12 Companies Where You Can Teach English Online Without a Degree

Over recent years, teaching English online has exploded in popularity. But as new teaching platforms pop up every month, most seem to have one frustrating rule in common: they require a four-year bachelor's degree just to apply.

The good news? You don’t need a college degree to get hired. With global demand for English speakers at an all-time high, dozens of reputable companies hire online English tutors based on their fluency and TEFL certification alone.

In this post, we'll cover in detail 12 different companies where you can teach English online without a degree. But first, let's clear up some common misconceptions about teaching English online as it relates to the required level of education and certification.

Can I Teach English Online without a Degree?

Yes, you can teach English online without a degree! While some of the major online teaching companies require a degree, there are many that don't. A TEFL certification can provide you with the training and qualifications that you need to get a job teaching English online.

Can I Teach English Online with an Associate's Degree?

Yes, you can teach English online with an associate's degree. Taking a TEFL certification course will provide you with the training and qualifications you need to get hired to teach English online with an associate's degree.

Can I Teach English Online without a TEFL Certificate?

Many online teaching companies require a TEFL certificate and for the ones that don't, a TEFL certification will give your online teacher profile that cutting edge. Also, given that the job market is becoming more competitive, you'll need a certificate to get a job with a reputable company.

How to Teach English Online without a Degree

To succeed as an online English teacher with no degree, you need an accredited TEFL certificate and some basic technology. Your TEFL certification will provide the professional-level training and qualification that employers and students seek when hiring English tutors online.

Pro Tip! Do you want to live and travel the world as a "Digital Nomad" teaching English online? Check out ITA's brand new Digital Nomad Essentials specialty course.

Teach English Online Jobs: 12 Companies for When You Don't Have a Degree

Okay, now that we've cleared up those online ESL teaching questions, here are 12 companies that will hire you to teach English online and with which you can find online ESL jobs, even if you do not have a four-year degree:

1. Cambly

The Cambly platform enables you to engage in short discussion sessions with students from around the world via webcam - no experience necessary.

Cambly Teacher Requirements:

• Be a native-English speaker from a native-English-speaking country: United States, Canada, UK, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
• No bachelor’s degree or prior teaching experience is required.

Cambly Pay:

• Pay is $0.17 USD per minute ($10.20 USD per hour).
• Cambly automatically tracks the time you spend tutoring.
• Cambly delivers your earnings every Monday via PayPal.

Cambly Hours:

• As a Cambly tutor, you set your own hours.
• Work as little or as much as you want.
• You can log in whenever you have a free moment and start taking student calls within minutes.
• No minimum number of work hours is required.

Cambly Students:

• Students are usually adults.
• Students can be from anywhere around the world.
• You might chat with a university student from Brazil, a marketing professional from Japan, and an English enthusiast from Turkey all in one day.

Cambly Class Structure:

• Lessons are 1-on-1 - just the teacher and the student.
• Cambly provides guided courses, including academic test prep, business English, conversation practice, and more.

Cambly Technical Requirements:

• Laptop/computer with a webcam.
• Headset with a microphone.
• Cambly provides you with an interactive online classroom.
• A steady, fast internet connection (wired preferred).

Cambly Cons:

• Pay is considered to be on the lower end of the scale compared to other online teaching platforms.
• Given that no qualifications are required, competition can be high at times when there is an abundance of teachers looking for students.

Cambly Application Process: Becoming a Cambly online ESL teacher is made up of a 3-step application process.

• Step 1: You will need to make sure your connection can handle video streaming reliably. Here, Cambly will test your video and audio and automatically let you know if they pass the connection test.
• Step 2: Record an on-the-spot short introduction video. If you mess up, you can re-record it as many times as needed.
• Step 3: Fill out your tutor profile as you'd like it to be viewable to students. This is your chance to market yourself to students on Cambly. Submit your application.

Ready to apply? Apply for Cambly here.

Watch ITA alumna Miranda Schoonover talk about her experience in Rabat, Morocco teaching English online without a degree with Cambly:

ITA Graduate Story: Miranda Schoonover earned her TEFL certification and taught online with Cambly from Rabat, Morocco without a degree, using the flexible hours to fund her life abroad.

2. PalFish

PalFish is an app-based platform that lets you chat with kids and adult ESL learners worldwide from your mobile device or tablet. It has two sectors - PalFish Kids and PalFish Free Talk. The information below applies to PalFish Free Talk.

PalFish Teacher Requirements:

• PalFish does not have any preference with regard to nationality for online ESL teaching positions; however, you must be fluent in English.
• Due to changes from the Chinese government, you MUST have a valid teaching certification (TEFL/TESOL/CELTA) or teaching license to teach online with PalFish.
• You should have excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

PalFish Pay:

• You set your own rate of pay, which is paid out by the minute.
• PalFish will take a 20% cut off whatever your rate is.
• PalFish uses Payoneer (similar to PayPal) to execute payments.
• The average pay rate is approximately $10-$18 USD per hour; however, there are teachers charging more than $30 USD per hour that are still quite popular.

