How to Make $20 an Hour While the Kids Sleep

On April 15th, 2017, I opened my bank account and found something I hadn’t seen in years. I had a paycheck!

Say what?

It’s true! I’ve officially been a stay-at-home-mom for 11 years. I was a nanny before having kids, and over the years I’ve babysat some and done some work-from-home commission jobs, but I haven’t had a steady paycheck since I was pregnant with my oldest. Yes, I’m a blogger. I love blogging and building a community, and am working to create a full time income from my online business. However…..blogging takes time and patience to build. It’s getting there…but I refuse to go into debt to keep a blog going while it’s building.

Several months ago, I started looking for some extra work outside of blogging to make enough to pay the expenses for this site and the overhead that goes with running it. I joined a group on Facebook, and happened across a link to a listing for a company named VIPKID out of China. VIPKID is a China based company that hires native English speakers to teach English online to elementary Chinese students in 25 minutes segments. I’ve volunteered teaching English to adults for several years now, and LOVE sharing my language and helping them build their skills. The listing was intriguing, so I looked the company up and began to do some research.

I have to admit, I was very skeptical at first about the company, but after several hours of research and watching YouTube videos from other teachers, I was ready to discuss the idea with my husband. We looked over everything and decided it would be a good idea for me to apply to the company. I began the application process on Feb 6th, and within 4 days signed a six month contract with the company. I taught one class in February, and now as of April 19th, I’ve taught over a hundred classes. The company advertises a teacher pay rate of $15-$22/hour, and I’m making on the higher end of that range with the incentives they offer monthly to the teachers.

As for my experience, I’ve loved teaching the kids. The grand majority have been great students and are very motivated to learn. I usually teach 2-4 classes in the mornings 4 days a week, and then teach another 3-4 Friday and Saturday nights. The hours are a little odd since the classes run at the peak times for students on Beijing time, which for me is 6-10 am M-F, and from 9 pm to 10 am Friday and Saturday nights. It works well for our family, as I’m able to teach just before the kids wake up in the morning, and after they’ve gone to bed on the weekends.

The culture has been a little bit of an adjustment. VIPKID is a Chinese company, staffed by Chinese workers, and it’s a different culture to the American way of doing things. There have been a couple minor issues, but overall I’ve had a very good experience and am happy to continue teaching a couple of kids in the morning. It’s probably the easiest way I’ve ever earned an income!

Want to make money from home with VIPKID?

The requirements:

– Native English Speaker
– Four year degree (or Associate’s in Early Education)
– At least one year of teaching experience. (Tutoring and homeschooling can be considered teaching)
– Pass a background check

The Process to Apply

1. Visit this link to fill out the initial application. (This is my referral link. I do make a commission if you join and start teaching, but it costs you nothing!)
2. You will schedule an initial interview where you will talk with a representative for a few minutes and then teach a short mock class.
3. If you pass the first interview, you will be emailed a list of items to read and watch, then you will schedule a full mock class.
4. At this point you will be sent the contract, be asked to teach a second mock class where the evaluator will exemplify two different age levels, or your interview will be over.
5. If you pass all levels, you will be sent the contract to sign and return with several other documents.

Suggestions before you apply:

1. Search for VIPKID Teacher videos on YouTube for ideas on how to present yourself in your mock class.
(Please come back and use my link to apply, especially if you’ve heard about VIPKID here first!)
2. Figure out a quiet area of your home where you can teach with a wall or screen behind you.
3. Grab a CAT-6 cable and hardwire into your router. Internet speed can make or break your interview!

Suggestions if you are hired:

1. Always enter the class a little early and test your mike and camera. If you have a connection issue it’s much easier to figure out beforehand than during class.
2. Visit and read on the message boards as you start teaching. There are some great ideas there.
3. Remember this is a Chinese company. The company culture is NOT American. Expectations and communications are simply different.
4. Check your teaching info on your personal page. Mine had an error and I missed out on bookings for a few weeks because of the error.
5. Be patient for the first month. It takes a little while to get going with bookings. There are several great threads in the forums about how to best present yourself to gain bookings. At two months in, I’m in my second week of being fully booked.

Don’t miss out on this great opportunity! Apply today with this link!