teacher

english as a second language teacher

english teacher

tutor

host/hostess

VIPKid

This is one of the reasons they have blanketed social media and search engines with ads that they’re “hiring” teachers. They do not have close to enough students per teacher ratio. Is anyone doing the math? 100,000 students would cover 20 hours of work for 5,000 teachers. For the 40,000 teachers this company purports to have, they would need to have a supply of 1.6 million REGULAR students. 

Before January of 2018, teachers were getting consistent bookings.  However, the company expanded their market likely the result of a huge investment flow from Kobe Bryant. The teachers I knew teaching for this company at this time suddenly went from consistent work to almost none. 

Hiring and training policies are never stable.  Even their rock star, young, model teachers with their own teaching and coaching V ipkid new hires have trouble keeping up. By the way, these teachers make money with their referral coaching for new teachers and they want you to use their link so they get the referral fee from vip kid.  Nothing wrong with that, but most applicants are unaware. Also note, that even being coached by one of these rock star teachers may not be enough to get you through the hoops. Here’s why:

If you have a bachelor’s degree and decent resume, you will make it to an interview where you will give your first practice class. The interviewer ( most likely from their call center and native Chinese speaker) will pretend to be a student. Mine was very difficult to understand since she herself had very broken English. If you pass this, and if you’ve any teaching experience you most likely will, you will be “hired” on the spot; offered a payment agreement, and told you will have one training class and then a background check. Congratulations. 

In the U.S., we call that landing the job. Not so in Beijing. You get the email for the training called a Mock Class and you sign up for it. You hit the link for all of the training videos which you must watch (of which there are many). You watch them. You download the lesson and “materials” needed to teach it. You scroll through the lesson and read the objectives. The slides are not self-teaching and it is not apparent how the objectives can be met, so you click on the demonstration videos which are all YouTube linked. There are other mock class coaching videos also popping up. These are their starteachers. However, and this is VERY important, you can follow their examples to the letter, and when you do the mock class scored DOWn and told you made errors on particular slides even though you watched and practiced with their very own coaching teachers. 

You have at minimum a 90% chance of failing this mock class, and probably more if you’re over 35, or so it seems. You’re then sent a formatted letter congratulating you that you need to repeat the Mock Class. Why did you fail? Do you want the real reason or what your “teacher mentor” will tell you? The mentor evaluating you is a fellow teacher. The evaluations will be all over the place and are full of inconsistencies.  Why would this teacher mentor pass you  to become another competing teacher? Here’s just some of the critiquing and this level is the equivalent of kindergarten. “ You didn’t use enough TPR, you didn’t cue the student enough, you cued the student too much on one slide, you didn’t use their transition methods, or you shouldn’t use their transition methods, don’t introduce a new word, do introduce a. new word etc. “ You get the idea.... they have to fail you. That way you will repeat the round of YouTube videos again that all link back to vip kid. They WANT you to click. Don’t believe me? Look at the heavy social media marketing campaign. Look at the comments from teachers giving their code and links. 

Since most teachers with this company complain about empty bookings ( not enough students ), why does vip kid keep marketing for more teachers? Because they want you to click on all of the YouTube channel links.  It’s that simple. 

By the way, if you do pass after three attempts, you’re not finished. They’ll explain that to really get more bookings, you just need to get a higher certification by passing another mock class. The cycle starts all over again. Be prepared to spend between 20-40 hours per mock class practicing and training.  It can take weeks and you are not paid. By the way, their “certification” is only good for their classes. It’s not a true field certification and not useful for any other company. 

I just wonder, though, if the ESL teaching market is completely saturated with both companies and teachers.

I have had a stellar record until Feb 2019 when I and my 5 children were hit with 2 rounds of stomach viruses, for which I had to cancel classes. I teach many students every day (between 8 and 18 classes in a 24-hour period). When I had to cancel, I had no choice. My students, their families, and I have outstanding relationships and keep in contact over We Chat. They knew I was sick and did not care that I had to cancel. They wanted me and the kids to feel better.  I understand in China, people go to community centers when there is an illness of any kind. We do not do that in America for stomach viruses. It is pointless because there is nothing doctors can do to cure stomach viruses, and it would be a huge cost to do such a thing. As a result, there is no doctor's note. Just my word.

