Can I apply if I don’t have school teaching experience or a bachelor’s degree?

We do accept applicants with relevant teaching experience or education background, even if you do not have a bachelor’s degree. We provide trainings to help our teachers improve their classroom performance.

However, we do require our teachers to have at least one-year in class teaching experience due to our small class environment.

I don’t live in the United States; can I still teach?

Yes! As long as you are a native speaker from the USA or Canada, you can teach with us. Our platform supports teachers teaching from any place in the world with internet.

Can you explain more about the application process?

You need 3 steps to become a Protostar teacher:

1. Send your resume to recruit@protostaredu.com;
2. If you pass the resume screening, you will be invited to complete a 40-minute interview with a 10-minute teaching demonstration;
3. If you pass the interview, you will receive an offer email with a contract to e-sign.

How is the interview scheduled?

Once your resume has passed our initial review, we will contact you to schedule an interview. The interview will be conducted through Classin, the platform we used for atual teaching.

The content for the teaching demonstration will be sent to the applicant along with the interview invite.

What is the interview process?

The interview is 40 minutes long. It will consist of 2 parts:

• Part 1 – teaching showcase using Protostar content (10 minutes)

• Part 2 – company introduction and Q&A (30 minutes)

You will received more details about the interview process in your interview invite.

When can I hear back from you after the interview?

We will contact you within 2 business days after the interview to inform the result.

How long is the contract?

Our contract term is 12 months.

What happens after I sign the contract?

Step 1: complete our onboarding process. Step 2: pass a test session with a Protostar trainer to demonstrate that you are ready to teach on our platform. Step 3: confirm your availability and be ready to start teaching.

How is the contract renewed?

We will revisit your contract one month prior to the expiration date to confirm the renewal.

How is my pay rate calculated?

Your pay rate (per 40 min lesson) consists of $16 base pay plus up to $6 bonus pay based on attendance and performance, which translates to up to $33 effective hourly rate.

There is an additional $7 substitue bonus per lesson for each class you substitute for. You can sign up to be “standby” for certain time slots, and get notified if a substitute teacher is needed.

Are there any bonus if I refer anyone to Protostar?

Yes, there is a $50 bonus for each successful referral from Protostar teachers.

When and how do I get paid?

You will receive your monthly payment on the 15th of each month. The payment will be directly deposited to the bank account you provided via OnPay.

Who should I contact if I have questions about my payment?

Send an email to your Protostar contact for any questions you have.

Where can I find my billing and income information?

You will receive an email invite from OnPay to register your account before your first payroll starts. You can access your payroll details via your OnPay account.

How much tax do I need to pay?

Protostar teachers are independent contractors and responsible for their own taxes in accordance with their individual tax jurisdictions or country’s laws. However, we will mail out a 1099 form to you at the end of each year.

What is the class schedule?

Please refer to the "Recruitment" tab of this website for class schedule.

How do I know if my class is booked?

We will send you a confirmed email before the first lesson starts.

What should I do if I want to cancel a lesson?

We completely understand if our teachers need to cancel a lesson due to different reasons.

If you need to cancel a certain class for any reason, please send an email plus a test message or Wechat message to your Protostar contact person ASAP.

What if I have vacation planned during my class schedule?

We encourage our teachers to forecast their vacation plans as early as possible to help arrange class schedule timely. Please provide your vacation details upon signing the contract. Please note that your vacation will not count towards your cancellation limitations if you forecasted it 3 month in advance.

Can I become a substitute?

If you have extra bandwidth to add classes, you can sign up as “standby” teacher during that class timeframe. You will be notified if a substitute teacher is needed in your “standby time”. If you choose to take the class, you will get an additional $7 per lesson bonus.

Please be aware that the notification may be send at a very short notice, and the first teacher who confirm availability will be selected. Being on “standby” does not guaranty a class.

How can I teach more classes?

Your classes are booked based on the match requirements. If you want to teach additional classes:

1. Feel free to send us an updated selection of classes, we will match you with new students.
2. We will notify you if we update our schedule and have new time slots opened.
3. Sign up as a “standby” teacher during your additional available time.

Do I need to prepare the teaching materials?

No. We will provide you with all the teaching contents and instructions developed by experienced US school teachers.

What feedback do I need to provide after a lesson?

For each demo class, the teacher needs to provide an evaluation within 24 hours after the class.

For regular class, the teacher only has to provide an evaluation summary each week after the last lesson of that week.

How long should I wait if my students are late to my class?

Start your class on time if there is at least 1 student in the virtual classroom.

If none of your students shows up 15 minutes after the class starts, it will be considered as a “student no show”. You can exit the classroom, and you will still get paid in full for this lesson.

What is a “class assistant”, and how can he/she help?

Protostar assigns a class assistant for each class. They are liaisons between teachers and students/guardians to facilitate the communication and resolve any issues.

You can contact your class assistant for any issues you have, including but not limited to:

1. Class scheduling

2. Question about the curriculum content

3. Classroom disciplines

4. Students’ progress

5. Offline practices needed

What if my student(s) have loud background noise from their end during class?

Notify your class assistant for help, meanwhile, you can mute the student(s) except for their participating time.

What if my student(s) misbehave/get distracted in my class?

During the class, please try to involve them or engage with them as much as possible without disrupting the class environment.

After class, make sure you provide the feedback about your students, and notify your class assistant about the situation.