PALFISH Is it really as good as they say it is? -An in-depth review and how to apply

Want to earn more money than $10 an hour but don’t have an American accent? Fancy teaching English from your phone or tablet?!

Palfish is a good option for you, especially if you’re happy to teach between 4.30pm and 10.30pm BJT.

Palfish is currently on a hiring spree, and are in search of teachers who can be part of their Official Kids Program. They are also hiring teachers for adult classes too.

This guide breaks down everything you need to know about how to get hired by Palfish, what they pay, and what a work schedule as a Palfish teacher could look like.

What are the teacher requirements?

To be an official course teacher you need to:

Be a native English speaker with a neutral accent

Have experience teaching English (EFL), specifically to kids helps.

Have a degree (doesn’t have to be education related)

Have an English teaching certificate (TEFL or equivalent)

Passport from one of the following: US, Canada, UK, New Zealand, Ireland, or Australia

Be creative and energetic

Technical requirements:

• A compatible iOS or Android phone/tablet

• The Palfish iOS/Android app downloaded to their device

• Stable WIFI connection (test your internet speed here).

No minimum connection requirements are stated on the Palfish website, but having a decent connection will ensure that your lessons run more smoothly. If you want more hours, you want to make sure your students book in with you again, especially if you’re a regular teacher where the hours are less predictable.

When can I teach on Palfish?

The best times to be available for lessons on Palfish are before and after school BJT time (4.30-10.30 are their peak times). If you are unable to teach at these times you may have a hard time building up a client base. Palfish requires you to commit to a minimum of 10 hours available for lessons each week.

How much can I earn teaching on Palfish?

If you teach Palfish official kids course classes, you will earn … per class which equates to roughly US $20/ hour. If you choose to supplement this with free talk lessons, since you can choose your own rate per minute, there are ways to earn more as you gain more followers on the platform.

Does Palfish offer bonuses?

Yes. This is one of the many perks of working on Palfish. The more hours you teach, the higher your hourly rate.

Palfish works on a point system. Teach more lessons, earn more points. They also have certain time slots available to earn double or triple points and occasionally host competitions to give you a points boost. Palfish also rewards reliability with points, not being late to a class, never being absent, and not canceling classes can earn you more points each month.

The current bonuses are the following (in US dollars).

• Around $0.75 for turning up on time

• Around $30 bonus when a student buys a Palfish package after a trial lesson you have taught

• Around $30 bonus for a month of perfect attendance

• Around $15 reimbursement for props purchased

When official teachers teach other courses like Free Talk, they receive the same pay as regular teachers.

How does Palfish pay you?

Palfish payments are made monthly and only if teachers hit the payment threshold, which is currently set at 200 RMB (around $30) a month.

For those living in China, Palfish pay directly into a Chinese bank account. If you live outside China, Palfish pay through Payoneer, and charges fees of $3 per payment. Similar to PayPal, you can then withdraw the money from Payonner into a bank account.

You get paid in RMB, so your earnings will then be exchanged into USD, based on current exchange rates. If you live outside of America, or in a country which doesn’t take USD, you may have to exchange the pay again.

Palfish takes a 20% commission on all Free Talk lessons. The more you earn, the more you pay in commission. Annoyingly, this is pretty standard protocol for online teaching marketplaces. There is no commission for the Official Kids Course, as these rates of pay are tiered and standardized. You also don’t get charged a commission for live streams.

Taxes

For tax purposes, similar to all other online teaching companies, teaching for Palfish means you are an independent contractor. You are therefore responsible for submitting your earnings and paying taxes. This may sound complicated, but there is plenty of helpful advice out there on this with the IRS website offering guidelines for American independent contractors and HMRC website for those from the UK.

So what’s it like to teach on Palfish?

Incredibly fun! With this program, you will be provided with curriculum and lesson plans in advance. Lessons are one-on-one with children and last for 25-minutes. For Palfish Official Kids Course lessons, you will open up your availability in advance and parents can book you. Palfish official kids course is a fully interactive fun platform to teach on. It comes fully equipped with simple instructions for teachers to follow, all you need to succeed is a happy, energetic attitude and a few props for TPR to help engage students and increase their understanding.

What’s the catch? Marketing

Well, it’s not a catch as such but the main disadvantage with Palfish is that you have to market yourself to attract students and since there are so many teachers to choose from, it has become somewhat of a monopoly making it difficult for those who are just starting out. It can be especially difficult if you are unable to teach any peak hours.

Palfish teachers market themselves similarly to on Cambly on their profile, but also by posting educational or life moments (similar to Facebook posts). Post a great moment and you may find yourself featured on the student’s platform, bringing you a major influx of new students. Teachers can also use the Palfish reading app to follow students, like their works, and read books for potential students to listen to.

What is the application process and when can I start?

