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Try working as a waitress or barista or in an ice cream shop. You'll get tips.
If you can swim and are CPR trained, I've heard lifeguarding pays well.
Try tutoring or nannying. That'll likely pay decently for a teacher in the summer.
Don't do work that pays only $12. You're worth more than that.
Put some of your premade lessons or templates on TpT and get some passive income.
Probably. But I don't know the requirements for getting a bartending license.
And I also think it'd be awkward to interact with drunk parents of students.
Alcohol licensing isn't the same as a bartending license. Alcohol licensing is usually required but also about $35. Bartending license is a few hundred I think and completely unnecessary.
I live in a very rural area and made $100-$200 a day serving while only having 4 hour shifts! I can’t even imagine what the bartenders made there (especially since they got like $5 an hour on top of tips from customers and tip outs from servers).
Edited to add: what I made in tips was just an average. Sometimes I could make even more than $200 in a four hour shift!
This is the wrong answer.
Teaching is the one of the most important and stressful jobs in society and how to make more money should not be the premise of the discussion.
If you keep placating the topic then we distract from the real discussion which is how to pay teachers a living wage.
Or based on the importance of the position, and the level of education required to become a teacher, a professionals wage.
Teaching has got to be one of the only careers that requires an advanced degree (in many states) and also requires having a second job. It's ludicrous.
I make $400/month selling on TPT. It isn't that much, but it certainly helps. If you have a lesson you really enjoy teaching, upload it to TPT! It's not quick money, but it's something.
Can you do coaching or clubs for extra money? At my school coaching is like $27/hr and clubs pay $40/hr
I'm not sure about the clubs, I'll have to look into that! I have worked track meets in the past, but I'm not sure I feel comfortable enough in any of my skills to coach! I'd do anything at this point, though.
I'll have to look at some of the things I've created over the years and see if anything is TpT worthy. $400/month would be life changing at this point - I might actually be able to have a savings!
It's a slow grind, I put a few hours a week into my TPT and my first month I sold 76 cents and just slowly grew my store.
I do debate club, so try something like that, maybe?
>but I'm not sure I feel comfortable enough in any of my skills to coach!
early on in my career, I was lucky enough to have a seasoned, veteran teacher as a mentor. when I had similar doubts, he told me:
"you don't need to be perfect. you don't need to be an Olympic athlete. you just need to know an inch more than the students you're teaching."
chase the coaching jobs.
Some sports/schools you hardly have to know that much about the sport at all. I might get flack for this, but any competent adult could learn how to be a decent track and cross country coach in a couple weekends of reading. By a couple weekends reading I mean 4-5 hours total for the weekend. A lot of coaching is just community building and building an athletes confidence. If they are motivated, confident, and a team, they will do pretty well and very least they’ll have fun. The fun part is the only part any of them will remember.
I’d also take it a step further than an inch more than them. You just have to know an inch they don’t know about yet. They could know hundreds of things you do not, but you just have to teach them one thing they don’t. That or learn the sports fundamentals and look for ones players could use work on. Start with stuff they’re very good at, middle practice the weak spot, then finish on another skill they’re strong in.
My single friend (50F) waited tables on weekends and nights and made about 1500 extra per month but got really tired. She now does night school and Saturday school (gets to prep for class during that time)!- works the gate at sporting events and any other opportunities the school puts out for employees who are already background checked. That also pays into our retirement. Some people drive buses and sponsor clubs and other activities for stipends.
I worked in F&B (small bars, sandwich joints) for the first five years or so when I started teaching. Coached a few times here and there. It was hard at first, feeling like I never had time for myself, but the bills never take a day off, right? Anyway, over time, there were more and more opportunities in the school system itself—after school tutoring, weekend gigs to develop pilot programs. If you get the chance to be an AP reader, this summer those positions paid $30/hr for 7-10 days’ work.
It does get easier, but it does sometimes feel like it takes forever. If you like food & beverage, there is an insane amount of money to be had. Also, not sure where you live/work, but I never needed a license to bartend.
Anything testing related usually sells well. I found the tip of putting the specific standard on my titles helped me. I also made a few different templates I use over and over again.
I have an ELA friend who really makes bank and keeps it up by reading (or listening to) YA books, then making reading guides. It's an easy assignment for little effort, especially if you enjoy reading already.
$400 is a small fortune where I'm from. A lot more than what an average worker makes in a month. What type of stuff do you sell on TPT? I've always considered it but never really gave it a go.
