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If you’re asking yourself, “is VIPKid legit,” then you’re going to love this comprehensive review.
I’m going to personally share all of my research on this platform and everything you need to know.
Hopefully, this will help you decide for yourself if becoming a VIPKid teacher is worth your time and if this is a legitimate company.
Let’s get started.
What is VIPKid?
VIPKid is an online educational platform that connects Chinese students with North American teachers and is based in Beijing and San Francisco, CA.
The platform is designed to teach Chinese children English. Although this is not the only subject that students can expect to learn.
Lessons are available for math, social studies, science and the like. But the main theme is that they are all taught in English.
While there are plenty of educational platforms in the world, VIPKid is one of the biggest startups of its kind to come out of China.
For a fee, VIPKid will teach children critical thinking, pushing them to pursue a brighter future. Cindy Mi, the founder, was inspired to teach others after facing several challenges during her own education.
The VIPKid Mission
The founder felt that teaching techniques used by teachers when she was young did not foster a love for learning. Her classes never inspired her in the way she wanted.
So she set out to create a system that would provide personalized learning. Being that all students are unique, the VIPKid platform aims to customize lessons to fit the strengths, weaknesses, and preferences of each child.
This is why they spend so much time vetting every teacher they hire. The platform wants to expose its students to the brightest teaching minds North America has to offer.
When Was VIPKid Founded?
VIPKid is the brainchild of Cindy Mi, who formally launched the project in 2014. The company has been around since 2013.
While living in northeastern China, Mi clashed with a math teacher at her school. Her experience was so bad that she decided that she would grow up to become the sort of teacher that nurtures a love for learning in children.
With the help of her uncle, she founded a tutoring company (ABC English). Mi eventually enrolled at the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business and the Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management.
The latter brought her to the United States as a foreign exchange student. Armed with an MBA (from Cheung Kong), Mi’s time at Cornell was a fruitful one because it inspired her to pursue her dream.
In the years that followed, she began contemplating a project that would bring teachers and students together on a platform that benefited both parties. In the process, VIPKid was born and it became China’s 7th most innovative company by 2019.
Mi was part of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders Class of 2018. She has also been recognized by brands like Forbes as one of the most promising entrepreneurs of the era.
How Does VIPKid Work?
VIPKid is a surprisingly simple program. It aims to connect students to teachers.
The children are between 4 and 12 years of age. Because classes happen online, the students and teachers are not bound to a particular geographical location.
The platform attracts people that want to earn a side income as well as individuals that have a passion for teaching young minds.
Trial Lessons
The objective of this platform is to connect a Chinese student to a North American teacher. Before lessons can proceed according to a preplanned schedule, teachers are expected to first provide a trial lesson.
This will give the student an opportunity to determine whether or not he or she is a match for the teacher. It also allows teachers to assess students so that they can identify the best teaching methods to use.
Where English is concerned, the teacher will attempt to determine the student’s proficiency, and make adjustments to future lessons accordingly.
While the platform gives teachers the leeway to cancel trial lessons when emergencies occur, their contracts only permit 6 such cancellations.
Bookings
Unlike ordinary lessons, the ones that VIPKid provides are 30 minutes long. And the actual teaching happens within 25 minutes.
While you receive assistance in the preparation of your lessons, as a teacher, you are free to provide extra content to students that need it.
You also have the option of preparing fun activities or using props. The goal is to customize each lesson to the student.
Teachers are encouraged to prepare adequately beforehand. The material for their lessons is normally available to them 6-12 hours before class starts.
They just have to check their account on the platform.
Students
VIPKid does not enforce its rules regarding the age range of students. Technically speaking, they accept students that are at least four years old.
Many teachers will tell you that they have encountered students as young as two. While older children make better students, the platform does not turn their younger counterparts away.
It is fairly commonplace for students to have their parents in the room while they take their lessons, especially in the beginning.
Teaching Methods
The platform encourages unconventional teaching methods. Students are encouraged to read on their own beforehand.
Classes are expected to nurture discussions. This ensures that only the most committed students sign up.
NOTE: VIPKid wants teachers to commit at least 7.5 hours per week to teaching. However, lessons can be difficult to schedule because of the time zone differences between the US and China.
How To Join VIPKid
If you want to join as a teacher on the platform, here is the process.
1) Registration
Registration takes roughly 4 hours. It is quite tedious, but this helps to weed out teachers who aren’t serious.
