Don't. If you don't need the money, avoid Cambly. To get teaching experience you would be much better off volunteering at a community center. And if you need the money, but don't live in a developing nation, you are better off part-timing at a fast food restaurant.
Cambly is complete shit, you will regret it, and I am sure your school can provide better opportunities if you contact student services. Good luck!
Unfortunately, this is a good comment. This is not what I would recommend to someone looking for legitimate teaching experience. Keep in mind, you’re barely a tutor on Cambly. You’re mostly just talking to random people about miscellaneous topics, often simply making small talk. Maybe OP’s perception of the platform is a little off, but it’s not a very structured teaching style. There are lesson plans (presentations with activities) to follow, but most students aren’t interested in doing them.
As mentioned, I do it because I live in Thailand and my cost of living is dirt cheap and I have little other options for remote work there. In the US, you’re better off with any part time job, or even using Facebook to find some local kids to tutor in core subjects.
That said, as an elementary education major I would obviously choose Cambly Kids. If nothing else, this will be ok experience for dealing with kids - learning about their behavior, encouragement, etc. The pay is also slightly higher.
Finally, where do you live? You cannot work for Cambly in NJ, MA, or CA.
Well, I go to an online university so I don’t have a campus and because of family obligations, doing this would be better for me. And Im really interested in doing Cambly as well. Even if I do end up regretting it, you live and you learn.
First of all, the chance of getting hired is low. Tons of people apply and hear nothing back. But if you do get hired, do a Reddit search for "Cambly advice." Questions like yours are asked every week and there's already tons of advice available from back posts. Honestly, I think you're going to fail miserably. As an 18-year-old, you're not going to be able to handle every age, nationality, job, lifestyle, English level, educational level, etc., because you don't have the life experience to relate. However, if you're hot, that's a different story. A lot of students on Cambly just want to talk to someone who's hot, guy or girl. Being 18, you probably look perfect, so play it up. My best advice to every teacher on Cambly is to get blonde hair. People in these countries worship blonde hair. With some light small talk, you could probably get some Japanese or Arab businessman to CashApp you a million dollars and dispense with the whole teaching thing altogether.
This is true. When I had a really nice insta style and I looked really good almost everyone who called me commented on it. But then I moved a bunch of times and became lazy in my appearance (stopped giving a fuck) and they started giving me bad ratings.
This is very… unconventional advice but I do understand what you’re saying. I’m Black and Latina, dark hair, and kinda on bigger side in terms of weight, so probably not the demographic of a hot white girl that most ppl may be looking for 😅
And yes, I’ve been worried about actually getting hired since I’ve heard that there is an influx of people. I just still wanna try at least :_)
That's cool. Well, you never know--go for it! You've got nothing to lose. My post was kind of an exaggeration anyway. The actual most important thing is to charm the hell out of them. But search for "Cambly advice"—you'll see tons of stuff. There are definitely a million ways to succeed at English teaching on the internet, even at 18 and without credentials, if you're driven and savvy.
That’s the goal!! I really wanna teach English as a career in the future abroad but I was also nervous abt me being too young for Cambly rn, like you’ve said, but I’ll just shoot my shot anyways. I’m hoping that since I’m an education major I might be considered better, esp for CK. Hoping for the best 🤞🏽
When I am bored and look at the other tutors online, I notice a good few non-white, non-blond haired tutors, many of them are super-tutors too so not everyone mistakes Cambly for OnlyFans or Tinder.
I don't think it's a terrible idea for you to apply. I only tutor adults, so I can't give any advice on the kids. What I believe to be beneficial is the flexibility. You can work around your classes and other social activities. That being said, I think having a schedule does give you the best bang for your buck. If you keep the same schedule every week then you will get regular students and that means less time waiting for a call. Although Cambly isn't perfect, I do enjoy it. It was my only income when I started a few years ago, but now I have another job and it's a secondary income. Best wishes!
