Shortly after Lily was born, a sister in my ward told me about her job: she taught from home, part time, and she set her own schedule! She taught English online to children in China. It took me a month to decide to apply. By then I thought I had missed my opportunity, but it turned out the company is always hiring. I reached out to the lady in my ward, and she sent me a link to apply.
The company is called VIPKID, and they hire English speakers to teach English online. We use a web cam, and a headset with a microphone. The company has their own video chat program. We can see and hear the student, they can see and hear us, and we both can see the lesson Power points that the teacher controls. One must have a Bachelor's degree, but it doesn't have to be a teaching degree. I filled out an application, had an interview, and what is called a Mock Class before I was officially set to start teaching (the mock class portion of the hiring process has changed slightly since I was hired back in March). Through the Mock Class, and a video recording of myself "teaching" I became certified for Pre-VIP Level 1 and Trials (Trials are potential students trying out the program before they buy classes.)
Because my students live in China, I teach during their awake times, which for living in MDT can range from 6:30pm- 7:00am. The lessons are 25 minutes long and begin on the hour and half hour. I chose to open up my schedule for 5:00-7:00 am (those two hours are the "hot" times because it is in the evening after school, after extra curricular activities, and after dinner). I don't get assigned students, the parents choose to schedule me. My first week teaching I got scheduled 3-4 of my 4 slots every day! I was so excited. They were all trials, and half of them ended up being "Student No Shows." After that, for the next several months, I only got 1-2 students a week, still all trials, half being No Shows. (Teachers still get paid for a No Show - half if it's a trial, full if it's a "Major Course" - since we are there in the classroom ready to go.)
I became very frustrated, and I felt like I was working for the teaching version of Jamberry or DoTerra, where it sounds great, but really only a few employees are successful. I felt like the person who referred me only did so for the monetary incentive on their end. In May and June, I got a couple of Major Course students who rescheduled me a few times, but I eventually never saw them again. I took every workshop that VIPKID offered. I changed my profile picture, changed my introductory video, changed the background of my classroom, and got certified to teach more levels; hoping that one or all of those changes would help get me more students. None of that seemed to make a difference.
VIPKID does 6 month contracts. My first 6 months were up at the end of September. At the beginning of August I was seriously considering not signing a second contract and looking into local after school tutoring jobs. Gerson suggested that I sign my second contract and we evaluate at the year mark. I'm so glad he had that impression and encouraged me, because towards the end of August I woke up to full bookings for the following week! And I haven't had a scarce schedule since.
During my "dark days" where I thought I had been duped, I heard other teachers claiming that after weeks of nothing, one day they woke up and had full bookings. I resentfully thought, "That's not possible for me. Are they hiding something they did to get bookings?" But it did happen to me, it just took much longer than I thought it would take. I'm glad I hung on, and I'm glad Gerson encouraged me not to give up.
I love this job. I love my students. My sleeping schedule is taking a while to get used to because I have to go to bed early and wake up early. Gerson is home to take care of the kids if they wake up while I am teaching. I believe Heavenly Father was preparing me for this job a year before I learned about it when He inspired me to start looking. It was the perfect timing. It helps a little bit financially, and it helps me significantly emotionally and mentally.
I call myself a "Working-From-Home-Mom" and I think that needs to be an initial: WFHM. 😉
