Can you really make money as a teacher on VIPKID or is this some type of scam?
Many questions with not that many answers so I figured I’d help you out with this VIPKID review.
There are few career paths so rewarding as the ones that allow you to touch the life of a child.
There are of course many ways that this can be done but perhaps none is quite so prestigious as the position of an educator.
Teaching is an important way to make a difference.
Not just in the life of an individual, but in the world as a whole.
These kids, after all, are our future.
For those of you that would like to participate in the world of education but aren’t quite sure how to do it, we are here to help.
Today we will be taking a look at a program called VIPKID—a network of international educators – to see if it is right for you.
First, What is VIPKID?
VIPKID assigns qualified American instructors with children between the ages of 4-12.
The kicker?
These children are in China.
Should your application be approved, your job at VIPKID would be to help a class of young Chinese students learn English.
This will be done through an online class that you can teach from the comfort of your own home.
The class follows the perimeters established by common core, so you can be confident in the fact that you are teaching under rigorously conceived guidelines.
Despite the online aspect of this class, interaction is designed to be personal so that each of your students is given as much attention as possible.
In fact, you will only interact with one student at a time.
This certainly an ideal student to instructor ratio when it comes to learning a new language.
You won’t even need to prepare materials, as VIPKID provides them for you as well.
So if teaching English as a second language sounds fun to you, let’s now take a look at how to make your dream into a reality.
Getting Started With VIPKID
VIPKID maintains a high standard for their teachers—a standard that has resulted in a fairly vigorous application process.
To start, it is worth mentioning that you do not need to be a teacher in the traditional sense of the word.
That is to say, you do not need a teaching certification.
However, you will need at least a bachelor’s degree to have your application considered.
I do think this is perfect for retired teaches, as they have the experience.
Once you have determined that your background appropriately aligns with their expectations for a candidate you can send in your application.
Then it will be measured against their standards for an ideal candidate.
If they find that your background is a good fit for them, they will schedule a digital interview with a recruiter.
The Interview
They will start you off with a mock lesson.
In certain circumstances, they may instead ask you to record a thirty-minute video of yourself teaching to be considered and evaluated by a recruiter.
Just like the class itself, these interviews will be held online so there is no reason to leave your home.
If your interview goes well, you will be invited to start learning more about VIPKID.
This process will mostly include reading materials and reviewing videos that explain the way that their program works.
Once you have familiarized yourself with the guidelines, standards, and teaching materials, the second part of the interview begins.
You will be asked to perform another mock teaching exercise during which you will be evaluated by a recruiter.
While the previous mock performance was to establish your personality and knowledge, this second part of the interview will also judge you on your ability to follow the course guidelines.
If that goes well then you are in!
VIPKID will send you some documents to sign and return, and then they will set you up a profile so that students can start coming to you.
After that, parents in China will have the option to select your profile at any time to teach their kids English.
In the end, it won’t hurt as it is an actual job you are applying for and it is completely free to join VIPKID.
Other Things to Consider
You are the least required to have some kind of device, camera (webcam is fine), and a headset.
Your computer should be up to date and have at least 4GB of space available.
Though this is an online class, it is intended to in many ways resemble a traditional classroom setting.
This isn’t an informal tutoring session—your students are coming to you for a legitimate education opportunity and your obligated to provide them one.
Fulfillment of this obligation requires obvious things, like professional dress attire and tone.
The less obvious thing would be like trying to make the room from which you teach resemble a classroom as much as possible.
No, this doesn’t mean that you need to worry about installing lockers in your house, or buying school desks.
It does perhaps mean finding a tidy space, and making use of props.
Production quality is another concern that may or may not have previously occurred to you.
While you certainly don’t need to be Steven Spielberg, a degree of production value is still appreciated both by VIPKID, and probably, your student.
Make sure that you are equipped with tools that will allow you to output clear audio.
Since communication is the name of the game with this program, you will want to make sure that your student is able to hear you.
Lighting and camera quality are also important aspects to consider to ensure that your sessions go as smoothly as possible.
Compensation
Teaching is great, but who can afford to do it simply out of the goodness of their heart?
Compensation at VIPKID is actually pretty decent, though it varies a little bit.
You can expect to make somewhere in the area of $14-22 an hour.
Is it enough to get rich?
No, unfortunately, it is not, but it does make for a very lucrative side hustle.
And if you wind up with a lot of students, it may even make for a viable full-time gig.
As a matter of fact, I ran into a woman who teaching her student at a coffee shop.
Pretty cool, right?
Conclusion
Working from home is always awesome, but it is definitely all the better if the opportunity to do so also happens to be for a noble cause.
Teaching is one of the most rewarding professions in the world, but it is also a job not to be taken lightly.
Think hard before applying at VIPKID, your future students deserve the very best after all.
If you do decide that this career path is right for you, prepare to enjoy a rewarding and lucrative work from home opportunity!
Click Here to Join VIPKID For FREE!
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I teach for VIPKID, and I recommend it! It’s an interesting job and it’s a lot of fun. The students I’ve had are smart and eager to learn. No, VIPKID is definitely not a scam. I really have been paid by this company. However, the only problem right now is, getting students to sign up for classes with you is a slow process. I don’t have many students right now, so I’m not making a lot of money. That’s my only warning about VIPKID: you may not get a lot of money quickly. But I am sticking with VIPKID in hopes that I will slowly increase the number of students I have. I still recommend VIPKID despite this problem.
Thanks for sharing Jasmine. As far as getting approved and getting started, was that fairly easy to do?