If you are a teacher looking to make an extra side income or shake things up with a career change, you’re in the right spot.
Teachers possess skills that are highly transferable to other professions and careers. An online side business might be just what you need!
Plus, there are a lot of online side businesses teachers can create that don’t have to be teaching-related. Think of it as a great opportunity to bring in some extra cash.
Now, you might have questions and challenges along the way. This is all part of pivoting, changing, and evolving.
Our hope is that you find some inspiration here and choose a direction that you want to move into.
A lot of times, we need to look at our own areas of expertise, passions, and what we are good at if we want to make a side income, or even a full-time income, in an area other than our current career.
Here are 5 types of new opportunities that you might want to consider:
- Find alternative positions in education
- Move into a completely different career
- Find a side job to create extra income
- Work at home with non teaching opportunities
- Start your own online business
1. Find alternative positions in education
Perhaps you still love teaching but want to explore new opportunities. And that’s okay!
A great place to start is to look at what other positions might be available in education. You can also look to your school district to see what they are offering.
Lots of schools are looking for people who are skilled in areas such as consulting or coaching to lead workshops and share knowledge from their unique fields.
Your school district might also be hiring for positions that are more clerical or focused on other careers like human resources or leadership opportunities.
Here are a few career possibilities that exist in education and are needed to support schools in a variety of ways:
1. Curriculum developer
You might be someone that loves creating curriculum, writing lessons, helping your fellow teachers with curriculum ideas, and implementing them in the classroom.
Most schools and districts have a curriculum developer. You might even be able to move into one of these positions in your existing school.
2. Technology specialist
Do you have technical skills that could be a huge asset to your school?
Many schools, with the rising usage of integrated technologies in the classroom, are looking for specialists who can offer expertise and training to teachers.
Technology specialists are usually responsible for integrating technology into the classrooms, supporting teachers and staff with using technology, and managing school-wide technological initiatives.
3. Consultant or trainer
If you have been teaching for a number of years, you most likely have something to offer in the area of training or consulting.
Usually, positions like this use the skills you already have to support other educators. Perhaps this is something that you might be interested in. Keep an eye out for those opportunities within your school district!
2. Move into a completely different career
Are you at your wit’s end with teaching and do you need something completely different? Your students will miss you but a new career could be the fresh start that you need.
Teachers have incredible skills such as managing projects, public speaking, problem-solving, and even knowledge in the areas of technology and administrative tasks.
Check out the following careers that might appeal to your teaching experience and background:
1. Event Planner
Event planners are multi-taskers who are able to coordinate people and get jobs done to make sure events are successful. This is what teachers do daily in the classroom! Usually, the job is flexible and multi-faceted, so you won’t get bored easily.
2. Writer
Writers are multilayered creatives that can explore a variety of writing mediums, from advertising, magazines, newspapers, or copywriting. Teachers, with their level of expertise, might find writing a great profession to step into after leaving the classroom.
3. Museum Curator
Museums are places of learning, and so, it is a natural fit for any teacher wanting a change of pace and environment. Your teaching background could help you plan events and build educational materials to help others learn about the artifacts.
You might also find that volunteering at a museum is a great way to get your foot in the door, especially if you are retired from the classroom!
4. Real Estate Agent
Real Estate agents need to have strong interpersonal skills. They work with buyers and sellers and help home buyers find their dream homes. This is an active job that requires you to be out in the community and teachers would find this a rewarding career change.
5. Personal Trainer
If you are a fitness or health enthusiast, you might find personal training to be the perfect fit. Typically, this transition would require some additional certifications, but it is a career path that can open the door to starting your own business.
3. Find an online side job to create extra income
You might love teaching and you don’t really want to give it up, but you need something on the side to create extra income in your life.
Who doesn’t want a little extra money, right?
We are living in the age of technology, allowing you to create an abundance of creative side projects. These opportunities use the skills you already have and the type of work you already do!
Teachers are making a lot of money doing online side jobs like:
1. Online tutoring
There are lots of online tutoring companies out there, like our very own Skooli for online tutoring, that allows teachers to teach from home and make a nice side income. You can work for a company, teach on a marketplace like iTalki or Outschool, or go completely independent and build your own online tutoring business.