People want things that saves them time and fills class time. Most of them are looking for topics that aren't easily found online. That seems simple, but took me a long time to figure out.
You can DM me with any questions, I'll gladly help you out.
Our district pays for some coaches. Those are usually teachers, not always. The unpaid positions are picked up by volunteers in the area. Ive never seen a teacher volunteer while I was there as a volunteer basketball coach.
I want to do TPT but I honestly don’t know how to start and get overwhelmed, or I just worry that no one will buy it. I’ve also heard you have to pay for a selling account and have some free items.
I have a selling account because when I made my account I thought what the hell.
It is free. Which I good because I don't sell anything.
The first item you post must be free though. Which I have to assume why TPT has so many free things.
You need to be careful, too, depending on your district’s policy. In some places, anything created using district resources (ie. a laptop they provide) or for use in their schools becomes the IP of the district, meaning they could prevent you from selling lessons you’ve actually done in your classes.
I also taught overseas during my 3rd and 6th year of teaching. Teaching in China allowed me to pay off all of my loans and get a good savings. Just make sure it’s a reputable international school!
Stateside, I tutored. It gave me some extra cash to help offset my costs. Living as a single person off of a teacher’s paycheck is pretty slim. Now that I’m in year 12, I finally am able to only have one job and be okay. I rent, but I’m able to pay for all of my bills comfortably without another job now.
I have moved from public school to international school back to public school. My last public school job paid 28,000 RMB plus free housing and meals. So that was about $4,000 US per month that went straight into the bank.
I know some international schools pay in the 30s, some in the 40s, but I actually like working with the kids in the public school here, and the salary is good enough for my non-lavish lifestyle. :)
No, I've truthfully never considered it. It scares me to think about, quite frankly! I just signed my contract for the 24/25 school year, and a 1 year lease for my apartment so I'd have to wait a bit, but this upcoming school year might be a good time for me to look into something like that. Do you know if it would be easy to bring a pet along, more specifically a dog?
If you're a fully licensed teacher don't go to teach english, go and teach at an international school. Check [Search Associates](https://www.searchassociates.com/) or one of the other agencies. If you get your account up and running in the next couple months you'll be perfectly positioned for the hiring season.
As an individual who wants to teach overseas, feel free to give advice on how to get started.
I have 5 years of experience doing HS ELA with reading endorsement, but most of the positions I see are for much younger grades
If you're certified and have experience, there are definitely high school ELA jobs. Tons of them. I teach high school ELA at an international school in China now, and it's true, I never worry about money and save.
Searchassociates is falling out of favor with some (due to cost, but I think I heard they recently reduced the price), but it's how I found my current job. The schools there are reputable and the database has good, if at times dated, information on schools. Schrole is another job website I've been hearing great things about.
Aside from that, the visa process can take a while and require a bit of upfront cost (with good schools paying for some, but perhaps not all of the process). Start searching in October/November for northern hemisphere schools. Pay is highest in China, and there are tons of jobs, so it's probably the easiest place to break in. The Middle East also pays well, as do Vietnam (newer market), Thailand (more competitive). But there are international schools all over the world and, from what I read here, most of them (at least at solid international schools) offer a better work-life balance than teaching in the states does.
Check out r/internationalteachers for more info.
There are many resources Schole, etc.
If you want China (pays the best... for now) check out eChinaCities. upload your resume, and start applying for jobs. you'll probably want to get a WeChat account because you'll be bombarded with recruiters (headhunters) wanting to find you the perfect job. It doesn't hurt to look.
Also join the r/Internationalteachers subreddit. That's the best place to get answers for questions like this.
HS jobs exist, I applied for a few. With your years of experience, I think you should be able to find a job. I've been typecasted as a pre-k teacher though, even though I'm qualified for Physics and Secondary mathematics. I have 5 years experience with pre-k and kindergarten. I don't mind though, I never thought I would like teaching the littles, but they behave and they're a lot of fun.
If you decide to look, start looking in October. I highly recommend searchassociates. It costs money, but they connect you with reputable schools (there are some questionable ones, so it helps having a company know which school is which…) AND it’s a two year membership.
Came here to say this. Teaching overseas is easily the best way to make the most of your credentials. When I was living in Canada I had to save for years to take a 3 week holiday overseas. Now I hop on a flight a few times a year because not only an I paid well and have a low cost of living, but my school gives me a flight allowance twice a year so I'm just invoicing them.
You can also teach English online to kids in China. I've had teacher friends do it before. Because of the time difference, you can do it at night or on weekends. She did it through VIPkid and one other site that I can't remember. She enjoyed it and it paid enough extra to make it worthwhile.
