The 22 Best Side Hustles for Teachers: Earn $1000 a Week or More

Teaching is a noble and rewarding profession, but we all know it’s not the best-paying job in the world.

I’m grateful to have had some awesome teachers growing up, who challenged me, inspired me, and made me love learning for learning’s sake. Where would you be without the teachers in your life?

But the truth is as a teacher you usually start with very low wages and have the burden of student debt, and so it’s only natural to look to side hustles or ways to make extra money outside of your chosen profession.

While there are dozens of side hustle ideas out there, here are the ones I think are best-suited to teachers and educators to take advantage of your unique skills and expertise.

1. Tutoring

Since teaching comes natural to you, tutoring is also another good option if you’re looking for part-time income. In fact, one Side Hustle Nation reader reported earning $1000 a week with his part-time tutoring business that focused on ACT test prep.

Another option is to set up shop on a platform like Wyzant, an online community that helps match students with tutors. Tutors get to set their own rates and though they may vary depending on location and subject, the usual rates are often between $30 to $60 per hour.

Work hours are flexible and will likely align with when students aren’t in class.

2. Selling Printables

I like side hustles that scale, meaning you can get paid multiple times for work you do once. Printables definitely check that box.

In fact, Rachel Jones reported earning $10,000 a month from her portfolio of Etsy printables.

 

What’s a printable? Think digital files like habit trackers, meal planners, budget templates, chore charts, intake forms, and more. You may already be creating similar files like these for your own class.

When you upload those printable files to Etsy, you can reach a worldwide audience of buyers — and delivery is all automated online.

3. Teaching Online

While one-to-one tutoring can be rewarding and even pretty lucrative, you’re still trading hours for dollars. One way around that is to package your knowledge into an online course and sell it on a platform like Udemy or Outschool.

These peer-to-peer education marketplaces have millions of students and courses on nearly every topic imaginable. One guest of mine reported earning $4000-5000 a month teaching courses on Udemy about baking the perfect sourdough bread!

Udemy is aimed at adult professionals, so you might have to change up the material from what you’d normally cover in class, but the site has actually been a nice source of passive income for me over the last few years. If this sounds interesting, my friend Phil (a top-rated Udemy instructor) has an in-depth and inexpensive class on how to get started.

In contrast, Outschool is aimed at kids (and their parents). On The Side Hustle Show, Jade Weatherington explained how she was earning $10,000 a month on the platform, primarily teaching middle school English writing classes.

4. Reselling your Curriculum

Curriculums, lesson plans, and other educational materials have become sellable products thanks to sites like TeachersPayTeachers. These online marketplaces allow you to share some of you best work and get paid for it.

Like Udemy, your income depends on the number of people who buy your products, but it can be a good source of extra income that’s not directly tied to your hours.

5. Mobile Notary Service

Mobile notaries like Kristin Barker Stauffer walk new homebuyers through their mortgage documents. Since most borrowers also have jobs, these loan signings usually take place in the evenings or on weekends.

The gig requires professionalism and attention to detail, but can be quite lucrative. Appointments usually pay $75-150, and Kristin reported earning up to $8000 a month as a part-time loan signing agent.

(And she’s not alone — several other members of Side Hustle Nation are earning thousands of dollars with this side hustle.)

Check out some of the resources from Loan Signing System to learn more.

6. Online Surveys

You can get paid for your opinion on different topics by participating in online surveys. Though online surveys have gained a bad reputation for the numerous scams scattered all over the Internet, there are legit platforms that actually pay you (though not a ton) for completing surveys.

Here are a few of the most popular (and credible) online survey sites:

 

The average pay for online surveys is $0.50 to $5.00 per survey, which may not be much but it can add up. It’s also convenient because you can do these anytime and anywhere.

7. Driving for Dollars

You’ve probably heard of driving with Uber or Lyft as a side hustle, but if you don’t want other people in your car, you might consider driving for a delivery service like DoorDash, Instacart, or Uber Eats.

These delivery apps connect you with people ordering take out in your town. You pick up the food, go drop it off, and get paid a delivery fee plus tip.

