As a former teacher, I get it. You’re strapped for cash and likely need more money if you want to pay off debt, take vacations, and live the life you want to live.
Here’s the good news: You can make more money! These side hustles for teachers are perfect for any educator that’s ready to make some extra money.
It’s no secret that teachers are just not paid enough. A side hustle is a smart way to increase your income without distracting you from your full-time job. Not sure what to do? Don’t stress! I’m sharing the 17 best side hustles for teachers. Some of these are side hustles that I even did as a teacher!
What Is A Side Hustle?
A side hustle – also called a side gig – is a way people make money in addition to their full-time job. It’s a way of earning a supplemental income.
This isn’t the same as a part-time job. Most part-time jobs will have you clock in and clock out, and you have a set amount of hours your must work, which really takes away from you freedom.
With a side hustle, you set your own hours and earn as much or as little money as you have time to.
Best Side Hustles For Teachers
As a teacher, you have a specific set of skills that can earn you additional income in some fantastic side hustles. You should look for job descriptions that use the talents and knowledge you already have.
It’s not worth it to try and do something that you’ll have to spend time learning.
These side hustles are perfect for teachers as they are easy to work around your current full-time job. The research has already been done for you, go ahead and pick out your favorites from this list.
1. Private Tutor
Teachers make the best private tutors. You already know how to teach children, so use that knowledge to help children outside of school.
The excellent news is that lots of private tutors can earn around $22 per hour. Parents will hire private tutors for kids who are struggling in a specific subject in school.
I personally have experience with being a private tutor and have earned anywhere from $30-$50 per hour! I loved the flexibility of this part-time job and highly recommend it! It was perfect for extra income in the summer. The best part was that I was able to work with a few of my former students.
2. Virtual Assistant
Another perfect side-hustle for teachers is to work as a virtual assistant.
Teachers already know how to organize data on spreadsheets, write articles, and edit articles grammatically. These are all skills that virtual assistants must have. Grab this free checklist to see if becoming a virtual assistant is right for you.
VAs can earn anywhere from $10-20 per hour (or more). People hire virtual assistants to do things like organize editorial calendars, update websites, and organize e-mails.
There are lots of Facebook groups where entrepreneurs hire virtual assistants. You can also find work online on sites such asUpwork. I was never a VA, but my first two VAs were teachers! They loved the extra income that I provided.
Similarly, teachers can work as a social media assistant on evenings and weekends.
This job is just like a virtual assistant, but it focuses entirely on social media. This is a perfect side hustle if you don’t want to write articles or answer emails.
It pays around $10-15 per hour, depending on experience. Social Media Assistants can use tools for scheduling social media posts to publish automatically.
Some of the duties might be:
- Creating social media graphics
- Scheduling social media posts
- Planning social media editorial calendars
- Growing social media audiences
4. Sell On Teachers Pay Teachers
One of the most popular side hustles for teachers is selling lesson plans and supplemental worksheets/ideas on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Signing up for a store is easy and free. Just fill out the requested information and choose a store name (you can even use your own name).
The website TPT takes a percentage of your sales. If you want a higher payout, sign up with a Premium Seller account for $59.95 per year.
Before you start uploading plans and resources to sell, check out the competition and try to be unique and original.
I personally sold items (and still sell items to this day!) on Teachers Pay Teachers. I figured that if I was creating it for my classroom, I could package it up nicely and sell it on TPT. This is a WONDERFUL side hustle that can make you serious money!
5. Coach/Teach Other Teachers
In addition to hosting a store on TPT, you can set up weekend coaching where you train teachers. One of the most in-demand types of training right now is how to use technology to teach kids remotely.
Set up online coaching calls where you share your screen and help teachers learn to use apps/programs like Schoology, Google Classroom, or Microsoft TEAMS.
Since these are skills teachers need, you can charge upwards of $100 per coaching call.
5. Sell Crafts Online
Another side hustle for teachers that doesn’t involve interacting with people (at least not much) is selling crafts on Etsy or Facebook Marketplace.
If you sell enough products, you could even set up your own Shopify store.
Lots of people enjoy making crafts as a way to unwind after a stressful day. If you can turn your stress-reliever into a side-hustle, that’s even better!
6. Deliver Food/Groceries
Delivering food or groceries is another side hustle that you can pick up whenever you need extra cash, but just decline to do it when you don’t have the time.
Some of the most popular delivery apps include:
There are always new apps being added to this list, and most will allow you to join as many as you want. Some people will join multiple apps and then take orders from the particular one that is busiest that day.
Many people report making around $25 an hour this way.
7. Drive For Uber/Lyft
Driving for a rideshare company is the perfect side hustle for teachers because the busiest times for drivers is evenings and weekends.