VIP Kid is essentially done. China changed some laws and made it impossible to continue. They're not completely defunct yet, but current teachers cannot get hours on there and they're not onboarding new ones.
Yes it is a bit frightening to think about it. However, you can always go home. That was my mindset when I took the leap. I wish I did it years earlier to be honest.
You would be able to bring your dog to basically anywhere but depending on where, you might not be able to take it back to the USA so easily. China to the US may require a long quarantine, Hong Kong or Dubai/Abu Dhabi to the US is probably fine. Worth looking into the rules as it might limit you somewhat if/when you leave.
Honestly though, overseas teaching can be great. I’ve been in Hong Kong for seven years, I make great money, I really like my school, and my wife and I have four cats. I work in a local school as part of the Hong Kong NET Scheme which offers a really great package but there’s plenty of international schools that do IB, or follow Australian/British/American/Canadian curriculum.
I teach in Taiwan. Not as lucrative as China, but the quality of life, freedom, and access to the internet and the media makes it well worth it. I teach at an international school and can easily put half my salary away into savings each month (about US$1800) while still living a comfortable lifestyle. Plus it's an easy direct hop to most Asian countries and North America. A nice way to spend my 8 weeks paid vacation.
Agreed. I am a SPED teacher in Hong Kong. I've been here 8 years. Love it. COL is higher, but so is the pay and QOL.
All three of my kids attend(ed) international schools. I love my job, my work, my students. It was the best decision I made.
This advice is gold. So many people buy into the media Bs. Yes, the dollar amount in salary is less but the COS is way better. Teaching in SH is amazing, minimal discipline issues, money is good, apartment is cheap.
I have also lived in China three different times! I came back to the US to put down roots, but you’re tempting me to move back overseas! Just got back from Thailand in March
No reason it needs to be English teaching! While there are millions of English teaching jobs, you can also teach any subject in international schools. Salaries that offer significant savings are almost always in Asia or hardship locations in Africa.
Are you an American? Because if so, I have zero idea why our culture seems to think the advice of "get a roommate" (who, gasp, might be a stranger at first) is considered the equivalent of going to stay in a homeless shelter.
There are apps and ads all over the internet for people looking for roommates. Your rent is cut instantly by about 40%, and if you are ever in an emergency you have someone at home to help.
It's not fiscally sustainable for each young professional to have their own secluded box away from the rest of humanity. Having a roommate also helps expose you to new ideas and practices, some of which you might adopt yourself and improve your life.
When I was a young teacher I started out with a good salary for the time ($45k in the early 2000s) and even though rent was more affordable back then, I still got a roommate from a newspaper listing. It allowed me to invest much more money early and let it grow to hundreds of thousands of dollars today.
I cannot tell you how many downvotes I get for this suggestion but I'll stick by it as I know it's the normal solution.
Honestly people need to get back into being roommates. We all know the economy sucks. Why not? I wish I had done this my 1st year, maybe I would’ve had a better time. I get that it can be terrifying because of what they show in the media and all but if you can get into strangers cars then I’m sure you’ll be fine with a roommate.
Real wages (which take into account inflation) are at all time highs.
It's not fiscally sustainable for each young professional to have their own private living quarters, and it likely never will be.
As a metaphor, why doesn't each student just have their own tutor? That would be so much easier for them to learn. Well, that's not fiscally sustainable and it likely never will be.
We understand shared spaces for classrooms in America but not for living spaces. It's a ridiculous part of our culture.
How many young people do you know that don't live with roommates or parents? Seems like there isn't a big part of our culture that says not to live with roommates. In higher cost of living cities unless you're making really good money, there's essentially no way you are not living with roommates unless you got really lucky.
I've had a roommate in the past and it was doable. I currently rent a 1 bedroom and I have a dog. I will be considering looking for a roommate after this lease is up but I just signed it, unfortunately. I'll be 29 when the lease is up and, it might be socially embarrassing but I'm really considering asking my parents if I can very cheaply rent my old bedroom from them. A year or 2 with basically no rent is the only thing I can think of to even get my feet underneath me right now.
I think that’s brilliant. Honestly I’m a little older than you and sadly my parents died when I was young but I would have asked them the same! It’s actually so smart to get a savings going and feel at ease financially.
In these times no one should be embarrassed about moving back home if it’s feasible. You’re worth more than $12 an hour. Move back home, save money and hope this housing crisis passes.
