QKids Review – Legit Teaching Job or Another Online Scam?

Thanks for stopping by to check out my Qkids Review. One of the best ways to make money online is teaching. Not only are you changing your own life (working from the comfort of your own home), but you're helping to change someone else's. Is Qkids legit though? Are they the company that can help you fulfill that desire? 

Disclaimer:
Please note, I am not a member or an affiliate for Qkids. This review has been researched with information and/or testimonials that are available online in the public domain. Any recommendations and/or conclusions are strictly opinions and may not to apply to, or agree with, all persons or situations. See full disclaimer for more info

Review Updated: Jan 2020

What Is Qkids?

Qkids is an online ESL tutoring platform for Chinese students ages 4-12.

Work-at-home teachers in the U.S. and Canada are connected with their students inside a virtual classroom that includes things such as drawing tools, animations, games, unique characters, pre-planned lessons (which means no lesson planning on your part), and of course a video chat window.

​Founded in 2015, Qkids is relatively new, but are quickly becoming one of the more popular and well-respected E-learning companies among students, parents and teachers.

They currently teach English to more than 600,000 Chinese students in elementary and second school grades.

I could continue to quote their website, but I’m sure that’s not why you’re reading this review. 🙂

The real question is whether or not you can make money with Qkids and enjoy yourself while doing it.

Is QKids a Scam?

Although it’s becoming more common, a lot of people still have difficulty with the idea of making money online. Something about it just doesn’t seem legit.

There must be a catch, right?

Not to mention how completely overrun the internet has become with make money online scams.

The good news is that Qkids is not one of them. Among the many ways people make money from home, Qkids and the E-learning industry are setting the bar high.  

That doesn’t mean they’re perfect (which is fine, there's not a company on the planet that is), and of course… they don’t just hire anyone. But you can be confident that Qkids is 100% legit.

Who Is QKids For?

QKids is for the energetic ESL tutor, who can not only teach, but in many ways entertain. 

If you're reading this, you probably already have experience with children and know what it takes for them to become engaged, to laugh, and to relate to what they are learning. 

QKids is also for someone who wants to work from home, but also maintain a sense of security. 

It's still a little restrictive, similar to a regular job and may not suited to an entrepreneurial person who wants to do their own thing…

… who's goal is to earn passive income and eventually escape the rat race.  

If it's not just money you're after, but more time, then a passive income online is what you want. Learning how to teach and help others by leveraging online systems is what you need to get what you want.

Now, I'm going to give you a free step by step beginner's guide to making money online and you can get it by Clicking Here

QKids doesn't have that passive income potential, which is the main reason entrepreneurs swarm to the internet (myself included). 

But… QKids (for those who get hired) does provide a more structured path than an entrepreneurial journey… and in my experience (as well as real world statistics), the security of working for a company (like QKids) versus doing something completely on your own is what most people prefer. There are far more employees than there are entrepreneurs.  

And QKids allows you to strike a good balance between the security of a job, and the independence of being a freelancer. It's a great way to get started online.

There is a trade-off though, which is that your earning potential is limited. That's not necessarily a problem, it's just that our time is limited. No matter how hard you work, there are only so many hours in a day.   

If you have difficulty getting hired at Qkids though, there are other opportunities to make money online.

And, if you're unsure and just want to make a few extra bucks online, you can do something simple like surveys at Survey Junkie, or even get paid to watch videos, visit websites and use an alternative search engine with Swagbucks.

How Does QKids Work?

Before you get yourself into a virtual classroom you must be hired. The materials you’ll need to get started are,

• Your resume.
• Degree
• Teaching licence or English teaching certificates.
• Availability.
• A screenshot to prove your computer meets minimum specifications. 
• Short one – two minute introduction video, letting Qkids know who you are, where you’re from, educational background and your experience working with or teaching children. To get an idea of your presentation style they also aks that you read a children's story.

Qkids requirements

• Based in the United States or Canada and English is your native language.
• Bachelor's degree.
• Teaching licence or English teaching certificates (TESOL, TEFL, CELTA, ESL).
• Outgoing personality and comfortable in a virtual classroom environment.
• Digital literacy.
• Prior teaching experience or a background working with children is preferred. 
• Available for a minimum of 12 classes per week (6 hours).
• Technical requirements: a computer with stable internet connection and clear audio/video capacity.

If you don't meet Qkids requirements, or for some reason you don't get hired, your search for a work-at-home career doesn't need to end. There are hundreds of other opportunities you can pursue to make money from home, including the 4-step process I use to earn passive income online.

You can also earn some quick cash with simple tasks like surveys. Sites like Survey Junkie will pay you for your opinion and Swagbucks will even pay you to do things online you probably do anyway like search the web, watch videos, play games and visit websites. 

Qkids Hiring Process

From start to finish, the hiring process can take approximately two weeks. Once you gather your required materials and send in your application, Qkids will contact you.

• There is an initial screening and you’ll be asked to download the WeChat app for easy communication with Qkids hiring staff and trainers.
• Next you will be asked to do demo interview 1 followed by demo interview 2.
• If they like you, you’ll be asked to do trial classes and a background check.
• Contract.
• Training and preparation to get you ready for your first class.
• When you're ready, it'll be time for the show. Trial classes (paid) with real students begin. Your trainer will review your performance, offer feedback, and depending on the results, you’ll either be hired, given more trial classes, or politely told no. 

Of course, Qkids tries to avoid the latter, which is why you go through the pre-demo and the demo first. They don’t want to waste your time or theirs.

If you end up having difficulty getting hired by Qkids there are other opportunities to making money online.

