15 SIDE HUSTLES for TEACHERS - A Life of Financial Freedom

Are you a teacher or educator looking to earn extra money from one or more side hustles?

Many teachers desire more money to supplement their meager salaries. According to Glassdoor.com, the yearly national base salary for teachers in the US is $42,579.

Of course, salaries vary by location ($79,000 in New York), based on the teacher’s certification, experience, skills, grade level taught, and more.

Also remember that a majority of teachers have their summers off. The summers off is a big incentive for many teachers.

With the onset of online teaching due to Covid19, teachers and educators may find they have more time due to the absence of a daily commute and other factors.

For those of you looking to earn supplemental money or have a flexible schedule, this article is for you.

This article discusses 15 of the many ways teachers can bring in additional cash. These 15 ideas take more time than money to get started.

For instance, selling your stuff online requires you to look for items in your closet or around the house for things you no longer use or may have purchased and never used.

I have used a few of the side hustles shown below to bring in extra money.

This extra money allowed me to replenish my emergency fund account, set money aside for a special occasion, and to even have money to help start-up another side hustle business.

Here is the list of 15 side hustles for teachers and educators and then I’ll go into more details on each one.

Create and Sell Lesson Plans
Teach English Online
Sell Your Stuff Online
DJ
Focus Group Participant
Pet Sit
Freelance Writer
Sell Your Stock Photo
Write and Sell eBooks
Create Online Courses
Sell Used Textbooks
Mystery Shopper
Lyft or Uber Driver
Airbnb Host
Start a Blog

1. Create and Sell Lesson Plans

As a teacher and educator, selling your lesson plans may be one of the most direct ways of making side hustle money as you probably already have lesson plans that you’ve been creating for years.

Canva is one of the best online tools you can use to design your lesson plan templates and they have a free version.

Canva is one of the best online tools to design your lesson plan templates.

Once you’ve created your lesson plans, worksheets, and printables, you’ll need places to sell them. You can set up an account on Etsy as one resource to sell your lesson plans. If you have your own blog, you can sell them there.

There’s also the online resource market for teachers, Teachers Pay Teachers, where you can set up a membership and sell your lesson plans. Here’s Teachers Pay Teachers information on how to get set up to sell and how you get paid.

2. Teach English Online

Teaching English online is another way to bring in side income

When I talk to those making money online teaching English, VIPKid is at the top of the list. These are one-on-one classes with international students.

You’re able to set your own hours and theirs not a commitment of hours. Of course, more hours equal more pay.

3. Sell Your Stuff Online

Have an abundance of stuff and ready to get rid of some of it and make some cash in the process?

Poshmark is one of my favorite places to sell items online.

I love that Poshmark shipping is by Priority Mail and the seller pays the shipping or as a part of the purchase, you can opt to pay part or all of the shipping.

Here are just a few of the other places you can sell your stuff online:

4. DJ

I have a friend that has been doing DJ jobs since his high school days.

He makes good side hustle money as a DJ and is in demand for at least 2 to 3 weekends a month.

My friends 9 to 5 job knows that he DJ’s and they often call on him to be the DJ for their company outings, retirement parties, and other events.

He’s getting paid for a passion that he’s always enjoyed.

Weddings are also a way to get DJ gigs. Word of mouth is a great way to get DJ jobs.

I’ve even hired DJs I’ve heard by being at a party and loving their music. I always ask for their business card.

Here’s a great article by digital DJ tips that gives information on starting up a DJ business and key steps to take.

5. Focus Group Participant

Making money by being a focus group participant can bring in generally anywhere from $50 to $500, depending on the time of the focus group.

It entails giving your opinion on products and the discussion is held by a group moderator.

The products company representatives are behind a one-way mirror listening to your answers.

They may notify the group moderator if they have other questions for the group.

Payment is after the completion of the focus group and may be given to you by cash, check, or downloaded on a Visa debit card.

To find focus groups in your area Google ‘Focus Group + (your city name)’,

Read more about focus groups here and how you can even get paid to watch TV.

