A Guide to Gogokid: Reviews, Payment & Getting Hired

What is Gogokid?

Having just started in 2018, Gogokid is one of the new kids on the block when it comes to online teaching.  Their focus is on teaching young learners in China and they accomplish this by employing native English speakers to teach 25-minute lessons to students one-on-one.

They have been on a massive hiring spree and this guide will provide an overview of what to expect from the application process, payment system, and teaching platform if you are considering applying.

What Are the Requirements to Teach for Gogokid?

Teaching Requirements

The Gogokid teaching requirements are pretty much par for the course when it comes to teaching English online – they want their teachers to have at least a bachelor’s degree and be a native speaker (though only the former is listed on their website).

Applicants that meet both of those should have no issue getting an interview.  Also, while a TEFL certificate isn’t required at the time of writing, if Gogokid follows the trend of the industry then it might be mandatory sooner than later.  Either way, getting a TEFL will never hurt you and will make your transition into English teaching that much easier.

Technical Requirements

Gogokid applicants must also meet technical requirements in order to qualify for a job and due to the online nature of the work they are non-negotiable with most online English teaching jobs.  Gogokid has an entire page dedicated to these requirements as a testament to how important they are.

Luckily, most modern computers won’t have any issue meeting these technical requirements and we have even written some guides on 2 of them:

• Best Headsets for Online Teachers
• Best Teacher Webcams

One of the most important specs here is your internet speed – if you’re going to teach for Gogokid (or any other online teaching company) it’s important that your network be strong enough to support the online classes.  You can check your internet speed using Speedtest.

Finally, if you are still unsure of whether your computer is eligible, this article by Tech Advisor will help you find your exact specs on both a Windows and Mac computer.

Note: if your computer isn’t up to the task of online teaching we’ve got a great list of The Best Laptops for Teachers if you need a replacement!

Gogokid Salary: How Much Do They Pay?

While Gogokid advertises a pay range of $14-$25/hr, it’s important to understand how they got to those numbers.

Gogokid pays their teachers a base pay of $7-$10 per class (determined by your interview) but relies on a credit score system to boost your pay.

Your credit score c earn you 125% more than your base pay and is determined by a few things:

• Teaching regularly
• Good reviews
• No technical issues
• Not missing or being late to classes

In short, this means if you are a good and reliable teacher your pay will increase, but it won’t start off as high as you might hope.  Tim from http://www.onlineteacherdude.com/ does a great job of breaking this down:

“Pay is determined at the end of the month based on your credit score, so if your score is 119 on the 30th of Nov, then your pay for December will be 110% x base rate, instead of 125%xbase rate if it was at the 120 level.

For the points, you start at 100, and 3 classes increase your by 1 point and 1 good review increases you by 1 point. When you hit 110 points, you get 110% x base rate and when you hit 120, you get 125% x base rate.”

Getting Paid

Gogokid pays their teachers by the 15th of every month for the previous month’s classes.  They recommend their teachers use PayPal to receive their funds but they also offer direct deposit.

Gogokid Application & Interview Process: What to Expect

Gogokid has a clearly outlined interview process on its website and it’s in line with most other established online teaching companies.

The process is straightforward and takes you from your general online application through an in-person interview & orientation and finally a job offer.

One thing not mentioned is the demo class – applicants will need to give a short (usually 10min) demo class during their interview – some applicants report that this can be recorded instead of done live but you should prepare for it all the same!

Both the interview and demo class are great opportunities to showcase your skills and classroom – if you want to stand out make sure to have a good background, use props, and speak slowly and in kid-friendly terms.

Gogokid has actually published a really useful Performance Guide for Applicants which goes over what they are looking for in depth.

Once your interview and demo are complete the next step is waiting for an email stating if you are hired or not.  If you’re offered a job then you’ll go through the orientation process (just watching videos mostly) and fill out your teaching profile.  From there you’ll sign your contract and be ready to teach classes!

Gogokid contracts are almost always 6 months long with the opportunity to renew pending your teaching performance.

What’s It Like Being a Gogokid Teacher?  What Are the Classes Like?

Gogokid classes are 25 minutes in length and the slots are 30 minutes total to allow for tardy students or for you to do your student reviews.  One of the most appealing things about Gogokid is that their classes on one-on-one which means you will be able to focus solely on one student instead of trying to teach (or entertain) small groups like other companies.

About Gogokid Class Scheduling

Teachers are advised to open their schedule at least 48hrs ahead of time, though they can also open it up a month in advance.

Teachers are welcome to sign up for as many classes as they like but the peak times are as follows on Beijing time:

• Monday to Friday 6-10pm
• Saturday & Sunday 9am-10pm

You can use The World Clock to see how your timezone compares.

About the Gogokid Portal & Platform

“As a teacher, I love the interactive features in the Gogokid classroom and my students enjoy being able to follow along with the story and see the characters come to life!”

Tim, Online Teacher Dude

Gogokid uses a proprietary teaching platform to connect their students and teachers – it works best on the Google Chrome browser and comes loaded with all materials a teacher needs for their lessons.

Here’s a great overview video:

The Gogokid Teacher’s Portal is also the hub of all your teaching info, including reviews, credit score, teaching profile, etc.  

Gogokid Reviews: Is It for You?

The reviews of Gogokid are pretty good and their Glassdoor profile has them at 4/5 stars which isn’t bad for an online teaching company.

The biggest complaint seems to be a lack of students and a subsequently unfilled schedule, here’s what Ashley from Wanderdolls said:

“So far it’s going quite well. While I don’t have the number of bookings I’d like quite yet, it makes a great second company. “

However, I expect that to change as I’ve seen how hard they are advertising in China – their ads were all over the Shanghai subway this fall/winter.

Let’s look at a few of the pros and cons of Gogokid:

Pros

• Good teaching platform
• Easy application process
• 1 on 1 classes
• Lots of room for bonuses & high pay

Cons

• Hard to fill your schedule
• Newer company so rules change often

So, is Gogokids for you?  I’m in agreement with most of the teachers out there – it has potential but until you can be fully booked it’s better as a side option.