Deciding which ESL company with whom to work.
VIPKid is one of 51Talk’s competitors and one who is best known in the USA. I will research and discuss what I learn of other companies as I study them more. However the following article is very interesting concerning the work ethic of VIPKid.
Grieving Mother’s Firing Sparks Backlash Against Chinese Education Startup-
This article was written November 21st.
Within the article mentions a recent story of a woman who is fired because she missed many classes due to the death of a child. Towards the end of the article the mother states she was more upset because she wanted to know when she could reapply and be hired back.
To me this is outrageous. At 51Talk I have been charged for classes I missed and I should not have been because it was their site’s error. However, I was definitely not fired.
After reading Vipkid’s terms, it states that a teacher may miss no more than 6 classes or 3 working days per 6 month contract. This is regardless of the reason…
Read the article above. It is very enlightening. You may not wish to join 51Talk, but I would be wary of joining VIPKid there are definitely many more options. And I will be expounding on these companies as I gather more information.
From my research, many of the Vipkid teachers make more in referrals than in actual teaching of classes (teachers working there actually revealed this information anonymously.) In that case, it is difficult to take all youtube reviews seriously as per mandates of the company, negative talk of the company is frowned upon and can result in termination.
