Skooli Review Summary

Skooli hires Native and Non-Native Speaking graduates to tutor elementary-college level students 1v1 online. They pay CAD$25 per hour, with flexible schedules and no minimum hours, but bookings are hard to come by and there are financial penalties for lateness/cancellation.

Skooli Pros and Cons

Pros:

• No limits on nationality or location
• Flexible 24/7 schedule with no minimum hours
• Tutors can make themselves available for instant bookings if logged in

Cons:

• Company is not transparent about pay
• Payment in Canadian dollars (lower than USD)
• Difficult to attract students
• Difficult to find teachers who have been successful on the platform
• Financial penalties for lateness and cancellations

Is Skooli Legit?

Skooli is a legitimate online tutoring company founded in 2014. Rather than delivering ESL, it is aimed at helping students with multiple school subjects (including English, Math, etc.), from elementary to college level.

Where Is Skooli Based?

The Skooli headquarters is based in Toronto, Canada, but they have tutors and students from all over the world.

How Much Does Skooli Pay?

The company does not openly advertise what the Skooli online tutor salary is, other than to say that Skooli pay rates are ‘competitive’ and based on ‘qualifications and experience’. It is reported by teachers that Skooli tutor pay amounts to CAD$25 per hour, though be aware that this is in Canadian dollars, which works out at around US$19-20 (depending on the exchange rate).

Although there is a set Skooli hourly rate, the company calculates earnings per minute as the length of tutorials varies depending on the student.

Skooli Payment Method

The Skooli salary is paid via PayPal. A payout can be requested from a tutor’s ‘Earnings’ tab in their Dashboard once the minimum threshold of $100 is reached. All payout requests are reviewed and processed weekly on the following Friday.

Skooli Hours

Skooli hours are 24/7.

Tutors are free to set their own schedule and accept as few or as many lessons as they wish (students may still request lessons outside of a tutor’s indicated availability). There is no minimum or maximum hours requirement; the company says that some of its tutors teach for as little as 15 minutes per month while others do several hours a day, though inactive tutors will periodically be removed from the site.

The tutorial length is determined by the student, with no maximum lesson time but a minimum of 15 minutes.

It seems that bookings are hard to come by on Skooli, something that tutors attest to on Facebook and Glassdoor:

Skooli provides the following tips to help increase booking rates:

1. The number one factor affecting how many session requests you receive is how often you are online and available. When new students want help, they want it immediately. Be online and available to accept new instant tutoring requests.
2. Create a short profile video to introduce yourself (30-60 seconds is all that is needed).
3. Be prepared with the content of your tutoring sessions, and be positive and encouraging with your students to help create a strong rating for your profile.
4. Leave feedback for your students after a successful session with a summary of what was covered and suggest topics for future sessions to encourage them to book with you again.
5. Set your availability and be available at the times you have indicated.
6. Login often to show up higher in search results.

Skooli Cancellation Policy

Regarding Skooli students:

• If a Skooli student cancels a tutorial with less than 30 minutes’ notice or fails to show within the first 15 minutes, then the tutor will still be paid for 15 minutes of tutoring time
• If the student joins late, the tutor still receives the full amount
• If the student ends the tutorial early, the tutor is still paid for the full time slot
• If the student wishes to extend the session, then the tutor will continue to be paid per minute in the classroom

Regarding Skooli tutors:

• If a Skooli tutor cancels 1-12 hours before a tutorial, they will have $3 deducted from their earnings
• Less than 1 hour’s notice or a no show within the first 15 minutes of a tutorial results in a $10 deduction
• Lateness of 10 minutes or more is a $3 deduction
• Multiple late occurrences or no shows will result in warnings and, ultimately, removal from the platform

Skooli Tutor Requirements

These are the Skooli requirements to become a tutor with the company:

• A bachelor’s degree
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English
• Able to provide a clear national-level criminal background check
• A PayPal account to receive pay

Additional qualifications such as a postgraduate degree (Master’s or PhD), teaching license (State/Provincial) or language qualification (TEFL/TESOL/CELTA certificate) are advantageous but not mandatory.

Tutors are allowed to work from anywhere internationally.

Skooli Technical Requirements

• A desktop or laptop computer with a camera, headphones/speakers and microphone (you can test your device’s compatibility in the Skooli demo classroom)
• An internet connection of at least 2 Mbps (you can test your internet speed here)

Note that students are allowed to use a tablet, which means some of the whiteboard features will not be functional for them.

Skooli Application Process

To apply for Skooli tutoring jobs, first register as a tutor here. You will need to already have either a Google, Facebook, or LinkedIn account, as there is no email sign up option.

