I Got The Job! [Teaching English ONLINE!]

So… I am an ESL Teacher now, and couldn’t be happier about it : )

I actually got hired about 2 weeks ago! I have been waiting to announce this, because I had so much going on with my last Uganda trip to our Childrens Home and School, to go to adoption court for our son, and I wanted to be able to write up details instead of just make an announcement and flee the country. I know so many people are constantly looking for work from home opportunities in all different phases of life, so if I can be helpful to someone- I want to : )

This post contains affiliate links and referral links-where I can make commissions, to help me support my family, my ministry, and to continue to run this site !

So I work for VIPKID now! A little info about the company/job:

VIPKID provides English lessons to kids in China from an online classroom.
They employ over 60,000 teachers!
You need to be a native English speaker, and you need a Bachelors Degree and a years experience working with kids in some capacity.
Think of it like a skype video, but it isn’t through skype it is through their website, and they provide slides, you just have to review the material and provide some small props- and make it fun!
Pay is between 16-22 per hr, for two 25-28 minute classes.
Hours are mostly early mornings- you are on Beijing Time!
You can work from home or anywhere in the world!
Make your own schedule, and lots of opportunities for bonuses and incentives : )

I actually worked towards this goal for over a year so I am thrilled! IT DOES NOT TAKE A YEAR TO GET THIS JOB, you could probably get the job in two weeks (or even in days) if you are really motivated and on it! It took me so long because I had some personal issues, some other income streams, a couple of international trips, and so many things that held me back from meeting this goal. I was not actively working on getting the job that entire time, I just had looked into the company and applied, KNEW IT WAS MEANT TO BE, then so many things kept popping up, delaying me from finishing the process- I am super grateful for the opportunity to work with such a flexible and patient company though!

I am going to be at home with my son,(hopefully starting this summer!) bonding, tending to his medical needs and educational needs, and I knew I needed this job to work from home and increase my income without taking up a lot of time or physical energy. Even the schedule is perfectly what I was looking for. And honestly at this point in life, I really need a job that can have me hustling in my sweatpants making money… ( I already have several of these, so I guess all of my jobs have to meet this requirement!)

I was so thrilled this last trip to Uganda because I brought some little workbooks (DOLLAR TREE IS EVERYTHING Y’ALL) for my son who isn’t able to attend a regular school right now due to his physical limitations and the setup in his country- and as I was going over some of the phonics and reading with him, I realized I was using the same techniques I have been using in my practice of VIPKID slides, and it was totally working with him. So I think this job opportunity is really going to bless many and have a wonderful ripple effect in our lives. : )

Basically this is how it went, my long and drawn out journey(It doesn’t need to be this way for you, I think my point is that if I am a complete disaster and I can succeed, then you can too!

6/17 I applied, they said they were interested in me and asked me to either choose to do a demo video or a live interview, I decided to make a demo video, but life got in the way….
I purchased a headset with mic
I purchased a webcam (These arent the exact ones I have but in the same price range, I think I paid around $25 for each)
I also recommend having a mouse, because you will need one, we already had one, and I won’t recommend my laptop because it can seriously be the worst sometimes, but you will need a functioning laptop or computer. I haven’t used a mouse in years, and thought it was weird that Jake always used one, but now I am using it because you need to be able to easily drag and drop, circle, draw etc on the slides.
So besides those items the only other materials I used were little classroom decorations from Dollar Tree, and honestly for both my demo and mock videos, my backdrops were tablecloths from dollar tree, and I had a few minimal props from around the house, Target dollar bins, and things I printed out. But don’t spend a bunch of money to get this job, the electronic items are essential, but everything else can wait, or you can just scrounge around and come up with something.
Okay my lists of “what you need” and the timeline of me getting this job have now merged so let me continue…
1/19 I said enough is enough. I had enough of trying to catch up on my life so I COULD get this job, or trying to get all the distractions and other work out of the way so I could have more time to dedicate to VIPKID, so I decided I would prepare during the day amongst other work and tasks, and then stay up as late as necessary to get my demo video recorded and sent. The demo video was basically me reviewing some slides and then recording myself pretending to teach them. MY husband and my dog, BOBO, can be very big distractions when I am trying to work so I waited until they were asleep and made sure they stayed asleep, and I worked on my demo video, finishing and sending around 5am.

Around 24 hrs later, they said it was good and welcomed me to schedule a mock class. A mock class is where you pretend you are teaching a student but it is an adult, and they give you feedback on how you did. You either pass, or they invite you to do another one. I am actually pretty sure that recently they said you can do as many mock classes as it takes to pass.
I had high anxiety and felt unprepared so I took a bit to schedule it, but I scheduled the first mock for the first week of January. I was super nervous and did my first one a bit too fast, fumbled over the slides, and felt defeated about it, but knew I could do better the second time.
A week later I tried to do my second one but had some technical difficulties and rescheduled for a few weeks out while I got my life and laptop under control.
I could have scheduled these sooner, like you can schedule the next day usually, but I had a lot going on and my mental space was limited.
So I ended up passing my second mock on Valentines day, although this time I was a bit fast, but it went super well, and I learned a lot, I will post my feedbacks some time so people can learn from my mistakes!
Next I had to do background check, upload my diploma, taxes, I had to upload a photo, video and description of myself for parents to read when deciding what teachers to book, I will get into all of this more in detail later, but I guess Im just trying to give the basics for anyone who might want to work for VIPKID! I was officially welcomed into the VIPKID family end of February 🙂

So I think that is more than enough info to start out, I am doing some simple trainings and opening up my schedule this week to potential students. If you or anyone you know is looking for a work from home opportunity and would enjoy teaching little adorable kids across the globe while in your sweatpants, send them the link to the post, or you can click on any of the “VIPKIDS” or vipkid graphics in this post, to learn more about it, its a great company to work for! I have had high anxiety, and stress these past few years, and I was super intimidated about all of this- BUT I DID IT! AND SO CAN YOU. Let me know if you have any questions or need help with any of it, I can track down answers and share my experiences with you, as your “referral coach”,(there are tons of resources out there) and would be more than happy to help anyone to have a good work from home opportunity, and become more stable in life!