You have to visit the VIPKid website to get started. They’ll require your email address and some information about yourself and your career.
They will ask you about your motivation to teach, where you are working at the moment and the number of hours you expect to spend on the platform.
2) Interview
An interview will follow in the form of a demo lesson that will enable you to show your skills. They will ask you to schedule your interview once they approve your initial application.
As far as the interview is concerned, you can either teach an interviewer pretending to be a child or you can record and submit a video of a lesson you did with a recruiter.
You must show that you have the ability to explain complex concepts to beginners, and can tactfully compel children to answer questions.
If the interview is live, feedback is immediate.
3) Training
If they like what they see, you will undergo online training that will teach you what you need to know about educating children over the Internet.
The platform only accepts teachers from the US (except for California) and Canada. You must also have a Bachelor’s Degree and teaching experience.
4) Signed Contract
If you successfully complete the registration process you’ll be offered the job. You’ll also need to sign a contract and the obligation is that you will commit to teaching for at least 6 months.
Requirements
To join, you’ll need to have some need to meet some basic tech requirements such as:
- You’ll need a desktop, laptop, Mac, or Surface device with HD camera, headset, and microphone.
- A minimum of Windows 7 or Mac OS 10 with at least 4GB RAM of memory, and a stable internet connection (Ethernet recommended) of at least 20 Mbps.
VIPKid Salary and Compensation
The average VIPKid salary is $22 per hour, which comes out to roughly $7-$9 per 25-minute class. You can also earn incentives, which is nice. Earnings can vary from teacher-to-teacher.
The performance you deliver during the interview, your qualifications, experience, and performance in the classroom will all factor into your pay.
Bonuses
You get a $2 bonus for lessons booked within 24 hours of their start time. And there is a $1 bonus for teachers with a record of more than 45 classes in a month.
People who have taught between 30 and 44 classes get a $0.50 bonus. Starting and ending classes on time gets you a $1 bonus.
Referrals
VIPKid also pays referrals for successfully telling someone else about the platform. When they teach their first class you receive $100.
If you have a Bachelors Degree and need to work from home making fairly decent money I can hook you up with my referral code for VIPKid!
— kaylee✨ (@kaylee_warrior) March 19, 2020
Is VIPKid Legit?
There is nothing to suggest that VIPKid is anything but legitimate. It has very strict hiring standards, only accepting 10% of the applicants who want to teach on the platform.
The company has an estimated 100,000 teachers who teach over 5 million classes per month. The students exceed 700,0000, which is staggering.
Better Business Bureau
VIPKid has a B-rating with the Better Business Bureau, which is good. On Glassdoor, a job site, VIPKid was voted one of the top places to work in 2020.
On Trustpilot, the company has 2.5 stars out of 5, which is poor. Most of the negative reviews centered around selection/hiring process and their app.
They have done well financially, boasting a valuation of $3 billion.
The company did receive criticism in the past after two of their teachers were fired for talking about touchy subjects like the Tiananmen Square protests. So it would be wise to steer-clear of sharing political points of view as a teacher.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a flexible way to teach students in your spare time, problem solved. With VIPKid, you can connect with students in China and teach them English, while earning extra income in the process.
You’ll need to get your application accepted and only 10% of applicants make the cut. If you are one of the chosen few, you’ll more than likely find the company to be a solid way to earn some extra income.
I’ll leave you with a great video overview below of a teacher who started with VIPKid who shares her experience in her first month with the company. Enjoy!
VIPKid FAQ
Is Vipkid a legitimate company?
VIPKid is a legitimate company. It has very strict hiring standards, only accepting 10% of the applicants for teaching on its platform. The company has an estimated 100,000 teachers who teach over 5 million classes per month. The students exceed 700,0000, which is staggering and VIPKid has a B-rating with the Better Business Bureau, which is good.
How much do Vipkid teachers get paid?
The average VIPKid salary is $22 per hour, which comes out to roughly $7-$9 per 25-minute class. You also can earn incentives which is nice. Earnings can vary from teacher-to-teacher.
Do you need a degree for Vipkid?
You must have a Bachelor’s Degree and teaching experience to work on VIPKid and the platform only accepts teachers from the US (except California) and Canada.
How many hours can I work at VIPkid?
VIPKid wants teachers to commit at least 7.5 hours each week to teaching. Beyond that you are free to work as many hours as you would like. The platform also requires you sign a contract, which commits you to a 6-month minimum commitment.