How I Chose My Teaching Schedule
I work a very part-time schedule with VIPKid right now. I *usually* teach from 4:30am - 6:30am Monday through Friday. Just by working two hours most weekday mornings (let’s be real, I let myself sleep in here and there), I can make a decent paycheck for my family! Working from home! With my slippers on! Is this real life?
If we are traveling or if I just want to take a couple of days to catch up on sleep, I can keep my schedule closed… no problemo! Occasionally, I will open up some bookings on the weekend mornings and evenings if I know I will be available. The flexibility of this job is AHHH-MAZING and gives me some options in meeting my financial goals each month.
It took me a few months to figure out my preferred schedule. I ended up prioritizing three things: quality time with my husband, my kids’ schedule, and my own energy/JOY level.
Personally, I find teaching in the mornings to be a better fit for me (and my energy level) than teaching in the evenings. My boys are almost 2 and 4 years old. By the time I put them to bed at night, I’m wiped out myself. I prefer to relax and spend some quite, uninterrupted (can I get an AMEN?) time with my husband instead of heading into the classroom. Our kids are pretty early risers, normally waking up before 7am. So when I’m finished teaching at 6:30am, I have a few minutes to grab more coffee, take a potty break, submit my feedback, and spend a couple of minutes with my hubby before he heads off to work.
VIPKid Scheduling In a Nutshell
Below is a snapshot of what my schedule usually looks like… give or take a few classes. On your VIPKid schedule, green classes show that you are booked and blue classes show that you are available to teach.
The majority of these green bookings are actually priority bookings, meaning my regular students request these time slots in advance and I can choose to accept them. (Great for predictability.) The rest of the time slots will normally book during the weekly Sunday night “frenzy” or as short notice.
The “frenzy” happens each week when parents become able to book any open classes for two weeks out. This happens at 12:00 noon Beijing time (so around 11pm on Sunday night for me.)
I can also close unbooked times and reopen them within the 24 hours before the class time. Teaching a short notice class means that you earn a little $2 bonus per class! This can add up! Some teacher choose to book ALL/MOST of their classes this way for the extra cash.
Below are blank snapshots to show the HOT and HOT, HOT (or peak and peak, peak) teaching times. Having the availability to open your time slots during these times GREATLY increases your chances of getting booked because these are the most popular times for students to take VIPKid classes. (Keep in mind that I am in the Central Time Zone.)
Just to note, I waited 1.5 weeks after signing my contract to teach my first class. It took me 4 weeks to become MOSTLY booked. It took me 5 weeks to become FULLY booked. If you are just starting out, be patient, the booking will start rolling in soon enough. As your hiring coach, I have some awesome ideas to share with you for increasing your bookings and also for ways to stand out to parents. VIPKid also offers phenomenal workshops related to booking and marketing yourself. Check them out! You won’t be wasting your time.
I’ve said it before, but I’m so grateful for this job. For now, working two hours per morning works well for me and my family! This schedule allows me to help our family more comfortably pay some of our bills each month. This schedule gives me the chance to TEACH, which is just so good for my soul. AND this schedule means I can spend the rest of the day with my boys.
Let me know in the comments what your schedule looks like! Share some insight if you work nights AND mornings, or if you are earning a full time paycheck! Are you considering VIPKid? Let me know! Even a couple hours a day can pay off big time!
<3 Teacher Chelsea
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