When I was looking online to find a way to make extra money to save up for a trip I came across VipKid. They were offering  $16-22/hour to teach kids one-on-one online. It sounded too good to be true..

Here’s what I found out…

What is VipKid?

VipKid is a company that employs native English speakers to teach kids in China using their platform which is like a Skype call with an interactive powerpoint style presentation to deliver the lessons. This is a new and rapidly growing company that is looking to hire great teachers so they’re offering high compensation right now.

You really feel like you’re living in the future when you’re teaching a lesson. Here you are, on your computer in Texas, USA for example. While your student is on the other side of the world in China and you’re interacting and teaching them English with the aid of the VipKid platform. I was blown away when I first started.

As a teacher you’re not expected to teach a full classroom of children like a conventional educator. You teach a single student one-on-one. The lesson is only 1/2 hour in total. This is made up of 25 minutes of classroom teaching time and the remaining time is Q&A, notes, and free time in between lessons.

Student age ranges from 4-12. The majority of the children I teach have been 6-9 years old.

VipKid Teacher Requirements

Teaching for VipKid is quite straightforward but you must meet a few basic requirements if they’re going to consider you for a position.

Minimum requirements:

• Some teaching experience. It can be tutoring some siblings with school work. Actual teaching in a school ect. You must have at least some sort of experience. At least most people can say they have tutoring experience. 
• Native English speaker from the U.S.A. or Canada
• Bachelors degree in any field 

Required technology:

• A desktop or laptop computer with a webcam
• Stable internet connection
• Up to date version of flash
• Headset with microphone

If you meet all of these requirements above you’re eligible to apply!

Pay ($USD)

VipKid pays very well. In fact you get paid more money teaching ESL remotely from home than you would in most foreign countries (The Middle East being an exception). On average you’ll be making $20 USD/hour.

How the pay structure is calculated:

Payment Structure	Per Class	Per Hour
Base Rate	$7-9	$14-18
Participation Incentive: Arrive on time and teach until the end of the class	$1	$2
Finished Classes Incentive: 30/45 classes per month	$0.50/$1	$1/$2

Most teachers even if they’re doing this part time, work enough hours for the incentive bonus and are professional and punctual. Therefore $18-22 per hour is what most are taking home.

Working Hours

In general, VipKid teachers are based in the U.S.A or Canada so you’ll be mostly working early in the morning on weekdays and evenings on the weekend. These are peak hours in China for the students. You can absolutely book students outside of the busy times but these windows have the most students available.

You create you own schedule, you open 30 minute blocks of time when you’d like to be available. Classes are 25-28 minutes which includes class time and time to write notes but you’re paid the full 30 minutes. You can book as many or few classes as you’d like. It is recommended to open your availability a few weeks in advance as a lot of the students parents plan 2 weeks of classes at a time.

Class Materials

Equipment & Additional Expenses

Equipment list:

• White board, whiteboard markets and whiteboard eraser (#1 tool you’ll be using)
• Alphabet Flash cards
• Animals Flash cards
• Puppet
• Reward system(s) – You can buy or make these yourself

Backdrop

Besides the basic requirements for tech. You should be creating an environment behind you that is inline with VipKid expects from their teachers. Colourful pictures and engaging visuals. A name-tag behind you might work. Here’s X picture back drop ideas. 

Props

All of these little items add so much to the childs experience that it really should not be overlooked. You don’t have to put a lot of money into this. You can go to dollar stores, thrift shops, and garage sales and find just about anything you need for an affordable and reasonable price. These are the little things that add up and differentiate you from the other teachers out there. While teachers that don’t have any props or engaging visuals are struggling to book or retain their students you’ll be consistently fully booked with all the time slots you open up.

Preparation Time

How Long do most teacher spend preparing for a lesson?

This depends on the teachers experience and level of comfort with the material. Most teachers only spend 3-5 minutes preparing for a class. If you’re an absolute beginner teacher you might need a few more minutes. Some experienced teachers spend no time preparing at all. It’s still best to have a look at the slides before your lesson.

Other Prep Work

Besides the class content you should have a look at your props and pick out ones that would be useful and relevant for the material. Flashcards with letters you’ll be teaching, puppets, white board, and rewards that you’d like to use. Minimal time is needed but you should still budget for it.

