Attention, Teachers: Need Cash This Summer? Try One of These 26 Side Gigs
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While many of us dream of having the summer months off, some teachers prefer to use their vacations to earn extra cash.
According to a Penny Hoarder analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data, the median salary for teachers (elementary, middle and secondary) is $51,000, and the starting salary comes in at $35,800. So it’s no surprise that one in 10 educators works a second job during the summer. Not only that, teachers are twice as likely to work a second job than people in any other occupation.
Working during the summer can help you keep your teaching skills sharp and can even help you learn a few new things — preferably with someone else footing the bill.
You’ll find no shortage of summer jobs for teachers or educators. Many of these opportunities will give you a modest income without a lengthy commitment. When the summer’s over, you can resume your day job without having to worry about quitting or keeping a second job.
Ready to find your new summer job?
Jobs That Will Keep You Teaching
For some teachers, summer is a time to get away from their regular day-to-day work. But for others, teaching is what gets them going in the morning. These jobs will bring in extra income while fulfilling that desire to keep teaching.
1. Teach English as a Second Language
Want to strengthen your teaching skills while earning extra money? Look for opportunities to tutor English as a second language (ESL) students locally and online.
You can contact large corporations in your area that may relocate foreign employees to your city and inquire whether they need a freelance ESL tutor to help their staff brush up on their language skills. Or go online and connect with students all over the world through sites like GoFluent and QKids.
One former public school teacher earned over $500 a week teaching English to Chinese students through VIPKID.
2. Offer Tutoring
School may be out for the summer for you, but that doesn’t mean students don’t still need a helping hand. If you just don’t get enough of teaching during the school year, tutor in your subject to make extra cash.
If you want to offer in-person tutoring, start by spreading the word with your students’ parents during the school year so they know who to call when summertime rolls around. And of course, shamelessly publicize your tutoring skills to friends and family who have children.
A great thing about tutoring is you can set your own rates, with tutors typically charging anywhere between $30 and $90 per hour, depending on the subject, according to Tutors.com.
And if you’d like to tutor without actually having to leave your house, consider online tutoring instead. There are a ton of websites that hire online tutors. Here are some of our favorite online tutoring companies.
3. Become a Test Prep Instructor
This is similar to tutoring, but with a little twist. As a test prep instructor, you can still flex those teaching skills but take a little break from teaching the same stuff you do during the regular school year.
Depending on your area of expertise and skill level, you can earn income over the summer helping students prepare for the ACT, SAT, LSAT, MCAT or GRE.
Again, you can simply spread the word through friends and family to tutor locally, which means you can set your own rates. Or you can turn to a national organization that is regularly hiring, such as Kaplan Test Prep, where tutors earn anywhere from $17 to $28 per hour, according to Glassdoor salaries.
4. Teach Abroad
Why limit your summer job search to the U.S.? You’ll find many great opportunities for teachers to work abroad during the summer months.
While paid short-term positions can be hard to come by, volunteer programs, especially those teaching English, are plentiful in certain regions of the world — plus, you’ll get to travel. Some programs will even pay for your expenses. Go Overseas lists a ton of volunteer teaching opportunities abroad.
5. Coach Youth Sports
Coaching youth sports during the summer is another opportunity that allows you to continue working with and instructing children — just in a different way from your regular job. Sure, it’s not teaching long division, but spending the summer imparting athletic and teamwork skills to children can be just as challenging and rewarding.
Plus, you get to watch kids run around playing sports, which is always adorable. A 6-year-old in an oversized, bobbling baseball helmet? Forget about it.
Check with your community recreation centers, churches and camps to find open jobs.
6. Work as a Nanny or Baby Sitter
Technically, this isn’t a teaching gig, but as a nanny or baby sitter you’ll still be working with children and informally teaching them along the way.
You can either find a regular full-time nanny job working for parents who prefer that to traditional day care or just pick up baby-sitting gigs here and there when you feel like making some extra cash.
Start by spreading the word through friends and family, and be sure to mention your teaching position so you have an edge over teenagers willing to do the job cheaply. You can also check out sites like Sittercity to find jobs in your community.
Online Summer Jobs for Teachers
Looking for a summer gig that earns you some extra cash — but doesn’t require leaving the house? We’ve got you covered.