You will then need to submit the following details for your Skooli tutor application:

• Basic info:
  • Select image/profile picture
  • First name
  • Last name
  • I can tutor… (select subjects)
  • Select grade levels
  • Birthday
  • Physical address
  • Phone number
  • What sets you apart:
    • Your accomplishments
    • What gets you up in the morning, and how do you stay current in your field?
    • What makes you unique?
    • Why should students book you as a tutor?
    • Give a snapshot of your background and don’t be afraid to show your personality
• Educational background:
  • I am a certified teacher (yes or no)
  • Educational byline
    • Your major
    • Institution name
    • Graduation year
  • Professional background
    • Your work title
    • Institution name
• Get Verified – ID Document
  • Skooli’s verification process is an important part of onboarding on the platform. A Skooli Academic Officer will review your photo ID, education documents, teaching credentials, and criminal record check before adding a verified badge to your profile to confirm that you are a verified tutor.
  • Upload ID document
    • front
    • back
    • Country
    • State/Province
    • Type
    • Document Number
• Get Verified – Add your degrees
  • Select the degree you want to verify from the dropdown list and upload a copy of the corresponding degree certificate or final transcript
    • Education type
    • Institution name
    • Your field of study
    • Start year
    • End year
  • Only completed degrees will be verified
  • You can repeat this step for each degree you hold
• Get Verified – Add your Teaching License
  • If you have completed a teacher certification course, such as a state/provincial teacher qualification, TEFL, or specialist certification, upload a copy to match the information on your certificate:
    • Issuing Body
    • Issuing Country
    • Issuing Province/State
    • Subtype
    • Certificate Name
    • Subject area
    • Grade Levels
    • Issued Date
    • Expiry Date (or tick ‘Certificate Never Expires’)
• Add Your Criminal Background Check
  • Upload a criminal background check document from within the past 6 months. If you don’t have one, the Tutor Onboarding Team will help determine which check to apply for after a successful interview.
  • Drag document or upload
  • Level
  • Issue Date
  • Consent
• Review and Submit

Should you match their criteria, the next stage of the Skooli hiring process will be an email invitation to a video interview, which should be received within a few days of applying.

Should you not be contacted within this time frame, your profile may lack sufficient detail or there may not currently be a need for tutors in your subject area or grade level. If this changes, you may be contacted at a later time.

Once you pass the interview and have all your documents approved, your account will be activated and you will be able to start Skooli online tutoring.

How Does Teaching for Skooli Work?

Classes are booked by students who search for the subject and grade level they require tutoring in, and then send a session request to the tutor(s) they are interested in. Tutors cannot initiate communication with students.

If you are booked, you should request preparatory materials from your student in advance.

The tutorial length is determined by the student, with no maximum lesson time but a minimum of 15 minutes.

Students may also issue an instant help request to tutors who are logged in with their availability toggle ‘on’. In this instance, there is a 5-minute grace period to allow both parties to determine if they are a good fit. Payment kicks in once this grace period has passed.

Skooli has provided this video overview to help new tutors record their profile video, set their availability, join the classroom and leave feedback:

Skooli Online Teaching Platform

Tutoring with Skooli is conducted on the company’s own platform, which features video conferencing, online chat, screen sharing, an interactive whiteboard, and Google Drive. You can test it out via this demo. Note that students who use a tablet will not have access to all of the whiteboard’s functionality.

Though aimed at students, here is another Skooli video which demonstrates some of the classroom’s functionality:

Skooli Teacher Reviews – What Is It Like Working for Skooli?

The Skooli Glassdoor page gives the company an average rating of 2.7 out of 5, with 45% willing to recommend them to a friend, though this comes from just 9 Skooli tutor reviews (at the time of writing).

These Skooli tutoring reviews are generally more critical than praising but, in summary, they highlight the following positives and negatives:

• Positives:
  • Flexible schedule
  • Decent pay
  • Good virtual classroom
  • Not obligated to accept work
• Negatives:
  • No guaranteed hours – unpredictable workload
  • Payment in CAD
  • Poor coordination between management and technical staff
  • Some rude students
  • Company sides with students

Here are a couple of examples in full:

Conclusion – Is Skooli Worth It?

While Skooli technically accepts graduates from anywhere, it is difficult to find teachers who have been especially successful in finding bookings on the platform. They are thus probably best considered as an ad-hoc option rather than a job you will make a full-time income from.

You can apply to Skooli here.

A full list of other online teaching companies can be found here.