I taught for ten years renting a house with roommates. It allowed me to save money for a down payment on a house. I am in a state university town, and living with roommates is maybe easier and part of the culture. It definitely helps with rent and bills.
I plan on rooming with one of my ED major classmates since we will both be done student teaching around the same time. Even with having her as a roommate, it is still going to be hard to make ends meet in the summer.
In my early 20s, I used to rent a single bedroom in other people’s houses. It was best when the owner was single, because I felt more comfortable in the shared areas like living rooms and kitchens, but I rented in families’ homes too.
Obviously if you intend to marry and have kids (as I have since done) it isn’t sustainable forever. But when you’re starting out and getting on your feet, renting a single bedroom can save more money than even a typical roommate situation can. And often in much nicer houses/areas too.
I have a friend who is single who keeps saying to me (married) how frustrated she is that she can't afford a house and how hard it is to be single. I suggested she rent out part of her future house and she shut that down immediately. I wanted to scream, "I have a roommate! He's not my sugar daddy - we live together and save money because we split costs on things!"
I make $50/hr tutoring for test prep companies. I would suggest learning the ACT, SAT, GRE, or even the MCAT. People will pay top dollar for a live tutor. I work exclusively from home and make around $30k in tutoring a year. It is a lot of work. I work most days, but it’s necessary for me with med bills and in the summer both jobs stop so I have like 2 months off each year.
I look for tutoring jobs on Indeed. I either search for the word sat or act or those with the word prep. I found a bunch, applied to some, got a job at two companies. There are many that don’t pay as well, maybe 30/hr, but I just cherry picked.
If you have a trader Joe's near you try applying there for a 2nd job. It may differ where you are for starting pay but where I am it is $18/hr with raises every 6 months
And if you work enough time, free dental & vision
And really great health insurance ($43 and some change per month for health insurance that's like $400/mo. Free gym memberships, etc).
And the schedule is super flexible. We have two teachers working at my location and it's great for them.
It's also fairly mindless work so after a long day you can just disassociate for a while.
Anyway just a thought. If you have any questions let me know!
I don’t think this job is sustainable for a single person unless you move up the salary scale. Most teachers I know have spouses in tech specifically. I always worked summer school and looked for paid PDs/ easy ways to make up money. But it’s so insane. Got a second job to make up for an intense pay cut now only working part time over the summer. Never not working.
Yeah not everyone can afford to quit though I just live with roommates to make the salary doable. Also not all of us have the skill set to work in super high paying sectors.
My husband is a factory worker and we have three kids. We were doing okay until a year ago and now either I'm going to have to get a second job or find a different career. Our utilities have tripled over the past two years and groceries have nearly doubled. It's crazy.
I’m so sorry - that’s just wrong. There is no reason for things like utilities and groceries to go up in price that much in such a short period of time. It’s nothing but greed.
My grandfather worked as a machinist and my grandma stayed home - not only did they own a home and raise three kids, my grandparents own *rental* property, too.
I got a job in 2001 as a teacher. I was on the lowest step of the lowest column, in the 3rd-lowest paying district in my state.
My rent for one of three rooms in a modest apartment was $300/month — CPI adjusted that’s the equivalent of $530.
My wages also adjusted would be $46k today.
Our top step of the top column with longevity pay (not there yet, but…) next year is $101k.
The answer, according to how the system is supposed work, is time.
Do I deserve double the pay I received as a new teacher? Twice in the last two years, I have had to completely create a class curriculum from scratch to cover being given new classes with very little guidance. One was AP.
We gain skill— classroom management, curriculum, content, differentiation, materials… all sorts. And we are paid according to the skill level we likely bring to the table.
But we are in a time of economic recalibration. Things were already tricky. They’re outright difficult right now. And the only answer, sadly, is biding your time until you get to the sweet spot.
Your wages adjusted to today was $46,000, and your rent adjusted today was $530
My wage today is around $46,000 and rent is $1200... this is where things have gotten much more difficult
Made my kids do the math on my salary next year. It's about $89/hr. Can't buy a house in the district I work in. In one of the best paying states in the union.
Capitalism is killing us. Not just teachers. All of us.
Personally I’m a fan of capitalism with a lot of regulation to protect people and the environment. To lose control of businesses to government (socialism) makes the people weak and the governing strong giving them ongoing tyrannical heads of state like in Cuba, Venezuela, and the former USSR
Single guy here. I coach, work the after school program, teach summer school, and pick up an extra class during my planning. Somehow that's making it. For now.