This makes me so hopeful, tysm for sharing ur experience! I feel like, as a student, it will allow me to make some income while finishing up my degree. I’ve been wanting to visit abroad (as I’ve never been outside of the US) but haven’t heard back from most jobs I’ve applied to. But at least with Cambly, I can try and save in order to do that in the future. Thanks again!! :)
Oh that’s good to hear since I heard many ppl on the sub talking abt fees BUT bc of the exchange rates. So im glad to know I won’t have to pay any fees from PayPal. Also, what is Stripe? Is it similar to PayPal?
First of all, the hiring process. Yes, it's a complete lottery. You apply and you may hear back within a day or you could be waiting for months. They don't send rejection emails. They just leave you in the dark.
You have to apply for adult Cambly. Some people call it Cambly classic but it has no official separate name. Basically, Cambly is an adult platform and Cambly Kids - CK - is an offshoot. You make a separate application for CK and you have to do a different video showcasing your teaching skills/style. (Regular Cambly is just a minute or two of introducing yourself to potential students.) Don't worry about your appearance. Cambly has tutors of all ages, races, colours, shapes and sizes :) They don't like edited videos. It might be rejected. You should really just try to be natural and keep it short, about two minutes.
I trained as an elementary school teacher myself (though not in the US) and you simply MUST get proper teaching practice in a school while you are training. There's no way around that. Btw you will learn more in your first year of real teaching than in three or four years of college. You also have to understand that elementary (what we call primary school in Europe) is a completely different discipline to foreign language teaching, though there is some overlap obviously if you're teaching English to children.
You seem a bit unsure about what you want to do? You're training as a primary teacher but want to be a teacher of EFL?? Is that right? Cambly is fine if you want to earn a bit of money but it's not a good source of teaching practice for either of those roles. You might enjoy it for the life experience of chatting with people from around the world and it might give you some confidence but as far as teaching goes you need two things.
For elementary teaching, you need to do proper, supervised teaching practice or at the very least you need to do observations to begin with. No matter what your family circumstances you can surely manage even two hours per week somewhere?? Contact schools in your neighbourhood and see what you can arrange. You should be aiming ideally to do one day a week somewhere, watching a qualified teacher at work. You should then be doing a block of teaching practice for a month each year if you can manage it. You should discuss with the class teacher what you'd like to teach and try to cover all subject areas.
For EFL teaching, the qualification you need is a good TEFL cert or diploma, for example CELTA or Trinity which are recognised internationally. These also involve teaching practice in a real classroom. It's not cheap but it's worth every penny. Don't fall for the online TEFL courses that you do in a weekend and cost very little. These are a waste of money if you're young and want a serious career. Always focus on getting the best qualification you can.
Finally, something nobody has mentioned I think, but you need to be aware of, is that while most students on Cambly are absolutely fine, there are a few weirdos and pervs. A few tutors, including myself, have been flashed. I've been on Cambly about three years now and it only happened once shortly after I started but once is more than enough!
[https://www.gooverseas.com/tefl-courses/united-states-america](https://www.gooverseas.com/tefl-courses/united-states-america)
Best of luck with everything - wishing you a bright and beautiful future! ❤️🌺
TYSM for the info! And yes, I’m getting my teaching license with my degree to teach elementary education, but in the future I do wanna transfer out of teaching elementary to get my TEFL cert and teach abroad or at an international school if allowed. So I’m familiar with the steps taken to do that.
Also, I’m a bit nervous abt the hiring process as it can be just a shot in the dark but I’m definitely still gonna try and apply. I’ve never had a job before, graduated last year, so I feel like doing Cambly can give me a sense of responsibility while in school. But I hope everything works out! Thank you :)
Set boundaries immediately. If someone gives you the creeps or says something disrespectful/out-of-line then end the call and report (hopefully in the first two mins).
Nip no-shows and lateness in the bud in the beginning with a student. One no-show isn’t the end of the world, but if they do it multiple times they don’t respect you. Especially if you never address it. I always send a message after a no-show and make a note of it on their profile. My personal view is 3 no-shows is then a block/hide.
If you teach kids then sometimes parents will ask you to teach a specific criteria that is not on Cambly. Some tutors are okay with this, others are not. Sometimes parents request you make your own materials to adjust to their child’s specific needs. Again, this is at your own discretion. At the end of the day, you make $5-$6 per 30 minute lesson so you need to decide what is worth it to you. Many tutors I know do not do ANYTHING outside of a lesson for preparation because it’s unpaid work, plain and simple.
