The ability to earn extra income for teachers might be crucial for you to survive (or help cushion you as you get out of teaching). According to Salary.com, the average public school teacher in California makes $56,000. The EPI found that teachers earn 19% less than similarly skilled and educated professionals.
If you LOVE teaching, but can’t afford to live on it’s salary, you can earn extra income. If you are looking to get out of teaching altogether, these opportunities may also double as a resume building experience. This money may also offer a cushion if you have a dip in income while looking for other jobs. Many teachers in The Teacher Career Coach Course gain extra income as they are transitioning to new careers.
Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links, meaning I receive commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links. This is at no additional cost to you.
Teachers Pay Teachers
Anytime you search extra income for teachers, Teachers Pay Teachers will be one of the first marketplaces you’ll learn about. I personally love Teachers Pay Teachers. I earn passive income on a monthly basis through my store, Kitten Approved Curriculum. After putting in effort during my downtime, my store continues to make me money when I’m busy. In addition to income, I was able to leverage my TPT store as a digital portfolio. This helped me showcase my skills creating professional resources and land my position as an Instructional Designer.
Curriculum Writing For Companies
There are companies that hire educators for curriculum writing as an independent contractor. Many of these opportunities are remote, meaning you can work from home. In the job listings it will state whether or not it is a full time or part time position. This is an excellent opportunity to gain experience with curriculum writing. You’ll be able to network for full time positions within your company. You can also network with contacts you make through curriculum writing.
Tutor or Teach Online
There are many different online platforms to sign up as Tutor that will connect you with students. Tutor.com is one of the top places to get started – but you don’t need to use a tutoring platform. Set up a business license, establish your rate, and advertise on your own website for additional credibility. It’s easy to use virtual meetings to keep your travel time minimal for quick questions.
Create a Digital Course
Another way to earn extra income for teachers is to create your own digital course. There are digital courses out there for fitness, DIY projects, meditation, and basically almost anything. I created my digital course, The Teacher Career Coach Course, to help teachers transition out of the classroom. Think of your personal experience, and create a digital course to teach others how to do it. I created my course using Thinkific, which allows you to try their platform and get started creating for free. Bonus: I was able to use this experience to land my full-time job as an Instructional Designer.
Get Experience Freelancing
There are platforms such as Upwork.com that are great resources for extra income for teachers. There are plenty of transferable skills teachers have, or use your own passions to pick. Gain extra money working in the following fields:
- Website Developer
- Virtual Assistant
- Social Media Manager
- Pinterest Manager
- Copy Writer
- Blog Writer
If you are looking to get out of teaching, you’ll gain experience for your resume and build to your portfolio. Freelancing positions are often at your own pace. Your client pays a set fee or hourly rate to work for them. If you continue to do fantastic work and meet your deadlines, it could turn into a full-time gig for you!
Other Teaching Opportunities
After school programs, summer camps, and youth centers are great places to start. If you love art, think of applying to a local art museum. Actually, many of these places may be looking for a Director! This is another opportunity for you to build managerial experience if you are looking to ultimately get out of teaching.
Affiliate Marketing
If you’ve created your own website, educational blog, or Instagram – affiliate marketing is a great way to earn additional money. Affiliates use a specific link on products they endorse and earn a percentage of the sales from that link. Love makeup, traveling, food blogging, fashion, technology? Create a blog to focus on your passion, and endorse the products you love!
What if you haven’t created your own website? It’s not as hard as it sounds! The thing that takes the longest for me is setting up the theme, so I outsource. I use BluChic to create professional and feminine looking WordPress sites quickly without the fuss of doing it all myself. (This website was created using BluChic’s Victoria theme!)
Educational Consultant
Companies are looking for educational professionals for part time work. Your job duties may include speaking at conferences on their behalf, giving product feedback from a classroom perspective, or blogging for them. I left teaching for an educational consultant position, so there are full-time opportunities out there as well.
Additional Extra Income For Teachers
If you are looking for quick cash and not experience for a resume, there are plenty of ways to earn. Weareteachers.com listed 50 ways for teachers to earn additional income – from dog sitting to recycling, this should list them all.
Should I Get Out Of Teaching?
If you LOVE teaching, stay!! If you are miserable for other reasons (and not just financial), you may want to get out of teaching. I left teaching after a terrible year in a toxic school for a position as an educational consultant. The burnout was mentally and physically impacting me, and I knew it was finally my time to go. Leaving teaching was one of the best things that ever happened to me, and now I am able to help support other teachers who are also looking to transition.
If you’re just beginning to think about leaving teaching, brainstorming other options is a great place to start. But if you’re like many others, teaching was your only plan – there never was a Plan B. You might feel at a loss when it comes to figuring out what alternatives are out there. Start with our free quiz to see what jobs outside the classroom might be right for you.
Next steps to a new career
One of the biggest mistakes that we see teachers make is that they try to navigate this process alone. Often, they put off “researching” until the very last minute. Which sets them up for a very stressful application season. I want to help you get some clarity in the options available to you. To know EXACTLY what you need to do (and not do) in order to get your foot in the door.
You don’t have to do this on your own.
With the help of an HR expert with over 10 years of experience and a team of former teachers, I’ve created a guide to support you in the early stages of your transition out of the classroom. Tap the button below to learn more.
