The Blue Pencil: How and when did your association with Unacademy begin?
Tina Malhotra: I was looking for internships at letsintern when I came across Unacademy. At first, I wasn’t sure if I could handle such a work but I wanted to give it a try. There are two levels that you need to cross before they finally hire you. I started working for Unacademy in the month of June and continued to be an active educator ( they prefer to use the term educator and not teacher) for exact 2 months.
TBP: What kind of work were you provided at Unacademy and are there any prerequisites to joining it?
TM: The best part about Unacademy is the amount of freedom that I get. I was left on my own to decide the terms of employment (not the pay of course), the topics that I would want to teach, for how long I would like to work etc. So I chose the topics as per my interest. As far as the prerequisites are concerned, the selection is done primarily, keeping in mind two things, one, you should know how to teach and two, you should be passionate towards teaching. You don’t have to be a PhD holder or a graduate to teach at Unacademy.
TBP : Was it difficult to strike a balance between Unacademy and law school?
TM: I started working for Unacademy in the month of June, so I didn’t face much trouble back then. But after the summer break, I had to take out some extra time to strike a balance between Unacademy and studies. All I did was change the curriculum and started teaching the subjects that I had recently read. It made my work a lot more easier.
TBP : What are the ways in which more students can join this enterprise?
TM: The detailed process is as follows:
Install the Unacademy Educator App and make a demo lesson following the instructions mentioned in the app.
The review team at Unacademy would accept or reject the demo video on the basis of the quality of content, presentation etc. and you will be notified of the committee’s decision on the app itself.
Also, I could make a reference. It might help.
TBP : What suggestions would you give to people who wish to join such an enterprise?
TM: Do not join Unacademy if the only thing that’s running in your mind is money. You need to be passionate about the work and of course, you need to spare an hour or two in order to create impactful videos. Also, be open to criticism because you’ll get a lot once you start working on this platform. The idea is to create an impact, tell others what you know and learn from them.
