18 Best Side Hustles for Teachers Online & Offline (2024)

In today’s economic landscape, the ‘side hustle for teachers’ is more than just a buzzword—it’s a necessary strategy for financial stability and personal fulfillment.

With the rising costs of living and stagnant salaries, finding the right side hustle can be a game-changer for educators.

It’s not just about the extra cash—though that’s a significant benefit—it’s about leveraging your existing skills in a flexible, rewarding way.

Whether you’re grading papers or planning lessons, there’s a side hustle that fits seamlessly into your busy schedule, without the need for a steep learning curve or hefty time investment.

Educators are uniquely positioned to turn their skills and passions into profitable side ventures without stepping away from the chalkboard.

Whether it’s the summer break or weekends, the right side hustle can complement your teaching career, offering both flexibility and a welcome boost to your income.

Let’s dive into some of the best side hustles tailored for teachers, designed to maximize your earnings without sacrificing your passion for teaching.

What Makes the Perfect Side Hustle for Teachers

When it comes to finding the perfect side hustle, teachers have a unique set of skills, interests, and time constraints that shape their choices.

The ideal side hustle for educators blends seamlessly with their professional lives, offering flexibility, fulfillment, and a worthwhile financial return without overburdening their already busy schedules.

Here’s what constitutes the perfect side hustle for teachers:

Alignment with Teaching Skills: The best side hustles for teachers often capitalize on their existing skill sets. Educators are natural communicators, organizers, and leaders. Side hustles that mirror these skills, such as tutoring, educational content creation, or coaching, can be both rewarding and natural extensions of their day job.

Flexible Scheduling: Teachers need side hustles that fit into their unique schedules, including after-school hours, weekends, and school holidays. The perfect side hustle allows for adjustable work hours, enabling educators to earn extra income without compromising their commitment to their primary teaching responsibilities.

Low Start-Up Costs: With tight budgets, the ideal side hustle won’t require a significant upfront investment. Opportunities that utilize the internet, such as blogging or online tutoring, often have minimal start-up costs, making them accessible and appealing.

Meaningful Work: Teachers are passionate about making a difference. A side hustle that feels impactful, whether through educating others, creating valuable content, or contributing to community projects, can be incredibly satisfying. Meaningful side hustles not only supplement income but also enrich the teacher’s professional and personal life.

Potential for Passive Income: Given the time constraints teachers face, side hustles that offer the potential for passive income can be particularly attractive. Creating online courses, writing e-books, or developing educational resources can provide ongoing income after the initial effort, making the most of limited free time.

Room for Growth: Ideally, a side hustle for teachers will also offer opportunities for professional development and growth. This could mean expanding their network, learning new skills, or even turning the side hustle into a significant income source or business venture over time.

Compliance with School Policies: The perfect side hustle respects the legal and ethical boundaries set forth by the educator’s primary employer. It’s important that the side hustle does not conflict with school policies or detract from the teacher’s duties and responsibilities.

In essence, the perfect side hustle for teachers is one that complements their life, leveraging their strengths and passions while offering the flexibility and financial benefits they seek.

It’s about finding a balance that enhances their lives without overshadowing their commitment to education.

By focusing on opportunities that meet these criteria, teachers can find rewarding side hustles that enrich their professional and personal lives, paving the way toward greater financial freedom and job satisfaction.

That being said here are the perfect side jobs for teachers.

1. Start Your Blog

You would be surprised to know how much similarity is there between teaching and blogging. Blogging essentially means teaching others about a specific topic or solving the problems of readers, just what a teacher does on daily basis, making it a perfect side hustle for teachers.

The only difference is you are not limited to the classroom and the whole world is your class. You can essentially start blogging on any topic you are interested in. Just keep in mind a few points like if there is the possibility of making money on that topic.

For that, you just check if there are others blogs writing on that topic. If others are doing well writing on that topic then that is a positive sign that you can do well also.

I will be upfront with you that you WON’T make any money upfront, at least for few months. You have to first create good content over a few months that start to rank well on google. Then in the next few months, you can make more money with fewer efforts like now I do.

