For this week’s parent profile, we’re going to work with a
different format.
Since finding convenient ways to earn extra money is an
issue for many homeschool parents, I interviewed someone who has been through
the process of finding—and securing—a contract gig with one particular company that’s been
receiving a lot of press of late.
My friend Care, whom I've known for
years through the online homeschool community, found herself looking for extra
money earlier this year.
"We ran into a situation where
some of our income stopped in-coming. Our expenses didn't, and there weren't
many extras at the time to cut. So we cut what we could and started looking for
something that I could do, either opposite hours to my husband or from
home," said Care, who lives in Canada with her husband and elementary-aged
son.
Like a lot of homeschoolers, she
briefly considered multi-level marketing ("MLM") endeavors.
"Naturally, the first thing that
people recommend when you're a stay-at-home mom is MLMs,” she said. “But I
don't like sales. I never have. And the idea of a huge buy-in to start working
was well out of range even if I loved sales."
After a series of false starts, Care's
husband emailed her about VIPKID,
an international education firm that offers online, American-style classes to
Chinese children.
"So I looked at it. It was an
opportunity for part-time teaching. You must have a bachelor's degree, and at
least one year's experience working with kids. With a bachelor's degree in
Elementary Education, yeah, this is right in my wheelhouse, I thought," she
said. "But, teaching 1:1 in a flipped classroom, based on US Common Core
to China?"
Hesitant to apply—and skeptical that
she could make the promised $14 - 22 per hour from her living room as an
independent contractor, Care set aside the idea.
But not for long.
"A friend sent me a link. Her
friend had been doing this teaching thing for awhile now, was making pretty
good money, and loving the [money]. Did I want to look at it? Sure enough,
right back to VIPKID. I crossed my fingers and clicked the link."