Online Instructor Jobs

Online education, or distance learning comes in many forms. Therefore, the opportunities for online instructor jobs vary, but are in greater supply than ever. The advancement of technology, particularly the internet, has allowed students to fit educations into their lifestyles whether choosing continuing onto higher education for advanced degrees, occupational certifications, or to become educated with a desire to change one’s field of employment altogether. There are many variables to consider if an online instructor job is what one wishes to pursue such as qualifications, compensation, teaching methods, and area of instruction.

Qualifying For Online Instructor Jobs

Depending on employer, what one is teaching, and who one will be instructing, an online teacher’s educational and employment background qualifications may vary. If one is a master at a particular skill and has achieved several certifications, this may be all that is required to instruct online students who are simply learning and testing to be certified in a particular skill set needed to further one’s career. However, online instructor jobs usually require the same resume standards that traditional classroom teachers possess. Depending on a state’s educational board, virtual high school teachers must at least have a bachelor’s, and in most cases a master’s degree, along with a state board certification or license. Colleges and universities may require advanced degrees such as doctorates, but in some cases a working professional who is considered an expert in a particular field is hired based on work experience alone.

Compensation

Most online instructors work on a part-time, contract, or adjunct basis and are paid per course. If an instructor has a hand in creating the curriculum as well, the employer will compensate for that as well. Fortunately, growth potential for online education is great. Therefore, the more and more that online education is recognized and respected as a traditional brick and mortar classroom system, the more valuable online instructor jobs will become. Currently, in the United States, the Department of Labor (DOL) does not make a distinction between in-person and online teachers. This is advantageous when schools are determining salaries using data provided by government or private compensation research firms. Like all educators, pay depends on field of instruction and curriculum vitae. Teaching medical and law courses will command greater compensation than humanities as the background of the instructor is considered more valuable. The average salary per course is $2000 per semester. However if one is hired as a full-time employee, the average DOL statistic is approximately $58,000 per year.

Teaching Methods Unique To Online Instructor Jobs

Obviously, all online instructors need to be very familiar with technology, but not exclusively the internet. While there are classes that are taught strictly through self-paced learning with email and online assessments the only means of communication, the contact between teacher and student and the methods of instruction are expanding. As technology advances and consumer demand increases exponentially, on-line chats, conference calls, video and audio presentations, live classroom connect through online blackboards and web cameras and student tutoring and study sessions are working their way into distance learning. Online instructor jobs were once very isolating when they started to become en vogue about 15 years ago. However, with many adults returning to school as a result of the economy; general education degrees (GED) and college degrees becoming standard for job applications; and time constraints hindering the work/family balance, virtual education is requiring more personal attention from instructors than ever before. A person looking into online educating as a career choice must be familiar with software programs designed to offer online, live presentations; hardware such as web cameras; and how all of these tools operate in order to gather students who may be thousands of miles away into the course. In addition, distance learning opportunities have opened many doors to disabled individuals. Hence, instructors need to learn methods of communicating that are viable for all individuals participating in the class.

Field of Instruction

In years past, with just internet access and a personal computer involved in e-learning, courses were limited to areas that could be learned without demonstration, lab access, and other techniques. Business courses, medical terminology and billing, languages, computer skills and other fields that eliminated the need for instructors to be hands-on were the basic offerings. Today, everything from nursing to law to education itself is available through distance learning. The drawback for educators who are used to the classroom but are incorporating virtual learning methods is loss of control in the total learning experience. For instance, an exceptional online instructor may have provided the knowledge and aptitude one needs to be a nurse, but cannot oversee or provide the clinical experience as the student may be located across the country, or out of the U.S. Therefore, online schools contract with labs, hospitals, and all sorts of on-the-job training facilities that work alongside the virtual course. Educators must be willing to trust that their students are being well-trained, and they need to learn to pick up on when this is not the case. An early education instructor may be able to review video of a student in his first student-teaching role, but he cannot be there live to assist all forty members of the class do so. Strong relationships between online educators and their clinical counterparts are necessary. Online instructors must be open to this cohesion.

One of the most difficult things for a person who wishes to gain an online instructor job to do is prove to an employer that they have certain personality traits along with an excellent educational and employment resume. Patience is a virtue in this type of learning environment. A brick and mortar teacher can watch students fidget or doze. Assessing body language and quizzical facial expressions has always been essential in knowing whether students are comprehending material. Today, students may see an instructor on the monitor, but the reverse is impossible. So, the ability to pick up on the intricacies of how well one is getting the message to students and how the information is being processed by the receivers is necessary for an online instructor to be successful.