And nowadays it is not difficult to start a basic blog. You can start your blog in a few clicks and with a few dollars in investment and it can be your second job as a teacher, though online this time.

Actionable Tips:

• Choose a niche related to your teaching field to establish credibility.
• Use SEO strategies to enhance your blog’s visibility.
• Engage with your audience through comments and social media.

Resource: To start your blog today within half an hour check out this step-by-step tutorial on starting a money-making blog.

Income Potential: Initially low, but can grow to several thousand dollars per month with consistent effort and quality content.

2. Join Focus Groups to Earn Money

Do you know that you can earn $150 per hour for an hour of question-answer session with few companies? It can be a perfect side hustle for teachers to earn extra money.

These are companies that are launching some product or making some modifications. They want people with some expertise to answer a few questions about their products.

There are a few sites that mediate between companies and you. You have to register on the website and fill up your profile. There are different projects available on websites where you can apply if you think you fulfilled the eligibility criteria.

If you got selected you will have to join a question-answer session where you can get paid a few hundred dollars for some time.

As a teacher you can qualify for different projects that will pay you good money.

Actionable Tips:

• Keep your profile updated on platforms to increase your chances of selection.
• Sign up for multiple focus group platforms to maximize opportunities.
• Be honest and detailed in your responses during sessions.

Resource: Respondent is the best site in this space where you can join and apply for different projects.

Income Potential: Up to $150 per hour, depending on the study’s complexity and duration.

Extra Reading: List of focus groups!

3. Proofreading as Side Hustle for Teachers

Teaching jobs include assessing student’s answer scripts and finding mistakes in student’s answers. Over time teachers get so experienced in finding student’s mistakes they start doing it without conscious effort.

As a teacher, you can use this skill of yours to earn extra money making it one of the best side hustles for teachers online. You can become a freelance proofreader and make money for it.

Nowadays there is a huge amount of content published on the web and with that, there is an increase in demand for proofreaders. There are online platforms like Fiverr and Flexjobs that offer proofreading jobs.

Being a teacher increases your credentials and it becomes easier to get clients in the starting.

Actionable Tips:

• Sharpen your grammar and punctuation skills through online courses.
• Offer your services to local businesses and academic institutions.
• Build a portfolio to showcase your work to potential clients.

Resource: To get started you can join this free 75-minute workshop by an expert who cracked the code of freelance proofreading and has taught thousands of students.

Income Potential: Freelance proofreaders can earn between $25 to $50 per hour based on experience and project complexity.

4. Sell Your Lesson Plans

Teachers work very hard on their teaching plans. Taking a class is not a simple thing as it seems. Teachers have to prepare beforehand, especially at the starting of new subject lessons.

They have to make notes and lesson plans on how they are going to approach the subject. Now you can sell those notes to others teachers on websites like this where other teachers will pay you for your notes.

It will save them time to prepare their lesson plans as they will get proper ideas and at the same time it will make you some side money. A win-win situation for both. In addition, you will get the satisfaction that someone else is also using the resource you have created after so much effort.

Note: Just make sure in your school guidelines if they have mentioned particularly to not sell lessons as few schools do that.

Actionable Tips:

• Tailor your lesson plans to meet common core standards to increase their marketability.
• Include supplementary materials like worksheets and PowerPoint presentations.
• Offer bundles of lesson plans for a discount to attract more buyers.

Resource: “Creating and Selling Teacher Resources” on Teachers Pay Teachers provides tips on making your resources stand out.

Income Potential: Ranges from a few dollars to hundreds per month, depending on the quality and demand for your materials.

Extra Reading: Best places to sell college notes!

5. Online Teaching as a Side Job for Teachers

Great side hustles for teachers in vacations or free time to earn extra money by doing what they normally do.

In today’s world, especially due to covid restriction online tutoring has come up as a major requirement in student’s development. Even schools have to opt for online teaching classes.

You as a teacher can teach you teaching subject on a lot of online platforms such as Udemy.