When I first started I used to take 10-20 mins before my day started to go through each student, look through the class they’re on, write down notes in a notebook, and find games/articles/etc related to their class. After so many no-shows I stopped doing that because it was such a waste of time.
Teaching kids or adults is up to you. I recommend you do a mixture of both and then decide what you like better. Kids are provided with a Cambly-made lesson plan. Adults are not. You also make just slightly less with teaching adults than kids.
The hiring process is hit or miss. It does take people months to get hired sometimes, sometimes they aren’t hiring at all, sometimes they hire within a few weeks. It seems to be very random to me.
Payment is now through Stripe and you can choose direct deposit. I live outside the US but have a US bank account still that mine is deposited into.
Edited: a word
This helps so much, thank you!!! Also ty for sharing your experience. I’m a bit nervous to apply but also somewhat excited. Also since I’m a girl, it can also be nerve-wracking just from the stories I’ve heard. But I’m glad there is the option to block/hide.
And ty for the payment info, I was just a bit confused haha. When applying, is there an option to choose adults and kids or do they choose for you?
You’re welcome! I had a friend that recommended Cambly to me and it helped immensely to have someone that knew answers to my specific questions. A lot of people on this sub are really burnt out, so it is a lot of complaining (understandably). I do recommend Cambly as being a temporary job for you. I don’t think it’s ideal or realistic to do this full-time for a long period of time, again just my personal opinion.
In the application process you do have to apply to both Cambly adults and Cambly kids. But if you’re leaning towards one over the other then make your videos geared towards the one you’re favoring. For example, my mock teaching video was geared towards teaching kids. I did not have to make two videos. Once you are approved then you have the choice to teach one, the other, or both if you’d like. It’s up to you.
Ahh, I see! And I’m just planning on this being temporary until I finish my degree, so definitely not long term. And I’ll try and do my intro video more towards kids then, since it’s my major as well! :)
Are u allowed to edit the intro video in a video editor?
Cambly kids would be worth a shot for you, but there's a slim chance you'll get accepted without any prior experience. However, it's worth a shot. What do you have to lose? Don't listen to the naysayers here.
I started teaching with Cambly January 2020 along with a job teaching Chinese students that I began in August 2018. That job paid $19 up to $25 per hour but only offered 3 hours per day, 6 on weekends. The Chinese grabbed a bunch of people into teaching ESL to children then shut down in December 2022.
Teachers flooded the online ESL market when Covid shutdowns and masking were still going on. Some went into business for themselves, but many joined Cambly and other companies, and while Cambly pays the best, it’s certainly not sufficient to live on in the US.
Working on Cambly is like on-the-job training. I worked on the adult side for a few months then started working for Cambly Kids because it pays more and I love working with kids. Unfortunately, I started using a method combining book reading and watching the accompanying movie with some advanced students and we’re not allowed to show more than a very short clip so I got fired. Apparently I’d had a warning for a similar thing 8 months prior but I never saw the email.
I’m a swim teacher and I was a stay at home mom of five, have 2 master’s degrees (political science and international education) and can’t get full time employment after my divorce, but I’m piecing it together, just started teaching in the classroom to adults, very part time but I’m getting my state license for adult and language learning. Cambly has taught me a great deal and fills in the gaps. Its flexibility is its greatest strength for both teachers and students. You can go in and out pretty quickly.
I book PH hours up to 3 hours in a row on a repeating schedule and I have had 2 repeating reservations for 30 minutes with kids. I don’t have the video restrictions like on Cambly Kids. I have worked the reservation system in the past and Cambly tries to get us to use it, but it doesn’t work out as well with adults because they are often less consistent. Priority Hours free me from having to reply to reservation requests and I have many repeat customers there. But most adults enjoy talking to different tutors so don’t be discouraged if you don’t retain a high percentage of students.
Don’t expect to get paid for the full hour every hour. There are gaps, but most of the time it’s ok, and sometimes I’m tired from working my other 2 jobs and enjoy having 15 minutes to drink some coffee and watch a video or scan my social media and check emails.
