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A note from Rebekah: This article is written by my husband, Josh. One of the ways that God has provided for our needs throughout the past year has been through Josh teaching English online. Check out this convenient job option and consider whether it’d work to help meet your needs (or wants) also! 🙂 There is a referral link in the article that Josh will get a one-time bonus from if you go through the entire application process and are hired.
If you’re like most American households, having a part-time venture on the side really helps pay the bills, pay off debt, or just give you extra spending money. High-paying part-time jobs are difficult to find, and work-from-home opportunities are even harder. There are a lot of companies that will pay you through online surveys and shopping apps. You could try to start a blog or YouTube channel, or provide childcare to family and friends. All of these can be good options, but is there a better way to work from home and earn serious money? Does the perfect part-time job exist where you can set your own hours and get paid consistently high wages? Let me suggest that you check out VIPKID.
WHAT IS VIPKID?
I’ve been teaching for VIPKID for over a year now, and I can’t recommend them highly enough! It’s a company headquartered in Beijing that offers fully immersive one-on-one English language instruction for Chinese children between the ages of 4-12. It was founded in 2013 and continues to impress the worldwide community for its innovative and fun approach to learning English. They currently have over 100,000 active Chinese students logging in to their online platform each day and over 10,000 North American teachers. The curriculum is based on the U.S. Common Core State Standards and uses a flipped classroom approach where students read and prepare for each lesson in advance before they meet with their teacher.
HOW MUCH?
I’ll tell you more of the nuts and bolts in a minute, but the real question you want to know is “How much does it pay?” There are several factors, but the average pay starts at $14/hr and can go up to $22/hr. Each class lasts 25 minutes, and you get paid $7-$9 per class. If you start and finish a class on time you get a $1 bonus per class. If you teach 30-44 classes per month, you get a $.50 bonus and another $1 bonus if you teach at least 45 classes in a month. If you include all the bonuses, I currently make $20/hr. I teach an average of 25 hours/week and make $2000/month. Just think of the difference an extra $2000 (or even $1000) could make in your budget each month!
HOW DOES IT WORK?
If I’ve already convinced you to apply, click here (I get a small one-time bonus payment if you’re hired). For those of you who need more info, here’s what you need to know. The basic requirements are a BA degree and 1-year of teaching experience.
The best part? NO Chinese required! Teachers are only allowed to speak English.
Experience teaching in a public or private American school is preferred but not necessary. Volunteer work and teaching children in other settings outside of school can also count toward your experience. During your initial interview, you’ll teach a 10 minute demo lesson and based on your performance and teaching experience, they will offer to pay you $7-$9 per class. When I first started, they offered me $7.50.
If you’ve never taught online before, VIPKID’s training materials are great, and you will feel very prepared before you teach your first class. They also have you teach 1-3 different mock classes before they officially hire you to ensure that you can confidently teach on their online platform. Their online interface is one of the best in the business and facilitates English learning very effectively. Half the screen is a slideshow presentation that is pre-designed and assigned to each student. The other half of the screen consists of a webcam and chat window. Since each lesson is already put together for you, the prep time is minimal and decreases as you become more familiar with the curriculum.
VIPKID Online Classroom
You set your own hours and can teach as much or as little as you want. Since Beijing is at least 12 hours ahead of us, depending on what time zone you live in, the available teaching hours are designed for children after they finish school and on the weekends.
If you’re on Eastern Time, you can teach anytime between 2am – 9:30am and 9pm – 1:30am. I typically teach from 4am – 8am and a few more hours on Fridays and Saturdays. When you set the times you want to teach, parents can book you to teach their child as early as 2 weeks out. The chart below highlights darker colors when the most students are available.
Note: The times listed above are based on Mountain Time.
READY TO START TEACHING?
This company has given me the opportunity to work from home and consistently make real money. It’s also provided a chance for me to make a real difference in the lives of Chinese kids. Every Chinese student dreams of coming to America, enrolling in college and having a successful career. One of the primary qualifications for them to be accepted by any U.S. institution is their proficiency in the English language. It has been so much fun to teach kids who want to learn English (for the most part ?) and to know that I’m helping them achieve their dreams for the future.
If you want to make real money and a real difference in the lives of kids through VIPKID, start the application process today!