Since you are already an expert in your subject and have a lot of experience teaching that subject in your classroom, it will be a cakewalk for you.

In return, you can earn good money in flexible hours you choose to work at your convenience at the comfort of your home. All this makes it an easy side hustle for a teacher to earn extra cash without acquiring new skills.

You already have teaching experience which will make it even easier to join these platforms as they have some sort of preference for people with reaching experience. Start earning money with a second job as a teacher.

Actionable Tips:

• Specialize in a subject with high demand to attract more students.
• Use interactive tools and techniques to engage your students.
• Collect and incorporate feedback to improve your courses.

Resource: “Teach Anybody Anything: Reach Any Learner Anywhere” on Udemy can help you refine your online teaching skills.

Income Potential: Online teachers can earn from $20 to $50 per hour, with possibilities for more based on expertise and platform.

6. Teach English to Kids Online

This is another great side hustle for teachers where you can just teach basic English to kids under 12 years of age.

There are non-English speaking countries such as China, where parents want their kids to learn basic English from native English-speaking people or people with good English in general.

You can join platforms such as Magicears to teach English to kids. You just have to pass their screening test. If you qualify you will teach a predefined curriculum to kids under 12 years of age.

You can earn up to $25/hour teaching basic English to kids as a side job in your free time.

Actionable Tips:

• Get TEFL or TESOL certification to increase your marketability.
• Use props and interactive storytelling to engage younger learners.
• Be flexible with your schedule to accommodate students in different time zones.

Resource: “120-Hour TEFL Certification” on TESOL offers comprehensive training for teaching English online.

Income Potential: Around $14-$25 per hour, with potential bonuses for high performance.

7. Become a Freelance Writer

If you don’t want to start your own blog, then you can start freelance writing as a side hustle. You are already equipped to write day in and day out. Your work requires you to read and write regularly.

It will be a very easy side hustle as a teacher to write for others. Especially in the world of blogging, there is a lot of demand for freelance writers as ghostwriters.

Most successful bloggers don’t write posts themselves. They hire freelance writers to write for them. They tell writers about the topic and length they want.

As a freelancer, you get paid for each article depending upon the number of words. How much you will get also depends on your experience.

You can get such freelance gigs on websites like Fiverr and charge at your own will in this online side job for a teacher.

Actionable Tips:

• Develop a niche based on your expertise to stand out.
• Create a strong portfolio to showcase your writing.
• Network with other writers and potential clients through social media and writing forums.

Resource: Learn more about starting a freelance writing career here from an expert who earns $200,000 per year with freelance writing.

Income Potential: Freelance writers can earn from $0.05 to $1 per word, depending on experience and the complexity of the topic.

8. Write An E-Book

You are already good at teaching students and you have already put in efforts to develop a teaching method why not teach something in a book.

Now it has become so much easy to publish a book. You don’t have to run after the publishers to print your book and promote it.

You can just publish the ebooks on Kindle, free of cost in the comfort of the home. Amazon keeps a share of the price in return for providing you with the platform services.

You already have an audience at Amazon in millions, with the right title you can reach them quickly. If your content is good and you get good reviews then it can become a good source of passive income and great passive income online side hustle for teachers.

You just have to write it once and you will keep on making money from it for years to come.

Actionable Tips:

• Research trending topics within your expertise for your e-book.
• Use a clear, engaging writing style accessible to your target audience.
• Promote your e-book on social media and through email marketing.

Resource: Kindlepreneur – A site dedicated to teaching authors how to write, publish, and market their eBooks on Amazon.

Income Potential: E-book authors can earn a few hundred to several thousand dollars, largely dependent on marketing efforts and audience reach.

Extra Reading: Best ways to earn passive income!

9. Sell an Online Course

Talking about passive money, here is another great option or online side hustle for teachers to make passive money easily. I said easily because as a teacher it’s an easy job for you to teach.

Just make video tutorials of a subject you think there is an audience and sell it on online platforms and make passive money from it.

You can create online courses on teachable very easily. Invest time in creating a course one time which can include few videos and written matter then reap the monetary benefits for a long time.

