VIPKid Requirements: What You Need to Teach With VIPKid

Yes, VIPKid is still hiring. Its teacher site takes sign-ups, and its job listing for online English teachers is open to people in the US and Canada.

The bar is higher than it used to be, though. The certificate is the one that trips people up.

The VIPKid requirements, one by one

A bachelor’s degree

It has to be a finished 4-year degree, but the major doesn’t matter. No degree, no application. VIPKid is flat about that.

You’ll need to prove it with one of these: a photo of your diploma, an official transcript, a National Student Clearinghouse verification, or a signed or sealed letter from your school’s registrar. Degrees from outside the US and Canada count.

An ESL teaching certificate

VIPKid lists a TEFL, TESOL or equivalent certificate as required. If you don’t have one, that’s your first step before applying.

Work authorization in the US or Canada

You have to be legally eligible to work in either country. Once you’re in, you can teach from pretty much anywhere with a solid connection.

Some teaching experience

VIPKid’s job listing asks for teaching experience, and it counts a lot: homeschooling, tutoring, coaching and mentoring all qualify. You don’t need to be a classroom teacher.

The tech setup

• A desktop, laptop or MacBook. No Chromebooks, no Linux.
• Windows 10 or 11, or Mac OS 10.X or newer.
• An Intel i5 processor or better, and 8GB of RAM or more.
• Fast, stable internet. VIPKid recommends a wired connection of at least 25 Mb/s.
• A headset with a mic, and an HD webcam (2 megapixels or better) or a good built-in camera.

The full list, with the headset and webcam models it suggests, is on VIPKid’s technical requirements page.

Nope, you don’t need to speak Chinese. Classes are all in English.

How the application works

1. Create an account and fill out a short form.
2. Review some training material and record a short demo lesson.
3. Get access to more onboarding info and support.
4. Teach a mock class with a current VIPKid teacher.
5. Sign your contract and start opening time slots.

Your demo lesson matters more than it looks. Your base pay is set partly on how it goes, along with your experience and qualifications.

What VIPKid pays

$14 to $22 an hour in base pay. With incentives, VIPKid puts total earnings at $15.60 to $28.40 an hour.

You’re paid per class, and each class is 25 minutes of teaching. Pick weekly, every two weeks or monthly, and the money goes to your bank account or PayPal.

You’re an independent contractor, so nothing is taken out for taxes. You fill out a W-9 before signing, and the taxes are on you. Set some of every payment aside.

The catch: the hours

Here’s what the requirement lists don’t tell you. The busiest time on VIPKid is 6 to 9 p.m. Beijing time.

On the East Coast that’s 6 to 9 a.m. on weekdays from March to November, and 5 to 8 a.m. the rest of the year. On the West Coast it’s 3 to 6 a.m. most of the year. Weekends are wider, running from the evening before into the next morning.

So if you’re not a morning person (or a night owl out West), bookings will be thin. VIPKid also warns new teachers that it can take a while to build a steady stream of classes, since parents try out new teachers slowly.

Contracts run 6 months, with no minimum hours inside them. Teach a lot, teach a little, take a vacation.

VIPKid

Best for: certified teachers who are up early

What it is

An online school where you teach English to kids one-on-one over video.

What you do

Open time slots in the VIPKid Teach app, teach 25-minute classes from a ready-made lesson plan, repeat.

How much it pays

$14 to $22 an hour base, $15.60 to $28.40 with incentives, paid weekly, every two weeks or monthly to your bank or PayPal.

The catch

The busy hours are early morning in the US, bookings take time to build, and you need a degree plus a TEFL or TESOL certificate to get in.

Worth it? Yes if you already have the degree and the certificate and you’re up at 6 a.m. anyway. Only if you’d have to buy a certificate first. Price it before you commit.

Apply on VIPKidRead the VIPKid review

Don’t have the degree or the certificate? Plenty of work-from-home jobs don’t ask for either. Start with these jobs that pay $20 an hour with little or no experience, the ways to make money from home, or the best weekend jobs. More gigs live under app-based gigs.

VIPKid requirements questions