Teach for Cambly: Teach English Online for Cambly

Teach for Cambly

If you are interested in teaching for Cambly, this is the low down based on my own experiences teaching English online for the company.

Quick Overview

Cambly will hire you to teach English remotely from anywhere in the world.

It pays 10.20 an hour but you can pop on and off whenever. They pay you the same regardless what country you are based in as long as you are a native speaker of English.

You will primarily teach adults, though you can also apply to Cambly Kids to teach kids. If you teach for Cambly Kids , you earn a bit more, too.

  • Get paid ASAP every Monday via Paypal
  • No degree necessary
  • Pop on whenever you have a free moment, no minimum hours, no commitment
  • Earn $10.20 USD/hour
  • Must be a native English speaker

Pros of Teaching for Cambly

The best part about Cambly is how easy it is. It is easy to get hired and also easy to be a Cambly teacher. To apply to Cambly, you apply online and upload a video of yourself with an introduction. That’s it!

Benefits of Teaching for Cambly

Another great aspect of Cambly is how easy the platform makes it to teach. Most students are looking for conversational English. Cambly allows students to call whenever they have free time. They are then directed immediately to a tutor who “picks up the phone” from their computer.

Cambly doesn’t require you to have a committed schedule. You can pop on and off whenever you have free time. You just make yourself visible and students call you. This is similar to Palfish and its “Free Talk” program. If you have a free half an hour, make yourself visible, chat with a new student, and make an easy five dollars.

Another great aspect of Cambly is that they pay weekly. Every Monday, you get money sent directly to your Paypal.

Why Teach for Cambly: My Real Experiences

These are my own experiences teaching for Cambly. I taught for the platform for a few years while living in Romania; the hourly Cambly rate goes really far in the lei! I am not a Cambly Ambassador and I am not getting paid; these are my honest personal experiences.

How does Cambly treat its teachers?

A photo of me teaching English Online with Manycam Filter Background

First, I think Cambly should be credited for its equal treatment of all teachers.

Cambly does not discriminate based on a teacher’s location. They don’t care if you live in India or Canada. If you are a native speaker of English, and they deem your education and experience sufficient to be hired, then you will be paid the same rates. Many companies pay less to teachers based in poor countries or consider certain variants of English not “native”, which you can learn more about here.

And, finally, Cambly lets you teach on a Chromebook or a cheaper laptop than many other companies require. You don’t need to spend a lot of money on equipment to start with Cambly, though a headset and an external camera is highly recommended for a good rating.

Teach for Cambly using your Chromebook, an inexpensive laptop option.

Cons of Teaching for Cambly

Low Pay

The primary downside to Cambly is its relatively low pay.

If you have a BA degree (in anything) and a few years of experience teaching (even summer camps, babysitting, etc.), then there are companies that will pay you 15-25 an hour. However, these companies will require a stable, committed schedule from you, and the hiring process will likely require you to teach a demo class.

Little Support

Another con is that Cambly does not have great support system for current teachers.

If you have a problem during class (such a technical problem or glitch), you can message a Cambly team member but you might not receive a reply for a few days.

Other companies will often have a live agent you can chat with who can troubleshoot classes, but Cambly does not have this. On the other hand, other companies that have these live agents are also watching your classes and will often give suggestions while you are teaching (some have sales teams that are communicating with the student and with you while you teach them a trial class). This can be nerve-wracking. For this reason, I would consider this lack of live support a pro as well.

In some ways, you are left to drown on your own; in other ways, you are free to swim! If you have an issue during class, other Cambly teachers are quick to help and you can real-time ask teachers in the FB group Cambly Corner for help, for example.

My personal opinion on this is: swim free little fish, swim free.

If you teach for Cambly you can chat with a Brazilian university student or a Japanese marketing professional or a teenage girl Saudi Arabia all in the same day. It is truly a fun and rewarding experience to learn about so many different cultures.

If you teach for Cambly you can chat with a Brazilian university student or a Japanese marketing professional or a teenage girl Saudi Arabia all in the same day. It is truly a fun and rewarding experience to learn about so many different cultures.

Is Cambly a Good Company to Work For?

I really enjoy teaching on Cambly and I have used the platform for over three years now. I teach for much higher paid companies too, but I genuinely enjoy Cambly and it doesn’t feel like a job. My regular students on the platform feel like friends and I learn as much from them as they do from me. For me, it has become more of a cultural language exchange program where I have met people from around the world.

BOTTOM LINE: With Cambly, you are trading high pay for flexibility, pleasure, and autonomy.

Teach For Cambly: How to Apply to Cambly

  1. Fill out a basic information form. …
  2. Upload a short (2 minute) introduction video.
  3. Receive Cambly approval.
  4. Create a profile.

If you use my referral link then I can track your progress and mentor you through the application. I will see your username in my Cambly account, along with your teaching hours, so I can contact you. To be honest, the application itself is pretty self-explanatory, but it might be helpful to reach out to me for help once you are approved. I have tips for getting a high rating and can be a good resource for technical issues or issues you might have with the platform.

Here is my profile on Cambly, to give you an idea of how to write your own.

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Ingrid Maria Pimsner, MA, BA, TEFL
Ingrid Maria Pimsner, MA, BA, TEFL

Ingrid Maria Pimsner has been teaching for over a decade in various universities, nonprofits, and private academies. She has taught English as a Second Language for Lutheran Children & Family Service, Nationalities Service Center, Lernstudio Barbarossa Berlin-Tegel, and more. In addition to her Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) Certification, she holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and a MA from Maryland Institute College of Art.