They told me they would review over 2 weeks to determine the outcome of my contract. I have taught over 3100 classes and have 1131 5-apple ratings and 4, 4-apple ratings. I poured my heart and soul into this job because of my students. VIPKID did not care. They looked at one month, which was clearly an anomaly, and terminated me for "poor student experience". You've got to be kidding me. Parents called VIPKID constantly, and they refused to answer them about why I wasn't teaching anymore. I have students in tears. Again, VIPKID does not care.

VIPKID's myopic analysis based on one factor within one month to determine my contract outcome clearly demonstrates we are just numbers in a sea of 60,000 teachers. I am a lawyer by trade, so I understand this is not an employment contract. Nevertheless, here are the points they did NOT consider:

1) my outstanding feedback from parents
2) requests from parents who want their children to keep learning with me 
3) the ratio of classes taught to the number missed overall in each contract
4) my high performance ratio compared to other teachers
5) my contributions to the curriculum developers on errors on multiple slides
6) valuable, unparalleled feedback to students that I am sure no one has (I have 185 pages of feedback documented in Word documents from the past eight months alone)
7) the fact that a great teacher is an asset to the VIPKID platform (the words of one of my student's mothers who left the last feedback before you wiped my portal)
8) I have mentored mentors in paraprofessional areas because of my son's special needs 
9) my affiliation with Lingo Bus for a year (that will now end and be moved to another platform)
10) dedication to priority bookings - I have never turned away a student for a priority booking regardless of what time it is in California

Given this outcome, I caution parents with children, especially single parents, to contract with this company. They do not care about you in the end.  I'm sure I was just one of 60,000 teachers to VIPKID, but I was the ONLY teacher to many students. 

Many parents came to me because their experiences with many VIPKID teachers was poor, and I have to agree. Many cannot put a grammatically correct sentence together. Additionally, I corrected countless VIPKID teaching slides in class and after class. The curriculum development team's understanding of English is questionable. I  do shudder to think that many students are learning from so many VIPKID teachers who cannot string a sentence together without a plethora of grammatical errors. It's a shame their parents have to pay for that. I knew my students received the best from me because of my educational background. Many parents told me I was the best teacher they ever had in all of their children's education because of all the context I provided in class as well as the detailed an extensive feedback. 

I say all this about myself because if they terminate me, they will terminate anyone. They do not care about the teacher or the student. They care about the bottom line. I used to be a huge fan of this company, but the stress to be perfect is unreal. It was bad enough they charged me for all of the classes I missed ($10 each) for a total of $114. Isn't that enough of a punishment? 

I miss my students terribly, which is the hardest part of this. I didn't do it for the money (the wage is a joke). I have a J.D. and am about to get my Ph.D., and I only made the base pay at $7.50 per class even into my third contract. I taught because my students became part of my family. I am glad I am still in contact with them. 

Thanks for reading. The decision is ultimately yours. Just be careful not to ever get sick or be less than perfect 100% of the time (only slight sarcasm).

I have been at VIPKID for 2 years.  I enjoyed it as a part time job.  I love my students and families and have enjoyed great bookings and success.  I understood that I would never get a raise as I only work part time (about 60 - 80 classes a month) in a difficult time zone.  My morning classes now end at 6 am after the Chinese regulations in November eliminated 6 am to 7 am.  I was fine with choosing to work part time with no raise.  I devoted countless unpaid hours to passing level demos, certifications, quizzes, making props/rewards, investing in high quality equipment such as an external camera, head set, lighting and seasonal backgrounds.  I joined management teams such as Builders Council.  I am certified to teach every single class and level offered. I did the whole 9 yards and was fine with it.  Happy to do it even, as I love the kiddos and parents. 

Yesterday, VIPKID revamped veteran teacher pay..  Now, base pay never increases.  The vast majority of teachers are getting pay cuts.   I am getting an 8% pay cut after not receiving a raise for 2 years.  It is about $1.75 less per hour.  A total slap in the face after 2 years of devoted service, including working on Christmas! Others, sadly, have it worse.  To break even at my current pay rate, I must teach 200 classes a month.  At 201 classes, I make one extra dollar.  201 classes in my time zone is extremely difficult if you ever want to see your kids and husband.

VIPKID is never honest with teachers. I was promised a raise after my first year.  That never happened.  They changed the policy.  Now, they say this new pay structure is an "incentive" to reward teachers.    Thank you for my 8% pay cut "reward" during a pandemic.  Quite insensitive, VIPKID.  The new structure rewards full time teachers on EST, not part-time teachers. 