PalFish Hours:

• You can select when to make yourself available through the app and start picking up lessons based on demand.
• There are no set hours or minimum time requirements.

PalFish Students:

• Your students will be adults.
• If you would like to teach kids, PalFish has an "Official Kids" course option you can select which is more structured and offers less flexibility.

PalFish Class Structure:

• Lessons are 1-on-1 - just the teacher and the student.
• Lessons are conversational in nature, and typically there isn't a set curriculum or lesson plan, so students will often use PalFish to practice their conversational skills.

PalFish Technical Requirements:

• PalFish is a mobile app-based platform: you will need an iOS (Apple) or Android cell phone/tablet in order for this to work for you.

PalFish Cons:

• If your teacher application is rejected, you cannot reapply.
• You can only change your tuition rate twice per month.

PalFish Application Process:

In order to become an English tutor online with PalFish, you will need to:

• Step 1: Download the PalFish app on your iOS or Android device and follow the application steps within the app.
• Step 2: Choose an avatar - this must be a clear photo of yourself.
• Step 3: Write your self-introduction (must be 100+ words).
• Step 4: Record a self-introduction video. This must be longer than 30 seconds in length and should highlight your English pronunciation and proficiency.
• Step 5: Go to "My Wallet" and fill in your payment information. Once done, account verification can take up to two business days.

3. SkimaTalk

SkimaTalk Teacher Requirements:

• To apply to be a SkimaTalk teacher, you must be a native English speaker with American, British, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and/or Irish/English dialects.
• Those whose native tongue is another language or dialect than those listed above will be asked to wait until SkimaTalk expands its teacher qualifications.
• Tutors must be 18 years of age or older.
• Prior teaching experience/training is preferred but not required.

SkimaTalk Pay:

• New teachers are initially required to conduct 3 free sessions to understand how the system works and build up their reputation on the platform.
• After the three initial sessions are booked, the price will automatically change to $8/session (25 minutes).
• Once the system automatically sets your price at $8, you will be able to set your own price if you choose to do so.
• Whatever price you set, just remember that SkimaTalk charges a fee of 20% of the session price, less applicable PayPal / Stripe fees. The remaining 80% of the session cost (less applicable PayPal fees) gets passed directly to the teacher.

SkimaTalk Hours:

• Set your own schedule.
• Work as many or as few hours as you choose.

SkimaTalk Students:

• Students are more often than not adults.
• Students are from all over the world.

SkimaTalk Class Structure:

• Lessons are 1-on-1 - just the teacher and the student.
• Teachers can be creative and use their own teaching materials and methods to be unique and stand out on the SkimaTalk platform.
• There are SkimaTalk courses available for you to use during a lesson, but you do not need to use these unless your student requests that you do.

SkimaTalk Technical Requirements:

• Laptop/computer with webcam.
• Skype - you will use the Skype platform to conduct classes.
• Headset with a microphone.
• A steady, fast internet connection (wired preferred).

SkimaTalk Cons:

• You only get paid once per month.
• You have to use Skype to conduct your lessons - SkimaTalk does not have its own video-based platform.

SkimaTalk Application Process:

Becoming a SkimaTalk teacher is made up of three easy steps:

• Step 1: Create an account by signing up.
• Step 2: Fill out your teacher profile and record a video introduction.
• Step 3: Complete a few short, simple tests and then wait for approval and account activation.

Ready to apply? Apply for SkimaTalk. Want more info? Check out SkimaTalk's teacher FAQs.

4. Lingoda

With students at the center, Lingoda's mission is to empower even the busiest people to master a language and unlock their potential – anytime, anywhere. Students at Lingoda can learn English, German, French, and Spanish in small groups or in private classes. Lingoda is the leading online language school in Europe.

Lingoda Teacher Requirements:

• To apply to be a teacher with Lingoda, you must have at least 2-3 years of teaching experience.
• Hold an ESL teaching certification (TEFL/TESOL/CELTA).
• You must be a native speaker of the language you wish to teach (in this case, English).
• You must also be legally able to work as a freelancer.

Lingoda Pay:

• Pay ranges from €7 - €11 per hour (~$7.85 - $12.34 USD per hour).

Lingoda Hours:

• Design your own schedule around your life.
• Work not only when you want but as much as you want.
• No minimum hours are required.
• The beauty of Lingoda is that you can book both long-term (months in advance) and short-term (hours in advance). This allows you to have a completely flexible and spontaneous schedule.
• The average Lingoda teacher teaches approximately 5-20 hours per week.

Lingoda Students:

• Students are adult learners.
• Students are from all over the world.

Lingoda Class Structure:

• Small groups (3-5 students) lessons available.
• 1-on-1 private lessons available.
• Use Lingoda's in-house designed learning materials based on the European Framework (CEFR) to minimize class preparation and make teaching a breeze.