This isn't a school, it's a micromanaged clown daycare. - English Teacher Magic Ears Employee Review

1.0
Sep 22, 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Higher pay than other companies. 'Flexible' scheduling.

Cons

I'm going to preface by saying I never had an absence, violation, or complaint that resulted in any legitimate disciplinary action during my time working with Magic Ears. 1) Micromanagement is an egregious reality here. This company has 0 interest in you being an effective teacher, but rather being a Ken or Barbie doll of a teacher. While working for the company, I was scolded (A) for wearing glasses, (B) not having at least 20 handmade props for a class, (C) Smiling too much, (D) Opening my eyes too wide, (E) Wearing shirts that were too bright, (F) Wearing shirts that were too dark, (G) Looking away from the webcam to look at my screen, and numerous other non-violations. 2) There is a definitive feeling of racism within the company. For example, I have NEVER spoken or even heard of another non-white teacher during the time I was employed with Magic Ears. I actually had gotten a tan during the summer and was scolded by management for looking too dark as it might "frighten the students". 3) Teaching doesn't actually exist in this school or the curriculum. The material is hyper-focused, to an insane level, on being an entertainer instead of a teacher. If the students are ahead or behind, the school itself does not care, which leads us to number 4. 4) Reaching support staff or management is impossible. There are numerous times where you will have problems that need to be solved on the support end, such as no-shows, technical issues, missed calls for class bookings (due to you being in class), and so forth. Reaching support is impossible in all of these cases and in almost every situation that is out of your control, your pay will be docked, which leads us to number 5. 5) This company has 0 support staff but will go out of its way to find any reason it can to dock your pay. During my last month with Magic Ears, the servers had a technical issues and none of the teachers could connect. So instead of apologizing, the company reprimanded all of us (at least the 27 of us that spoke to each other on our WeChat group, I can't speak for anyone else outside of that group) and docked our pay on top of giving us a penalty unexcused absence, 1 of only 2 that we are allowed every 6 months. Any kind of complaint can result in docked pay such as having your mic volume too high, wearing glasses, having too much excitement or too little. Docked pay seems to be arbitrarily handed out especially once you get close to working 40 hours in a month.

Explore other reviews about Magic Ears

5.0
Sep 2, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Flexible schedule, no pressure, as long as you are prompt.

Cons

Classes have been declining after the changes 3 years ago.. Great pity! Wonderful school!

2.0
Apr 21, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Pay is pretty good if you can commit to enough hours to earn bonuses

Cons

hours are Beijing time, so very early morning in the US They have switched to homeroom classes, so you can't just open your schedule on days you are available and get scheduled, which was what made this attractive before as a filler for when other jobs weren't as active

See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All