Actionable Tips:

• Outline your course to provide value and solve specific problems.
• Include quizzes and interactive content to enhance learning.
• Offer early access or discounts to build your student base.

Resource: Teachable Blog – Tips on creating and selling successful online courses.

Income Potential: Course creators can earn from a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars, depending on the course’s popularity and pricing.

Extra Reading: Where to sell used books!

10. Do Editing for Money

Other than proofreading where you just have to check for grammar mistakes, you can take freelance jobs for editing.

Editing is different than proofreading in the sense that now you are involved in the meaning of the writing.

If you are taking an editing job you have to correct the reading flow and look for the meaning of the writing if it is coming out. Now you have more responsibilities than just proofreading hence payments are also higher per hour in this second job for teachers.

Actionable Tips:

• Familiarize yourself with different editing styles (APA, MLA, Chicago).
• Offer free sample edits to new clients to showcase your skills.
• Network with authors and publishers for consistent editing work.

Resource: “Editing Mastery: How To Edit Writing To Perfection” on Udemy focuses on refining editing skills for various types of writing.

Income Potential: Editors can earn between $15 to $60 per hour, with higher rates for specialized editing services.

Extra Reading: How to get paid to read books!

11. Become a Camp Counselor

If you don’t have anything to do in summer vacations you can become a camp counselor for kids.

This is a great fun way to spend your holidays and a great offline side hustle for teachers. You can get to spend time with kids doing fun activities and spend some good time in the lap of nature.

Going on hikes, doing adventurous activities can be part of the summer camps and will keep your body and mind healthy. In addition, you will make some extra money for doing it.

Actionable Tips:

• Gain certifications relevant to outdoor activities (e.g., CPR, First Aid).
• Develop a range of outdoor and educational activities to engage campers.
• Build strong communication skills to effectively manage groups of children.

Resource: Camp Counseling program

Income Potential: Camp counselors can earn from $250 to $600 a week, depending on the camp’s location and duration.

12. Sports Coaching

If you are a sports coach at school then you probably have degrees and years of training in sports. You can use your skills to earn extra side hustle money.

There are always gyms, fitness studios that are looking out for qualified instructors. You can join them in the early morning or evening or on weekends to earn extra cash.

You will keep yourself busy with the stuff you love and also you will make money for it.

Actionable Tips:

• Obtain coaching certifications in your sport of expertise.
• Stay updated with the latest coaching techniques and sports science.
• Network with local schools and sports clubs to find coaching opportunities.

Resource: Sports Coaching Certificate programs.

Income Potential: Sports coaches can earn from $20 per hour to over $50 per hour, based on experience and the level they are coaching.

13. Refereeing the Sports

If you love sports and have good knowledge about a sport you can referee the local tournaments at school levels or community levels.

You will get paid for doing that and you will also get the chance to get involved in the sport you care about.

At schools levels, at few places, you might not be able to referee in your school district as rules don’t allow that but you can go to nearby districts and referee.

Actionable Tips:

• Get certified for refereeing through official sports organizations.
• Start with lower leagues to gain experience before moving to higher-paying gigs.
• Maintain a high level of physical fitness and understanding of the game rules.

Resource: Become a Sports Official.

Income Potential: Payment varies widely, from $25 to $100 per game, depending on the sport and level of competition.

Other Easy Side Hustles for Teachers

Till now we have discussed here the side hustles that use the skills you have acquired while teaching. Then there are many side hustles that don’t require any particular skill set. Everyone including teachers can do them to earn some extra money.

14. Babysitting

Babysitting is an easy side hustle for teachers on vacations since most teachers are already good with kids. They enjoy the company of kids and know how to handle them.

If you are looking for some quick bucks and ways on how to make extra money as a teacher, this can be a good side hustle for you.

As a teacher you already have creditability with the parents hence it will be easier for you to get the job and you can charge more money compared to others.

Especially during vacations, kids are at home and there will be an increase in demand for babysitters and this is also the time you have spare time to make extra money.

