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9/2/2018

VIPKID: How Much Can I Really Make?

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The number one question when looking to start a side hustle... how much can I make at it? Is it worth my time? I can't answer the second question for you (though I will suggest that it is worth the time it is a personal decision) I can give you the information to make the decision by answering the first.

So, here's the quick breakdown of how pay works for VIPKid Teachers:

Base pay is between $7.50 and $9.00 per class. This number is decided during your interview based on your credentials and the interview itself and will not change for the first year (two contract terms). During the second renewal (third term) you may receive a raise if you meet the criteria. Each raise is $0.50. It looks like most people start at the $8.00 mark based on forums. For every class that you are teach or are booked for and cancelled within 24 hours, with the exception of trial classes, you will receive this pay for your 25 minutes. Trial classes that cancel within 24 hours garner a 50% rate of your base pay.

Incentives are broken into two main categories: Participation and Other.
- Participation incentives are $1.00 per class taught and are super easy to get... just start and end on time. Nothing fancy, basically just being a professional.
- Other Incentives:
  - New VIPKid sign ups are typically $5 per trial student who converts to a contract student after a class with you.
  - Finished classes are the next subcategory in this section. Once you have reached 30 classes taught you will receive $0.50 extra per class retro'd to the beginning of the month. One you teach your 45th class that incentive increases to $1.00 per class.
  - The last one is referrals. If you refer someone, and they use your code, you will receive the current incentive pay for referring them once they teach their first class. You get an extra bump when you hit certain milestone numbers of referrals. The current incentive is $100. If you are thinking of joining VIPKid I would appreciate you using my referral code for this reason (plus I'll help you through the process and am more than willing to chat about any problem you run into once you begin teaching!).
Sometimes there are bonuses or special incentives for completing certain training activities or working a certain number of classes during a period of time. I received $10 last month for completing training that I would have gone through anyways for instance.
The last thing is tokens... these aren't going to turn into cash but they are a way to get paid. When you complete tasks in the Hutong you are able to earn tokens that can be redeemed for all sorts of things from Amazon e-gift cards to Dino dolls, puzzles, Chinese translations, mentor time and more.

Here's the first couple of items that are in the exchange store currently. The biggest one that I currently see available is a $50.00 e-gift card to Amazon.

And a couple rows from the Hutong to show you some of the tasks and announcements (you will sometimes get tokens just for reading). You also get tokens for teaching classes which is nice.

OK, so excluding tokens, referrals, new sign ups and extra bonus incentives here's a potential month, working 15 hours per week. All of that is extra gravy on the pay check and I don't budget with it personally.

Base Pay: $8.00 * 120 classes (30 classes/week * 4 weeks) = $960.00
Participation: $1.00 * 120 classes = $120.00
Finished Classes: $1.00 * 120 classes = $120.00
TOTAL: $1320.00

That's a nice paycheck for 15 hours per week! Once you put some of it aside for taxes you've got over $1,000. I see this as a great side hustle opportunity personally, what do you think?

Join Me at VIPKID

My referral code is: HEATH0116

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8/20/2018

VIPKID: Teaching on the Road

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You may have seen that I had a last minute to trip to Quebec crop up and wondered how I was going to handle it since I'd probably already committed to my teaching schedule for that period. Simply... I set up a classroom in my hotel!

To be fair I did have to cancel two classes due to the time change not working but the classes I had scheduled were weekend classes so I was able to work it out with my coworker who is also on this trip that I would come into the plant about 90 minutes after he did just for those two days. I'm thankful to him for working with me. I don't think many other people will run into similar problems with the time shift and last minute travel but since you may want to work a couple of mornings/evenings while on your summer or winter break while traveling I thought a walk-through of my 'teaching on the road' kit was in order. It is essentially a paired down version of my classroom and its working great. Have a wanted a couple specialty items during class time? Yes. Have I needed them to do the job? No. And that, right there, is all that matters. So... here we go

I didn't think to take photos until I had already packed (oops) so I quickly pulled everything out on the ironing board across from my suitcase for a few quick snaps.

First I have a plastic zipper bag that has my pronouns/conjugation chart in it as well as a few decor pieces I haven't actually used in my normal classroom yet that I got in case I wanted to change it up. I've also got some white board markers and my WOW eraser to go with the white board I packed, my rewards charts and my tigers (I use these two plushies the most as we can do so many different concepts with them). In the next photo you can see that I brought all of my popsicle stick bags, some flashcards, the laminated Dino from my classroom wall and my headset. Here's what it looked like packed and ready for my suitcase.

It didn't take up much space at all which was the goal. I originally had a few more odds and ends but they didn't make the cut when packing for this rather long trip.

Your next question is probably something along the lines of "How did you set up a classroom in your hotel room?" Pictures to the rescue again! I actually have two different set ups that I tried. The first would have worked great had the lighting been a little better and the desk been able to be moved over about two feet.

So there you have it. My classroom in a bag. Quick to assemble and teaching has worked great so far. I've taught 8 classes while here with minimal issues so far. In the future I think that I will look into a small ring light or other portable light source that I can travel with to avoid the light situation at the desk. I may also look more into creating/gathering digital props so that I can pack even less but that is still a topic that I am looking into myself so I won't be recommending going that route until I've fully explored it and used it in quite a few classes and levels so that I can give a good picture of the pros and cons of digital props.

Until next time!

Join Me at VIPKID

My referral code is: HEATH0116

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VIPKID: How Much Can I Really Make?

VIPKID: Teaching on the Road

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