Are you a teacher and want to make some extra bucks during your free time? Go through this article and discover some of the most lucrative side hustles for teachers and professors.
10 Best Side Hustles for Teachers & Professors
Whether you are a doctor, an engineer or a successful business person, you must at one time in your life have passed through the hands of a teacher. This makes the teaching practice an integral part of our society.
Teachers, whether elementary ones or college professors, all play a major role in shaping our society.
However, despite their important contribution to society and the world at large, their pay is, in most cases, not equal to their efforts. Research indicates that the average annual salary for teachers ranges between $39,740 and $97,500.
This is quite on the lower side when compared to other professions like doctors, who have an average annual salary of $294,000, or lawyers who earn an average of $120,910.
For this reason, many teachers and professors may find themselves in need of an extra source of income to supplement their regular sources.
In this article, we will explore mainly on the best side hustles for teachers and professors.
This will ensure that those teachers looking for a way to earn something extra during their free time, especially in the summers, can easily find one.
Table of Contents
How to Make Extra Money as a Teacher
The best thing is that there are numerous side hustle opportunities that teachers engage in and make money. Some of the best side jobs for teachers during the school year may include:
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Creating Online Courses
Depending on your area of expertise, you can always create some online courses and sell them to earn extra money. This is quite easy, especially, as teachers are good at teaching stuff.
So if you want something that is still in the teaching field, this can be a great opportunity.
You can create and sell courses about almost any topic. And, these courses can sell on various platforms including Coursera and Udemy.
The best thing with this type of online earning is that it can become a passive source of income.
Yes, that's right! Once you create a course, you can continue selling and making money from it for years. As long as you choose a topic that people will always search for, you are good to earn passively.
But, it's also good to first learn more about how to create high-selling content. You can even take an online course on the same.
Online courses are some of the best second jobs for teachers that don't demand too much effort.
See Related: How to Become a Content Creator
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Freelance Writing or Editing
Whether you are an elementary teacher, a middle school one, or a college professor, freelance writing is one side hustle that fits everyone. Since you are already a teacher, I know that writing in good clear English is not a problem.
You can, therefore, become a content writer for various blogs and websites to make some money.
Becoming an editor is also a great option. It involves editing written content, correcting things like grammar, ideas flow, arrangement, etc. the best thing with freelance writing is that it pays well and it's flexible in terms of time.
You have the option of working during your most convenient hours. You plan and schedule your working hours. And, you don't have to search for the opportunities too much.
There are numerous platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, and Proofread Anywhere, which offer a connecting platform between the freelancer and the employer.
The pay here depends on the niche of your content, as well as your level of skills. There are freelancers out there who are making up to $100 per hour.
This is a good rate and can help you cater to some of the most pressing bills.
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Become an Airbnb Host
This is one good side hustle for teachers and professors, and it doesn't even require teaching skills. All you need here is to have an extra room in your house or property.
The extra space in your home you are not using can easily earn you some extra money by joining Airbnb.
The side hustle can be highly rewarding both in terms of income, as well as socially as you will be meeting and chatting with new people regularly.
The opportunity can be fairly lucrative and can turn into a good source of passive income.
The flexibility that comes with becoming a host with Airbnb makes it a great side hustle for professors and teachers as well. You are the one to set the pricing, house rules, as well as availability dates of your space.
Listing your home or space on Airbnb can easily fetch you between $1,000 and $4,000 extra income every month if you follow some of these core Airbnb hosting tips.
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Blogging
This is another excellent money-making opportunity that couldn't miss on our list of the perfect side hustles for teachers. And, it's also one of the best forms of passive income.
If you love writing, a blog can be the best way to earn online through your skills. To earn through a blog, you must be able to create content that people will be eager to read. You should also be able to optimize your blog to rank on search engines such as Google.
Once your blog is up and running, and it attracts enough visitors, earning through it is a downhill task.
The most amazing thing about blogging is that there is no limit to how much money you can earn. Some bloggers are even earning way above $10,000, which is relatively high.
And, with a platform like Bluehost, starting your blog right from scratch has become a walk in the pack. With just $3.95/month, the platform allows you to build a blog and start earning easily.
If you are interested in starting a blog, visit our blog, How to Come Up with a Blog Name: Tips for Building Your Brand, to get some essential tips on the right way to do it.
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Tutoring
Tutoring is also one of the excellent side hustles for teachers. It's quite popular as many teachers prefer doing what they know best instead of venturing into new fields. Tutoring can be done either online or in person.
For in-person tutoring, a teacher can plan to tutor their current students, to help them understand certain topics better. Also, one can make use of tutoring networks that helps to link the teacher with interested students.
Online tutoring, on the other hand, offers a broader reach to students either in your school or anywhere in the world. This tutoring option is easier, and you can reach more students even beyond your local area since you are not meeting with them physically.
All you require is a stable internet connection and a computer or a laptop with a good camera.
Online tutoring is flexible and requires no commuting. This makes it one of the best side hustles for teachers, and that can help them earn money from home.
