Introduction
If you aspire to become an English teacher, the first name that you might have heard in the online teaching industry is VIPKID. VIPKID is one platform that provides excellent teaching opportunities for all ESL teachers and provides them with a platform that allows them to showcase their talents. The platform is built extensively for Chinese students of age 4 to 12 years. Now, the question that arises in most of our minds is, whether VIPKID is a good company to work for?
Well, the answer to this question is a big Yes. VIPKID is a platform that provides effective teaching methods and interactive classrooms to all students. It makes the entire experience of teaching ethereal and fun for both teachers as well as students.
To understand more about the company, and to help you decide whether the platform is the perfect fit for you let us take a look at several aspects of the company.
Requirements to become a teacher at VIPKID
VIPKID is a platform that believes in hiring extremely qualified professionals for the platform. This helps them to improve the overall performance of the platform and maintain a certain standard of teaching. The requirements that are mentioned by the platforms are quite stringent and teachers need to fulfill all the requirements to get hired as a teacher.
The requirements that a candidate needs to meet are as follows:
Should be a citizen of the USA or Canada
One basic requirement that all the candidates must possess is, they need to be a citizen of the USA or Canada. The platform has also stopped hiring from California in recent years. Once you are hired you can teach from anywhere around the world.
Must have completed Bachelors or higher level of education
All the candidates will be verified for the degree they possess. Every candidate must have completed a Bachelor’s Degree in any field of study to be eligible for the position.
Having more than one year of experience in the field of teaching
VIPKID allows several kinds of teaching experience. A candidate can have experience with home tutoring, babysitting, and many others to apply for the position. All the portions wherein a candidate has handled kids are best suited for the application process. A traditional class teaching will surely add plus points.
You need to have a hardware setup for working
The company does not provide teachers with the required hardware to start the initial setup of teaching. All the candidates applying for the job would be required to have a computer with a high-speed internet connection to apply for the position. The specifications of the internet connection speed and computer hardware requirements are mentioned on the page.
TEFL certifications
TEFL certifications are necessary for all the VIPKID teachers. The requirement is not necessary for the initial period; the teachers can take a TEFL test at their homes and provide the necessary certificate within the given time limit.
Average Salary received by teachers at this platform
The average pay rate a teacher will be receiving on the platform ranges from anywhere between $14 – $22 per hour. The classes that teachers need to carry are 25 minutes long and the scheduling of the classes is also very flexible.
The application process at VIPKID
The application process at VIPKID is quite stringent and would require you to go through several steps to become a teacher. The stepwise application process is mentioned below.
- Create an Account.
To get started with the application process, the initial step is to create your account on the career portal of VIPKID.
- Upload a Demo Lesson
Once you have created an account you need to upload a short demo video wherein you can record yourself with any topic of your choice.
- Completing Mock Classes
The demo class will be the basis for your selection at the company. Once you have been selected you would need to review the materials at the certification center and start with the mock classes. The mock classes are like training for teachers, wherein you would teach a topic to a senior teacher and receive feedback on the same.
- Uploading documents
After completion of all the processes, you would be asked to upload the final documents mentioned in the application process.
- Completing the final profile
As all the steps are completed, you would need to record your welcome class and upload all the necessary finishing pieces to the account.
Pros and cons of working for the platform
Now that you have gone through the entire process of application and have also understood the requirements of the platform, let us understand the pros and cons of working with the platform.
Pros
- You get to work through a remote platform and work according to your flexibility.
- The schedule of the classes is quite flexible and is entirely dependent on the teachers’ will. So, you could teach if you want to or not. It’s your decision.
- The platform has an excellent social presence which allows all the teachers to connect, even though you never met each other. It helps in building a great social community.
- The entire experience is fun, and you can create an immersive environment with one on one classes.
- If you want to make more money, you can open more classes. It is you who decides the flexibility of the work.
Cons
- The working hours can be tacky if you work from a remote location.
- You would be required to go through a lengthy hiring process.
- Even though scheduling classes is in your hand, you cannot cancel a booked appointment. It can harm your profile
Conclusion
If we look at the overall structure and working of the company, we understand that VIPKID is a platform that not only provides its teachers with a competitive pay scale but also provides great opportunities to all the teachers.
The pros of working at the company are comparatively higher than that of the cons, and this gives us multiple reasons to say that the company is great to work for. So, if you are planning to apply for a position at VIPKID, go ahead and explore the career page.
