Magic Ears

3.0

28 July 2018

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

I came to MagicEars in March 2018 after having issues with VIPKID. Their understanding cancellation policy is what initially drew me in, like so many teachers at their rival company. Many of the fellow VIPKID teachers with Youtube channels were promoting it and gave the impression of Secondary positions being offered: interviewer, social media admin, curriculum writer, etc. The higher base pay also was a draw with $10 per class if you have 5+ yrs teaching experience along with TEFL/TESOL and/or Masters' degree in Education or English. VIPKID offered no signing bonuses, so again this was a draw. I enjoyed the higher base pay and the interactive platform to teach. No secondary rewards, just the built-in trophies. They have the best cancellation policy of any of the ESL companies out there and do not penalize teachers for illness or loss of electricity.

Cons

Low bookings - this was the hardest. I would barely get fully booked even with all my slots opened for weeks. Often, classes would disappear on a whim so, for example, if you prepared for a lesson on apples and in 5 hrs it was gone with no explanation no payment. With VIPKID, my bookings were constant and regular and I was compensated when a class was cancelled. Often my emails were largely ignored or responded to several days to weeks later. Micromanaging - I understand coming to the aide of a new teacher who has no experience with online ESL, however MagicEars took it to another level. I had been teaching for months with no issues regarding muting and yet with one minor problem with a class, I suspended. All my bookings were taken away until I completed a workshop on muting. This workshop was a waste of time as I already understood how and when to mute students. Whispers of the company suspending teachers because there weren't enough students enrolled began to pop-up. Censorship - All of their Facebook groups and pages are heavily monitored. No one can post freely, all posts must be approved. Rainbows and sunshine, no room to criticize. This isn't helpful to a young company that wishes to flourish. Favoritism to higher profiled teachers, ones with Youtube channels, was also highlighted. Their bookings and promotion to 'Senior' teacher were the best. All a result of all these factors, many teachers, even those with secondary positions, began to resign.

Magic Ears Response

Hello Dear Teacher We are glad that you give us Pro review. Especially you recognize our cancellation policy. Thanks for reaching out to us with the Con review. Teachers’ feedbacks are really important to us so that we will give response to their any questions right away. We care all of our teachers and students and make efforts to help them solve all the problems. We treat all of our teachers with same way and they have the same level when they join to us. We promise that you will have a very high booking-rate even when you just join in. We made everything better to let our teachers not only improve their teaching skills but also be able to get fair compensation from the workshop. We think sometimes it’s necessary to suspend teachers if they are not clear about how to use operate the mute button, in order to help them improve teaching skills to become better. In order to create a fair and peaceful environment for our teachers, we have three major Facebook groups. Family group: only for signed teachers; Q.A group: a place to answer those native English speakers who have questions of Magic Ears; ESL group: an opening area for free exchanging online teaching skills with others teachers. And, we highly recommend you join the ESL group. There are many excellent teachers to help you grow. We are really thankful that you can put your questions in Facebook so when we saw it we will be there help to you. Our secondary positions teacher help the fresh teachers become better. All Magic Ears staffs and teachers have the same goals of making it better. I believe you also have a great experience in Magic Ears. So, please feel free to contact with us if you have further questions. Magic Ears welcome to you!

Promising Start that went sour quickly - ESL Teacher Magic Ears Employee Review

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