What happened to your corporate slogan "Part-time teaching, Full-time fun" VIPKID?  Loyal veteran part-time teachers are slaughtered under your new pay structure. 

Submitting "tickets" to agents who lack English skills is an exercise in frustration and futility.  It takes multiple attempts and things are rarely resolved. Teachers are immediately penalized $10 per class if there is an IT issue on VIPKID's end or the student's end.  You spend weeks fighting this.  Teachers with the same exact problem, at the same exact time, get completely different results.  Some have the $10 removed, others must pay it.  You quickly learn to take multiple screen shots of what is happening in your class as you can only succeed in reversing unfair penalties with proof of multiple screen shots that the "ping" on your end is good.  I must screen shot the start and end of very class at a minimum.  If there are system problems, I take many more. Remember, at VIPKID, they are quick to blame teachers for any system problem. You are guilty and immediately fined until you can prove your innocence, which takes weeks and multiple tickets.  

 Recently, when there are technical issues in the classroom, we can call for an agent, a "fireman" to help.  We now get an automated message that "due to the coronavirus virus staff is limited" and "the problem has been solved" when no fireman ever appears.  Nothing was actually done or solved.  Or, the automatic message instantly blames the teacher's connection.   I have hard-wired, gigablast internet in a brand new laptop that far exceeds VIPKID's specs (another recent and expensive VIPKID purchase).  It is not on my end. It is beyond frustrating.  

VIPKID has a draconian cancellation policy.  I accidentally splashed bleach in my eye while doing laundry an hour before class.  My eye puffed completely closed (for days) and light was unbearable on it.  Teaching under bright lights was out of the question.  I cancelled the immediate class (the only one I cancelled in 2 years and I never missed a single class either).  I taught the remaining classes with a wonky eye for days.  VIPKID would not accept my request to remove the immediate $10 cancellation penalty.  I submitted multiple tickets, but the fine stuck. Thanks for understanding health emergencies, VIPKID.   

I have been growing more disillusioned with the company for the past 2 years.  It is now time to search for other options.  My parents in the last 24 hours have told me on WeChat (Chinese social media) that they are also unhappy with VIPKID as it charges the highest prices in China and has terrible service.  My parents have said they will gladly follow me to a new company.  I no longer recommend VIPKID.

1.  As a teacher, you are NOT an employee, you are a contractor.  There is a big difference.  There isn't a guarantee of hours.  They don't "give you hours" or "give you a schedule".  A contractor is a business owner... a freelancer.  It may take some time to build up your clientele.  So, go into it expecting to POSSIBLY have to wait until you can work the amount of hours you desire.  There are many tips available on YouTube of things you can do to grow your clientele more quickly in order to be able to work the amount of hours you want to work.  Also, there are many who never have to wait long.  They are fully booked the first or second week of working.  Everyone's situation varies.  Don't go into this as your only source of income that you depend on to pay your rent and bills.  Add this as a secondary job or side hustle until you start getting booked consistently by regular students.  Then you can transition into VIPKID being your primary gig (although I recommend ALWAYS having a side hustle just in case).  There are ebbs and flows with scheduling.  Certain times of the year are more in demand than others and will, therefore, be easier/harder to get fully booked... depending on the season.

2. Teaching hours cater to China's timezone.  Therefore you will be working graveyard hours, VERY early in the morning, or weekend evenings (the specific hours vary depending on your timezone).  If this is what you prefer, you're good.  But if you are only TOLERATING this schedule to get the job, trust me, you can easily burn out.  Find a schedule that works for you and stay disciplined in adhering to it.  Set limits and stay within them.  If you experience burn out due to the hours, don't be afraid to cut back on hours temporarily, or even take some time off... a few days... a week... a month... whatever you can afford and think you need.  One of the BEAUTIFUL things about working for VIPKID is the flexible scheduling.  You work when you want and take off however much time you need as often as you need it.  I LOVE that about VIPKID.  No need to get manager's approval.  No limits or "vacation days" you have to be concerned with.  Remember, you're not their employee.  You are a freelancer that provides a service for VIPKID.  Therefore, you choose your hours and availability form day-to-day.

I've been working for VIPKID for over 2 years and I don't plan to let this job go.  Even if I find something else better suited for me, I will always keep this job as a side option.  I can choose to work only an hour a week if I want.  Or just teach a few classes per month here and there.  I have TOTAL flexibility.  If a financial situation arises where I need extra money... and I want to work a whole lot of hours for one week or for a particular month, I just open my schedule temporarily... then go right back to whatever schedule I had before.  