7. Sell Your Lesson Plans Online
I love opportunities to leverage what you already have for passive income. You’ve already done the work. Why not make the most of it?
Take those lesson plans and worksheets you created during the school year and upload them to a site like Teachers Pay Teachers. You will earn 60% to 85% on each sale of your education resources. And this is an opportunity that can continue to bring in additional income year-round without any extra work.
“I only sell digital products, so I don’t have to mail anything,” Meredith O’Neill, a middle school teacher who sells her resources on the site, told us in May 2017. “The sale and the transfer of my work happens automatically. The payment goes straight to my PayPal account after TPT takes its cut. It’s extremely easy once your store is created and your work is loaded.”
8. Write and Edit Resumes
If you’ve got writing skills, you can earn extra cash writing and editing resumes. For some (read: a lot) of us, crafting a resume is like pulling teeth, and people are willing to fork out funds for a final product they feel will help them land a job.
This is a good summer job to pursue if you’re interested in part-time work that you can pick up on your own time.
Your personal network is a good place to start, and your teaching background will give you an edge. You can also list your services on freelance platforms such as Upwork, Thumbtack and Fiverr.
Fiverr user Charmaine Pocek started writing resumes and cover letters for $5 a piece. Within six years, she was charging $30 to $800 for her services and has since earned over $2 million through the site, according to Fiverr.
If you’re interested but need a little refresher on resume writing, check out this step-by-step guide.
9. Work as a Website Tester
You probably already spend a good amount of time browsing the internet and using phone apps, so why not get paid for it? Companies want to know how users interact with their websites and what can be done to make them more user-friendly.
All you have to do is browse and navigate websites and then provide honest feedback. You won’t get rich testing websites — expect to earn between $5 and $10 for each test.
UserTesting pays $10 for every 20 minute test; UserFeel pays $10 for every 10-20 minute test; and User Test pays around $10 per review.
10. Look Into Work-From-Home Jobs
You spend the school year commuting, so consider spending the summer earning extra income from the comfort of your own home. You’d be amazed how many companies regularly hire work-from-home employees, and with such a broad selection you can find an opportunity that fits your skill set.
Customer service, copy editing, travel consulting, coding, part-time, full-time, seasonal, freelance… honestly, the internet is your oyster. You can start with our Work-From-Home jobs portal to find a gig.
And if you’ve never forayed into the remote work life before, take some time to go over our work-from-home guide. It covers topics such as insurance, scams, taxes and how to find a job that fits your lifestyle.
Summer Jobs in the Great Outdoors
It’s summertime and you probably spend the rest of year cooped up in a classroom. Why not spend your months off in the great outdoors and earning extra cash at the same time?
11. Camp Counselor
If you love fresh air and sunshine, consider getting a job at a summer camp.
Writer Amanda Simkin spent three summers working at a summer camp during her eight years of teaching. “Working at a summer camp is a great supplemental job because sometimes you just want to get away from the classroom and interact with kids in a more fun-focused and laid-back way,” she explains.
Here’s how she recommends you find a job. “I learned about openings through word of mouth, but nowadays you can use social media, such as park district websites, Facebook, even Craigslist to find openings,” she says. You can also check with your local YMCA, community organizations and churches.
12. Local Tour Guide
Know all of the hot spots and hidden gems in your city or neighborhood? Then consider becoming a local tour guide. It’s a great way to enjoy the weather, the scenery and good company (hopefully) while earning extra cash.
Another neighborhood-based gig that’s similar to becoming a tour guide is Yelp’s community ambassador program. The company hires people in each city to host events, partner with local organizations and act as an online moderator. It’s a flexible gig, usually 15 to 20 hours per week.
13. Whitewater Raft Guide
This is the perfect job if you want to work in the great outdoors but you’re also looking for an adventure. But be warned: The job is intense and physically-demanding. It also requires long hours and certain qualifications, depending on your state.
Hiring for river guides really amps up around June and July, and recreational hiring in general grows an average of 68% in the U.S. around this time, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The river-rafting season typically runs from June to September, making this a perfectly complementary job for teachers looking to earn a summer income. In fact, Idaho river guide Hardy Bender says a lot of guides seek out teaching jobs purely so they can have the summers off to hit the river.