Working For Qkids

Qkids differs from similar online learning platforms like VIPKid, Tutor.com, DadaABC or Chegg. Instead of 1-on-1 classes, you will be teaching a maximum of 4 students in each class.

Another difference which most teachers like, is that teachers are not required to do their own lesson planning. All lessons are prepared with animations, slides, and virtual props. You are responsible for reviewing the material, but you won’t be writing your own lessons.

Qkids Pay

All funds are paid monthly in US dollars which is a benefit to Canadian teachers. For each half-hour lesson you are paid $8 ($16/hr)… or with currency exchange, $16,000/hr for Canadians… 

Really!? No, not really… 😀

There are also bonuses and incentives paid for good attendance and quality of work which bring the pay up to $20/hr ($10 per class), and pay is calculated weekly.

Of course, as an independent contractor there are no benefits or paid time off. You will also be responsible for your own taxes.  

Qkids Hours

Qkids hours are not entirely flexible like forum type tutoring platforms such as Course Hero.

Classes are scheduled in Beijing time which means early mornings or late nights. Depending on where you live in North America you might find yourself waking up as early as 3:00 am.

Based on eastern standard time, classes are scheduled for…

7 days a week (AM – EST):
5:40AM – 6:10AM, 6:20AM – 6:50AM, 7:00AM – 7:30AM, 7:40AM – 8:10AM

Plus Friday and Saturday (PM – EST):
7:40PM – 8:10PM, 8:20PM – 8:50PM, 9:00PM – 9:30PM, 9:40PM – 10:10PM, 10:20PM – 10:50PM

Additional summer hours from June to August: 
Sunday – Thursday (PM-EST):
8:40PM – 9:10PM, 9:20PM – 9:50PM, 10:00PM – 10:30PM, 10:40PM – 11:10PM, 11:20PM – 11:50PM

Qkids Camp Experience

Working from home and making money online is great most of the time, but it does have its downside. It can feel isolating at times and it's not often you get to meet others (in person) who share your experience.

Qkids has put together summer and winter camps that bring teachers and students together for an offline experience. 

​

Qkids Reviews

On paper it sounds great, but you don’t teach and earn money on paper (well… you could… but, you know what I mean). 😀

How does online teaching play out in reality?

Qkid reviews are overwhelmingly positive. I’ve read maybe a hundred (of the two to three hundred) online reviews, and the vast majority look like this,

My intent here is not to paint an unrealistic picture of Qkids. To be fair to the teachers who did not have a positive experience, you can find their reviews as well.

Many of these “not so good” reviews point to a common misunderstanding.

Qkids is NOT hiring you as an “employee”, and therefore… state or provincial labor laws don't apply. 

You're being “hired” as an independent contractor, which means your relationship is as seller (you), and buyer (Qkids).  

With the laws of supply and demand favoring Qkids, they get to dictate the terms. By accepting the job, you are agreeing to those terms.

A similar situation arises with large companies like Walmart for example. In most cases, Walmart is larger than the company supplying them products, and has more options as a buyer than the producer does as a seller. 

With that leverage, Walmart can dictate the price and the terms (such as minimum quantities or dates of delivery). The seller can either agree or disagree and quite often has little negotiating power.

As a freelancer, you'll also find that it's the buyer who usually has the leverage… which is why many freelancers eventually start their own business.

Either way, many of the negative Qkid reviews are a result of people misinterpreting the contractor-customer relationship. 

Overall… it's rare to see such a high percentage of good reviews (unless they are fake reviews which I don't think is the case here).

What I Like About Qkids

• ​Consistent work which is assigned. Unlike freelance tutoring, you’re not constantly competing with other tutors for students (there’s a flip-side to this which I’ll talk about in a moment).
• Qkids pays a decent “salary” for a work-at-home job.
• Virtual classrooms are more than a basic chat app . There are a ton of tools, visuals and games that make it more fun for both students and teachers. 
• Qkids has a referral program which pays $100 for every teacher you refer to Qkids that get’s hired.
• Unlike some of the other E-Learning platforms, Qkids doesn’t require that you purchase a ton of props.

What I Don’t Like

• Teaching is only available to U.S. and Canadian residents. Countries like the UK and Australia that also speak native English could also benefit from Qkids.
• As a morning person, the hours would be perfect for me, but for many, they’re not.
• The flip-side to not having to pursue (or compete) for students is that the hiring process becomes more competitive. 
• There is no passive income potential. (to be fair, the flip-side to this is more stability and security).

Final Thoughts

Qkids is definitely worth a shot, provided you're qualified.

As mentioned earlier, no company is perfect, but very few come with such strong recommendations and the pay for a work-at-home gig is good.

As a parent, I have a ton of respect for teachers and consider it to be one of (if not the most important) jobs we can do (teachers and parents).

Rarely though, do you get the opportunity to get paid for doing it at home. 

The reduced expenses alone (from working at home) are worth it. Add to that no commute and workplace politics… and it's easy to see why the trend towards home-based employment and online businesses are only getting stronger.

You can choose your own schedule and if the early hours work for you, you’ll have most of your mornings and afternoons available to pursue other projects.

If the early mornings don't work, or you'd rather NOT work for someone else, then you'll have to do your own thing. 

Maybe more freedom and independence is what you want, and learning how to turn what you're passionate about into an income is what you need to get what you want.

Now, I'm going to give you a free step by step beginner's guide to making money online and you can get it by Clicking Here

If you're looking for some immediate money, you can always do things like online surveys with Survey Junkie or make a little extra cash by searching the web using Swagbucks and even get paid for things like watching videos and surfing the web.   

I hope this Qkids review was helpful and for those who are interested, you can begin the hiring process here.

Now it’s your turn. Do you have experience or insight with Qkids? How about questions?

Please share in the comments section below.