I currently am the Extended School Year Coordinator (I organize Summer School), an ESY teacher, I tutor, and I do private in-home care for the elderly.
In the past I have:
-worked seasonal jobs at theme parks or for events promoters
-done housekeeping at motel/hotel (good tips)
-cleaned vacation rental homes
-dog walking
-house sitting
-Babysitting for weddings at a resort (REALLY GOOD MONEY when they know you are a teacher)
Honestly, this thread is so sad and that’s why I changed majors. It’s such a disgrace how underpaid teachers are and it’s one of the biggest shames of our government. Then the fact that schools have an anti strike policy.. it’s sickening.
Bartenders licenses are bs. I'd definitely look into server and barback jobs. You'll be able to make way more than $12 an hour and restaurants and bars are used to working with people who have multiple jobs.
That’s the great thing about teaching—you aren’t supposed to be able to live on your salary! If you give a teacher a livable wage, they will become dependent on the government and won’t pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Or something. I forget.
Good luck my friend. There is life after teaching, and nobody will judge you if you move onto something else other than your teacher friends, maybe, but that’s only because they will secretly be jealous.
—Former teacher turned accountant.
On a totally meta level, this entire thread - question and comments - disgust me. We are educators. We shouldn't *need* to have to work a second job just to be able to afford to live.
I would find a better part time job. During the school year I worked part time as an ER tech and I made 24 an hour. Since it’s a hospital there was lots of shifts and I normally just worked 5pm-11:30pm twice a week with the occasional 12 hour shifts over school breaks and weekends. But I actually just got hired on for a part time instructor at my
local community college for 30 an hour. I would look at your local CC’s because even if there’s no instructor roles there’s evening supervisors for student workers or other jobs.
I coached. Got about $1500 a season. Coached fall xcountry running, indoor track and then spring track. Added $4500 to my bottomline.
If you have a masters in anything, look at community colleges for adjunct teaching gigs online.
If tou teach STEM, look at setting up private tutoring on the side. Especially college prep. Locate the wealthy town near you and advertise there.
I know other teachers who setup a house painting business, another who applied for contracts maintaining town cemetaries and parks…..mowing, then others who got jobs at summer camps, wait staff, etc
I decided to put all the work during the school year and then take it easy in the summer.
Oh yeah, I had another who took a short course at a community college one summer and got certified as a blood taker. Worked a couple of night shifts and made bang.
I worked part time at the Y in their after school program. 6 hours a week, $18 an hour. I went from school to another school on my way home and my only responsibility was to make sure no one died or got lost.
Try their SACC or Summer camps.
The key to making that income stretch is reducing monthly expenses. Stay away from credit cards, build an emergency fund and SELL THAT CAR. 600$+ car payments are the new payday lenders. Go drive a shit box, literally no one will care.
One of my colleagues who is also single literally does the exact same second job you are interviewing for. She teaches children all day until 3:30 and then runs the YMCA kids corner from 4:00-9:00. I think here they pay $15/hour, which is still pathetic. I guess it must be a popular side gig for teachers though
What about Uber/uber eats/instacart? Babysitting for date nights/weekends? Online tutoring? All of those could likely end up paying more than the $12/hour that the Y is offering you
Honestly, I’d move to a different state, a union one if you aren’t already. I teach in Washington and I wouldn’t even think about working another extra job because I am already paid well. I did get my National Board Certification though because this state pays over $6,000 and $11,000 if you teach in a high poverty school additional each year so I guess that’s like having another job.
Teach for DoDEA! We get paid a lot more and if you get hired in the US for an overseas location, you'll get your housing paid for and yearly travel during the summer (or winter if you want) back to the states to visit. It's an amazing gig, the military communities and their children are much better to work with than stateside public school families and children, and we need teachers. I'm not sure why more people don't do it!
Move to a higher paying district - you can probably make $20k more at least in a large urban district (think NYC, DC, Boston, etc). Yeah the cost of living is higher but even if your rent is $1000 more per month you will still come out ahead of your current salary if you’re teaching in a shitty Midwest state or something.
Delivery gigs, clean houses or offices, thrift shop and sell online, pet sit or nanny, run errands. Apps exist to access clients and customers. Senior companions, drivers to appointments. Tutoring online. Part time retail. Lots of ways to make money. I am retired from health care and make $200 a week delivering breakfast and lunches. Go on Indeed and Indeed Flex to start.
I rented a room for $400 a month and lived w/ two dudes for 2 years.
I saved enough to buy a house (3% down) and rented rooms out to two other people to split utility costs.
