Join the team
Become a MEI tutor.
We are a small team, and we grow slowly. We look for Cambridge CELTA tutors with years of experience teaching adults, who are professionals first and teachers second.
From the founder
Not for everybody. And we don't pretend to be.
MarcusFounder & Director of Studies
I love my team. I have never worked with better people, and I have no intention of putting them at risk with a new colleague who doesn't share the same loyalty and fairness.
We are a bit like a platoon: everyone defends, supports and helps everyone else, all the way. In return, we expect honour and loyalty. Old-fashioned words today, I know. That's how we work here.
If you prefer to just do your part and think small, that's completely fine. Just not in our ranks.
Who we look for
MEI tutors do what teachers do, but they don't think like teachers. They are freelance professionals in education and training: people who have worked, or still work, outside the classroom, who understand business, and who also understand travel and free time. English happens to be their subject, and they teach it to adults only.
One requirement is not negotiable: the Cambridge CELTA. Then experience: as a rule, at least 10 years of teaching English to adults, and what you have done outside the classroom. We consider exceptions when your earlier work was of a similar kind, with specific relevance to training. They get your application read. What gets you in is being MEI.
Behind the curtain, on stage
Behind the curtain, a MEI tutor is an independent freelancer. You run your own taxes, your own invoices and your own time, and nobody micro-manages you. There is no employment contract and no guaranteed number of hours.
On stage, you are MEI in every detail: our plans, our supervisor, MyMEI, our progress tests, the way we speak to students, our standards. Students see one school, not a group of freelancers. And, as in a company, we expect loyalty to the team and dedication to every student.
In return, you work inside a structure that a freelancer alone rarely has: students matched by Marcus after a first call, the same students at the same time every week, a supervisor who reads the tests with you, a student area that keeps every lesson, and colleagues who care about the same things.
How we teach
The lesson is built around the student speaking. We work on speaking, listening, grammar, vocabulary, sentence building and communication, with an inductive method: the tutor draws the language out of the student, and doesn't lecture. We follow the plan, even when a student would prefer something easier: sooner or later, everyone has to trust the process. If something isn't working, we change it, together with the supervisor.
Working with MEI
What you get, and what it asks of you.
The first months are hard, usually three to nine. They take dedication, patience, and the will to learn our way of thinking, our workflow and our culture. This is what comes with it.
- Students we choose. Every student starts with a call with Marcus. People who are unpleasant, or who think pressure on the tutor is the way to get more out of them, don't join MEI. Students who find English hard are welcome: that's our job.
- Your hours, kept stable. There are peak hours we need to cover, but in general you choose when you work, as long as your hours stay stable.
- Zero micro-management. Nobody manages your teaching or your day. We guide you only on our operational and communication formats, and after about a year not even on those: our tutors today are fully independent.
- Steady income, month after month. Students pay each month in advance and lessons repeat every week, so cancellations and changes don't eat into your income. The details come in the interview, if you get there.
- Students who stay. Our students stay with us for a long time, so you work with the same people, regularly and calmly. No constant turnover.
- Long-term stability, from home. We build long-term financial stability, not €200 more this month. Our tutors can tell you where it leads, working comfortably from home.
- A professional place to work. A professional environment and the tools to work well. We are always glad to do what we can to make our team's life easier.
Is it for you?
Qualified is the start. MEI is the point.
Not for you if
- You feel more at home in a school than in a business office.
- You'd rather be told what to do than run your own work.
- You're looking for a salaried job with a fixed income.
- You mainly teach children.
- You can't read a room, or a student.
- You don't see the value of form and procedures.
Application
Apply. Take your time.
What we ask
- Cambridge CELTA: required, no exceptions.
- At least 10 years teaching English to adults, as a rule. We consider exceptions for earlier work of a similar kind, with specific relevance to training.
- Adults only: MEI students are 21 and over.
The application is in English. We read every one carefully, and we reply only to the applications we take further. Your answers are used only to evaluate your application and are deleted after 12 months: see the privacy policy.