Qkids Review – Can You Really Make $20 Per Hour Teaching English?

If you've ever searched for ways to make money online, you've probably stumbled across teaching English online as a side hustle.

After all, there's a reason this side gig is so popular: if you're a native English speaker with a degree, you're already qualified to teach for most online ESL companies!

Plus, ESL tutoring jobs typically pay more than minimum wage, have bonuses for high-performing teachers, and let you work from the comfort of your own home.

However, the online ESL market is certainly dominated by the likes of VIPKid and EF Education First.

While these are both reputable companies worth considering, another reputable ESL company that doesn't get enough attention is Qkids,

With over 800,000 students, Qkids is one of the leading ESL companies that’s making remote work goals a reality for many people.

Time to break down everything you need to know to become a teacher in our official Qkids review!

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What Is Qkids?

Qkids is an online teaching platform that connects teachers located in the U.S. and Canada with young English language learners in China.

Your students are generally between ages 4-12, and Qkids is a perfect side hustle for recent college grads, stay at home parents, and part-time side hustlers alike!

With Qkids, you get the chance to teach remotely (aka, from wherever you live) using fun and interactive games and stories.

It’s a great way to earn a part-time income to supplement a full-time job or help pay your way through school. 

Qkids teachers earn an impressive $16 to $20 per hour, which is pretty awesome for a job where you don’t even have to leave the house!  

Qkids Requirements

On paper, it might sound like you just need to be a native speaker to land a job with Qkids or other teaching companies.

However, ESL tutoring jobs are one of the tougher online jobs to land due to their hiring requirements.

Language & Educational Requirements

The main requirement to teach for Qkids and most other companies is to be a native speaker. If you have an accent, your application won't be too easy.

Additionally, recent changes to educational legislation in China has had an impact on online ESL companies.

In China, you now require a minimum of a bachelor's degree to qualify for being a Qkids instructor.

You can't be halfway through your degree either; Qkids requires proof of your degree as part of your application, so this is only for students pursuing additional education or graduates!

Note: your degree doesn't need to be in English or Education; any undergrad degree suffices.

Plus, you also need a teaching license OR English language teaching certificate to teach English online in China.

Eligible teaching certificates include TESOL, TEFL, CELTA, and ESL courses.

Most tutors complete a 120 or 160 hour TEFL certification course, which can usually be found on websites like Groupon for under $50.

Finally, you must be legally allowed to work in Canada or the U.S. to teach for Qkids.

This doesn't mean you have to live in those countries, but it's a requirement nevertheless.

Materials and Application Requirements

If you meet certification requirements, you need the following information to apply to Qkids:

• Your resume.
• Availability (when you can work each week).
• Screenshot of your computer information.
• 1-2 minute introductory video.

Device and Technical Requirements

The final category to take care of involves technical requirements and hardware.

Running Qkids online classroom isn't extremely strenuous, but you need certain pieces of hardware to do your job properly:

• Computer with webcam.
• Headset with microphone.
• Stable internet connection (preferably cable connection).
• Minimum upload speed: 2 Mbps.
• Minimum download speed: 4 Mbps.

Finally, it's also worth noting that alongside official Qkids requirements, you should actually have an interest in teaching kids.

No matter how much you get paid or how flexible a Qkids job is, if you're not a good teacher who engages well with students, you probably won't get hired!

Steps in the Hiring Process

If you’re interested in signing on as a Qkids instructor, the hiring process is pretty straightforward.

Firstly, you of course fill out the application materials including your resume and availability — pretty straightforward. Qkids does an initial screening based on that step. 

After passing the initial screening, you go through the first of two demo interviews.

Here’s what to expect from each of these: 

Demo Interview 1: You’ll be asked to demonstrate your technical proficiency and ability to utilize the Qkids platform. This includes showing that you know how to handle the video and audio components. A few questions about teaching are also included in the first interview. 

Demo Interview 2: This consists primarily of a 25-minute Q & A session. You’ll also do a brief demonstration to showcase your teaching skills and personality.

Demo interviews are really another part of the screening process to see if you understand how to even teach English.

If Qkids thinks you have potential, you're onto the final stage: teaching paid trial classes.

This trial period usually consists of 2-5 class sessions, compensated at $8 per lesson.

You want to strive for excellence here, since this is going to show Qkids, students, and parents what you bring to the table. 

