Working for VIPKID

I took on a new adventure in teaching this past month...working for VIPKID! VIPKID is an online company based out of China that teaches English as second language. You teach children one on one in their virtual classroom. The company has the entire curriculum set up so as the teacher, you just have to make your own schedule and then show up to teach!

So how does it work? 

1. Age- Children between the ages of 5-12 sign up.
2. Levels- Children can take a computer test to see what level fits them best. Not all kids take the test however. So you might encounter some trial classes where you are trying to find the best level fit for the child.
3. Schedule- YOU SET YOUR OWN SCHEDULE. I repeat... YOU MAKE YOUR OWN schedule!! Now, Beijing is about 12 hours ahead of the United States depending on your time zone. I am in the mountain time zone so currently Beijing is 14 hours ahead of us. VIPKIDS has peak hours in the evenings from 6-10 pm during the week. This means that for us, peak hours are first thing in the morning from about 4-9 am. You can also work many more hours on weekend evenings. I personally work from 5-7am during the week.
Classes are 25 minutes long, in 30 minutes blocks. This allows you to change classrooms and leave feedback and take a breather in between classes.
4. Planning- No planning! They have the curriculum already set up for you. The night before I log onto their virtual classroom and review the slides. I pull props I might need.
5. Pay-You get a base pay for every 30 minutes. On top of that there are bonuses such as $1 for being there on time and $1 for leaving feedback. There are also monthly incentives that change.

What is the hiring process like? 

To apply, you need a bachelors degree. Experience with children isn't a requirement, but it is defiantly a plus. The hiring process is quick and a little intense. There is an interview and 2 mock classes you teach. The interview takes 30 minutes and each mock class is 1 hour long, but you are only teaching for 25 minutes. You spend the other part of the time discussing what you did well and what you need to improve on.

I completed everything within 2 weeks. I only took that long because I scheduled everything during my son's naps. To prepare, I reviewed the slides and practiced. I also watched YouTube videos to help me out.

Do I need to buy things for the job?

There isn't much that you need to buy for this job. Props are important for young learners but if you are already a mom or a teacher  (or BOTH) you probably have everything you need. I usually walk over to my sons toy bin and pull a few items.

Here is what I did buy.
1. A small personal white board to hold up to the computer. It's the most important prop I have and probably the only one that I say is a MUST.
2. A poster for my background. I found a map at the dollar store! I love it and use it all the time in my introductions with new students.
3. A few sets of flashcards from the dollar store
4. Puppets to model conversation....but truthfully my son loves playing with them at the library so it was really for both of us!

Here are a few articles I found about the company.
1. https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/01/31/work-from-home-in-2017-the-top-100-companies-offering-remote-jobs/#5acfc0ba42d8
2. http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160823005760/en/Kobe-Bryant-Announces-Investment-Chinese-Education-Company
3. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-19/if-the-u-s-won-t-pay-its-teachers-china-will

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