14. Lifeguard
Like river guiding, this summer job for teachers gives you the perks of getting paid to enjoy the water and sunshine but in a more controlled environment.
Summer is the busy season, so check with city-operated pools, recreation centers, water parks and country clubs for seasonal lifeguarding jobs. Or if you’re blessed enough to live on the water, you can spend the summer working on the beach.
The pay for lifeguards varies depending on your location, skill level and employer, but you can earn anywhere from $9 to $25 per hour, according to Glassdoor salaries. Just remember, there are certain certifications and training to complete before you can get that telltale red suit and whistle.
15. Dog Walker
Honestly, who doesn’t want to get paid to hang out with dogs in their spare time? Well, maybe cat people… but they don’t count.
Start by offering your services to friends and family who don’t have the summers off. They may jump at the chance for someone to take their beloved pups out for a walk on long work days.
You can also sign up for Rover. The online network connects dog walkers and sitters to local dog owners through its 4.9-star-rated app, so you don’t have to staple flyers on every utility pole across town.
Rover says top sitters earn an average $450 per month.
Rover dog-sitter requirements vary by location. In general, you must:
Be 18 years or older.
Pass a background check.
Have access to the Rover app (iOS or Android).
Here’s how it works: You’ll create an online sitter profile where you’ll answer questions about your experience with puppers and your schedule availability.
You can choose to offer a variety of services, including dog walking, overnight boarding at your home or theirs, and daycare. Boarding is the app’s most popular service, so offering it can get you more gigs. You set your own rates. (Rover keeps a small percentage as a service fee.)
Dog owners will reach out to you. Accept which gigs you want, then start snugglin’ pups. As soon as you complete a service, you’ll be paid within two days.
And if you don’t want to just stick to dog walking, you can expand your services and become a full-blown pet sitter — check this out for more information.
Jobs That Offer a Change of Pace
Maybe you want a summer job that breaks away from the standard tutoring gig. Here are some options all across the board, we’re sure at least one will catch your eye.
16. Drive for Uber or Lyft
If you want to make some extra cash without committing to a full-blown job, driving for Uber or Lyft is a legitimate option. Demand for ride-sharing has been growing like crazy, and it shows no signs of slowing down. To be eligible, you’ll need to be at least 21 years old with a year of driving experience, pass a background check and own a car made in 2007 or later.
We talked to Paul Pruce, who had been driving full-time with Lyft for over a year and earning $750 a week as a driver.
Best of all, he could do it on his own time. You can work days, nights or weekends — it’s up to you.
Because it’s easy to switch between apps, Lyft drivers often also sign up to drive with Uber.
17. Rent Out Your Driveway
No one wants to worry about feeding a meter while on vacation. If you live near an event center or stadium, rent out your driveway using sites and apps like JustPark or MonkeyParking — or go old school and simply post a “Parking” sign in front of your house. You may only earn $20 per day, but $20 is $20.
18. List Extra Space in Your House
Have a spare room? Might as well try to earn some money by listing it on Airbnb.
If you’re a good host with a desirable space, you could add hundreds — even thousands — of dollars to your savings account with Airbnb.
A few simple steps can make the difference between a great experience and a less-than-satisfactory one. We talked to Terence Michael, an Airbnb superhost based in Los Angeles.
Here are some of his tips:
Break out the labelmaker. “I have the entire house loaded with labels,” Michael says. “They look nice; they’re modern. This helps people feel less helpless.”
Be a good host, and stock your place with the toiletries you’d expect at a hotel — toilet paper, soap and towels. Here’s a little hack from Michael: “I order on Amazon and have it delivered when people are there.”
Be kind to your neighbors. “I say, ‘I’m not going to put anyone here who I think won’t be good for you,’” Michael explains. “And I turn a lot of big groups away, especially in Nashville. I don’t want anyone going to the cops or the city.”
(Hosting laws vary from city to city. Please understand the rules and regulations applicable to your city and listing.)
19. Rent Out Your Car
If you put Uber and Airbnb together and mix them up, the result is renting out your car for extra money. You’re earning extra income from your car, but in the passive way you rent out an extra room — you just have to be cool with strangers driving your car around.