6. Pet Sit

Dog walking as a Side Hustle

Are you a pet lover? Then becoming a pet sitter may just be the side hustle for you to bring in extra income.

One might say that pet sitting is Airbnb for pets. Check out sites like Rover.com, Dogvacay.com, and Wag.com.

7. Freelance Writing

Do you have a knack for writing? If you’re interested in earning money as a freelance writer, compile a portfolio for potential clients so that you’ll be able to refer them to see your style of writing.

Your portfolio of work could include ebooks you’ve written, samples of your work, and even posts on a blog you may own or have written for other blogs.

Check out available freelance writing gigs at

8. Sell Your Stock Photos

Are you good with a camera, getting the right shots, and enjoy taking pictures? Perhaps selling your photos is a side hustle that would bring in some extra income for you.

If you have a website, you can sell your photos there and have complete control over how much you want to charge and not have to worry about splitting profits.

Here’s a great tutorial on selling your photos worldwide with Adobe Stock.

You can also sell your photos online with companies such as

9. Write and Sell eBooks

The internet makes the process of selling your eBooks so much easier now.

I am currently using GumRoad for the first time on one of my books (Help! Broke and Need Money) and I also love using Amazon because they have an audience of about a gazillion users.

You may choose to convert your eBook to a digital pdf and place it for sell on your own website or popular sites such as

GumRoad
e-Junkie
Kajabi
Amazon’s kdp program (kindle direct publishing)

Research your choices when you’re ready and see what best fits your needs.

Even after deciding on which platform to use to sell your ebook, you still want to have a marketing plan in place for driving traffic to your book for sales.

10. Create Online Courses

Do you have a topic you would love to teach to others?

Why not turn that course into an online course. You may want to run a survey or get presells to make sure your course is in demand. That way, you’re not creating a ton of work to create a course that no one’s interested in, or that’s not worth the time and effort to put the course together.

Here are some places that you can sell your online course:

11. Sell Used Textbooks

When deciding to declutter and minimize, getting rid of old textbooks might be one of the best places to start.

Textbooks can bring in a pretty penny. Nick of Side Hustle Nation interviewed Charlie William who brings in $4,000 a month selling books.

When I downsized my bookshelf collection, I found a textbook worth $61 with BooksRun. Cha-ching!! BooksRun even provided a shipping label for me to print out.

Here are some textbook marketplaces you may want to consider:

12. Mystery Shopper

As a Mystery Shopper, you are an independent contractor that goes into a business.

I’ve done quite a few mystery shopper ‘shops’ in the past and got great joy from performing them.

Often, for restaurant mystery shops, you’re able to take a guest with you. You pay for the meal upfront, and then you file a report and you’re later reimbursed.

You have to have a keen eye for attention to detail.

There can be a lot of paperwork to file with the company and often the questions are your server’s name, if you were asked about an upsell product, were the bathrooms clean, how long did it take your meal to come out, and a litany of other questions.

Here are two of the Mystery Shop companies I’ve worked with:

13. Lyft or Uber Driver

With both car services, Uber or Lyft, you can be your own boss and set your own hours.

Check your region for age requirements, you’ll need to be able to pass an online DMV and a background check is required. You will also need a cell phone.

Check for any additional requirements for your city.

14. Airbnb Host

Being an Airbnb host has been one of my most lucrative Side Hustles. You can offer homestays for one room of your home or your entire home.

I enjoy meeting people, and for me, being an Airbnb Superhost allows me to meet people from all corners of the globe

Check out these posts on making additional monies as an Airbnb host:

15. Start a Blog

Starting a blog takes persistence and hard work. Make your blog as niched down as possible.

Interested in finance? Consider narrowing the topic down further such as Finance for College Students.

Remember to keep meticulous records of your monies made from your side hustles as it is taxable income that you will need to account for when you file your taxes.

Now it’s your turn. Let me know in the comments below what Side Hustles you’re considering or currently doing.

Money Making Ideas for Airbnb Hosts

Proven Strategies for Starting a Blog

Purchase your copy here of ‘Help! Broke and Need .