Actionable Tips:

• Get certified in childcare and First Aid to increase your marketability.
• Create engaging activities to keep children entertained.
• Build a strong reputation through positive parent reviews and referrals.

Resource: Babysitting & Child Care Training certification.

Income Potential: Babysitters can earn from $15 to $25 per hour, with rates varying by location and number of children.

Extra Reading: Jobs for Stay at home Dads and Moms!

15. Pet Sitting

Another similar job is pet sitting. If you are an animal lover and enjoy the company of pets, this can be a great side hustle for you.

Many pet owners when they plan to go out on vacation in holidays need to hire people to look after their pets behind. If are looking for easy side hustles as a teacher in those summer vacations, pet sitting can be a good option for you.

You can look for pet-sitting jobs near you on Rover and other dog-sitting apps.

Actionable Tips:

• Gain experience and trust by starting with pets of friends and family.
• Get certified in pet first aid and care.
• Offer additional services like dog walking to increase your earnings.

Resource: Professional Pet Sitting as a Career.

Income Potential: Pet sitters can make $15 to $30 per visit, with overnight stays earning more.

16. Deliver Food or Groceries

If you are looking for high-paying side hustles you can choose to deliver food or groceries by signing up on delivery apps.

They provide you the flexibility to work in your own hours. You just have to pick up the order and deliver it to the provided location. As a bonus, you can get tips, which you get to keep the whole amount.

You can join Postmates or DoorDash to deliver food from restaurants.

Join Instacart to deliver groceries.

Actionable Tips:

• Optimize your delivery routes using apps for efficiency.
• Provide excellent customer service to earn tips and repeat business.
• Schedule your delivery hours during peak times for maximum earnings.

Income Potential: Delivery drivers can earn between $10 to $25 per hour, including tips, depending on the city and demand.

Extra Reading:

• DoorDash vs Instacart
• DoorDash vs Uber Eats

17. Flip Items for Money

Teachers looking for side hustles who have a good eye for old items can make good money by flipping items.

You just have to spot value items in local markets or flea markets and resell them at higher values.

Actionable Tips:

• Learn to identify undervalued items at garage sales and thrift stores.
• Understand the market demand for various items.
• Master the art of negotiation to buy low and sell high.

Resource: People have made full careers out of it making thousands of dollars. Learn here about the basics of item flipping from one such family who makes more than $100,000 per year by flipping items.

Income Potential: Flippers can make a few hundred to several thousand dollars a month, depending on time invested and item values.

Extra Reading: How to flip money for more!

18. Earn Money on Online Apps

There are many online apps that pay you for a variety of tasks. Surveys are the most common way to earn money online on these apps. As a teacher, you can join the survey sites that pay a good amount for answering a few questions.

In addition, these apps offer other ways to make money such as watching videos, playing games.

You can do all these activities in your free time to earn some extra money.

Actionable Tips:

• Diversify your activities across multiple apps to maximize earnings.
• Dedicate a specific time each day to complete tasks or surveys.
• Withdraw earnings regularly to track your income effectively.

Resource: The best apps in these categories include:

• InboxDollars with $5 signup bonus
• Swagbucks with $5 bonus
• SurveyJunkie for highest paying surveys

Income Potential: Earnings vary widely but can range from $50 to $200 a month for dedicated users, depending on the tasks and time invested.

Final Thoughts on Best Side Hustles for Teachers

I know there is not much time left in the schedule of teachers to do some extra jobs for more money. But these are the ways a teacher can use to make extra money without compromising on their school hours.

Just be sure by reading your contract if you are allowed to do these jobs. Most state schools don’t impose such restrictions. But few do for some things, so it’s better to check beforehand.

Ready to start your ‘side hustle for teachers’?

Whether you’re drawn to blogging, online tutoring, or another venture, there’s never been a better time to expand your impact and income. Take the first step today towards a rewarding and profitable side hustle that enhances your teaching career.

My suggestion is to get started today only even if only for very little time. Over time you will include that side hustle in your schedule and you will be able to manage your time better and make more money.