire has a period once every quarter when they open up schedule changes. You can request up to one exception during those three months. For example, when I first started, I wanted to teach during the hours that offered the most pay. So, I made my schedule for Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 8pm-10pm EST. What was I thinking?! Having to be obligated to teach 8-10pm on a Friday and Saturday night. Bad move. Really bad move. If I dropped the class and no one picked it up (and let’s be honest, NOBODY is picking up a shift from 8-10 on a Friday night), I was still required to teach it.

My recommendation, select (1) two-hour shift once a week, during a favorable time that people are more likely to pick up, and then just pick up how many ever additional shifts you want each day. This way, you are no obligated or stuck with a concrete schedule for 3 months. As of right now, my only scheduled shift is 1-3pm on Wednesdays. If I drop it, 9 times out of 10, it will get picked up. And then, I usually pick up 2 shifts per day, but it leaves me with the flexibility to teach or not teach if I don’t feel like it or don’t have time.

Pay

Given that LatinHire’s program is tailored towards people in Latin America, the pay is significantly less than other companies. Whereas other companies pay you by the class, LatinHire pays by the hour. There are three levels of pay, and everyone starts at Tutor 1 Level. LatinHire pays once a month. You will be sent a breakdown of your pay on/around the 13th of each month and will receive funds no later than the 20th of the month. The pay breakdown is below:

Weekdays (Mondays to Fridays, 8pm ET to 4pm ET)

Tutor 1: $7/hr
Tutor 2: $7.5/hr
Tutor 3: $8/hr

Week-evenings (Mondays to Fridays, 4pm ET to 8pm ET)

Tutor 1: $8/hr
Tutor 2: $9/hr
Tutor 3: $10/hr

Weeknights (Mondays to Fridays. 8pm ET to 12 am ET)

Tutor 1: $9/hr
Tutor 2: $10/hr
Tutor 3: $11/hr

Weekends (Saturdays and Sundays, any time)

Tutor 1: $11/hr
Tutor 2: $12/hr
Tutor 3: $13/hr

Payment for waiting time (student no-show)

$4.5/hr for all levels

LatinHire Requirements

• Native-level English speaker
• Intermediate Spanish or Portuguese language skills.
• Has completed or is currently enrolled in a degree program at an accredited institution of higher education. Bachelor’s degree or higher preferred.
• One year of teaching experience
• Computer with internet access
• Headphones

LatinHire’s Hiring Process

Like just about every other online ESL teaching program, you will fill out an application online. If you meet the requirements and seem to be a good fit, you will be contacted to schedule a video call interview. You will be asked a few questions about your teaching background, why you want to teach with LatinHire, and maybe a couple of situational questions, I can’t remember.

Unlike other companies, LatinHire does want you to know a little bit of the native language, whether Spanish or Portuguese. I was asked two questions in Spanish (where do you live and how is the weather where you live) and I was expected to answer in Spanish. I am not fluent in Spanish by any means, but my limited Spanish definitely comes in handy when teaching very low-level students who need a bit more guidance.

After the basic “get to know you questions”, you will then go into the mock class that will be about 6 slides. Your interviewer will become a 10-year old child and you will have to teach them as if you were teaching an actual 10-year old. It can seem a bit awkward at first, but you’ll get used to it. Plus, the mock class is only 10 minutes long and it flies by! It’s over before you even know it. The entire interview process takes about 30 minutes start to finish.

To ace the interview, be sure to have a reward system, use lots of TPR (total physical response) and be enthusiastic.

After the interview, you will be told that your video will be sent to “the powers that be” to review and they are the ones who make the ultimate decision. I received an email maybe a week and a half later letting me know I had been chosen and will be moving forward with the process.

You have to complete your paperwork (which does include a background check) and (paid) training, then you are able to begin teaching.

Teaching with LatinHire Pros:

• You are almost guaranteed classes. They assign them to you, so you don’t have to jump through hoops to get parents to like you
• You choose your own schedule and the company is extremely flexible
• The hours are during EST
• You can easily teach with LatinHire and other online ESL companies and not have to worry about the hours overlapping
• You can teach from anywhere in the world
• Does not require a TEFL or TESOL and can apply even if you are still in school
• There is not a lot of prep time needed for classes
• Pay is consistent and on time
• There is a Slack channel that you can use to chat for immediate help while you’re in the classroom or if you have any questions about anything
• It does not require a ton of props

Teaching with LatinHire Cons:

• The pay is significantly less than most companies
• There are no bonuses or incentives
• The lessons are not interactive and can be boring
• Teaching more than one student can be difficult if you have a mix of high level and low-level students in one class. With only 25 minutes, it’s hard to dedicate the necessary time to each individual student

Final Thoughts

Teaching online with LatinHire is a great opportunity to make some extra income. It’s much more laid back than other companies. There’s not all the fanfare and prep work and spending money on additional props. It’s pretty straight to the point. The staff that I have encountered are all kind and helpful. Overall, it’s a good company to teach english online for.

If you are interested in teaching with LatinHire you can fill out the application here. If you have any additional questions, I’m happy to answer, just leave them in the comments below.

Also, if this post was helpful at all and you apply and get hired with LatinHire, please shoot me an email or drop me a comment with your first and last name. I’d be appreciative for the referral credit 🙂

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