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Before we got married, Spencer and I knew we needed to figure out our finances. I had just graduated from college, and because of his job, there was the high likelihood we would move every three to six months. Because of the nature of his job, I needed a job flexible enough to be fine with me possibly moving every few months. 

One day, I came across an ad on Facebook for VIPKID. It boasted of making up to $24 an hour working from home. I almost skipped past it, thinking it was a scam. It sounded too good to be true. But, I knew this could be exactly what I needed. 

After a lengthy interview process, I finally landed the job. Now, I work from home and make $2000 a month working 4 hours a day (Monday-Saturday with 6 hours on Saturday). 

In this post, I want to answer some of the questions I get all the time from friends and family, so you know how to do it too.

 

What is VIPKID?

VIPKID is a company that matches children in China who want to learn English with teachers in North America. VIPKID is huge! It currently has 60,000 teachers and 500,000 students.  As a teacher, you choose your own hours to work (early in the morning or in the evening). 

And it’s constantly growing. Since I started in June, there have been tons of changes to make VIPKID an even better company. They make updates all the time, so you never get bored with the same old thing.  

 

Do you actually make $2000 a month?

Yes, before taxes. I was hired at the base wage of $8 a class (2 classes per hour). VIPKID offers a lot of incentives to build on this. First, a participation incentive. Basically, if you show up on time (why wouldn’t you?), you get another $1 per class. Second, teach 45 classes in one month (I now teach that in one week) and add another $1 per class.  

That comes to $10 a class or $20 an hour.  

Your base wage starts at $7-9, so it could be $18/hr or $22/hr from that change. 

VIPKID also has other incentives like short-notice bookings ($2 per class) and trial class sign-ups ($5 per student if they sign up). I don’t plan for these, so they are just the nice frosting on top at the end of the month. 

 

What does a typical “workday” look like for you? 

When I first started, I work up at 4:40 am. Because of daylight saving, I’m now waking up at 3:40 am each day. In the morning. Yeah, it’s definitely tough, but my body adjusted after a while. And while you’re teaching the kids, they keep me awake and engaged. I could choose to work in the evenings instead or cut off an hour in the morning, but I wake up so early because I have the goal of making $2000 consistently each month.

I wake up, drink some water, use the bathroom, and get all of my props ready. Usually, I don’t eat breakfast until after classes because it’s too early for my body to be hungry yet.  

I start teaching at 4:00 am and typically teach 7-8 classes. Between classes, I quickly type notes on the class, and if I’m really fast, submit the feedback. By 8:00 am, I’m finished with classes, and I finish the feedback I didn’t finish. This usually only takes about 5-10 minutes. 

Spencer wakes up for work at 7:45 am, so we have time to talk as we get ready for the day.  

When he leaves for work at 8:45 am, I go through my morning routine, then get to work on blogging. 

One reason I love VIPKID (and recommend it to practically everyone) is I can make my side hustle my main hustle. I love blogging, but as it grows (and I’m not making an income yet), VIPKID supplements my income. Because I only work four hours a day, I have the time available to build my business. 

It was using this schedule that I wrote my book The Art of Finishing and designed its companion planner. At a 9-5 job, I would never have the time or energy to do this. 

 

What is it like to teach?

If you read my post, 3 steps to find your ikigai (life’s purpose), you know my life’s purpose is to teach. Seriously, I absolutely love teaching. I get a lot of energy from the kids.  

But it’s also really tough. Waking up that early in the morning is not fun to adjust to. While I could change my schedule and start teaching at 5:00 or 6:00 am, I choose to wake up earlier to hit the goal of $2000 a month.  

Despite the early hours, I really love teaching. Eventually, I started having some of the same students come back week after week. I get to see their progress as they understand me more and more. 

Every day, I share funny stories with Spencer. The kids I teach are hilarious. They love to joke around, and every morning I’m laughing.  

One student I teach twice a week has the most energy ever! When I open my camera each class, she practically jumps up and down because she is so excited! She is quick to show me her favorite things and learn how to say them in English. 

She loves speaking in English. Her mom sits next to her during class, and this girl will look over to her to translate through Google translate things she loves. For example, she wanted to talk about her favorite food, but I had no idea what she was talking about (I’ve never been to China). When her mom told her the translation and she saw that I understood, she got the biggest grin. Teaching her feels more like having a pen pal than anything. 

Another student I teach is a jokester. When I first started teaching him, I remember he knew the vocabulary really well. I asked him a question, and he answered the wrong way for once. I was confused because he knows it so well. When I saw his grin, I realized he was waiting to see if I realized his “joke.”  

As I got to know him more, he told me he loved dancing. I asked him to show me, and he gave me a 30-second performance right then and there! In another lesson with this student, we talked about rewards and I showed a trophy. He got excited and disappeared to go find something. Moments later, he came waltzing back into the camera frame with five medals around his neck and holding four trophies! All from his dancing! 

Honestly, teaching the kids is the best part of my day. Some kids are tough to teach because they have no idea what you are saying when they first start. Seeing the transformation of each kid is incredibly rewarding, though, because I know I had something to do with that. 

 

Final thoughts

In next week’s post, I’ll talk a bit more in depth about the pros and cons of working for VIPKID (so I won’t bore you with an obnoxiously lengthy post right now haha). Before I leave, though, here’s how to apply if you are interested. 

Go to www.vipkid.com or use this link. The interview process can seem daunting, but I would love to mentor you along the way. If you use my referral link (or code: ANNAH0001 during the application process), I will be able to see your progress through the interview process and show you what it takes to get hired. 

Seriously, I’m grateful every day that I get to have a job this flexible that allows me to make blogging a possibility and where I can be part of transforming the lives of the kids I teach. 

Use VIPKID as an opportunity to build a better life. 

 

 

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