Pros and Cons for Teaching Online with VIPKID
VIPKID
I started teaching English online with VIPKID in January, 2016. It's been quite awhile now (over 3 whole years!), but I still love it. Before that, I taught English abroad in Thailand, South Korea, and a bit in Vietnam. However, since switching to working for VIPKID, I've found my quality of life to have improved drastically. Why? Well, here are the pros of teaching with VIPKID:
PROS
Making my own schedule and taking as many vacations and/or working as much as we want
I’m provide with a blank week every week and can open times I’m available. Then, students show up! There’s no minimum or maximum amount of hours to work!
Can work from anywhere with an Internet connection and quiet background
Being able to wear just about anything I want while working-- especially yoga pants!
No commute, since I work from home!
More time for my special interests and hobbies
Only have to teach students one-on-one for 25 minutes at a time
Great pay! After working there for over three years, I make about $23 USD per hour or so (depends on bonuses and such)
I can travel the world and live in a plethora of countries across the globe with the salary I make and with this job
Getting a glimpse into Chinese culture and getting to know each student personally
Requirements are straightforward: only primarily need a Bachelor's degree and be a native English speaker from North America (experience definitely helps, though)
All teaching materials are made and provided for you in PowerPoint format
No grading or preparing! Simply teach what’s provided, then write a few sentences of feedback for the parents!
Feedback from parents on how you're doing
Mostly wonderful and fun students!
Possibility for raises
Possibility for other work other than teaching, like interviewing potential candidates and others
CONS
Sometimes some difficulties contacting people in the head office
Randomly negative feedback from parents, which can negatively affect your "rating"
Lack of camaraderie with co-workers, except for in Facebook groups
VIPKID only hires native-English speakers from the USA and Canada
Can be repetitive-- but, then again, so can most jobs!
Occasionally students that aren't very well-behaved
Occasionally feeling disposable one of thousands of other teachers
Not getting any recognition for doing something well; the company only tends to hone in on the negatives
Dealing with the time difference, since VIPKID teachers have to teach on China's timezone from around 9 AM to 10 PM (It's the worst when working in the USA, since the best times to work are from around 4 AM to 9 AM or so)
Teaching English online has been incredibly rewarding— and I’m not the only one who thinks it’s amazing! If you want more information on VIPKID or other online teaching English jobs, feel free to comment or contact me! I'd be happy to help you and answer any and all of your questions!
Or, if you'd like to apply right now because why the heck not, click below!