9 Summer Job Ideas for Teachers
Congratulations: you made it! You no doubt need some down time to decompress and feel a little human again. And while you’d like to shut it down for couple of months and hit the beach every day, you’ve got some bills to pay and some home improvements that will require some cash. If you are looking for a new way to earn this summer, or to start an income stream that can carry over into the school year, we’ve identified some traditional, and some not-so-traditional options for teachers to explore.
Many companies are looking to hire teachers for summer work. There are plenty of jobs you can do locally, but did you know that you can make real money working from home this summer? Below are 9 great summer jobs for teachers to consider, and most allow you to work from the comfort of home. The best part about many of these side-jobs is that you could continue doing them throughout the school year in addition to teaching. Check these out:
1) Sell your original curriculum content online via sites like Teachers Pay Teachers and Etsy.
Every year you organize, plan, create, and try to improve upon the year before. You may already have items that other teachers would want and pay for. If you know how to create printables, worksheets, planners, schedules, or even just have curriculum ideas, you can sell them on sites like Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) and Etsy. These sites allow you to upload and sell your downloadable content for a small fee. The best part about downloadable products is that they sell themselves and you collect time and again.
How much money can you make selling your items online? According to Rachel Lynette (a former school teacher, who makes a full-time income selling on TPT), you can make a substantial amount of money in addition to your teaching salary. Rachel’s article on Edutopia breaks down the top earners, and typical payouts for teachers on TPT. The top seller on the site has made over $2 million, 164 teachers have earned over $50,000, and thousands of teachers bring in a healthy side income of hundreds of dollars a month.
One way to get your content out there for other teachers to see is to utilize Facebook groups and pages. We have a great list of awesome teacher Facebook pages you can look at to get an idea. Facebook pages are free and they can help you to gain a following for your type of product. Canva is a great tool to utilize to make your printables and products look just a bit more professional. It’s a free tool with unlimited graphic potential.
2) Freelance writing for online publications like We Are Teachers and Tolerance.org
Freelance writing is a great option if you want to work from home on your own schedule. Teachers who enjoy writing may find this simply therapeutic! There are online and in-print publications that are always looking for teachers to write about a variety of topics. A few great places to submit pitches to are, We Are Teachers – which pays $100 for a 500-700 word article (School Leaders Now is the same company but has a different pitch submission form), and Tolerance.org – which pays differently depending on the content. One article may be worth $100, while another is worth $600. You can view all of the different types of articles they are looking for on the submission page using the link above. The NJ Teachers’ Lounge is always looking for good teacher-writers, as well, and pays competitively.
3) Start an education blog
Teaching is one of those professions where nearly everyone in it could walk away and write a book about what they have witnessed and had to deal with. But in addition to the anecdotal stories, your knowledge and advice is valuable. Your fellow teachers are searching for answers, advice, tips, and help, and you may be the one to deliver it. Teacher blogs can open up many avenues for making money. You can earn residual income from promoting your products (using Etsy or TPT as mentioned above,) doing affiliate marketing, Google Adsense, and from paid advertisers to name just a few.
Starting an education blog sounds overwhelming, but it really doesn’t have to be. You can start immediately on a blog platform like Medium, Bloglovin’ or tumblr. Or you can create your own blog with just a little extra effort. In order to have a successful blog there are a few things you will need to get started…
- Get WordPress or another website builder.
- Use Canva or Photoshop to create great shareable graphics.
- Select a website host to host your site domain.
- Create a newsletter to send out to your subscribers (MailChimp is a great option because they have a free plan for any blogger with under 2,000 subscribers.)
Shane and Jocelyn Sams are former teachers who are making $45,000 – $100,000 per month with their teacher blog, as reported by Forbes.com. They sell curriculum and other downloadable items that teachers are looking for. This educatorpower couple quit their day jobs at the school district (Shane was a teacher, and Jocelyn a librarian) and are now running their online business full-time.
4) Online tutoring for sites like Tutor.com, Aim4A.com and TutorMe.com
Online tutoring is a great way to continue changing lives and helping kids grasp concepts, while being able to work from home. This also opens the door to tutoring outside of your local area, which can mean more earning potential. The average hourly rate for online teaching jobs according to Knowledge Roundtable is anywhere from $17 – $76/hour depending on your area, and background.
5) Local tutoring
Tutoring locally through your school district, or a neighboring one is a potentially easy way for teachers to earn money in the summer. Families are always looking for a good, quality math or reading tutor for their child who is a bit behind. Believe it or not, finding a good tutor is not always easy in all areas. If you are looking to work this summer, this may be a great option for you. You can go to the student’s home or even meet at the school or library depending on your district.
6) Childcare/day camps
The summer is a fun and exciting time for both teachers and students, but when both parents are working, it is a challenge to figure out what to do with the kids all summer long. As a school teacher you are more than qualified to offer childcare or work at a day camp. Depending on your skills and subject of interest, day camps may be a great way to continue teaching science for example, while also earning a nice part-time income. STEM day camp ideas in NJ include Drobots Camp, Bits Bytes Code, STEM Academy for Young Kids, etc.
7) Pet sitter/dog walker
Summer jobs for teachers that allow you to work with dogs are few and far between. For dog lovers, pet sitting and dog walking may be the perfect gig for you. You can easily advertise by posting fliers or delivering them to your neighbors. Most people travel during the summer months and so many who have pets struggle to find reliable help to watch them. For those who don’t want to use a kennel, hiring a dog walker and pet sitter is the best option. This is a fun and relatively easy way to make a decent amount of money.
8) House sitter
Travelling doesn’t just mean needing help with a pet…it also means needing someone to water the plants, get the mail, check in on the house while the owner is away. Teachers are great candidates since you have the summer off, and undoubtedly have a clean background check. A great place to advertise your pet sitting or house sitting services is on the app Next Door, or on Facebook.
9) Virtual assistant
Working online as a virtual assistant is a unique way for teachers to earn money over the summer months. If you have experience with customer service, bookkeeping, websites, Google Docs, and/or email management, then you are qualified to be a virtual assistant. Though there are many different kinds of virtual assistants, the number of jobs out there are endless! Business owners are always looking to hire virtual assistants to help them with website management, email maintenance and typical assistant tasks, as well as freelance writing and really anything you can think of.
A great place to find legitimate opportunities is through Upwork.com. Simply create an account with them, get accepted, and begin applying to freelance jobs. You can find jobs like data entry, virtual assistant, freelance writing, website design, etc. If you are hoping to continue working part-time even after the school year begins, this is a great way to do that while working around your schedule.
– Jenna Garvin
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