In fact, there could be tax benefits to driving for Uber or Lyft; such as deducting your mileage, cell phone bill, and any snacks or water bottles you buy for customers.
Just like with food delivery, you can choose to work whenever you have time and just skip when you are too busy. I’ve known teachers in the past that drive on weekend mornings to help make extra payments to their student loans.
8. Rent Out Extra Bedrooms/Basem*nt
Another side hustle that doesn’t take much time is to be an Airbnb host. This can be extra-lucrative if you live in a busy town or a tourist destination.
If you have a finished basem*nt, turn it into a private guest suite so you can give travelers privacy.Airbnbmakes the entire process easy. If you have a guest house or another space that’s rentable, you can make more than $500 in a month.
9. Bookkeeping
If you are good at bookkeeping, then freelance bookkeeping might be perfect for you. This is a really flexible way to make some additional income, especially if you are good with details and numbers.
Small business owners often prefer to hire people to handle this part; it’s commonly the first thing they hire out. You could earn $25-50 per hour depending on your skills, efficiency, and expertise.
10. Freelance on Fiverr
Freelance writing or graphic design is another side hustle idea. If you enjoy either of these things but don’t want to spend time trying to find people to work for, sign up on Fiverr.
Other skills you can be hired to do include video editing, animation, and proofreading.
The best thing about freelancing is that you can do it around your schedule in your free time.
11. Amazon Merch
Signing up to sell on Amazon Merch is a fantastic side hustle for creative or artistic teachers.
Here’s how it works. You create your own original t-shirt designs. Then, upload them to your Amazon Merch account. Amazon will print and ship your t-shirts for you!
The more shirts you sell, the more designs you can upload. And the more designs you upload, the more unique people you can reach!
Lots of people who work full time still have amazing success selling on Amazon Merch.
12. Participate in Online Surveys or Focus Groups
Another way to earn a little extra money is to participate in a focus group or take surveys online. The best part about this is you can do it on your own time. You likely won’t have to miss work.
Signing up for surveys or focus groups is fairly simple. You’ll need to provide basic information, such as your date of birth, email address, and zip code. These online surveys and focus groups will help you earn extra cash or gift cards that you can use for Christmas gifts or even save for the summertime!
Below are my favorite survey sites you’ll want to check out.
- Branded Surveys – take surveys at night while you binge-watch your favorite shows. Making money from surveys has never been easier.
- YouGov – Share your opinion and earn money. It’s that simple!
- SheSays Community – all female online community where you provide your feedback in turn for a chance to win $50.
13. Write an eBook
Finally, if you have stories you have always wanted to share or you have some experience as a teacher that can help future educators, write an eBook and sell it!
There are lots of ways to publish and sell your eBook. The easiest way is through Kindle Direct Publishing.When you publish through them, your work is available on Amazon, but there are other programs out there, too.
You can also use lots of other programs and sell on your own website, too.
14. Blogging
Although you won’t make money right away, blogging can earn you serious money! Find a topic you’re passionate about and start a blog. Blogging can open up doors for you to make money in many different ways.
From ads, sponsored income, and affiliate income, you can earn great side hustle money from blogging. Interested in how much blogging can make you? Check out my income reports from several years ago:
- 6 Months Blogging Income Report
- 1 Year Blogging Income Report – How I Made Over $7,000 Blogging On The Side!
15. Provide Childcare
If you’re a teacher then chances are you’re great with kids! If you want an easy way to earn extra money, then babysit or watch extra kids on the side. You can do this over the summer or even over breaks.
I personally have my son’s old preschool teacher come over every Tuesday night so my husband and I can get together with our church small group. She loves the consistency and extra side hustle income that babysitting provides!
16. Flip Furniture
If you are the creative type, then you can make serious money flipping furniture. Start by hitting up estate sales, garage sales, and thrift stores. Find a piece of furniture that was made well and fix it up.
Sanding and paint can go a long way! Then, resell your item on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist. You might even find that this type of side hustle is very therapeutic. Your kids can even help you out with this one!
17. Become A Proofreader
If you’re a teacher, then you’ll likely be a wonderful proofreader. Check out sites like upwork.com and list your proofreading skills. The good news is that you already have an education degree, so you have experience and the schooling to back it up!
This side hustle is great because you can work on your time. Take on more clients in the summer and only a few during the school year. I’ve personally hired teachers in the past to help with proofreading because even former teachers need a proofreader sometimes!
Best Side Hustles For Teachers
As a teacher, you already have lots of marketable skills that you can use to earn more money. If you need a little more cash, a side hustle might be the way to go.
Depending on how much time you want to invest, you can bring in significant income, or maybe just a little spending money. These side hustles for teachers are excellent ways to take back control of your finances and make a dent in your debt.
So think outside of the standard side hustle and do something that will not only increase your incomebut will work for you!