Management is great.  They really care about their teachers.  They listen to teacher feedback and implement those suggestions regularly.  Many will still complain because that's how humans are.  You can't please them all.  But VIPKID does a good job at trying to.  The only drawback to management is that all interaction with them is done online (email, live chat, online trouble tickets, etc.).  It's a very efficient system and they always address EVERY issue I bring to them within 24-48 hours.  But sometimes, I just want to be able to pick up the phone and hear someone's voice, ya know?  On top of this, most of the staff speaks English as a second language (Chinese is their first language), so there's always this minor barrier in communication.  But I've worked for other online ESL companies who do this too, and VIPKID is MUCH better and efficient at the whole process.  So, it's an issue, but pretty minor once you get used to how everything functions.  

The pay is great.  I average $20 an hour.  I make a base pay of $8 per class (2 classes per hour, so that is equivalent to $16 per hour).  As long as I show up to class on time, I get an extra $2 per hour (for a total of $18 per hour).  If I work at least 22.5 hours per MONTH ( which is only about 5.5 hours per week), I get another $2 per hour (for a grand total of $20 per hour).  Very easy and straightforward.  It is NOT hard to get incentives and bonuses.  There are other incentives, too, but I don't get into a lot of those. You may very well be interested in trying for the $22 per hour by being willing to work short-notice classes or do other things to earn more.  I like to keep it simple.  I show up on time, make my $20 per hour and I'm happy.

I don't usually review companies, but I was curious what people are saying about VIPKID. I saw that there's some misinformation on here, so I wanted to clear some things up. 

First of all, the attendance policy IS strict, but it's not "six classes." I think people are confused about this because the wording in the contract and in the information pages is a bit confusing (I was somewhat confused for a while, too). Every three classes counts as one cancellation. HOWEVER, you can only have two cancellations in one day. In other words, if you have 15 classes in one day and cancel all 15, that counts as two cancellations, because each day is limited to two cancellations. If you have 15 classes and cancel 4, that counts (I think?) as two cancellations, and if you have 15 classes and cancel three, that counts as one cancellation. Cancelling a single class in one day also counts as a single cancellation. Now, that's still a strict policy, because if you teach several classes a day and cancel three days straight, then yikes, that could easily be all six cancellations. And I guess if you cancel one class here or there on six different days in a contract, then yes, that would amount to six cancellations, but most people don't just cancel a class here or there. If you need to cancel all your classes in a day, you can and get 1-2 cancellations, which is my point. Also, with every new contract, the cancellations roll over. So if you cancel four classes, then you get a new contract, you have six new available cancellations.

On top of this, you can apply for a soft or a medium cancellation and the cancellation won't count towards that policy. For instance, I had to cancel three days of classes during Hurricane Irma. VIPKID processed the soft cancellation and the cancellations did not affect my contract.

That being said, it's still a pretty strict policy inasmuch as, if you ask for a soft/medium cancellation, you will probably be asked to provide evidence, such as a doctor's note (which would be a medium cancellation as per VIPKID's policy). Considering the situation with healthcare in the US, that's a bit stressful if you "just" have flu. I wasn't asked for any evidence when my power was out due to Irma, but in a routine power outage, I might need evidence. 

I have a love/hate relationship with VIPKID's strict policies. I have heard some horror stories of people with real issues who needed cancellations whom the company didn't treat so well. Sometimes I think this was a miscommunication of one hand not knowing what the other was doing, since I've seen follow-up stories of some of these people receiving their soft/medium cancellation after a bit more follow-up with VIPKID. But the whole system can probably feel a little cold at times. For myself, the strictness of the company has been a net good. It's increased my disciplined and endurance. I've woken up at the early hours required for this job and thought, "I can't do this," and knowing if I could cancel willy-nilly, I probably would. But I can't, so I push through it. And I've been amazed and proud of my own perseverance and of the discipline I've developed through my self-employment.

Beyond that, I could write essays about VIPKID, because teaching here really is an experience that varies a ton. For me, it's been amazing for the most part, but there have also been some incredibly stressful episodes. The kids are fantastic, but the early morning hours are hard. I was hired in October 2016 and have been teaching on the platform for just under 2 years. In that time, I've made about $55,000, varying my hours/schedule depending on how/when I wanted to work. My expenses are on the lower side, but the job has been excellent for paying off some of my extra debts. Some people make a lot of money with VIPKID and some use it for side cash. Some struggle to get booked and some have all the bookings you could ever want. It's a VERY variable job and so it's hard to encompass in a single review.

