Numerade Review Summary

Numerade hires US educators to record short videos that answer high school and college-level STEM questions. Pay is $1-7 per video and you must have 2+ years of tutoring experience, though no teaching certificate is required. The work is very flexible but can take time, and many students have criticized the company.

Numerade Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Recording videos provides more flexibility than live teaching
• Bonus schemes
• Can tutor from anywhere (so long as you have the right to work in the US)
• Greater privacy – no showing your face/sharing your camera

Cons:

• Only for tutors of STEM subjects
• Low pay for your time if the assignment takes too long
• Requires a stylus
• Not suitable for those who prefer live classes
• Many complaints from students

What Is Numerade and How Does It Work?

Numerade is not a traditional tutoring company, but rather an EdTech platform that provides students with short-form videos in answer to STEM-related questions. To create these videos it hires subject matter experts in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Psychology, Engineering, Math, Economics, and Accounting.

There are two types of question that Numerade videos are recorded for:

1. Textbook Questions: from commonly-used STEM textbooks.
2. Ask Questions: a specific request submitted directly by a Numerade student, e.g. homework help videos.

Here are the major differences between these two types of work:

Numerade provides a list of guidelines and best practices for creating these videos to ensure they are accepted and you get paid for your work:

• Whiteboard-style format (don’t share your camera – webcam footage is not currently allowed).
• Easy-to-understand, step-by-step solutions, showing the work and process to get to the correct answer, with detailed explanation and verbalized commentary (no reading directly from a written script).
• Don’t pretype/underline the solution – videos should be engaging to ensure students follow the solving process to the end.
• Handwriting and drawings must be legible (it is difficult to write neatly with a mouse, which is why Numerade requires a stylus).
• Clear audio and narration with no background noise (including the sound of stylus writing).
• Appropriate length video (ideally 2-3 minutes and no less than 60 seconds).
• Video background should be student-friendly and distraction-free.
• Free from copyrighted material, including the question text.

Questions can be picked up from three areas of the Numerade dashboard:

This video provides a short overview of the platform and how it works:

How Much Does Numerade Pay Per Video?

Numerade educator pay is determined per video, not hour. It is affected by the question type, subject matter, student demand, and geographic region, ranging between:

• $1-$3 per Textbook Question (quicker and easier to answer)
• $2-$7 per Ask Questions (more detailed, vary between concepts, and longer to answer)

The company warns that ‘these rates are subject to change’, as are the bonuses which currently include:

• $100 for submitting your first assignment of 20 videos
• $25 for completing 50 videos in a 7-day period
• $150 for completing 150 videos in a 7-day period

A tutor in this Numerade Reddit thread does point out the flaw with this system, in that the time it takes to make a video is much longer than its running time, reducing the equivalent hourly rate:

How Does Numerade Pay You?

You can request a Numerade payment once your current ‘batch’ of earnings hits $100. This is then deposited directly into your bank account within 5-7 business days.

Numerade Hours and Schedule

Since there are no live classes, a part-time Numerade schedule is extremely flexible, with tutors choosing to login and create videos whenever it suits them (depending on availability of questions).

While the company claims that ‘all you really need to record a video is a few minutes’, teachers report that in reality “assignments vary in level of difficulty and amount of time required, and it can be difficult to know the time commitment before you take on the assignment”.

Numerade Requirements

To become a tutor for Numerade, you must meet these requirements:

• Expertise in one of the following subjects (STEM degree preferred):
  • Math (Calculus, Statistics, Precalculus, Algebra, Probability, Differential Equations)
  • Physics
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Psychology
  • Economics
  • Accounting
  • Engineering
• 2+ years of teaching and/or tutoring experience
• Fluency in English
• Right to work in the USA (though you may tutor from elsewhere)
• Passionate about teaching
• Energetic and engaging in short form videos
• Computer and/or tablet
• Internet access
• Writing stylus
• Microphone that filters out extraneous noise

Numerade Hiring Process

There are several ways to submit a Numerade tutor application. Either:

1. Complete a Numerade educator sign up form with your full name, email address and password (or Google, Apple or Facebook account).
2. Visit the Numerade careers page, select the opening you are interested in, i.e., ‘Online Educator/STEM Expert’, and submit an application form with your:
   • First and last name
   • Email address
   • Phone number
   • Resume/CV
   • Cover letter
   • What subjects are you able to tutor in?
3. Numerade jobs are also advertised through 3rd-party recruitment sites, e.g., Indeed, LinkedIn, SimplyHired, Wellfound, etc.

