VIPKID: Work from Home Opportunity for Teachers
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of VIPKID. All opinions are 100% mine.
Ever since I was a little girl, I have always wanted to be a teacher. In elementary school, my best friend and I ran a mock school for our younger siblings on Saturdays and during the summer in a tiny storage room in my parent’s basement (thankfully our siblings were willing participants). When I started college, I was laser-focused on becoming an elementary school teacher. I graduated in three years and was hired to teach first grade in the school district where I had attended. I loved teaching and I loved my students! I would often make home visits and attend their ball games on the weekends. Teaching was my passion.
When I became a mother, I made the very difficult decision to pause my teaching career to stay home with my own children. I felt torn as I knew I wouldn’t be able to pour my whole self into my students like I had before having children of my own. I also knew the time with my kids was fleeting and they would be in school in no time (and boy, was I right…it has gone so fast). Thankfully, we were able to make this work for our family financially by making some big sacrifices initially before I was able to start making money with this blog.
I know MANY of my readers are current and former teachers and that is why I wanted to share this wonderful work from home opportunity with you!!!
Introducing VIPKID…
VIPKID is a cutting edge company that takes a contemporary approach to teaching English learners in China by matching them with teachers in the U.S. and Canada. By utilizing the power of technology, teachers give real-time lessons with individual students using VIPKID’s comprehensive curriculum.
VIPKID utilizes video chat software (similar to Skype) to enable English-speaking teachers from the United States and Canada to teach students between the ages of 4-12 in China. Because the VIPKID Curriculum team writes their own outstanding curriculum in a PowerPoint-style format, teachers can focus solely on engaging with the students. No prep work or grading required!
VIPKID is a supplemental fee-based extracurricular program that many parents from China are utilizing to help their children learn English from teachers in North America.
Benefits to becoming a VIPKID Teacher:
-Flexible schedule
-Work from anywhere with an internet connection
-Impact student lives
-Earn an average of $19 per hour
Qualifications:
In order to become a VIPKID teacher, you must have a bachelor’s degree (in any field), at least one year of teaching experience of any kind, and must be eligible to work in the U.S. or Canada.
Praise and Accolades for VIPKID:
–Top 5 “Work from Home Company” according to Forbes
-200,000 students, primarily from the growing middle class in China
-Community of over 20,000 teachers
–VIPKID on track for $750 Million in Revenue 2017
–Company valued at 1.5 billion dollars!
Interview with Abby: A VIPKID Teacher
Abby, a friend of mine from church, has been a teacher with VIPKID for just over a year now. She agreed to let me interview her to get a better feel for the program.
Question 1: How many hours a day do you typically work?
Abby: I typically work 2 (sometimes 3) hours per day, usually from 6am-8am (Central time). The peak hours for lessons are 7pm-9pm Beijing time, which is a 13-14 hour time difference depending on the time zone and Daylight Savings Time for us here in the U.S. Because the lessons are taught in real time, you must be available either very early in the morning or very late at night in order to meet the availability of the students in China. Some teachers also choose to teach Friday or Saturday nights, since many students opt to take weekend classes as well.
Question 2: How many students do you work with at a time?
Abby: I typically work with four to six children each day. Each child’s individual lesson is 30 minutes. On any given week, I have 8-10 kids that I see regularly and the other time slots get filled in with new students or students taking a trial class.
Question 3: Is it difficult to communicate with your students as they are just learning English?
Abby: Yes and no. I see children on every area of the English-speaking continuum. Some are as young as 4 or 5 years old and are just learning English and others are in middle school. The majority of children have had some exposure to English from school but their parents have chosen to add supplemental lessons through VIPKID to help their children get ahead.
One thing that I really love about being a part of VIPKID is that they encourage the teachers to personalize the lessons to the individual child’s interests. If I have a child who loves Hello Kitty or unicorns, I try to find ways to incorporate those things into the lesson in a creative way.
Question 4: What is your favorite part about working for VIPKID?
Abby: The kids are so fun and cute! They get excited over the littlest things and it is so fun to see their faces light up. Everything is new to them.
I love the flexibility that VIPKid offers and the ability to teach from the comfort of my own home and set my own schedule. I also love that I don’t have to write lesson plans but I still get to add my own creative touches by bringing in hands-on examples to personally involve each child I teach.
Finally, I make the same amount of money as I would doing part-time classroom teaching…and I never have to think about what I will wear as the uniform is an orange t-shirt/sweatshirt!
Question 5: What advice would you give to someone considering an opportunity with VIPKID?
Abby: Guard yourself and don’t get too attached to the kids as you may not see them again for a while. You don’t get to pick your kids, their parents pick you. The parents use an app to book the teachers. On Sunday nights, the teacher slots open and the parents can book you, first come first serve.
Also, make sure the schedule of teaching either very early in the morning or very late at night will work for you and your family.
Do you have more questions for Abby? Email her here: [email protected]
Ready to take the next step to becoming a VIPKID Teacher?
Here are the steps you’ll take:
:: Fill out basic info (5 min)
:: 10 Min Teaching Sample – (Virtual interview or recorded)
:: Intro to Teaching (2-3 hr)
:: Mock Class (2-4 hr)
:: Contract Signing
:: Start teaching kids!
I’ve been teaching with VIPKid for almost 2 months, and I love it for all of the reasons you’ve listed. I’m a former elementary teacher. I like how I can teach and be done before my children wake up for the day.
The software is pretty cool.
i love this software for a reason.
Here I would Like to say this software is really a very good and here I want thanks of you
As a teacher and writer for ProsperousTeachers.com I really appreciate this. Teachers consistently rate low pay as one of their biggest concerns. What if there was a flexible way for teachers to us skills they already have to earn more? Looks like there is.