There are several ways for teachers to make more money, including fun side hustles that earn some extra spending money to totally replacing their income. You can even travel while doing it or enjoy the lifestyle your new teacher side hustle brings.
Teachers are always in high-demand, but the bad news is they’re notoriously underpaid. The pandemic only brought to light how overworked teachers are and unrealistic our demands are to teach in-person, virtual, and still figure out how to make ends meet on a sluggish salary. Fortunately, teaching skills are in high demand and pair well with lucrative side gigs. Here are some of the best side hustles for teachers to find more flexibility, freedom, and income in your life.
1) Virtual Assistant for a Course Creator
Course creators, bloggers, and businesses of all kind all need help keeping their small businesses running. That saying “those who can’t teach” has flipped with the rise of digital content. Now course creators are struggling with figuring out how to teach content to an eager audience, and are often falling flat breaking down the material into teachable segments.
While experience in digital marketing and online teaching can help, it’s not necessary to pitch yourself as a virtual assistant. Instead, you can focus on the skills you have in your day job to translate as a virtual assistant where you help online businesses teach others.
2) Specialized, Niche Tutor
Some of the best side hustles for teachers are about tutoring, but you can do so much more than just teach the subjects from your daily classes. Offering niche tutoring services for SAT, ACT, reading for those with learning disabilities, and advanced level math are all ways to earn more income as a teacher. You don’t need to necessarily teach the subjects at school that you tutor for at home. Your credentials as a teacher and experience in the classroom are your expertise and credibility.
Earn more income as a tutor by teaching small groups of two to three people. The students score a slightly discounted rate while you earn more for doing roughly the same amount of work. You can also explore tutoring virtually to reduce travel time.
3) Educational Writer
Freelance writers are in high demand for blog posts, B2B publications, companies, small businesses, and consumer magazines. As a teacher, you can stand out from the competition by writing about education best practices for parenting sites or magazines, to name a few. Although it can feel daunting to try and break into freelance writing with no experience, it’s not that difficult when you have the right mindset and tightly-focused niche. Focusing on area like education also commands higher rates than a general writer.
Writing as a side hustle can seem intimidating, but totally doable. You need to market your authority as a teacher and ability to break down concepts into helpful, readable articles. You can learn more about freelance writing with new experience with The Writer’s Den. You’ll learn learn to grow and scale your career, whether you want to write for educational blogs, magazines, newspapers, corporations, and more.
Learn more about freelance writing and The Writer’s Den here.
4) Resort Kids Club Teacher
Tap into your love of travel to land one of the best side hustles for teachers. Resorts, hotels, and other vacation sites often house kids clubs for travelers. Kids enjoy excursions, swimming, and recreational activities together while parents hit the spa or have some time alone. During peak travel times like summer, resorts are looking for quality staff to help support their kids clubs. Offer up your services as a trained teacher and impress them by suggesting activities like science or crafting experiences to keep summer learning fun.
Pro tip: It will be easier to secure employment in your country of origin or territories to avoid paperwork and Visa issues. If you live in the U.S., contact ski resorts during winter break, or beachside retreats in Florida, California, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, or family summer camp destinations like Tyler Place. Get started by scouring listings on sites like Cool Works.
5) Wedding Planner’s Assistant
Wedding season often falls during spring and summer when brides opt for warm weather and travel flexibility. Wedding planners often need help with the basics like setting up the event, overseeing the activity, and breaking everything down. Seasonal help is paramount, and wedding planners would jump at the chance for responsible teachers who work well with others to pitch in.
Ask around your network for recommendations of wedding planners, or start a local Google search. Offering to pitch in wherever needed and mentioning your background as a teacher managing a large classroom is a perfect place to start.
6) Homeschool Teacher
Homeschool isn’t just for stay-at-home parents who can juggle the demands of schoolwork. Busy parents with full-time jobs also want to homeschool, but need a teacher to help out. The best part is, homeschooling is flexible. You can negotiate after school, weekend, or summer hours to fit your schedule. Remember homeschooling is a specialized skill that requires curriculum planning, finding the right resources, and keeping kids engaged. Charge a premium for your services, and upsell your services for field trips, at-home STEM projects, workbook creation, and other valuable assets.
7) Make Money with Amazon
Teachers who need a flexible, at-home side hustle can look to Amazon. There are several places to start, including creating your own educational books in a digital format. You can also sell lesson plans, journals, and physical products on Amazon, or tap into their little known Mechanical Turk program to find odd job tasks that you can do online. Need more info to get started? Learn more about 11 ways to make money with Amazon here.
Sometimes finding the best side hustles for teachers means combining several ideas to create the lifestyle you want. Focus on your strengths and the most flexible options to get your side hustles up and running quickly.