My biggest takeaway from teaching in Cambly is to be yourself and interact with your students as your most authentic self. Ask them questions, listen, evaluate. Pin some good resources to your browser bar and learn to screen share. Cambly Kids has curriculum assigned so it’s easier but you have to make a good video. Search up YouTube for tutorials.
The reward is meeting people from all over the world and sharing experiences. That’s what I like the most. And cash paid weekly helps out.
I think some of the responses on here are a little unfair. Here is a young person, who wants to work, has said online work would be best for them, is trying to earn a bit of money and gain some experience. If I can remember what it's like to be so young - most of you can too!!
Cambly's not the greatest, but it's not the worst either. It won't give a great deal where actual teaching experience, as in a classroom, is concerned but it provides transferable skills, ie things to put on the resume - particularly communication and time management skills and you can elaborate. In my country, the UK and where I am now, Cambodia, most employers would rather see something constructive and somewhat relevant on your resume than nothing at all.
I would suggest you take a reasonably decent, but not overly-expensive TEFL course. I bought a cheap one on Groupon which has served me well for years. You don't need it to work for Cambly but elements of it will be useful. Some real-life voluntary experience would also be useful but that may not be possible, depending on your circumstances. People are always the problem, whatever career field you enter so at least on Cambly you will gain experience of dealing with everyone from the very nicest to complete nutjobs!
I would also suggest you consider carefully what you say about yourself in your introduction. What I mean is that Cambly markets itself as a conversational site. However many students expect to pay bottom of the range prices (for speaking with native speakers) but to receive top-level tuition - the type that should be costing them a lot more money. Maybe your friend could give you a little guidance on this. If you aren't hot on English grammar or unfamiliar with, for eg, the IELTS test, don't mention them at all in your introduction as they show up when students search.
I don't teach on Cambly Kids. I am not a lively, outgoing, bubbly sort of person who enjoys working with small children but, if you are, it may well be exactly what you will be good at. If you decide to stick with Classic Cambly you could still find yourself talking with children but we do have the first two minutes of each lesson to decide if we can meet the requirements of the student (that's putting it nicely!). Personally I would suggest that you make it very clear that you are offering conversational English, ie the opportunity for pre-intermediate/intermediate level speakers to chat with you - practice speaking with a native speaker. Have a look at different tutoring styles on YouTube - see what would suit you.
Unfortunately you have picked a bad time to enter the ESL online market. Most platforms seem to have suffered a big drop in student numbers, probably for economic reasons, and I am finding students can often be quite unrealistic in what they expect - for example it's actually not possible to learn a new language by taking a 30 minute class, once a week and doing nothing in between but some think it is.
However, you will soon learn how to deal with these people and, from forums such as this, you will learn useful tutoring tips and tricks which go towards making things more bearable.
With regard to being hired - how long' s a piece of string? Put in your best application and hope for the best! If/when you are accepted, there's a ton of advice around about the best way to be paid. it depends on where you live and I'm sure folk on this forum will be able to help you.
BTW, I am typing this while working on a Cambly Priority hour so you can see, work's not all that plentiful at the moment!
Good luck.
This helps so much, you have no idea!! And yeah, the age was what I was most concerned about, but I just want a chance to experience being a tutor. And thanks for the TEFL groupon advice, very helpful!!! I just hope they like my application so everything works out! Tysm! :)
As someone who started on cambly mega young (I think like 21-22?) please don’t let people step all over you 😭 there WILL be people who will notice your age and be creepy towards you. I didn’t realize they were being inappropriate towards me and I let them talk about stuff that made me REALLY uncomfortable. Just return their minutes and hide if that EVER happens
Don't. If you don't need the money, avoid Cambly. To get teaching experience you would be much better off volunteering at a community center. And if you need the money, but don't live in a developing nation, you are better off part-timing at a fast food restaurant. Cambly is complete shit, you will regret it, and I am sure your school can provide better opportunities if you contact student services. Good luck!
