How to Earn Extra Money as a Teacher
The ways teachers influence students is incredible. They pour their hearts and souls into their work, going above and beyond to educate our children. The unfortunate reality for many teachers is that they earn such a low salary that they’re forced to look for a second job during their spare time and school breaks to make up the difference—and hopefully one that can become passive income so they still have enough time to spend with their own families.
What should be an unnecessary topic of discussion is, sadly, a reality many teachers face in their school districts: looking for ways to earn extra income outside of a full-time teaching position to make ends meet. Below, we have included 8 of the best, most flexible part-time job ideas for teachers to earn extra cash, ordered from the highest earning potential to the lowest.
8 Best Side Hustles for Teachers
1. Affiliate Marketing on Social Media
Affiliate marketing has the highest earning potential of any part-time job, depending on a few factors, which is what makes it a great side job for some teachers. Kayse Morris offers some helpful tips about affiliate marketing on social media, as a teacher, but she emphasizes it may not be for everyone! With that said, she notes that if it does fit with your lifestyle and you have the time to dedicate to it, you could expect to make up to $20,000 per year on the low end or $2,000,000+ per year on the high end. These numbers depend on a lot of things so be sure to check out Kayse’s blog for more insights into how to get started.
2. Selling Lesson Plans
Creating and selling online courses and educational materials other teachers look for for their classrooms, like printables and worksheets, can earn you a sizable side income. USA Today found that some teachers have even quit their former teaching job due to the amount of income they’ve brought in selling lesson plans: $100,000 per year or more.
3. Tutoring (Online or In-Person)
Online tutoring can offer substantial monetary compensation, depending on the classes you teach and how much you charge. Preply found that the average rate of an online tutor is around $18.30 per hour but can be as high as $50 an hour during exam season. And the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the average annual wage for a tutor is anywhere from $27,710 per year to $80,440 per year.
It’s an ideal opportunity for teachers with teaching skills and teaching experience who want to set their own hours and earn more money on top of their current salary.
It’s an ideal opportunity for teachers with teaching skills and teaching experience who want to set their own hours and earn more money on top of their current salary.
4. Surrogacy
As a surrogate, you can make up to $72,000 depending on where you live and your current salary.
Surrogacy is an appealing side job for many teachers for a number of reasons:
- Significant compensation
- Flexibility to earn more money while working current teaching job
- Many teachers have had previous pregnancies that qualify them for surrogacy
- Surrogates help couples desiring to have children of their own
And while surrogacy ranks as the fourth highest-paying side gig on our list, it is one of the few part-time jobs with a guaranteed income.
Anne-Marie Glaser, who teaches young kids, shared why becoming a surrogate was a good fit for her teaching career: "We see how love and support really make a big difference in kids' lives. We're already involved with lots of families and helping them out. Surrogacy just feels like another way to keep doing that."
Learn more about becoming a surrogate as a teacher.
5. Summer Camp Counselor
It might surprise you to know that acting as a summer camp teacher can pay surprisingly well. That’s because organizations look for experienced teachers to work for them over the summer when the demand for child care is high.
As a summer camp teacher, Salary.com estimates the average base pay is $54,646 in the United States. This largely depends on the camp you work for, but it’s worth researching if you can make that much extra money over the summer.
6. Part-Time Freelance Writing, Editing, or Proofreading
Educators have the skills required to become freelancers. Whether you want to write, edit, or proofread, you can easily qualify for projects needing someone to improve their messaging, as long as you have the spare time to dedicate to it.
Below is a breakdown of what you might expect to make working part-time as a freelancer, depending on the specialty:
Freelance Writers & Editors: According to Upwork, earning potential will vary based on years of experience, education and training, specific skills, previous reviews, and location, but you can generally expect to earn between $30-$40 per hour as a freelance writer and between $25-$35 per hour as a freelance editor.
Freelance Proofreaders: According to Proofread Anywhere, freelance proofreaders can make an annual salary of $53,733 per year alone. This amount will vary depending on the experience and skills you have, niche you’re targeting, and company you end up working with. It also depends on the amount of hours you can set aside for it. If you have less time to spend on a project and need to work at an hourly rate, you might consider charging more.
7. Selling Real Estate
If you’re ready to give up a lot of your free timeoutside of school hours, selling real estate might be a feasible option for you and one that could return sizable dividends for your efforts. Colibri Real Estatenotes that you’ll get out of it the time you put into it. For part-time real estate agents working less than 20 hours per week, they can expect to make, on average, $24,566 per year, while agents that work 21 - 40 hours per week could earn an extra $46,458 per year. You can learn more about what factors into that income on Colibri’s website.
8. Babysitting Over the Summer Months
While some teachers may look forward to a break from the kids after the school year is over, others utilize their summer break to earn extra income babysitting. Call Emmy explains that babysitting is one of the best teacher side jobs because it’s so flexible and teachers are often the best qualified for it.
In the United States, the average hourly pay for babysitting is $17.30 per hour. However, experienced sitters with certifications, like many teachers already have, may make as much as $42.79 per hour. Factoring in nannying and tutoring and babysitting could be a great way for teachers to make extra money.
To find relevant caregiving jobs near you—including child care, senior care, or pet care—check out care.com and this breakdown of summer earning potential as a babysitter.
Conclusion
While there are certainly other part-time job options teachers like to pursue—some of which include: dog walking, working as a summer school teacher, house sitting, pet sitting, driving for Uber or DoorDash—the options listed above offer teachers like you the highest earning potential no matter where you live.
Be a surrogate
