What is VIPKID? Is it legit?

VIPKID mascot, Dino

You can read all about VIPKID online and find that it was Forbes #1 “Work-from-home” job. But, what is it really about?

Here is a really condensed version of the pros and cons of VIPKID. I have been a teacher with them for almost a year now, and have traveled extensively while I teach. You can find a link at the bottom to my story with VIPKID while traveling.

Here is the truth about VIPKID, the best way I can provide:

I’m here to tell you that it is legitimate. It is not a magical job where you will work a little and get paid a lot while still wearing your PJ bottoms. But, you can work from home, and it can provide a substantial amount of money as a part-time gig.

All you need is a bachelor’s degree, 1 year experience working with children, a computer with camera, and be a US or Canada citizen. The interview process can be intimidating, but I created another blog post to help you out. Click here to read

VIPKID is ideal for a person who is trying to add a side hustle to an already existing income. If you put a lot of effort into it you can make an extra $400 to $600 a month, but if you want to go into overdrive, you can make up to $1600.

The downside is that you need to report your own taxes as an independent contractor. Those amounts are before taxes, so you need to save around 30% or so, depending on your state. That will be taken out of the total amount at the end of the year to pay for your taxes.

The upside is that there is no minimum amount of hours required to work with VIPKID. You sign a contract every 6 months, which basically says that you are a teacher for VIPKID. But, you can work as much or as little as you’d like.

The other upside is that VIPKID is RAPIDLY growing and they need more teachers. There are 60,000 teachers and over 500,000 students. They are always running promotions to get you to up your hours. Those promotions involve making more money to work certain hours and giving referrals because they need more teachers. I received an extra $15 for working before the new year because there was high demand. I have also received some $5 Amazon cards from them too.

I think the best part for me was that I could travel and work a flexible schedule. You need a background as your “classroom” to teach, so I traveled with a white felt background I stuck stickers to. When I had to move, I packed it up and off to the next country I went. It’s hard to find that flexibility in other jobs. At least it was my first experience of remote working!

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That’s just a little summary about my experience with VIPKID. I have been surprised with how flexible it is, and how much support they give their teachers. It is a young company and they are always improving their systems. It shows a lot of potential.