Become a Virtual Teacher (Company Pros and Cons)

So last fall I really needed some extra spending money for Christmas. I decided to jump on the virtual teaching bandwagon!

The virtual teaching that I do is for Chinese students (mostly in Beijing) who want to learn how to speak English.

Qualifications:

1. A Bachelor's degree in any field.
2. One school year of traditional teaching experience or the equivalent in mentoring, tutoring, or alternative education.
3. Eligibility to work in the US or Canada.

The hours:

Beijing is currently 13 hours ahead so the hours range from 9pm at night to 8am in the morning.

Interviewing:

I interviewed at VIPkid first and landed the gig on my first try (which really surprised me!).

I had to interview by doing a fake class with an adult from the company who decided whether or not to pass me on. Once passed on, I did another demo class with ANOTHER adult. Upon passing that demo class (sometimes it takes several tries) I was offered a contract.

I liked it so much I decided to branch out and try another company as well. I interviewed with and was hired at GoGokid at a higher pay rate.

The GoGoKid interview was much more straightforward and succinct. I had to book an interview to do a mock lesson with an adult and was subsequently hired!

Bookings:

I started opening my schedule and within about 30 days I started getting bookings and priority booking requests!

While I was waiting for my bookings I made sure to have warm and inviting photos of my and my animals, wrote a short but sweet bio, and made what I hope is a cute introduction video!

Bookings seem to take on average about a month to start happening.

Teaching:
With both companies, once you are hired they throw you right into teacher, but GoGoKid does schedule a mentor class with an established teacher as one of your first classes.

I started out super nervous my first 5 classes, but after learning the pacing and how to extend the lesson, I was good to go!

Pros and Cons:
My experience at both companies has been nothing short of fantastic. The kids have been great and adorable and excited to learn. I feel like you see the growth in your teaching and your students faster than you do at a brick and mortar school.

I thought that I would list out the pros and cons of the companies in case any of you guys wanted to venture into the waters of virtual teaching for a little extra cash!

VIPkid

Pros:

1. Company is better established.

2. There are more resources available to teachers. 

3. There are more potential students. 

4. VIPkid has an AMAZING bank of resources that are all teacher made. 

5. Incentives! There are incentives for teaching a certain number of classes a month, short notice classes, and for opening peak time slots. 

6. Firemen (The IT staff) are on point at VIPkid

Cons:

1. The market is quite saturated because they are an established company. 

2. It is quite difficult to qualify for different levels because other teachers review demos and they are all looking for different things. There does not seem to be a consistent rubric for these. 

3. You have to get certified for each individual level you want to teach.

4. Rigorous hiring process that can be quite tedious. 

5. Some of the higher level courses are a bit dry in material. 

6. Many of the online communities for VIPKid are VERY negative and mean spirited. 

7. Once you are hired it is every man for himself! You get thrown right into teaching no further training.

GoGoKid

Pros:

1. Once you are hired you are certified for ALL the levels so the potential to get booked is potentially higher. 

2. The base pay can potentially be higher!

3. The lessons are more fun and interactive. 

4. They offer incentives all the time for teachers!

5. The online communities for GogoKid seem to be quite positive and inclusive. 

6. They are starting their own lesson bank slowly but surely. 

7. The trial lessons (that you will do over and over) are fun and interactive with a lot of video tutorials on Youtube.com to help!

8. They always schedule one of your first classes to be with a mentor teacher to help guide you!

Cons:

1. They do not have as many clients as VIPkid. 

2. They do not have as many resources and VIPkid. 

3. IT staff at GoGokid is a little bit slower to respond. 

4. Less established company.

Wanna try it for yourself and get coached by me?

Click one of the links below:

VIPKid-Referral Code: KACEY0010

GoGoKid Referral Code: R2TSKJYA

If you do decide to give it a go and want to be coached by me (or have more questions) just send me an email at: Kmpotter05@yahoo.com with the subject line, "Coaching"!