This post is all about my honest Outschool Review and everything to know before you apply to Outschool!
Have you heard mixed Outschool reviews or just need more information on how Outschool works for teachers in terms of policies, pay, and curriculum? As a new Outschool teacher, I recently had loads of questions myself, and I’m here to answer ALL the questions I had that I’m sure you have now!
[This post contains affiliate links. I receive a commission if you use some of the links below at no extra cost to you!]
What is Outschool?
Before I give my overall Outschool review, I’ll give a quick rundown of what Outschool is. Outschool is essentially a marketplace for teachers to list different kinds of classes. Classes take place through Zoom.
According to Outschool’s own website, “Outschool is a community marketplace of online classes for kids. We help parents find and register for great classes that are offered outside of regular school. And we help teachers, both professional and amateur, manage and promote their classes to parents. Our focus is on small-group, live online classes, though we support a variety of other formats as well.”
Requirements to Teach for Outschool
- You DON’T need a bachelors degree or a teaching degree in order to teach for Outschool!
- You DO need to have a passion or expertise to teach on
- You DO need to be at least 18 years old
- You DO need to be able to complete a background check
- You DO need to have enough technical skills to run online classes efficiently
- You DO need to live full-time in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, England, or Wales (Outschool states that other UK countries are not able to apply right now)
- You DO need to be able to speak and write well in English
Outschool Classes: What Can You Teach on Outschool?
As an Outschool teacher, you are an independent contractor. This means you make up what kind of classes you teach, make up your own curriculum, decide how long the classes last (once, weekly, monthly, etc) and set your own pricing. Outschool is only the platform that you use to list your classes. They must approve the classes you post, but you can pretty much make classes about anything…there are teachers who teach everything from makeup classes to play doh letters!
The categories for Outschool classes you can offer as a teacher are:
- Arts
- Coding & Tech
- English
- Health & Wellness
- Life Skills
- Math
- Music
- Science & Nature
- Social Studies
- World Languages
I teach classes about YouTube, and so my classes are listed under “Coding & Tech.” You can look at what my classes look like here.
Outschool Pay: How Much Money Can You Make With Outschool
Outschool says that the average teacher on Outschool makes $50/hour! You set your own rates as an independent teacher on Outschool, but they recommend $10-$15 per student per hour in class. However, I’ve seen teachers charge $15 for 30 minute classes per student.
Outschool takes a 30% service fee per learner. So if you were to charge $15/learner, you would actually be making $10.50/learner.
Many of my Outschool teacher friends make +$100/hour. I’ve seen the numbers, and it’s true! For my classes, so far I’ve made $42/50 minutes, $63/50minutes and $42/40minutes! I have had an average of 5 students every class so far. The more students you have in class, obviously the more money you will make.
Outschool pays you about a week after your scheduled class date via PayPal.
Outschool Class Length: How Long are Outschool Classes?
Outschool classes can be anywhere from 15 minutes to 180 minutes. I think 30-60 minutes in class time is a great range to start with as a new teacher. My classes are 40-50 minutes.
Also, you can list a variety of class types depending on how many times you want a class to meet–one time classes, short courses, semester courses, and ongoing classes.
I recommend you teach one-time classes for your first Outschool classes. I have only created and taught one-time classes so far as a new Outschool teacher. Teacher Cassie of CassieLeighann.co recommends that after you get comfortable with one-time classes, to move towards on-going classes!
I just recently posted my first ongoing class–A YouTube Creators Club that meets once a week. It hasn’t been very popular yet, but i’m hoping I can get students from my other one-time classes focused on YouTube into my ongoing course!
Honest Overall Outschool Review
You’ve got to give it a try! I am so happy I joined Outschool. I honestly wasn’t sure how I would like it, because before Outschool, I only ever taught with ESL companies (Gogokid & VIPKID). I love Gogokid, because I don’t have to think about curriculum or do much preparation before my class. I was very worried about making my own curriculum with Outschool, and it was scary to me to put my own curriculum out in the world…what if students didn’t like it?! I felt vulnerable and scared by something so new.
My first class I was shaking I was so nervous, but I will say, it got SO MUCH easier even after the first class. I had a blast teaching about YouTube, a subject I already coach clients on. It came easily to me, and it’s something I love to talk about and teach. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you do the same when making your Outschool classes. PICK A TOPIC YOU LOVE! However, I have different advice for the application, so please watch this video if you’re applying.
My first three classes I have made WAY better money than Gogokid and I enjoyed teaching the classes much more as well.
Overall, I’m excited to continue building on Outschool, and I highly recommend teaching for Outschool! I know it may seem scary, but it gets easier once you do a few classes and the pay is AWESOME!
Apply to Outschool
If you’re ready to apply to Outschool, my main advice is to niche down! The class idea that you use in your application doesn’t actually have to be what you end up teaching about. Thus, I recommend you go with what you know!
For example, my friend who is a nurse initially applied with an Outschool class example in history. I suggested she change her class listing for her application to something about nursing and she was quickly accepted! She is now listing classes about Tiktok! Lol! So, what you apply with doesn’t have to be what you end up teaching, so go with what your background is in your application.
Check out this video for more help and to see my ACTUAL Outschool application video.
Have questions? Feel free to shoot me an email at danie@heydaniejay.com
This post has been about my Outschool review!