Teaching kids online is a great way to connect with students and exercise your skills as a teacher.  VipKid makes this process easy with their relatively reliable proprietary platform and their pre-made lesson plans.  They have clear policies on how to handle student no-shows as well as inappropriate behavior from students.  They also allow you to pick your schedule with no minimum or maximum requirements on the number of hours you work.  This means you can tailor your schedule to work the amount you want, and even work around doctor appointments, vacations, family events, etc.  Their contract is also relatively benign compared to some other online teaching platforms I've seen.

As far as culture and connection, For an online gig, they do a good job of encouraging teachers to connect and providing ways both online and offline for them to do so.  They have area meetups monthly both on and offline, and they have a forum where teachers can connect with each other to ask questions or just say hi.  They also specifically make posts honoring teachers of different cultures, backgrounds, etc.  This year they celebrated pride for the first time. They constantly state that they want to be inclusive, and have even taken some of my suggestions for inclusive language in their training materials.

They have multiple ways to get in touch with support both during class and outside of it. They will answer any issue from "hey my student keeps running away from the camera" to "I don't think I got paid for this class I taught" as well as "this lesson seems too hard for the kids in this level."    The support team always happily answers your questions clearly and thanks you for your hard work.
  
Current draw-backs are that regulations in China have changed, so they are having to quickly shift focus to other opportunities for their teachers, which means there is not much work, and what work is there is inconsistent.  The pay for teaching time is good, but you don't get paid for any prep time or training that you chose to do.  They encourage you to do training, tell you that you need to prep for classes and strongly encourage you to to market yourself to your students through the various tools they have available to do that, but you don't get paid for any of that time. You also are required to document each class, but are only paid on a "per class" basis with no extra pay for the time it takes to do documentation.  So, if you teach the class for 25 minutes and then take 1 minute to do documentation, that's not a big deal, but if you teach the 25 minute class and then write 30 minutes of documentation, it gets frustrating (I would say that, after I got used to writing documentation, it would usually take 5-10 minutes per class. some people can get it done in a lot less, but I have absolutely spent 20-30 minutes doing documentation on some classes). As a private contractor, you also aren't reimbursed for any of the items you need to teach class, however, many people will already have the basic items they need (computer or Ipad, headphones with microphone, decent lighting and a mouse), and a creative teacher will be able to come up with the appropriate background and props without spending much if anything (my "classroom" is my dining room table with the wall behind it decorated with a space themed blanket I already had, a small white board and a rocket picture with my name on it, and my props are all things I either had in the house or made.)

Overall, I am enjoying my time with VIPkid and am happy to have a way to work safely during the pandemic.

First off, I am a current fully booked teacher that works between 35-42 hours a week. I have been with the company for almost 4 year. Years ago, this was a wonderful job that I would have recommend to anyone that qualified. In the last year and a half it has just continually gone downhill.  
They continually take away job benefits/perks that were promised to teachers in the interview process such as a raise, money after the first contact for supplies, and the 3 year sweatshirt (making us pay for it is not a reward!). The incentives at one time were wonderful and really made the job/hours worth it. Now you get tokens that expire and take so much time to add up to even make it worth it, they have continually made it harder to receive anything that makes you feel valued and we the teachers are the back bone of the company.  
The hours can be hard but you do it for the benefit of staying at home, paying off debt, traveling, or what ever your needs are. You easily fall in love with students who are amazing! I teach children I truly look forward to seeing multiple times a week. It is the biggest plus of the job! 
I have had many students that are switching English companies because of the latest price increase in classes and dissatisfaction with the company. I had several parents tell me that were told the teachers were getting raises and that was what the price increase was due to. This is a complete and utter lie! What is even worse is they are now changing the pay structure which effectively is a pay cut to 95% of teachers. I will personally be losing around $40 a month which may not seem like a lot but remember you have to pay all your own taxes, buy your own supplies, do unpaid training required to teach classes, you are just paid to teach the class not the time it takes to prep or do write ups. 
The parents do not feel like VIPkids is doing what they should and is a not a viable education option because of their practices. The income is becoming increasingly unstable when cancelations happens and short notice classes are much harder to get booked. I worry constantly will this be the week that all my bookings go away.
If you get sick within 2 hours of class and need to cancel you do not get paid for the class (understandable) and they take $10 out of your pay, this is more than most teachers make per class. They tell you you can get soft cancellation which will result in not losing $10 but they demand information that is illegal due to HPAA violations. You have no idea if you will be granted a soft cancellation. I will be honest, I have had to vomit in a bowl while teaching and pooped myself in class due to sudden illness and could not cancel class for fear of losing money and the cancelations being on your record. 