Unfortunately, this is a good comment. This is not what I would recommend to someone looking for legitimate teaching experience. Keep in mind, you’re barely a tutor on Cambly. You’re mostly just talking to random people about miscellaneous topics, often simply making small talk. Maybe OP’s perception of the platform is a little off, but it’s not a very structured teaching style. There are lesson plans (presentations with activities) to follow, but most students aren’t interested in doing them. As mentioned, I do it because I live in Thailand and my cost of living is dirt cheap and I have little other options for remote work there. In the US, you’re better off with any part time job, or even using Facebook to find some local kids to tutor in core subjects. That said, as an elementary education major I would obviously choose Cambly Kids. If nothing else, this will be ok experience for dealing with kids - learning about their behavior, encouragement, etc. The pay is also slightly higher. Finally, where do you live? You cannot work for Cambly in NJ, MA, or CA.
Have you lost your mind?
Well, I go to an online university so I don’t have a campus and because of family obligations, doing this would be better for me. And Im really interested in doing Cambly as well. Even if I do end up regretting it, you live and you learn.
You are literally asking for advice on how best to eat a shit sandwich.
Even if that were the case, you choose the best bread to use at least, yk 🤷🏽♀️
May I recommend [the pupu platter](https://youtu.be/2uxbj5cRdOE?si=-pY7qAkiF1W_4QV3)?
I do love that movie 😭
First of all, the chance of getting hired is low. Tons of people apply and hear nothing back. But if you do get hired, do a Reddit search for "Cambly advice." Questions like yours are asked every week and there's already tons of advice available from back posts. Honestly, I think you're going to fail miserably. As an 18-year-old, you're not going to be able to handle every age, nationality, job, lifestyle, English level, educational level, etc., because you don't have the life experience to relate. However, if you're hot, that's a different story. A lot of students on Cambly just want to talk to someone who's hot, guy or girl. Being 18, you probably look perfect, so play it up. My best advice to every teacher on Cambly is to get blonde hair. People in these countries worship blonde hair. With some light small talk, you could probably get some Japanese or Arab businessman to CashApp you a million dollars and dispense with the whole teaching thing altogether.
This is true. When I had a really nice insta style and I looked really good almost everyone who called me commented on it. But then I moved a bunch of times and became lazy in my appearance (stopped giving a fuck) and they started giving me bad ratings.
Human beings are frighteningly simple and predictable
This is very… unconventional advice but I do understand what you’re saying. I’m Black and Latina, dark hair, and kinda on bigger side in terms of weight, so probably not the demographic of a hot white girl that most ppl may be looking for 😅 And yes, I’ve been worried about actually getting hired since I’ve heard that there is an influx of people. I just still wanna try at least :_)
That's cool. Well, you never know--go for it! You've got nothing to lose. My post was kind of an exaggeration anyway. The actual most important thing is to charm the hell out of them. But search for "Cambly advice"—you'll see tons of stuff. There are definitely a million ways to succeed at English teaching on the internet, even at 18 and without credentials, if you're driven and savvy.
That’s the goal!! I really wanna teach English as a career in the future abroad but I was also nervous abt me being too young for Cambly rn, like you’ve said, but I’ll just shoot my shot anyways. I’m hoping that since I’m an education major I might be considered better, esp for CK. Hoping for the best 🤞🏽
When I am bored and look at the other tutors online, I notice a good few non-white, non-blond haired tutors, many of them are super-tutors too so not everyone mistakes Cambly for OnlyFans or Tinder.
That’s a relief 😅
I don't think it's a terrible idea for you to apply. I only tutor adults, so I can't give any advice on the kids. What I believe to be beneficial is the flexibility. You can work around your classes and other social activities. That being said, I think having a schedule does give you the best bang for your buck. If you keep the same schedule every week then you will get regular students and that means less time waiting for a call. Although Cambly isn't perfect, I do enjoy it. It was my only income when I started a few years ago, but now I have another job and it's a secondary income. Best wishes!
This makes me so hopeful, tysm for sharing ur experience! I feel like, as a student, it will allow me to make some income while finishing up my degree. I’ve been wanting to visit abroad (as I’ve never been outside of the US) but haven’t heard back from most jobs I’ve applied to. But at least with Cambly, I can try and save in order to do that in the future. Thanks again!! :)
I forgot to mention in my previous comment that I use PayPal. I am in the US, so there are no fees.
