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[resis]

I've read a lot of past posts about online teaching. Opinions seem to fall in both extremes: the work-to-pay ratio is terrible or "I've been doing it a long time and I'm happy with my earnings".

So for those of you who teach online, have calculated your work hours, and have figured out that you're making at least $10 per hour...

...what are you doing that makes it possible for you to get a decent financial return on your effort? In other words, what do you think you are you doing that's different from what others (who are less content with the work-to-pay ratio) are doing?

(This is purely a financial question--enjoyment of online teaching is a separate issue.)

[anmfaspeaks]

I can only speak for myself, friend. I'm putting $1,100 USD cash per week in my hip pocket from online teaching. Since I can do this from practically any location on the planet, the definition of "decent financial return" is, in my opinion, moot. Check around and see what kind of lifestyle you can purchase for $1,100 USD per week in, say, Puerto Escondido, Mexico.

If your time management skills are sharp enough 25 to 30 hours of teaching per week can easily net you a grand (or more) while lounging poolside in a pair of silk pajamas.

I know this to be true because I'm doing it.

[zharkov]

There was an article in the Chron a couple of years back about a person who made a good living teaching beau coup courses online.  I recall the key is being very disciplined and having a daily routine to crank though the 6 or 8 classes the person was teaching.

A couple of years back, I did some classes for an MBA program, where it was suggest that instructors devote about 10 hours per week to each class.  Each course lasted 8 weeks, so if one did four courses (40 hours) x 6 terms, that comes out to 24 courses per year.  I think they paid about $2500 per course, so you could -- theoretically -- make $60K.   Of course, this assume they have that many courses to give you each term -- which doesn't always happen.  And that you get good evals and stay in the good graces of the people running the program.

[historian]

I did it for a year for a neighboring college with a "distance degree program"  and they paid 4.00 per "lesson" for ten lessons and 6.00 for grading the final.
So, for the course, I'd make 46.00 per student.  When a family member looked into that degree program, I found out they charged 950.00 for the course. No wonder the U liked to refer to the program internally as a "profit center"---sure, they paid the admin clerk I had contact with to post the grades but I got 46.00 to do all grading, commenting and on-line "office hours" sort of work with each student.  That I didn't design the course as well was only because I accepted the course as originally designed by a former colleague.

It taught me that I didn't want to "teach" an on-line course, I want to own a college.  That's were the profit "center" is for my neck of the woods.

[siduri]

The online university I used to work for stressed that my role was to "deliver" the course, not to design it.  I had to do almost no work coming up with assignments or content--it was all prepackaged to be uniform across multiple sections.  All I had to do was lead discussions each week, answer student questions, and grade.  I figured out I was making about $35-40 an hour.