The communication is so poor with the company you will get a different answer from each ticket you send. There is no phone number to call, you have no way to contact anyone except through their ticket system which is completely inadequate! 
If someone close to you dies, you have to go through hoops that are emotionally draining and kill a part of you that has already been crushed to the ground because of the death. It is not acceptable to have to beg for forgiveness because your child died or you are suffering from a horrible illness. They also force you to publicly beg on a teacher Facebook before anyone will even try help you. 
This is not a company you want to sink your heart into, it is soul crushing the way VIPkids continually demoralizes their long time loyal teachers.

There is no guarantee that you will ever get booked. How much you get booked strongly depends on all kinds of factors outside of your control, like the Chinese exam seasons, Chinese holidays, etc. There is little to no leniency for teachers who have to cancel classes due to emergencies, like extreme illness or sudden death of a family member. The communication with the Head Office is limited, and my attempts to contact them are often met with an unhelpful copy-paste response. When things go wrong, the company often sides against the teacher, like in cases of bad, inaccurate parent feedback or blaming system-wide technical issues on a teacher's personal equipment; I myself have taught full classes only to not be paid for them for reasons outside my control. They have now announced a new "incentive pay" program which essentially cuts most teacher's pay by up to 20% or so. If you are a new hire, forget about making more than $15/hour (BEFORE TAXES) for the first several years. And we haven't even talked about the issue of VIPKID paying teachers as Independent Contractors; we are employees in all but name. Controlling how many teaching props we use (requiring 2D and 3D props in every lesson), requiring that we provide an external "reward system" for the students, even controlling how much we smile. They require us to spend hours and hours in unpaid time in order to become "certified" to teach at different levels and to sit through online workshops. They even micromanage our classroom decorations, like dictating which maps to use and not use. We are managed like employees but paid as contractors. This means we shoulder the tax burden and take on self-employment tax in addition to the standard income and social taxes. As contractors, we also do not get any sick leave, holiday pay, or retirement funding. If we are being micromanaged like employees, we should be compensated as such! Beyond that, so much time I invest into this job is unpaid. I have calculated exactly how much time I need to teach one class from start to finish; I am only paid for the time I am with my student, which is 25 minutes, but when adding class prep/set-up, prop cleanup afterwards, and drafting/submitting the student evaluations, I spend an extra 15 minutes in unpaid time per class. So, for every 25 minutes of paid time, I am also working 15 minutes of unpaid time. When I teach 10-15 classes per day 5 days a week, I am working about 50 hours a week and only being compensated for 38 of those hours. That brings the average of the hourly wage down significantly. And that is not even accounting for time spent making flashcards and other teaching props. I was able to push through all of that with a smile on my face because I was at least getting a decent hourly wage--$21 hourly, up to $25 with "short notice" bookings. With the company's new payment structure, it will bring my hourly down to around $19/hour, and even less so if I have to take any time off. That's right--when you take any time off, it will bring down your monthly class "average," and the company will pay you LESS for the time that you DO work. This is such a slap in the face to those of us who have invested so much time and energy into this job. I do not recommend this company to any potential applicants. The company promises one thing and switches it out for something worse at the last moment. Communication with them is poor, and there are no avenues for recourse.

The convenience and flexibility of this job make it very tempting. They were the deciding factors for me. If one is really ambitious, you can maybe even book a couple of classes before you go to your 9-5, if you needed/wanted some padding on the income. I worked for VIPkids for a year. Over the year, I developed a pretty strong connection with some of my regular students and I really liked teaching them. The technology is cool and the platform is improving as far as teaching materials go.

However, over the course of the year - and especially towards the end of 2019 - VIPkid's policies changed. The quality of the support for teachers decreased both inside and outside the classroom.  There is very little transparency in the company, I heard down the grapevine from a teacher based in China that the structure for parents also changed. I can't say for sure whether that is a direct cause, or maybe there are just way more teachers competing for classes but towards the end of 2019 there were less bookings than what I used to get on average. 

