Dear VIPKID… How This Job Has Benefited My Life During the Unexpected

Hi, all. As an update, I am still teaching for VIPKID and loving the flexibility! I’m not currently focused on this topic with my writing. I’ve written about my past experiences with the company, as I’ve been with them for five years. If you are looking for current resources on the hiring process, you may need to specifically reach out to VIPKID about the hiring process. I last updated this information in January 2020. Thank you!

I’ve had this blog post finished for about two weeks. And I haven’t touched it.

As soon as I finished typing, I debated on sharing such personal information about my family. I decided to put the post on hold, sit on it, and pray about whether or not to post it.

My overall goal has always been to be real with sharing and to encourage others with my posts. With that said, I think there is a fine line between sharing information publicly and sharing information with a select few of trusted individuals. Some information is just for those people in my close circle, and there’s a reason for that. Not everything is meant to be shared on the internet. Not all information is helpful.

Obviously (since you are now reading this), I did decide to go ahead and share this post.

I decided to share this story publicly because in the end, I think it is more helpful for me to share how working for VIPKID has helped my family this past year. And if this blog post can help motivate someone to find a solution to financial issues, time constraints, or a balance between family and work life, or finding a job solution during a difficult time, then I have met my goal.

With that said, my family has been supportive of me posting about my journey with VIPKID this past year and sharing some of the health struggles that a close family member has recently endured.

Nearly 10 months ago, I started on my journey of teaching English as a second language to students in China. I wasn’t sure how long I’d be teaching online or what to expect, but I was committed to giving VIPKID a try.

I had seen the reviews, done my homework, and I was enticed by the idea of being able to teach from home (or anywhere else for that matter). Little did I know when I started, how much this job would benefit my family and I.

First off, I’m a stay at home mom. I have an adorable, almost two-year old boy, and I enjoy spending as much time with him as possible. My husband and I wanted to do everything within our means to make sure that I could stay home with our son during these younger years. This was important to us, and we looked for options in which this could work for our family.

In the fall of 2016, I searched mommy blogs, stay-at-home working blogs, and tutoring websites for options that would allow me to work from home. After much searching, I stumbled upon a blog post written by a mom in a similar stage-of-life as to where I am, and she highly recommend teaching for VIPKID (I wish I remembered this initial blogger).

I have to admit that I was very skeptical of what this company was about. This is the first time I had heard anything about VIPKID. None of my friends taught online. I was a former high school English teacher, who had transitioned in to becoming a USA Swimming competitive swim coach. I hadn’t heard anything about this company up until the point where I had found this particular blog post. But, I was interested in finding out more.

After researching a bit, I felt confident in submitting a resume and applying for the position. You can read about my application process and first month with the company here, as well as other follow-up posts.

VIPKID has truly changed my family’s life.

This company has allowed me to teach from home before my son wakes up in the morning. I’m making money, and I don’t have to leave my house. It doesn’t disrupt my family’s schedule, and it allows me to contribute to my family’s income.

Beyond that, I love my students! And I’m not just saying that. I truly love my students.

The one-on-one classroom environment has allowed me to get to know my students on a more personal level. My regular students feel comfortable sharing their lives, letting me know more about families, and their interests. I enjoy connecting with my students each week, and I love when they can teach me something about Chinese culture.

AND, VIPKID is continually adapting, changing, and transitioning aspects of the company in order to make it a great teaching environment. There are workshops, trainings, mentors, meet-ups, an online forum, and other resources that have made working for this company a very rewarding experience. I have honestly felt that VIPKID looks out for the teachers and is willing to adapt and listen in order to make the online classroom a positive experience for both the students and teachers.

This company has also benefited my family in a way that I couldn’t have anticipated.

In April of 2017 my dad was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer. It was an initial shock to our entire family to hear this news about my dad’s health. He’s always been a healthy individual.

Just the summer before my dad’s diagnosis, he and my mom had come to visit our home and we ran a family 5k together. He’s known to constantly be working the yard, helping around the house, and he’s always willing to play the high energy games board games during the holidays.

The news was devastating, and the range of emotions was overwhelming at times.

I didn’t know how this news would affect my family or change my dad’s life.

With that said, I don’t live in the same state as my parents. After the news of my dad’s cancer, all I wanted to do was go and be supportive during this difficult time. I wanted to be there during the transitional period when my parents figured out what would come next with treatment options and so forth for my dad’s cancer.

Thanks to VIPKID, I was able to continue teaching when I decided to go on the road to stay with my parents for an extended amount of time. I never anticipated having to change my teaching environment, but because of this job, I was able to simply take my work with me. I kept my regular bookings, brought my computer, a few props, and my white board to my parents’ house, and I was able to teach in the mornings while everyone was still sleeping.

With any other job, I would have had to take vacation or personal days in order to visit my parents or I would have had to stop working. VIPKID has allowed me to keep working (if I should choose), even if I’m not at home. This job allows me to teach in any place that has internet access, and I’m thankful for that.

Even in this difficult transition for my family, it has been a relief knowing that my job could move with me. I didn’t have to visit my dad based on my work schedule, but rather I could change my work schedule at my leisure based on when I wanted to visit my dad. Or, I could keep working my normal schedule and visit my dad.

In the unexpected changes of life, I’m thankful that this job has been stable and flexible to meet the needs of my family.

As I near my one-year anniversary with VIPKID, I’m happy and proud to say that I work for this company. It’s truly been life changing, and I know that I’m not going anywhere.

Other Related Posts:

My Journey with VIPKID

Are you interested in learning more about VIPKID? Feel free to comment below for more information. Or follow this link to begin your application.

Have you started the application process? Be sure to e-mail me VIPKIDTeacherAmberJ@yahoo.com