Another one of the Qkids requirements is completing a background check. Obviously, this is to ensure you’re a safe person to teach and influence kids. 

The final step is signing your teaching contract, which starts at a minimum of 6 months.

If you make it through the demos and trials and check every other box, you can get started as an official Qkids instructor!

Scheduling and Curriculum 

You’re probably wondering about the work schedule involved in Qkids, and admittedly, this side gig is slightly less flexible than various gig apps you might use.

With Qkids, you need to commit to teaching 6-19 hours per week.

Lessons are 30 minutes in length, with 1-4 students assigned to each lesson. Class schedules are released on a weekly basis. 

Since Qkids jobs are for teaching children located in China, your hours will correspond to hours that are convenient to them.

In general, this means early-morning hours 7 days a week, plus a few hours in the evenings on Fridays and Saturdays. 

For example, I’m in the Eastern time zone, so my hours for teaching would be 6:30-9:00 AM daily.

I could also log more teaching time from 8:30-11:40 PM on weekend nights. (If you’re in a different time zone, be aware that your hours could start much earlier!)

For people in PST for example, your earliest morning time could be 3:30 AM! 

This is ideal for early morning risers or potential night owls, but it's certainly worth keeping in mind before applying.

It's also worth noting that Qkids summer hours are more intense since students are out of school, so there's way more opportunity to make money and book classes.

Just take a look at what this current teacher says about their summer schedule:

Note: if you do need to cancel a lesson for some reason, you can do so.

However, it’s important to give at least 24 hours’ notice for a cancellation if at all possible. 

Curriculum

One nice thing about Qkids is that teachers aren’t responsible for the curriculum or lesson planning. The company does all of this for you. 

As a former teacher, I can tell you that lesson planning is one of the biggest headaches of the job.

It’s so much less stressful to know that all lessons are set up for you!

Qkids lessons are also based on fun, interactive games. They’ve created their own original animated characters to illustrate stories to teach.

The curriculum is designed to be super-engaging and fun for students.

All you have to do is take students through slideshows and to ensure your students are grasping the concepts and not falling behind.

Qkids Pay – How Much Do You Make?

It’s great to get to spend time with a variety of kids from across the world, but you also need to know the bottom line: how much does Qkids pay? 

The basic pay structure is $8 minimum per lesson, or $16 per hour.

Along with the base pay, teachers are eligible for bonuses to help bump up their income. 

Qkids pay includes a potential $1 bonus per lesson, which is based on the teacher’s performance.

If parents rate you well, this goes a long way towards earning the bonuses. This is another reason it's important to be energetic, welcoming, and to give online lessons your all.

The other bonus is $1 per lesson for teaching at least 15 lessons per week. Since that’s only 7.5 hours of work, it’s a pretty attainable goal, meaning that bonus is easy to reach. 

Effectively, the bonuses mean you could earn up to $20 an hour! 

This is slightly lower than companies like VIPKid and EF Education First.

However, VIPKid requires teaching more seriously to earn a higher wage, and EF Education First is pretty comparable.

You receive your pay by the 15th of the month for all lessons taught during the previous month. Any bank transfer fees are covered by Qkids. 

Pros and Cons of Teaching With Qkids

No Qkids review would be complete without examining the pros and cons of working with this company.

As with any online job, there will be positives and negatives. 

Pros

If you want to start working for Qkids, the main perks to look forward to include:

• Completely remote work.
• Lesson prep is done for you.
• You don't need lesson props, unlike with companies like VIPKid.
• Qkids handles scheduling for students.

The remote nature of a Qkids job is a huge part of its appeal.

Working from home is a great perk because it saves you time and money on your commute, and you can even teach with Qkids while holding down another job or side hustle.

Plus, the fact that Qkids instructors don’t have to do any of the up-front work of preparing topics and lessons is a massive time saver compared to under the table jobs like private tutoring. 

Qkids doesn’t require the use of extra props, unlike several other English teaching companies.

This simplifies your job: you just need to take a look at the lesson beforehand and then show up. (Well, that and make learning fun for the kids!)

Also, Qkids handles scheduling classes for you.

This is great because you’re not restricted by whether parents or kids like or dislike you, and can make it easier to get classes as a new teacher.

Extra Reading – 32 Remote Job Websites to Land Online Work!

Cons

Despite solid pay and a number of perks, QKids has some drawbacks:

• Larger class sizes.
• No room for increasing pay.
• Only part-time.
• Odd work hours.