There were also huge changes made in payment structure and I do not believe that VIPkid did their due diligence to make teachers realize what was happening. As a teacher in Canada I also noticed that starting around October/November I was receiving less of my pay based on the average USD conversion rate. I tried to figure out what was going on and luckily my bank was able to show me the USD amount that VIPkids was sending me from their intermediary bank stateside. It was on average $20-30 less USD than what I was invoicing. Likely, I was being charged more in what I can only assume are transfer fees from VIPkids sister US bank. I provided VIPkids with proof from my bank statements stating that VIPkids had set fees from their bank to be taken from the 'beneficiary.' Whether this was always true and the fees just went up, or if this was something new, I can't say.  

I tried to get help from the support team and they seemed to get a bit defensive and only took me in circles with the same, very easily accessible information that answered none of my concerns.  When I asked to speak to someone more informed so that we can discover what was going on, I was denied. They even told me that they had no access to see what their own bank fees were. I tried to explain that when wiring, everyone can choose whether it is the 'sender' or the 'beneficiary' who pays the fees and their bank was set to 'beneficiary' ie the teacher. Not only that, but it is hard for me to believe that no one in that company can find out what their own bank fees are for sending money to Canada. 

So not only was I paying my banks fees for receiving the transfer but their banks fees (in USD) for them sending my own money. A grand total of over 50 CAD, with each transfer. 

Nobody seemed interested in actually getting down to the truth about what changed.

With this lack of transparency, I refuse to renew my contract even though it makes me really sad to not teach my regulars anymore. Luckily there are more and more online flexible jobs out there so I don't feel like my back is against the wall.

I guess if you're just starting now, you'll just assume things were always the way they are and maybe it'll still be worth it to you, but I don't think this lack of transparency and support is going to improve anytime soon. And the lower and lower number of classes on average is something many teachers are noticing.

This review will be long....but it will be worth the read. I was hired by VIPKid the week of Thanksgiving. I was a lucky teacher who was fully booked from day 1. Every slot I opened filled. This was great for the first sixty days. I was loving teaching, but became burned out around day 60. I took a few days off and got back to it. My last month with VIPKID I made $2700 after taxes. That is pretty great for a work from home job. But here is the real issue with VIPKid that no one realizes until they have waisted a ton of time with the interview process. These are all things a vipkid teacher looking to recruit will never tell you:

1) VIPKid is on a hiring rampage. When I was hired in November there were only 25,000 teachers. There are now as of this week 45,000 teachers according to a workshop mentor. This has lead to new hires not being able to get booked. Some teachers are going well over 65 days before getting one booking. VIPKid claims to be expanding to other countries but it is a slow slow slow slow process.

2) Factor in taxes as an independent contractor and you are going to work seven days a week to make a decent check. In February I worked 7 days a week for sometimes nine hours a day in order to clear $2700 after taxes. As independent contractors it is suggested you withhold 30% of your check each month to pay towards taxes. That means that roughly 100 of the classes I taught last night went straight to taxes. For working 7 days a week and being constantly tired due to it...that just isn't worth it.

3) There is zero consistency. You can ask the support team a question and get on answer, but a mentor will tell you something totally different in a workshop. It is a complete mess. The support staff even tells people different things as there is no consistency with the company at all. It leaves you seeking for answers most of the time. 

4) Working these crazy hours depending on your times zone causes weight gain, grouchiness, stress, and fatigue. I gained quiet a bit of weight and my health declined in just 103 days with VIPKid. I am not saying that this issue is the companies fault but it is something to consider when applying for ANY company that involves these hours. Unless you plan to have a life at all...I would not consider this type of job as something to full time. It is more of a part time to make ends meet job.

5) No benefits. 

6) No bookings (join a VIPKid facebook group...you will see what I mean)

7) The cancellation policy is bogus....6 cancellations allowed over the course of a six month contract. Unless you are ill enough to go to the doctor and have an excuse from the doctor they ding you for cancellations. So...if you have the flu which needs to run its course and you are too sick to teach but don't go to the doctor to back it up.....forget about it...people teach sick all of the time because of this.

8) Your raise and contract renewal is based upon parent reviews and feedback. There isn't any real room for growth once your base pay hits $9.00 an hour.

There is good with VIPKid....The students are wonderful and it is really fun to teach them....it is also a good job to make ends meet....but as far as being a full time job....no....but due to all of the negatives I quit on day 103.

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