These services advertise earning potential in the $15-25 an hour range. Here’s our review of each:

• DoorDash Driver Review: Up to $500 a Month* Delivering Food in Your Spare Time
• Instacart Driver Review: $400 a Week Delivering Groceries Part-Time
• Uber Eats Driver Review: Up to $25 an Hour Delivering Takeout Orders in Your Spare Time

*For illustrative purposes only, actual earnings may differ and depend on expenses. Hourly pay is calculated using average Dasher payouts while on a delivery (from the time you accept an order until the time you drop it off) and includes compensation from peak pay, tips, and other incentives.

Related: 50+ Best Money Making Apps

8. Freelance Writing

There are companies and websites out there ready and willing to pay for your writing skills!

To save time hunting for gigs, you might consider a platform like Contena, which collates every writing job on the web into one massive job board. It makes finding that perfect writing gig much easier.

Writing jobs on Contena (and elsewhere) can pay anywhere from $50 to $1000 an article, and all of the work can be done remotely.

Pro Tip: Use coupon code Sidehustle15 for 15% off any membership!

Related: 7 Steps to Earning Your First $1000 as a Freelance Writer

9. Build an Informative Website

If you enjoy writing, blogging is also another worthy side gig you can earn money from. I started blogging as a creative outlet, but it’s turned into a money-making venture for me through advertising, affiliate partnerships, and even selling my own products and services.

It’s an awesome business because I can do it from anywhere and have complete control over the time I put into it.

Income from blogging depends on your topic and the amount of visitors to your site. Delilah Orpi, a former teacher in Florida, reported earning $8,000 a month from her blog about curly hair. She monetized her site with a combination of advertising, affiliate partnerships, and her own products.

Next Step: If you’re ready to get started, my free 6-part video course will walk you through how to set up your site for less than you might think.

10. Focus Groups and Paid Research Studies

This is another way of earning from your opinions but unlike online surveys, focus groups pay bigger money. You’re basically paid for giving your honest feedback about a certain product before it gets launched.

Traditionally, focus groups are held in a common location where participants are gathered to have a guided discussion. With the advancement in technology, there are now online focus groups that only require you to be in front of a computer and be in a video conference with fellow participants.

For opportunities, check out sites like User Interviews.

I’ve earned $60-100 an hour for online and in-person focus groups, which I thought was really good side income — especially if you can do a couple of them in a month.

11. Remote Bookkeeping

This one isn’t just for math teachers, but really anyone who likes to see numbers add up and is curious about the nuts and bolts of how businesses run.

Virtual bookkeepers like Kate Johnson can earn $60 an hour or more. On top of that, (in US at least) there are no formal certifications required to call yourself a bookkeeper.

Still, Kate emphasized the importance of education for your own comfort level and familiarity with your bookkeeping software of choice. Here’s a free preview of the course she “credits” (pun intended!) with helping her get started.

12. Flea Market Flipping

The age-old business model of “buy low, sell high” is one of the fastest ways to make extra money.

Stacy Gallego is a master of this, earning several thousand dollars a month from her part-time product flipping business. She specializes in sourcing undervalued inventory locally, and then tapping into eBay’s customer-base of 180+ million potential buyers.

Among her favorite places to find items to flip for a profit are:

• Yard sales
• Thrift stores
• Facebook marketplace
• Local buy/sell apps (like Offerup.com)

Some of her profitable flips include a motorcycle side car, a collectible skateboard, and several Sleep Number Beds!

To learn more about this business, Stacy recommended checking out Rob and Melissa from Flea Market Flipper. Here’s a free training they put together on how to get started.

13. Babysitting, Child Care, and Caregiving

Another good way of earning extra income — especially during school breaks or over the summer — is through babysitting, child care, or even elder care.

You can create a free profile on sites like Sittercity.com and Care.com, big platforms that help connect families with caregivers like you. The work hours are flexible and with the nationwide average rates are in the range of $12-15 an hour.

If you love kids and you and have time to spare, babysitting would be a pretty easy side gig to consider.

