Pros
I'm not often the best at separating my train of thought into two separate streams, but Ill try here if you bear with me.
In the field of online ESL, you're going to find a lot of companies and a lot of offers. Many will have higher pay, many will have a wider range and number of students, and some may have other strengths at the offset.
Whats most important, I find, is consistency and stability. Often you may find a "perfect" company which offers a high salary, but which may simply not have consistent or enough students. For some companies, you are continually in a bidding system with other teachers (think Uber), where you are in competition with your fellow teachers over students. Imagine being a new teacher, and competing with a veteran of 10 years, or competing for the aesthetics of your setup.
At Carrot, you don't have to worry about competing in a bidding system. Students are *actually* assigned to you. Ive had consistent students for the past two and a half years. There have been times with upticks and some times with downturns, but for one, the students have consistently come.
If you are weighing the option of one school or another, bear in mind that for many (especially with young learners), it can be hard to find consistent bookings. In today's day and age, the comfort of knowing I will have students tomorrow, and the next day, and the next does outweigh the negatives.
If you're going to work for multiple companies, Carrot should be the bedrock of your work setup.
Cons
The pay may not be the highest necessarily.
In addition, some companies may give you your schedule 3 days in advance, a week in advance, etc. At Carrot, it can change up to an hour before. This may seem like a con to some, but I'm kind of used to it at this point. In my opinion, having 12- 15 regular students in a day, with some variation, and getting paid for that time consistently is something Im willing to accept for this con. The benefit here, however, is that if a student cancels last minute or doesn't respond via phone, you get paid for this as well (always a bonus)