The Application Process 

Steps:

1.) Apply first to get the ball rolling. Fill out the application and send VipKid your resume. This usually only takes 1-2 days to get a response.

2.) The interview phase – you’ll be emailed and given some options:

Option 1: The Live Interview (15min): You’ll be answering questions with the interviewer for the first 5 minutes. The Remaining 10 minutes you will be teaching slides and the interviewer will pretend to be a child.

Option 2: The Recorded Demo (15min): You’ll log into the VipKid classroom by yourself and record a 15 minute video. 5 minutes of describing yourself and 10 minutes of teaching the slides as if you’re teaching a child.

Option 3: The Interview Express ( 3min – New option to fast-track select candidates): This is the quickest and easiest option. You very briefly talk about yourself and teach 2 slides.

3.) After you pass this you’ll schedule a mock class and you can re-take this as many times and you need to pass so you’re set at this point. Most applicants take 2-3 times before passing so don’t worry if you don’t get it on your first try. The mock class is similar to the demo class except longer (25min). You’ll be given lesson materials to practice and you schedule a time to interact with a VipKid recruiter that will evaluate you as a teacher. What they’re looking for:

• Positivity, friendliness, and energy! Smile a lot 🙂
• Familiarity with the material
• Encouragement of the student
• Correcting the student and allowing them time to speak 
• Synthetic phonics
• TPR (Total physical response)

4.) Next step, if your interviewer thinks you need a bit more practice you’ll book another mock class as most applicants do. When you pass this step you submit the required documents and you’ll be signing your contract very soon after!

My referral teacher/mentor code is: CHRIS1331

VipKid Teacher Review:

I find VipKid to be the perfect part time job because you choose when and for how long you want to work. You don’t have to commute and you’re teaching eager students that are grateful for your help. This is a rewarding job in an of itself. The bonus is earning great income from the comfort or an at home environment. You can work while traveling too! As long as you have a stable internet connection. Please contact me if you have any questions, if you’d like any advice, or help to prepare.

Good luck and happy teaching! =)

Congratulations! Now you’re a fully fledged ESL teacher

After you’ve signed your contract and you’re eager to make some money, here are the first steps you should take.

First Steps

1.) Get the VipKid App for your computer and phone. It’s easy to just load up the app on your computer and focus on that without the distraction of the browser environment with other links and possible pop up windows. I find having the app on my phone a convenient way to manage my booking and prepare for any coming lessons. 

2.) Add your bank info. Don’t have any delays with your first payment and get this added right away.

3.) Review the teachers portal environment and familiarize yourself with the bookings page.

4.) Open up some time slots so students can book classes with you.

Certifications! Get as many as you can. Especially Lvl 2!

*Note* This is for both the Profile picture and Introduction video. If you’re not a particular “tech savy” person or you don’t have a high quality camera. Try to get a friend or family member with the right equipment and know how to help. High quality pictures with good lighting and a well edited and put together video are essential. Lighting in your picture and video are important. If you can get enough natural sunlight that would be ideal.

Profile Picture and your 2 casual photo’s

It might be obvious but smile! 🙂

You can have a unique picture as long as VipKid approved it.

As for the casual photo’s, make sure they’re modest. Take pictures with children in them. If you have a child, make sure you include them. Otherwise if you have any other pictures with a relative or friends child use one of those. Parents selecting teachers will feel their child is in better hands if you’re surrounded by children already. 

Introduction video

Before you get established with reviews the video is the only thing you will be booked on. Peoples entire perception of you will be solely on this so make it count. Whatever it is that makes you unique, show everyone. If you’re an animal love and you have. A cat. You might want to include you cat in your video. A lot of times it isn’t only the parent picking a teacher. They have the child sitting with them looking at options. If a chid sees a cat, they might demand you teach them with the hope that they’ll interact with the cat. Any talent you might have you should give a hint of it in your video. It might sound small but it makes a massive difference with being selected as a teacher. 

Getting more bookings

Hmm. You need to be unique. Parents are scrolling through prospective teachers they think would be a good fit for their child. They’re looking for teachers that are smiling, look confident, and will be able to keep their child’s attention to better absorb the material.

Starting out as a teacher

Don’t panic! Even if you see slides you’re unfamiliar with. Just keep smiling and stay positive. Remember that all of the material provided by VipKid is intuitive and follows similar patterns. You students will feed off your energy. Be confident and encouraging of them and you’ll do great.