In today’s digitized society, telecommute and online education careers are becoming highly popular options to eliminate hours of stop-and-go traffic and distracting classroom environments. Hours are often flexible, and you can set up in your home, the library or wherever you feel most comfortable. However, many people find that they work best in a traditional work setting with a regular, fixed income, so working remotely isn’t the best fit for everyone – otherwise, everyone would be doing it! Two of the most popular online education jobs are freelance academic writing and online tutoring. Keep reading to find out if you’d be a good fit to switch from an in-house to remote career in education.
Online Education Jobs──Freelance Academic Writing
Pros: Your hours and locations can be as flexible as you choose.
You can hone your research skills on a wide variety of topics from anywhere in the world. It’s fairly straightforward to get started; most companies will ask that you complete a sample writing task to demonstrate your abilities, as well as a phone screen to ensure you’re aware of the proper procedures when communicating online with clients. You get to choose which assignments you want to complete every day, so your schedule is as flexible as you want it to be. There’s no pressure to fill a certain quota or write on topics that you don’t understand.
Cons: Student interactions and consistency are far and few between.
Assignments don’t always come in at a consistent rate, especially during the summer, leaving many to take up other part-time jobs in addition to their freelance writing jobs. There’s also a distinct lack of interpersonal contact between writers and their clients, so if working one-on-one with students and children is the highlight of your day, remote academic writing will not adequately fulfill your extrovert side. While academic writing is intellectually stimulating, it can also create issues with plagiarism if the student decides to abuse the service.
Online Education Jobs──Online Tutoring 
Pros: Your lessons are flexible and you can work directly with students.
If you’re looking for a more interactive approach to remote education, online tutoring is a great way to get involved. All you need is a reliable internet connection, good verbal and oral communication skills, and a passion for the subject you plan to tutor. You can plan online tutoring sessions around your schedule, and you can squeeze in a session in as little as 25 minutes.
Cons: Oftentimes, more hours are spent planning than actually teaching.
Online tutoring still requires lesson planning and preparation that can be very time-consuming depending on how many tutoring sessions you take on, and you’re only paid for the time you spend facing your client. Like a traditional teaching job, be sure you’re ready to commit to hours of unpaid preparation before you consider online tutoring jobs. Marketing skills are a must.
Overall, online education jobs can offer excellent opportunities for the right people to keep their skills sharp while doing what they love. They make it possible to make a living from the comfort of your very own home if the environment and job requirements suit you.
StudyGate would fall squarely in the online tutoring category since it only offers online learning services. Learn here how to become a tutor at StudyGate. Students do request instant homework help, and the site enforces an academic honesty policy to distinguish between homework help and simply doing homework on behalf of the student. Tutors are expected to show their work and explain the process to the solutions they provide directly.
Otherwise, flexibility and accessibility are hallmarks of a site completely dedicated to freelance work. Don’t expect to have a boss looking over your shoulder with this job. At StudyGate, the tutor is in the driver’s seat for building an online reputation and finding work through student traffic brought in by the site.