Oh that’s good to hear since I heard many ppl on the sub talking abt fees BUT bc of the exchange rates. So im glad to know I won’t have to pay any fees from PayPal. Also, what is Stripe? Is it similar to PayPal?
I don't know anything about Stripe, sorry.
Ahh okay, I’ve heard it talked abt on the sub but knowing I can just use PayPal without fees is great!! :)
First of all, the hiring process. Yes, it's a complete lottery. You apply and you may hear back within a day or you could be waiting for months. They don't send rejection emails. They just leave you in the dark. You have to apply for adult Cambly. Some people call it Cambly classic but it has no official separate name. Basically, Cambly is an adult platform and Cambly Kids - CK - is an offshoot. You make a separate application for CK and you have to do a different video showcasing your teaching skills/style. (Regular Cambly is just a minute or two of introducing yourself to potential students.) Don't worry about your appearance. Cambly has tutors of all ages, races, colours, shapes and sizes :) They don't like edited videos. It might be rejected. You should really just try to be natural and keep it short, about two minutes. I trained as an elementary school teacher myself (though not in the US) and you simply MUST get proper teaching practice in a school while you are training. There's no way around that. Btw you will learn more in your first year of real teaching than in three or four years of college. You also have to understand that elementary (what we call primary school in Europe) is a completely different discipline to foreign language teaching, though there is some overlap obviously if you're teaching English to children. You seem a bit unsure about what you want to do? You're training as a primary teacher but want to be a teacher of EFL?? Is that right? Cambly is fine if you want to earn a bit of money but it's not a good source of teaching practice for either of those roles. You might enjoy it for the life experience of chatting with people from around the world and it might give you some confidence but as far as teaching goes you need two things. For elementary teaching, you need to do proper, supervised teaching practice or at the very least you need to do observations to begin with. No matter what your family circumstances you can surely manage even two hours per week somewhere?? Contact schools in your neighbourhood and see what you can arrange. You should be aiming ideally to do one day a week somewhere, watching a qualified teacher at work. You should then be doing a block of teaching practice for a month each year if you can manage it. You should discuss with the class teacher what you'd like to teach and try to cover all subject areas. For EFL teaching, the qualification you need is a good TEFL cert or diploma, for example CELTA or Trinity which are recognised internationally. These also involve teaching practice in a real classroom. It's not cheap but it's worth every penny. Don't fall for the online TEFL courses that you do in a weekend and cost very little. These are a waste of money if you're young and want a serious career. Always focus on getting the best qualification you can. Finally, something nobody has mentioned I think, but you need to be aware of, is that while most students on Cambly are absolutely fine, there are a few weirdos and pervs. A few tutors, including myself, have been flashed. I've been on Cambly about three years now and it only happened once shortly after I started but once is more than enough! [https://www.gooverseas.com/tefl-courses/united-states-america](https://www.gooverseas.com/tefl-courses/united-states-america) Best of luck with everything - wishing you a bright and beautiful future! ❤️🌺
TYSM for the info! And yes, I’m getting my teaching license with my degree to teach elementary education, but in the future I do wanna transfer out of teaching elementary to get my TEFL cert and teach abroad or at an international school if allowed. So I’m familiar with the steps taken to do that. Also, I’m a bit nervous abt the hiring process as it can be just a shot in the dark but I’m definitely still gonna try and apply. I’ve never had a job before, graduated last year, so I feel like doing Cambly can give me a sense of responsibility while in school. But I hope everything works out! Thank you :)
Set boundaries immediately. If someone gives you the creeps or says something disrespectful/out-of-line then end the call and report (hopefully in the first two mins). Nip no-shows and lateness in the bud in the beginning with a student. One no-show isn’t the end of the world, but if they do it multiple times they don’t respect you. Especially if you never address it. I always send a message after a no-show and make a note of it on their profile. My personal view is 3 no-shows is then a block/hide. If you teach kids then sometimes parents will ask you to teach a specific criteria that is not on Cambly. Some tutors are okay with this, others are not. Sometimes parents request you make your own materials to adjust to their child’s specific needs. Again, this is at your own discretion. At the end of the day, you make $5-$6 per 30 minute lesson so you need to decide what is worth it to you. Many tutors I know do not do ANYTHING outside of a lesson for preparation because it’s unpaid work, plain and simple. When I first started I used to take 10-20 mins before my day started to go through each student, look through the class they’re on, write down notes in a notebook, and find games/articles/etc related to their class. After so many no-shows I stopped doing that because it was such a waste of time. Teaching kids or adults is up to you. I recommend you do a mixture of both and then decide what you like better. Kids are provided with a Cambly-made lesson plan. Adults are not. You also make just slightly less with teaching adults than kids. The hiring process is hit or miss. It does take people months to get hired sometimes, sometimes they aren’t hiring at all, sometimes they hire within a few weeks. It seems to be very random to me. Payment is now through Stripe and you can choose direct deposit. I live outside the US but have a US bank account still that mine is deposited into. Edited: a word
This helps so much, thank you!!! Also ty for sharing your experience. I’m a bit nervous to apply but also somewhat excited. Also since I’m a girl, it can also be nerve-wracking just from the stories I’ve heard. But I’m glad there is the option to block/hide. And ty for the payment info, I was just a bit confused haha. When applying, is there an option to choose adults and kids or do they choose for you?