And, you can make between $25 and $50 per hour for your services.
See Related: Best Remote Jobs to Make Money from Anywhere
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Delivery Gigs
With the current economy, the need for people to make extra money to survive, and the change in culture, the gig economy has grown tremendously.
For instance, more people order ready food from restaurants or groceries from retail stores, all of which are delivered to their doorsteps.
There are numerous delivery jobs that you can undertake to make some extra money.
As long as you have some spare time, you can deliver with:
- Shipt: Present in over 260 cities across the US and charges $99 annually for membership
- Instacart: Present in over 4000 cities across the US and charges an annual membership fee of $99
- Postmates: The app takes zero fees from the delivery earnings. You take the entire fee home.
All you need here is a car, scooter, or bike, and some extra time on your hands.
See Related: Ways to Make Money With a Bike
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Affiliate Marketing
Another excellent option to make money as a teacher online is through affiliate marketing. If you have a massive following, whether on your Facebook page, Instagram, YouTube channel, or blog, making money from it is relatively easy.
Both companies and brands need this following to advertise their products and reach many people. If you place these adverts on your page, and a product or service is bought through your affiliate link, you receive commissions.
Some people are easily making over $5,000 each month with affiliate marketing. It's one of the most lucrative ways through which teachers can make money during the school year. And, you don't have to be there physically to earn.
With affiliate marketing, you earn even when you are asleep. As long something is bought through your link, you earn money. It, therefore, is an excellent source of passive income and financial freedom.
And with platforms such as FlexOffers, you can partner with various advertisers regardless of your niche.
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Tour guide
If you are looking for some of the best summer jobs for teachers to keep you engaged during the holidays, this one is a perfect match. Becoming a tour guide during summer not only helps you to earn some money, but it also offers a break from teaching completely.
The job will also enable you to visit places, talk to new people, as well as experience the beauty of your city while still making money.
If you are not an introvert, and you can easily initiate conversations, being a tour guide is a good side hustle.
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Taking Online Surveys
Various companies and individuals are in constant search of market data that can help them improve their products or services. For this reason, market research companies that help the individual brands to acquire this information are willing to pay you to answer some questions.
Sounds easy right!
That's because it is. And although this might not earn you that much money to pay all your bills, it can still earn you some good cash. The surveys are quite easy to handle, and most of them take just a few minutes.
So if you have some extra hours on your side, you can easily earn additional cash through online surveys.
Some of the most known survey sites that pay well include:
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InboxDollars
InboxDollars offers a $5 signup bonus with a minimum cash-out amount of $30. With this platform, you not only earn through surveys, but also through watching videos, online shopping, web research, playing games, or even reading offer emails.
Read more about the site in our InboxDollars review.
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SurveyJunkie
The platform pays between $0.5 and $3 per survey, with a $5 minimum cash-out amount. SurveyJunkie is among the most popular sites for paid surveys, and that also pays well. The earned rewards can be redeemed either through PayPal or as gift cards.
Like what you are hearing? Read more about the site in our Survey Junkie review.
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Swagbucks
Swagbucks pays a $5 signup bonus, with surveys paying between $0.5 and $2. The platform rewards you with points that you can later redeem as gift cards or cash via PayPal.
And just like other survey sites, you can earn money from handling various tasks, including watching videos, surveys, and playing games.
Read more about the platform in our Swagbucks review.
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Pinecone Research
Although not very easy to join, the platform pays at least $3 per survey, with a minimum withdrawal of the same amount. The platform may include even things like product testing as an earning activity. Pinecone Research is a more sophisticated website than most others, and this might cause your disqualification from some surveys.
Read more in our Pinecone Research review.
The best thing about survey sites is that they are flexible in terms of time, and you can take these surveys when you are most comfortable. Also, they pay you for very simple tasks.
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Public Speaking and Presenting
Public speaking is one area that many people dread. However, teachers and professors are always in constant conversations with students, which makes them eloquent public speakers. But did you know you can make good money as a public speaker?
Well, there are numerous ways you can offer your public speaking skills and earn money from it. For instance, you can find people who have very important presentations to make but fear doing so.
They can pay you to deliver the speech for them.
You can seek such opportunities from small businesses who want to talk to their customers, trade groups, charitable organizations, or various sales organizations.
All you need is to identify groups, companies, or persons who may require such services and apply.
This is among the ideal side hustles for professors and teachers as they are doing what they do best, talk. The pay here will depend on the type of event or the hiring company.
See Related: 13 Ways to Make Money Online Without a Website (Or Blog!)
Conclusion on the Best Side Hustles for Teachers
Opportunities are unlimited when you want to make extra money as a teacher or a professor. The above list represents some of the best side hustles for teachers, although there are many other opportunities out there.
So, don't just sit back, thinking that there is no way to make money during the school year. Choose one or a few opportunities here and change your financial story.
One piece of financial advice though, after making the money, make sure to use the Personal Capital app to track all your transactions. It makes managing your income and expenses quite easy.