You will be asked to submit a self-recorded Numerade video interview by choosing from a selection of questions based upon your area of expertise. Remember to restate the problem in your own words when providing your explanation and answer. Videos are rated on audio quality, handwriting, and overall explanation, and should last 1-3 minutes. Sample questions include:

• Accounting – ‘How does management accounting differ from financial accounting?’
• Biology – ‘What ratio of offspring would result from a cross between a white-eyed male and a female that is heterozygous for red eye color?’
• Chemistry – ‘Give a simple definition of an acid.’
• Economics – ‘A price change causes the quantity demanded of a good to decrease by 30 percent, while the total revenue of that good increases by 15 percent. Is the demand curve elastic or inelastic? Explain.’
• Engineering – ‘A pedestrian moves 6.00 km east and then 13.0 km north. Find the magnitude and direction of the resultant displacement vector using the graphical method.’
• Math – ‘Explain why all right angles are congruent.’
• Physics – ‘A juggler throws a bowling pin straight up with an initial speed of 8.20 m/s. How much time elapses until the bowling pin returns to the juggler’s hand?’
• Psychology – ‘What questions do developmental psychologists raise concerning nature versus nurture?’

There is no deadline, and you may use the in-built Numerade whiteboard or upload a video created with alternative whiteboard software. Before final submission, you will be asked to complete your profile with information about your most recent work experience, a profile picture and biography.

It takes 1-2 business days to receive feedback and a contract (should your application/video be approved).

As an example of this type of work, below is a video answering a Numerade Math problem:

Numerade Reviews – What Is It Like Working for Numerade?

The Numerade Glassdoor page currently gives the company an overall rating of 3.4 out of 5, with 59% willing to recommend them (at the time of writing). I have collated tutor/teacher comments from these Numerade job reviews that have been left over the past year, which praise the flexibility and opportunity to revise materials whilst helping others, though views of the pay rates, company support, and amount of work are more mixed, and there is criticism of terminations without warning:

• Advantages:
  • “Good company so far
  • Great for students to retain material while teaching others
  • Work from anywhere in the world. Work anytime you choose
  • Flexible Hours
  • You get all support [sic]. There is lot of work. Team is really helpful. Flexibility. No payment issues
  • Flexible hours and good pay
  • Pay reasonable rate
  • Pays fine if submitted assignment timely
  • Work like balance. Great company. Good vision. Helping peers. Solving the crux of school going children”
• Disadvantages:
  • “Low payment of video
  • Virtually no pay – no communication with tech support/higher ups
  • Pay was great until the rates dropped
  • Required lots of work
  • Payment is often disorganized, too infrequent schedule
  • This company never gives their educators a warning nor any other chance to prove… all of a sudden got my contract terminated. Neither they have given me any warning nor any other chance
  • Deactivates account without any appropriate and prior notice”

The Numerade Indeed page provides a lower average score of 2.4 out of 5, though this is calculated from a total of just 5 reviews at this time. Again, we find more complaints over the time-consuming nature of the work that devalues its financial returns:

Is Numerade Legit or a Scam?

Numerade is a legitimate American company that was incorporated in 2019 and is based out of Santa Monica. Its credentials include $26 million of investment, being named in the GSV 150 list of ‘Most Transformational Growth Companies in Digital Learning‘, and citations from reputable organizations such as the Los Angeles Business Journal and The Learning Counsel.

Still, the company’s reputation has been damaged by numerous accusations of it being a ‘scam’, particularly in these extremely low Trustpilot scores and Reddit threads. Such claims overwhelmingly originate from students who have struggled to cancel the service following a free trial and have consequently been charged for a subscription.

While teacher reviews are generally more positive, these also contain some complaints about the difficulties of getting paid for the videos produced:

Conclusion – Is Numerade Worth It for Educators?

Though making short educational videos in your spare time sounds appealing, it is clear from tutor testimonies that this is often more time-consuming than profitable, while the number of negative reviews against Numerade does sow some doubt about the company’s reliability. It is up to you whether the flexible nature of the job outweighs the possible risks.

If you are interested in work answering student questions then Course Hero provides an alternative option, or rather check out our full list of online teaching companies.