A teacher friend of mine actually ended up connecting with a celebrity client in New York through Sittercity. You never know!

14. Airbnb

If you have an extra room to spare, you can earn money from it by becoming an Airbnb host. I especially like this side hustle during summer breaks as a way to meet interesting people from all over the world and make extra money at the same time.

You get to set the pricing, availability, and house rules, giving you control over process according to your preferences. The company also carries a $1 million liability insurance policy for every rental.

15. Store Other People’s Stuff

What if you have some extra space, but don’t really want strangers in your house?

The Neighbor self-storage platform helps you monetize your garage, attic, driveway, basement, storage shed, etc., by matching you up with people who need a place to keep their stuff.

Top hosts on the site report earning up to $10,000 a year, and isn’t nearly as intrusive as running a vacation rental.

16. Self-Publishing

If you love writing stories in your spare time, you can earn from them too by self-publishing your own book. With platforms like Amazon, you can put your book out directly into the market without getting a publishing company to distribute for you.

This is one of my favorite side hustles! I’ve written several titles (all non-fiction) and have earned over $70,000 in lifetime author royalties.

On The Side Hustle Show, we’ve covered several unique self-publishing angles, including:

• Children’s books
• Public domain publishing
• “Low content” books

I believe everyone has a book in them. What’s yours about?

17. Become an Adjunct Professor

If you want to supplement your teaching salary, you might consider becoming an adjunct professor at a college locally or online.

Though commonly requiring a master’s degree, some colleges and technical schools only require a bachelor’s degree and industry experience. The cool thing is many adjunct professor gigs will allow you to pre-record your lectures, and use them semester after semester.

The average pay for adjunct professors is $2200 to $3500 per course and you get to have a flexible schedule as well.

18. After School Programs

May Najafabadi’s series of after school enrichment classes teaching crafts and jewelry making were a hit with both kids and parents.

And she earned $12,000 in 8 weeks — working just 1 hour a day!

May explained there was a bit of a process to get on the school’s list of approved vendors, but as a teacher you may have an inside track. This could be a great business to explore your creativity and continue working with kids on campus.

19. Voiceover Work

As a teacher, you’re probably used to talking all day, and voice over acting offers you a way to get paid to talk. If you have a unique voice and especially if you have some acting experience under your belt, doing voiceover work would be a good side gig to consider.

The average pay for a voice actor range from $100 for a 15-second recording to a high of $3000 for an audiobook. Look at platforms like Voices.com or ACX.com to see what kind of gigs are out there.

You also have the option of doing the actual work on a studio or in the comfort of your own home if you have the right equipment, and of course you’re free to set your own schedule.

20. Become a Coach

If you were into sports back in the day or maybe you used to be a good dancer, you can still earn from these skills by becoming a coach.

Local communities, gyms, and dance studios are always on the lookout for good instructors. There might even be paid coaching opportunities at your own school.

If you still have the passion, why not offer your services by giving back to the younger generation?

Youth soccer coaches earn $18 to $25 per hour while dance teachers earn $20 per hour. It’s a good way to earn extra bucks while doing something you love.

21. Local Rentals

High school teacher Steve Nadramia supplements his salary with a creative side hustle: portable hot tub rentals.

These foam tubs fit in the back of his truck and rent for $250 per week, or $500 for the month. When we spoke, he had a “fleet” of around 25 hot tubs and was booked up months in advance.

Considering the cost to acquire a used hot tub is in the $2000-3000 range, you can see how this side hustle can generate a great ROI.

22. YouTube Channel Host

There’s no denying the popularity of YouTube. The Google-owned video site is the world’s 2nd biggest search engine, which spells big opportunity teachers.

Many popular channels have a major teaching focus, including channels Mario’s Math Tutoring. Mario helps kids and parents navigate math problems and tests in a helpful, accessible, and on-demand way.

Since you already know your material, YouTube represents an opportunity to reach an audience far beyond the walls of your classroom.

Your Turn

What do you think are the best side hustles for teachers? Let me know in the comments below!