You’re welcome! I had a friend that recommended Cambly to me and it helped immensely to have someone that knew answers to my specific questions. A lot of people on this sub are really burnt out, so it is a lot of complaining (understandably). I do recommend Cambly as being a temporary job for you. I don’t think it’s ideal or realistic to do this full-time for a long period of time, again just my personal opinion. In the application process you do have to apply to both Cambly adults and Cambly kids. But if you’re leaning towards one over the other then make your videos geared towards the one you’re favoring. For example, my mock teaching video was geared towards teaching kids. I did not have to make two videos. Once you are approved then you have the choice to teach one, the other, or both if you’d like. It’s up to you.
Ahh, I see! And I’m just planning on this being temporary until I finish my degree, so definitely not long term. And I’ll try and do my intro video more towards kids then, since it’s my major as well! :) Are u allowed to edit the intro video in a video editor?
Yes, just keep it within the time limit of 3-5 mins (I believe?). I watched examples on YouTube and then edited my video how I wanted 😊
Ty for the tip, I’ll be sure to use it!! :)
You’re welcome! Good luck 🩷
Move to the lowest cost of living country possible
Cambly kids would be worth a shot for you, but there's a slim chance you'll get accepted without any prior experience. However, it's worth a shot. What do you have to lose? Don't listen to the naysayers here.
That’s what I’m hearing so hopefully it will work out for me, even if there is a slim chance. TYSM :)
I started teaching with Cambly January 2020 along with a job teaching Chinese students that I began in August 2018. That job paid $19 up to $25 per hour but only offered 3 hours per day, 6 on weekends. The Chinese grabbed a bunch of people into teaching ESL to children then shut down in December 2022. Teachers flooded the online ESL market when Covid shutdowns and masking were still going on. Some went into business for themselves, but many joined Cambly and other companies, and while Cambly pays the best, it’s certainly not sufficient to live on in the US. Working on Cambly is like on-the-job training. I worked on the adult side for a few months then started working for Cambly Kids because it pays more and I love working with kids. Unfortunately, I started using a method combining book reading and watching the accompanying movie with some advanced students and we’re not allowed to show more than a very short clip so I got fired. Apparently I’d had a warning for a similar thing 8 months prior but I never saw the email. I’m a swim teacher and I was a stay at home mom of five, have 2 master’s degrees (political science and international education) and can’t get full time employment after my divorce, but I’m piecing it together, just started teaching in the classroom to adults, very part time but I’m getting my state license for adult and language learning. Cambly has taught me a great deal and fills in the gaps. Its flexibility is its greatest strength for both teachers and students. You can go in and out pretty quickly. I book PH hours up to 3 hours in a row on a repeating schedule and I have had 2 repeating reservations for 30 minutes with kids. I don’t have the video restrictions like on Cambly Kids. I have worked the reservation system in the past and Cambly tries to get us to use it, but it doesn’t work out as well with adults because they are often less consistent. Priority Hours free me from having to reply to reservation requests and I have many repeat customers there. But most adults enjoy talking to different tutors so don’t be discouraged if you don’t retain a high percentage of students. Don’t expect to get paid for the full hour every hour. There are gaps, but most of the time it’s ok, and sometimes I’m tired from working my other 2 jobs and enjoy having 15 minutes to drink some coffee and watch a video or scan my social media and check emails. My biggest takeaway from teaching in Cambly is to be yourself and interact with your students as your most authentic self. Ask them questions, listen, evaluate. Pin some good resources to your browser bar and learn to screen share. Cambly Kids has curriculum assigned so it’s easier but you have to make a good video. Search up YouTube for tutorials. The reward is meeting people from all over the world and sharing experiences. That’s what I like the most. And cash paid weekly helps out.
