8 Online Side Hustles For Teachers Looking For Some Extra Cash
Let’s be honest. No one becomes a teacher for the big paycheck.
In fact, those of us who go into education do it for the love of children and the fulfillment of impacting the next generation.
Sure, we teach children about academic concepts. But the real joy comes in those heartfelt moments when you teach youth how to navigate life, relationships, careers, and even money.
Teaching is a rewarding job. At the end of the day, however, the pay is modest at best. It can be hard to cover the bills, pay off your student loans, much less save for a house and invest for retirement too. So, that leaves many teachers searching for ways to supplement their income.
Summer school and multi-level marketing (MLM) are the most common ones I noticed among my school co-workers. Personally, I taught summer school one summer before I became a mom, but MLM was not for me.
But did you know there are way more options out there from the comfort of your home?
Since I left the school office for my home office so I could be a stay-at-home mom, I’ve discovered this whole new world of amazing possibilities to earn money online. One of my new beloved phrases?
Online side hustles.
In fact, there are tons of online side hustles that are perfect for teachers. You can even teach online!
My favorite perks of online side hustles are:
- You can do the work from anywhere with Wi-Fi
- You don’t have to be salesy with your friends and family
- You don’t have to host parties
- You don’t have to give up your entire summer
- You do the work almost entirely on your own schedule
I didn’t know earning money online was a legit thing until I was desperate to find a way to earn money AND be a stay-at-home mom. Knowing what I know now two years in, there are many online side hustles for teachers that you can do while working full-time as well.
That is…if you’re willing to turn off Netflix and put in a few more hours of work. But for an extra $1,000 – $3,000 per month? That might be enough to turn off Stranger Things. Especially if you have big money goals on your mind.
From my experience, networking, and research, here are some of the best online side hustles for teachers in terms of job opportunities, flexible schedule, and pay:
- Pinterest Virtual Assistant
- Social Media Manager
- Freelance Proofreader
- Facebook Ads Manager
- Online Tutor
- Freelance Writer
- Virtual Assistant
- Survey Taker
1. Pinterest Virtual Assistant
Believe it or not, you can earn money to play on Pinterest!
Ok, play is not 100% true, but Pinterest Virtual Assistants are becoming more in demand for blogs and online businesses who want to harness the traffic potential from Pinterest.
The thing is, you have to use Pinterest differently for business than you do for your personal DIY projects, recipes, and money saving tips. Even many online business owners don’t understand how to best use Pinterest for getting more visitors to their website.
But if you enjoy Pinterest, this is an in-demand and honestly one of the most enjoyable online side hustles I’ve done.
2. Social Media Manager
Social media is becoming more and more powerful.
I recently read that millennial’s are the first generation to be more influenced by their peers on social media than celebrities. Every business, whether it’s brick-and-mortar or online, big or small, would love more awareness of their brand. And social media is perhaps the most powerful way to do that.
But how many business owners have time to tweet, make Facebook posts, engage in Facebook groups, create Pinterest-worthy pins and eye-catching Instagram pictures, much less keep up with Facebook Lives or Instagram stories? This is where a social media manager comes in.
Cha-ching!
3. Freelance Proofreader
While I’m not sure if it’s a blessing or a curse, some of us were given eagle eyes that can spot a typo from 25 yards away. If that’s you, then freelance proofreading might be the right side hustle for you.
Between blog content, website content, YouTube and podcast transcripts, court reports and my secret best source of clients–self-published authors–there are many great online proofreading jobs out there. The key here for me as a teacher was again learning the business side of finding clients.
I recently interviewed a handful of fellow freelance proofreaders about how to become a proofreader and learned the average pay for those of us without big publishing company experience was between $25-$45 per hour proofing.
Not bad for something you naturally do anyway!
4. Facebook Ads Manager
Notice all those “sponsored” posts in your Facebook newsfeed now? There’s a Facebook Ads manager behind most of those!
Now this side hustle has been on my radar for awhile because it is so hot right now. I regularly come across Facebook Ad managers who earn $1,000-$2,000 per month with this part-time side hustle. The cool thing about this is almost every business has an audience on Facebook, and with Facebook doing more and more advertisements, more businesses are needing to pay to play.
This is a great situation for anyone interested in learning how to manage Facebook ads and turning it into a nice chunk of change to add onto your teacher salary.
5. Online Tutor
If you want to use your natural teaching skills and teach students who actually want to learn, then online tutoring companies like VIPKID pay $20 or more per hour according to the moms and teachers I’ve talked to.
The downside I repeatedly hear about this side gig is that it’s usually late night or early morning hours since you’re virtually tutoring children in China.
The perk? The pay of course, but also the curriculum is set for you. No need to spend time creating lesson plans for this side gig.
6. Freelance Writer
If you’re a good writer and can meet deadlines, freelance writing might be the perfect side hustle for you.
Another secret I discovered in the online world is that a lot of the content you see on websites actually comes from someone else who was paid to write that article.
Running a successful business all comes down to time. And writing is another one of those things some small and large businesses pay to outsource.
7. Virtual Assistant
A virtual assistant is just like it sounds: it’s someone who provides service to someone else remotely. Behind virtually every successful online business is a team of hard-working assistants.
While the Pinterest Virtual Assistant mentioned above provides specific Pinterest services, a general Virtual Assistant can do a million different things.
They might do things like make travel arrangements, book speaking events, organize email inboxes, manage projects, write or edit blog content, create graphics, provide customer support, research, and organize data. The list goes on and on depending on what the client needs.
What I’ve discovered is in order to work as a virtual assistant, you need to be somewhat organized, a good communication, pay attention to detail, be personable and reliable, and as with any virtual job–have basic tech skills.
And teachers? Most of us have those skills down!
8. Survey Taker
Finally, if you’re not willing to turn off Netflix and you still want to earn a little quick cash, consider taking surveys. This is by far the lowest money-earner on the list, but it also requires the smallest effort.
And as we know on Money Saved is Money Earned, every little bit counts. You can checkout Tawnya’s experience with Survey Junkie to learn more about making money with surveys.
Final Thoughts
If you have a full-time job but wish you had more money to achieve your money goals faster, there are plenty of side jobs you could do in the early mornings, evenings, or on the weekends year-round to earn consistent extra income.
I used to think because I went to college for X career that I was only qualified to do X job, but that is far from the truth!
Trust me, as teachers, you have many skills relevant to ways people earn extra money online. The best online side hustles for teachers are Pinterest Virtual Assistant, Social Media Manager, Freelance Proofreader, Facebook Ads Manager, Online Tutor, Freeland Writer, Virtual Assistant, and Survey Taker.
Just think about what you would do with an extra thousand or so per month.
