A second career for teachers is a great way to fluff up your resume experience, as well as branch out into different career paths. In this post, we’re talking about the top ten remote jobs for teachers looking to turn a side hustle into a career.
If you need help leaving the classroom, check out the Teacher Career Coach Course. This step-by-step guide has helped thousands with a transition from teaching. Save time and get support with every step of picking a new path, rewriting your resume, and answering tricky interview questions.
Second Careers for Teachers: Working from Home
Technology has changed the way we live our lives in so many ways, including the way we work. No longer are the days where we have to fight traffic every day to get to work, spend all day in an office space we loathe and fight more traffic just to get home.
Making a living from the comfort of your own home has never been more convenient. Some employers even prefer it. You may have seen the terms flex, remote, or home-based jobs on your job search, and they all mean the same thing: working from home. There are many remote jobs for teachers and I have found ten different jobs that are a great alternative for teachers who want to work remotely.
The following list of second careers for teachers can be done remotely from home. This is a great way to begin your transition from the classroom – especially if you are currently teaching with your district. A second job or side hustle is a great way to fluff up your resume and show off your versatility. For more information about fully transitioning out of the classroom and into a second career, check out the bottom of this post.
10 Second Careers for Teachers
1. Educational Consultant
An education consultant combines their teaching skills with their administrative skills to provide qualitative advice on school policies and procedures. This is a wonderful option for a second career for teachers. Education consultants can also serve as advisors on textbook projects, government agencies, non-profit think tanks and so on. Typically, Education Consultants require a master’s degree, Ph.D., Ed.D., or J.D.
You can even get additional certifications through the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA) or the American Institute for Certified Educational Planners. If you have good analytical skills, are great at organizing and planning, and have a background in curriculum building, then this is the right career move for you.
2. Educational Companies Hire Teachers to Blog – Second Career or Side Hustle?
If you haven’t noticed by now, niche-based blogs are everywhere. Surprise! You are reading one right now. An established blog in a popular area of interest can generate thousands of dollars a month in reliable income. One of the biggest reasons than many teachers are drawn to blogging is that many successful blogs, at their core, are built to educate and innovate.
Companies or bloggers may be hiring for contributors or ghost writers. Working with an established company or blog is a great way to learn the ropes of blogging, making this side hustle a for teachers that could easily turn into a second career.
If you love to write and have the determination to be your own boss, blogging is perfect for you. However, this job doesn’t come without a lot of hard work, including making your own schedule, content ideas and workload. Delegation skills are essential for building a blog that earns a full-time income. Teachers have a ton of potential popular niches to explore. Some can be children’s art and crafts, classroom resources, early childhood resources, and study resources for high school students.
3. Curriculum Writer
Curriculum writers are tasked with researching and developing lessons, including resource materials and learning activities. Your work will contribute to the structure or educational and instructional programs for lower, middle and higher education. A second career in curriculum writing can easily translate into various opportunities for teachers outside of the classroom. This can include companies, organizations, and government agencies. If you have a knack for writing outlines and technical writing, as well as supreme time management and organizational skills, then you may be able to easily transition into curriculum writing.
4. Second Career as a Virtual Teacher
Often referred to as remote, distance or online teaching, virtual teachers can teach at every level of education and would make a great second career choice for teachers. This can range from kindergarten all through high school, as well as college and continuing education courses. This personal approach to teaching is a great opportunity to reach students and teachers who don?t necessarily fit into the traditional brick-and-mortar schoolhouse.
The skills you’ll need for teaching online you more than likely already have. But, brushing up on the latest in online technology will definitely help. Companies that need online teachers include K12, Waterford, and Edmentum.
5. Virtual Tutor
A virtual tutor is much like a virtual teacher, accept more flexibility in schedule and clientele. If you are more of an entrepreneurial type of person and want to be more specialized in one or two subjects, then this job could be great for you.
Instead of a classroom of 30 students, teachers can choose who and when you want to teach in this second career. This is often on a one-on-one basis. In the digital age, it’s even easier to market your small business and to spread the word that you are a teacher for hire. Websites such as Care.com and Tutors.com can help you find steady work. Your own social media network can often be a valuable resource as well.
6. Online Professor
With more online colleges and brick and mortar institutions offering courses online, the demand for online professors is on the rise. Teaching online is great for non-tenured professors in higher education either on-campus or completely remote for two-year and four-year colleges. To be an online professor, you’ll need to know how to design course curriculum, lecture, administer tests and assignments, and grade coursework. Sometimes online instructors can parlay their skill into a corporate training position and the salaries tend to be higher.
7. Freelance Career for Teachers Writer
If you want to be start your own business in teaching and you love to write, freelance writing can be a fascinating career. You can take the jobs that appeal to you and your writing style. Plus, you have the freedom to write articles, blogs, email sequences, white papers, etc. The list goes on and on. There is no limit to the type of work you can do as a freelance writer. Since teaching has been a big part of your life, you can focus on education as your topic of choice.
8. Instructional Designer
Instructional designers are tasked with planning, organizing, testing and ensuring the functionality of various learning materials. For teachers with an eye for design and creativity, instructional design can be an exciting next step. Instructional designers utilize their knowledge of digital media and design to create learning systems and materials that informative and accessible. To be an instructional designer, you’ll need the ability to create assessments (quizzes, tests, essay prompts). Also, knowledge of how to analyze and apply trends in a learning environment is important. Some positions may require a master?s degree.
9. Customer Success Manager
I bet you are wondering what is a customer success manager? Better yet, what does one do? A customer success manager’s role is to ensure satisfaction throughout the customer’s experience. Three key responsibilities for a customer success manager are understanding the customer’s needs, fully explain the return on investment for the customer, and good account management. In addition, a candidate for this position should have great project management skills, good emotional intelligence skills to handle various scenarios, and be able to understand and improve processes.
10. Web Developer
The organizational skills you’ve gained as an educator will serve you well as you transition into a career as a web developer. As a web developer, you can work anywhere you want, as long as you have access to a computer. There are no limits to the flexibility provided by working on creating front-end web pages or the back-end systems that make up the internet.
You’ll need to understand the basic and complex coding languages. This can be learned in online classes or a course at your local college. You’ll also need to tap into your love of learning, so you can stay ahead of the curve on the constantly evolving internet. Like with any skill that you want to hone, learning to code takes a lot of practice and studying. Find your specialization first, then learn the coding languages.
Start Looking for Second Careers for Teachers Today
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.
