10 Painful Reasons Why You Are Not Making Much in the ESL Industry : Part Two

You must have liked and I hope, learned from the first part that’s why you’re reading this again. Proceed with caution, please.

6. You’ve grown complacent.

Do you remember that day when you first started teaching? Remember that feeling of nervosity and excitement at the same time? That eagerness to learn, initiative to share best practices, genuine interest in your students? Where have they gone? I would be lying if I say I didn’t become complacent. I did! But, I didn’t like it. So, I decided to not let it sate my hunger for growth.
You have to continue learning. Sooner or later you are going to be an expert in what you do and feel like there’s nothing more left to learn. But the key is to first, have a goal, a new one. That will give you a focused direction and guide you through the things that you will need to learn. Always ask yourself, “What’s next?”
Now, different people have different objectives. Some are happy and quite settled with what they already have. That’s completely fine. How about you? Are you really happy? Do you really love what you do? Because as far as I know, when people are indeed happy with what they do and they truly love what they do, they would have no time for complaints. You can’t be happy and at the same time, complain.
Now to check how complacent you’ve become, try to answer the following: “When was the last time you felt excited for your classes?” “When was the last time you learned something new? What was it?” “What are the things you’ve become tired of doing?” Don’t you just wish you had that same feeling of excitement again when you were just starting? And you know what will bring that back? Thinking that you’re always a beginner. If that is rather difficult to do, then why not begin something new and be truly a beginner at something again?

7. You’ve become entitled.

I find it rather amusing how a lot of ESL teachers/tutors cite their tenure as well as experience to justify their demands for a pay raise. I’ve been an online ESL teacher for nearly 6 years now and I remember when I hit my second year, I was really proud of it. When I reached my third year, I realized it’s the longest job I had had and the one I truly loved and enjoyed the most. I still saw myself doing it for the next few years but something’s got to change. And no, I wasn’t thinking about the salary. I was thinking about personal and professional growth and development. I had to grow. I had to continue learning to keep up with the changes. And the pay should change accordingly.
Now going back to my tenure, right after my third year, I stopped talking about it. To be honest, it became rather embarrassing to even think I’ve had the same job, same pay, for over three years and nothing’s changed?! It’s actually convenient to add some drama to it like, “..because I really love teaching, it is my passion, I love my students, etc..” And yes, I did. But at some point, you’ve got to cut that crap. Wouldn’t it sound so much better to say, “I’ve learned a lot from this job and I think I can go make it on my own now.” Or, “I’ve had this job for XX years now and I would love to have my own school in the near future.”
I’ll say it here again, just because you’ve been with your company for the longest time doesn’t mean you’ve grown invaluable and/or that you deserve a higher pay. How have you changed? What makes you a lot better now than when you were just starting? It should also be noted that ESL companies hire undergraduates and some, just like me, started teaching online before obtaining their college degrees and/or teaching certificates. You know what that means? This job doesn’t require your degrees, titles, certificates, licenses. This job can be carried out by undergraduates. That’s a fact. Self-entitlements can’t do your pay any magic in this industry. Bring them somewhere else.

8. You are lazy. / You don’t want to start over again.

When was the last time you updated your self-introduction/audio recording? Did you even care do that?
So, you’ve learned about a company that is probably better than your current one. Have you updated your resume yet? Have you started writing/revising your cover letters? Do you look forward to the hiring process – the interviews, the training, the new written introductions, audio/video recordings? Learning about and adjusting to a new set of company policies? Not having students in the beginning?
Have you read books and articles that can help you improve? Watched helpful videos online to learn how other teachers are advancing? Have you started applying what you learned?
That’s all.

9. You are clingy.

You act like you are an employee when it’s clearly stated in your agreement that there is no employee-employer relationship between you and your company. Before making pay demands, you might want to resolve that “no employee-employer relationship” first. Well, if you can. Now, this is why having “unions” in this industry will not work, especially those driven for the wrong reasons. The only way that will work is if you completely stop teaching, if you walk out of your lessons, and refuse to accept what you refer to as “insulting offers.” Can you, altogether, do that?
No, you can’t. See how clingy you are?
Stop acting like you’re an employee. Or, if you want, be an employee somewhere else. These online jobs are actually “millenial jobs” and why you haven’t realized how businesses are continuously changing, I have no idea. I have shared this in our small group before and I’m going to share it here as well. I read and learned this from one of my favorite books, Think and Grow Rich. “In the future both employers and employees will recognize that they are no longer privileged to drive bargains at the expense of those whom they serve. The real employer of the future will be the public.”
That future has come to this industry and it’s been around for quite a long while now. So, what do you do?

10. Simply, you are not qualified.

You may have the longest experience, hold those teaching certificates, but those do not automatically qualify you for a higher pay. Some are not even qualified for their current pay, to be honest. I mentioned in the first part of this article how people make desperate choices accepting those “insulting, inhumane” rates, but, has it ever occurred to you that you might have also been just a desperate hire on their end? Some companies are just starting and yes, they do start small. Sometimes, too small even in terms of their teacher qualifications, skills, and attitude. That was what I deemed unfair in this industry.
Isn’t it so unfair that a teacher/tutor with an extensive background/experience, the right attitude, and the passion to teach gets paid just the same as those who don’t have all that I just mentioned? What makes it fair though, is that everyone has the choice to, again, either leave or look for a better company. But, then, will you qualify?

That’s all, you masochists! Now, go do something about your pain and hurt no more. Cheers! 😉