2. Sell your resources
You already create your own stuff all the time in the classroom. Why not sell these on a site like Teachers Pay Teachers and generate passive income? Those aesthetic worksheets that you make for your students could end up making you a lot of money.
3. Teach a skill to others
Many people are able to make an income from teaching things that they are passionate about to others.
There are great websites like Skillshare that let you share your skills, create courses and teach others (yes, while making money!).
We all have expertise and skills that we can leverage to teach others. It might take some time to tap into what those are, but with passion and knowledge, you’re on your way already.
4. Work at home with non teaching opportunities
There are lots of work at home jobs that are not in the field of teaching but have transferable skills that teachers can use. With the age of technology, lots of online jobs have opened up that can provide a full-time or part-time income.
1. Virtual Assistant
A virtual assistant is someone who does administrative online tasks for a company or individual.
Lots of online entrepreneurs with online businesses hire people to take on tasks that they are not able to complete. You might be helping them with writing emails, managing their social media or providing customer support to their online products.
2. Social Media Manager
A social media manager is just what it sounds like.
You are managing someone’s social media. Social media is a vehicle for businesses and entrepreneurs to build an online brand or presence to promote their business and connect with their audience.
If you are a social media person, you might love this position!
Social media managers plan, create, and work with content that will grow the respective business.
3. Transcriptionist
This is a flexible work-at-home job that many don’t know about but is a great opportunity to make approximately $15 – $25 / hour.
A transcriptionist works to turn video and audio files into text-based files.
If you are a good listener and love writing, consider pursuing this career path!
You can also choose to specialize in a particular field, such as medical or legal transcription, allowing you to create a lucrative side job at home.
5. Start your own online business
Lots of teachers are leaving the classroom to pursue their own business ideas that they may have never had an opportunity to explore prior.
In fact, teachers can make excellent entrepreneurs!
Here are some ideas for non-teaching businesses that you can do from home:
- Become a web designer and build websites for people.
- Market and sell your artistic talents (create a soap business, sell crafts on Etsy, etc…).
- Become an online coach (holistic medicine, fitness and nutrition, personal life coach, etc…).
- Create a course to support in a specific niche (ie: help homeschooling moms with managing time, teach people how to train their own pets, help busy professionals with their taxes, etc…).
If you are wanting to start your own business, here are some steps to take to make sure you will be on the right path:
1. Make a list of your passions / interests
This can be as easy as writing out what you are good at and what you love doing.
What type of work lights you up? What do you do when nobody is around and nobody is telling you to do something? The answers lie there.
2. Determine your areas of expertise
When you went to school to become a teacher, you probably took courses and classes in many different areas. Perhaps you went to school to be a math teacher and so your area of expertise would be in mathematics.
Take some time to write out where your niche interests lie.
We all have skills that are outside the realm of education. Make note of those and how they can be used to create your own business or get hired in another career.
3. Upskill and become an expert
Even if you have written a number of lists down, doubt can still creep up. But remember, you teach from your own experience and there will always be someone that is interested in learning more about the knowledge that you have to share.
As you will still be a lifelong learner yourself, you can refresh your skills or upgrade them at any point. Consider upskilling using websites like Skillshare to acquire more knowledge and become even more marketable.
4. Find out if there is a need / demand for your skills
Your creative interests might take you to many places, but take some time to also consider the market and the demand for those skills.
If you have a list of people that inspire you, who are successful and creating the type of work that you wish to create, you can look to them for inspiration and even mentorship.
Allow yourself time to experiment and explore until you find the right path.
The best online side businesses for teachers mean taking action to create the life you want
Life is too short to sit back and live with regrets.
If you are feeling unfulfilled in the classroom, need a break, or just want to build some other income streams, don’t let fear and doubt stop you.
There are lots of possible online side jobs for teachers that you can also turn into full-time work.
Whether you are looking for side income, a career change, or simply work from home, full time, there are options for you.
Find what works for you, your lifestyle, and your interests!
With the considerations and action items listed above, there are countless options and opportunities available to you. Have fun and enjoy the ride!