PalFish currently has the fastest application process in the industry. You can apply and start teaching within 2-4 business days.

The first step to applying to Palfish is to download the app straight to your phone or tablet, from either the Apple App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android. Make sure to download the teacher version.

Once the app is downloaded, you need to sign in with your phone number and enter the verification code Palfish sends to you.

The next step is to select your gender, create a username and password, and add a profile picture.

You should then be able to set up your profile which is what the students will see and read about you. Every applicant, regardless of whether they want to be a regular teacher or an official teacher, fills out the same profile page. Once your profile is submitted and verified, you can then apply for an official teaching role.

Check out the Palfish guidelines for some useful tips and advice.

Text Introduction

This is your chance to introduce yourself. You should write about your education experience, English teaching certificates, work experience, teaching style, any teaching achievements you have, and hobbies. Try to keep this all relevant to the job!

My intro as an example:

OFFICIAL KIDS COURSE TEACHER

Book your classes with me now!

Times: Mon-Sun 9am- 4pm BJT

Available for free talk for all ages

I’d love to chat to you, just send me a message

Hello, my name is Eden, I am 26 years old and I come from Cambridge in England, UK. I live in New Zealand now!

I am a native British speaker with a clear and neutral accent.

I am a kind and happy person and I love talking to new people.

China is such an incredible country and Iook forward to hearing about your experiences. I can share my culture with you along with my adventures in all the countries I have travelled to.

I have a bachelor's degree in Psychology, a CELTA and TEFL qualification and I have over 3 years of experience teaching English to students both in the classroom and online.

Audio Introduction

This is where you record a 30-second voice introduction. You can talk about your teaching philosophy, hobbies and other interests. It may be good to mention how you can help students with their pronunciation and speaking skills – don’t just spend the 30 seconds talking about yourself! Make sure to be in a quiet space and focus on clear and precise pronunciation – your students will hear this and will choose teachers that are clear and easy to understand.

Becoming a Palfish Official Course Instructor

Once your profile has been submitted and verified, you can then apply to become a Palfish official course instructor on the Official Kids Course. You click on the blue ‘application’ icon on the Palfish app and it takes you to an application page for the Official Kids Program. You fill out the two sections, and a Palfish representative will be in touch to set up a mock interview.

The interview involves teaching a 25-minute mock lesson to a Palfish representative who will pretend to be a 6-year-old student. You’ll be given slides in advance to use in the lesson so that you can practice. You and the student will be able to see each other as well as the slides during the lesson.

It’s worth setting up your ‘classroom’ or background behind you, making sure that it’s child-friendly. Your teaching style should be enthusiastic and positive – remember the ‘student’ is only 6-years-old so you need to keep them engaged and speak slowly and clearly. Using props can also be a big plus!

Understanding the Palfish Teaching Platform

Palfish works as an interactive app on your mobile or tablet, providing a platform for audio or video calling, setting up a live feed, creating lessons and seminars and setting up a schedule. It also offers teachers the chance to follow other teachers and students, set rates of pay, check rankings and hours worked. There is also a ‘moments’ feature which allows teachers and students to post messages or lesson ideas, or anything related to the ESL world, for others to read, watch or follow.

Palfish Reviews:

Becoming a Palfish teacher is a great way for ESL teachers to earn some extra cash on the side or to use as a full time job, without having to move to another country or even leave your house! Plus, the requirements aren’t too strict to join!

The biggest advantage of working for Palfish is the freedom. The flexibility of the job means you can work as many or as little hours you like, whenever you’re free! There isn’t any need to schedule hours in advance, you can just show up, click ‘Start Tutoring’ and wait for the calls to come. However, if you would rather schedule hours, that’s an option too!Teaching on the Official Kids Course means scheduled, regular hours and a more reliable stream of students.

Furthermore, the class length is flexible too, so the lessons/calls can be as long or as short as you like – unless you’re teaching on the Official Kids Course, which is fixed at 25 minute lessons. You can also make some extra income through live streaming, running seminars and selling lessons you have created!

The interactive app appears pretty straightforward to navigate, and you don’t need to go out and buy any extra technical equipment, it only requires a compatible phone or tablet. You just need to download the app, fill out your profile details and two days later you could be cleared to start taking your first call!

If you have found this article helpful and you would like to apply to teach on Palfish as an official Kids course teacher. Please use my referral code and send me an email or message when you have done so. This helps me and I can then guide you through the process of getting students and earning those bonuses!

My referral code is: 02103285

You will enter your invitation code in setting after you have downloaded and registered with PalFish. (PS, if you use my link and are successful in your application I will show you how you can earn referral bonuses by recruiting new teachers too!

If you have any questions about Palfish or you’re having trouble applying. Please don’t hesitate to message me using the link at the bottom of the page or send me an email at eden@theskinomad.com. Alternatively leave a comment below!

The Ski Nomad