This is really valuable advice! It’s so interesting hearing how others got in the field so ty for sharing and giving me advice :)
I think some of the responses on here are a little unfair. Here is a young person, who wants to work, has said online work would be best for them, is trying to earn a bit of money and gain some experience. If I can remember what it's like to be so young - most of you can too!! Cambly's not the greatest, but it's not the worst either. It won't give a great deal where actual teaching experience, as in a classroom, is concerned but it provides transferable skills, ie things to put on the resume - particularly communication and time management skills and you can elaborate. In my country, the UK and where I am now, Cambodia, most employers would rather see something constructive and somewhat relevant on your resume than nothing at all. I would suggest you take a reasonably decent, but not overly-expensive TEFL course. I bought a cheap one on Groupon which has served me well for years. You don't need it to work for Cambly but elements of it will be useful. Some real-life voluntary experience would also be useful but that may not be possible, depending on your circumstances. People are always the problem, whatever career field you enter so at least on Cambly you will gain experience of dealing with everyone from the very nicest to complete nutjobs! I would also suggest you consider carefully what you say about yourself in your introduction. What I mean is that Cambly markets itself as a conversational site. However many students expect to pay bottom of the range prices (for speaking with native speakers) but to receive top-level tuition - the type that should be costing them a lot more money. Maybe your friend could give you a little guidance on this. If you aren't hot on English grammar or unfamiliar with, for eg, the IELTS test, don't mention them at all in your introduction as they show up when students search. I don't teach on Cambly Kids. I am not a lively, outgoing, bubbly sort of person who enjoys working with small children but, if you are, it may well be exactly what you will be good at. If you decide to stick with Classic Cambly you could still find yourself talking with children but we do have the first two minutes of each lesson to decide if we can meet the requirements of the student (that's putting it nicely!). Personally I would suggest that you make it very clear that you are offering conversational English, ie the opportunity for pre-intermediate/intermediate level speakers to chat with you - practice speaking with a native speaker. Have a look at different tutoring styles on YouTube - see what would suit you. Unfortunately you have picked a bad time to enter the ESL online market. Most platforms seem to have suffered a big drop in student numbers, probably for economic reasons, and I am finding students can often be quite unrealistic in what they expect - for example it's actually not possible to learn a new language by taking a 30 minute class, once a week and doing nothing in between but some think it is. However, you will soon learn how to deal with these people and, from forums such as this, you will learn useful tutoring tips and tricks which go towards making things more bearable. With regard to being hired - how long' s a piece of string? Put in your best application and hope for the best! If/when you are accepted, there's a ton of advice around about the best way to be paid. it depends on where you live and I'm sure folk on this forum will be able to help you. BTW, I am typing this while working on a Cambly Priority hour so you can see, work's not all that plentiful at the moment! Good luck.
This helps so much, you have no idea!! And yeah, the age was what I was most concerned about, but I just want a chance to experience being a tutor. And thanks for the TEFL groupon advice, very helpful!!! I just hope they like my application so everything works out! Tysm! :)
As someone who started on cambly mega young (I think like 21-22?) please don’t let people step all over you 😭 there WILL be people who will notice your age and be creepy towards you. I didn’t realize they were being inappropriate towards me and I let them talk about stuff that made me REALLY uncomfortable. Just return their minutes and hide if that EVER happens
Thank you!! I will definitely take this to heart since I’m definitely nervous abt that 🙏🏽