One service to start with is Get Around. When signing up, you’ll list your car and its availability —plus, all cars on Getaround include primary insurance during rentals. Another to check out is TravelCar, a service that allows you to rent out your car while you’re on vacation.
20. Host Trivia
Consider yourself a “Jeopardy!” nut? Combine your love for trivia, wealth of teaching knowledge and ability to command a room to become a part-time trivia contest host. After all, coming up with a set up trivia questions isn’t too far off from crafting a quiz for your students.
Check with your local restaurants and bars to see whether they’re in need of a trivia host. Sure, you might find yourself working only one night a week, but it’s a fun way to flex your brain muscles and earn extra money.
This math teacher in Florida told us he earns $125 per week hosting trivia (and he also offers tips on how to do your best Alex Trebek impersonation).
21. Rent Out Baby Gear
Renting out baby supplies — what will they think of next? There seems to be a rental service for just about everything these days, and this one is great for anyone who can get behind earning some extra cash off of that unused baby stuff taking up storage space.
Companies like BabyQuip allow traveling families to rent strollers, car seats, cribs and other baby items instead of lugging around their own gear. So if you have baby equipment you’re not using, you can list it for rental.
Manuela Madrid, a stay-at-home mom in Brandon, Florida works less than 12 hours per month renting out her gear through BabyQuip, and earns between $120 and $180 with each fulfillment. BabyQuip users keep 80% of each reservation fee, but 100% of each delivery fee.
You can sign up for BabyQuip here, or check out these other options: Babies Getaway, goBaby and Traveling Baby Company.
22. Officiate Youth Sports Games
Aside from coaching, another way to get involved in youth sports over the summer is by officiating games. Plus, officiating gives you the involvement in local youth sports without having to offer as much commitment that coaching would demand.
One option is working as a youth baseball umpire, a gig that can earn you upwards of $50 per game, which are usually less than two hours long. Aside from directly reaching out to youth sport programs, you can reach out to your local umpire association to inquire about open positions.
Summer Jobs if You Want Some Me Time
Look, if you want to spend your summer months catching up on some much needed alone time, we definitely don’t blame you. But that doesn’t mean you still can’t earn some extra money along the way.
23. Write Book Reviews
Here’s a dream scenario: Spend your summer months getting paid to stay curled up with a good book. Freelance book reviewing won’t give you J.K Rowling-level finances, but it’s a great way to earn extra cash while doing something you love — and were probably going to do all summer anyway.
How much you can earn will vary depending on the publisher and your skill level, but you can typically look to earn anywhere from $5 to $100 per review. Plus, you’ll probably get the book for free. Score!
Here are some reputable websites and publishers that will actually pay you for book reviews.
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24. House Sitter
If your summer months are going to be spent picking up odd jobs and side hustles, house sitting will fit into your schedule quite nicely — and it’s a great opportunity for some alone time.
Whether you’re spending the night in the home or just stopping in for a short while each day to bring in the mail, house sitting is a pretty easy way to put extra pennies in your pocket.
Sure, you can go through friends and family, but the chances of that avenue offering paid gigs is slim. Check out professional sites that can connect you with potential clients in your area, like HouseSitter.com.
25. Transcriptionist
A transcription gig is perfect for teachers who just want to throw on a pair of noise-canceling headphones and block out the world for a bit.
You can typically find transcription jobs in three categories: general, medical and legal. Note that the latter two might require additional training or requirements, but that will depend on the employer.
Most transcription jobs are independent contract work, so you can set your own hours and work when you want. Just note that transcriptionists are usually paid by the audio hour, so the amount you earn in comparison to hours worked will depend on your transcription fee.
26. Deliver Food
We already talked about driving for Uber and Lyft, and this is kind of the same thing… except you don’t actually have to talk to people beyond the “Here’s your food, you’re welcome, bye.”
Working for food delivery services gives you the opportunity to pick up side-gig work when you feel like earning extra cash — while enjoying some me time. Uber Eats offers flexible food-delivery opportunities, as do GrubHub, Instacart and Shipt.
Kaitlyn Blount is a former staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.
Angie Nelson also contributed to this article.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