Teaching up to 4 students per class can be a major downside because it makes lessons more difficult.

Most online tutoring jobs are one-on-one. Connecting with students is more challenging with multiple students to reach simultaneously. 

There also aren’t any opportunities to increase your pay.

While it’s great that new teachers can earn a decent range of $16-$20 an hour right off the bat, it’s discouraging for your pay rate to remain stagnant, even if you rack up a ton of successful experience with them. 

Qkids isn't a full-time gig either.

Since they only permit teachers to work up to 19 hours a week, this is definitely relegated to part-time status. If you need a full-time income, you’ll have to think of Qkids as just one component of that. 

Finally, te available working hours can be a con for some people.

Super-early mornings and weekend evenings are not everyone’s cup of tea. But for others, this might make it the perfect side hustle to complement a regular day job!

Alternatives to Qkids

As mentioned, there are a number of popular online ESL companies you can turn to if you're looking for a viable teaching alternative.

In fact, many ESL teachers work for several companies simultaneously to reach full-time hours, so keep that strategy in mind as well!

1. VIPKid

VIPKid is the leading online ESL company, and it's a favorite for ESL teachers because of competitive pay and the sheer number of students on the platform.

Plus, with VIPKid, you’re also teaching remotely, but it’s all one-on-one.

It can be tough to get booked for classes at first, and their new-teacher pay is not as attractive as it used to be. 

However, the longer you work for VIPKid, the more you earn, so it's definitely one of the best companies for serious teachers.

2. EF Education First

EF Education First is actually one of the oldest companies in the business, and has in-person schools in China as well for language education.

However, you can still teach online for EF Education First. Additionally, you can sign up to teach kids or adults.

When teaching kids, lessons are 25 minutes long. Adult classes are a bit different, with individual and group options.

Pay is fairly similar to QKids, although EF Education First has milestone bonuses which make it rather attractive for serious teachers, like VIPKid.

Is Qkids Legit?

With all of the growing number of online scams ready to steal your money, you might be wondering if Qkids is a legit way to make money. 

Don’t worry about this one — Qkids is a completely trustworthy company that pays its teachers a competitive wage in the world of online ESL education.

Once getting approved as an instructor, you can start earning a solid wage and increasing your weekly bookings as you gain experience and meet more students.

Plus, there are plenty of other positive Qkids reviews out there and testimonials if you do some research.

However, one important testimonial I found came from a Reddit thread:

This teacher explains that, while bonuses are nice and you have some flexibility on your schedule, your real earnings are closer to $13 to $17 per hour.

Plus, you really need to be comfortable waking up early, so keep both of these factors in mind before applying.

Ultimately, Qkids is legit, but don't expect to earn a full-time wage from this company.

Tips For Landing The Job

Online ESL is actually quite difficult – you have to be energetic, use hand signals, and actively engage with students.

Furthermore, you want to have an inviting setup you instruct from and ensure your audio setup is up to snuff.

If you aren't comfortable on camera, talk too quickly, or don't know how to properly instruct students who are learning a foreign language, your interview process is going to be tough.

If you're serious about landing a Qkids job, make sure you practice demo lessons and any interview prep material pretty seriously.

Additionally, you can also check out a plethora of YouTube videos that break down teaching tips for online ESL teachers:

As long as you prep for your interviews, are friendly, and stick to your schedule, you shouldn't have too many problems in becoming a teacher.

How much money you end up earning and what platforms you teach for is then up to you!

Extra Reading – 9 Best Online Tutoring Gigs For College Students.

Final Thoughts

Teaching students English online is a fantastic way to make money. You can use your skill set to increase income, pay off debt, and save for your goals. 

If you enjoy working with students and have an appreciation for the English language, then teaching online with Qkids might be the perfect side hustle for you!

Just remember: the job sounds easy on paper, but there are plenty of requirements to become a teacher in the first place.

Plus, you need to wake up early for this job, and you should realistically expect around $13 to $17 per hour for your time.

Hopefully, your application goes well and you're onto teaching kids in no time!

Thanks so much for reading our QKids review! If you have a favorite ESL company you've worked for before, let us know in the comments!

And, if you want other lucrative side hustle ideas, you can consider reading our:

• DoorDash Driver Review.
• 27 Apps That Pay You To Drive.
• Freelance Writing Guide – How To Become A Freelance Writer!
• Best Jobs For Ex-Teachers.