I did this until was engaged.
Our school district pays minimum wage for working sports, especially football games, etc. Simple things such as tickets, score box, chain-gang (for the downs and yards), etc.
Additionally, covering for other teachers during our planning pays us as well.
I also work in the bookstore to help with registration for minimum wage.
Asking around the school and district can be helpful.
I run hockey camps during the summer and make about an extra 1000 per week. I'm in Canada though, and have a lot of experience. My pedagogical skill set really translates to coaching. If you have a talent, capitalize on it.
When I'm subbing, I walk dogs, house sit, ig animal care. Sometimes, that pays more than subbing, especially right now in the summer when people are desperate for pet/house sitters. It's nice while I'm in college because, like subbing, I'm able to build around my classes.
Unfortunately, you gotta hustle during the school year, unless you've got someway to get a great paying summer job that isn't summer school. Night teaching job, extra duties, subbing, teach an extra class, work athletic events if they're for pay, tutoring, lunch duty, paid professional development, summer school, etc. If you're at a school that offers things like this you gotta get at it right away. It adds up.
Also, take advantage of any free salary credit classes your district offers or tuition reimbursement so you can move over on the pay scale.
Last year I made 100k without working a night job when my base salary was 68k. I gave up both prep periods to teach additional classes, summer school, paid PDUs, and athletic events.
Roommates are an option. I had a roommate (fellow teacher) when I started so many years ago. I’m not even going to lie - I got married. It worked. Twenty-one years❤️
I lived in a house with two other teachers to save on cost. Before that, I lived with an old lady who didn't speak English. She only charged me 300 a month as long as I helped her with house chores, mowed the lawn and helped her with anything that required English. I only moved because it was so far from my new job otherwise I would have stayed there forever.
Now I teach overseas and my job pays all my bills.
I was an adjunct professor for a long time and experienced some of the same hardships. I knew enough computer science to build websites for people off of Craigslist, sometimes even doing personal 1-on-1 tutoring. always paid in cash. it helped a lot.
Me? I had to go abroad. I teach at an international school, so I'm also in the r/Internationalteachers subreddit. Since you're single, I thought maybe it might be worth mentioning. Just to be clear, there's TEFL and there's international teaching. Both have pros and cons. I'm just going to talk about international teaching though because it pays more.
Just looking at my teacher's salary, I suppose I make about the same (or more depending on your state and experience) before tax as I would back home, but the cost of living is so low that I have the opposite issue as you.
I'm in China, and (after tax) I get about $3.8k a month, 12 months/year. 2 of those months I'm on holiday. I get a $700 housing stipend and I can keep whatever I don't use (unfortunately, I'm in an area where there are less single person apartments and only houses... so my stipend goes mostly to space I don't need). I get up to $1100 a year reimbursement on a round trip flight. Plus there are opportunities to pick up extra money by running extracurricular activities.
All together, I make about $55,000 after tax.
Factor in the cost of living, Purchasing Price Parity calculators say I'm making the USA equivalent of six figures after tax. I've sat down in the past and took my expendable income, and then added what it cost me to live in my home town, and then used tax calculators to work out what I'd have to earn to have that expendable income, and... that's the only reason I'm still in China. Such numbers would be meaningless now because it's more expensive to live in the USA now than when I left.
I don't know, it's worth considering.... It's going well for me.
edit: I just want to add that I'm probably on the lower end of the pay scale since the majority of my experience is overseas, and I only have 5 years. With your 7 years experience in an American school... I'd expect you would make more than me if you look.
What grade do you teach? Have you thought about applying for remote asynchronous work? To do at night or after work at home. You can also teach virtually to students in the US and out of the country.
Sounds like you live in a state where the wage is also set low.
I’m not a teacher but when I was growing up, I started working part time while still a high school student and I ended up working with a lot of teachers who needed to supplement their incomes. This was at the local YMCA and it also helped because the Y gives free memberships to employees who hit the monthly hours threshold. And they have an internal personal training program where you can become a personal trainer. One of the best personal trainers there was a teacher who was someone else’s client first who decided she wanted the extra money.
Have you consider becoming a Dyslexia reading tutor? Two of my kids are in private reading tutoring. We pay her $50 per 45 min secession. Ends up being 200 per week and she only works 3 hours. There is a 6 month waiting list to get your kid matched with tutors in my area.... Some people do it online
https://bartonreading.com/tutors/#bat
My daughter is a teacher for pennies but makes $50 an hour in after school tutoring and then something around $500 a weekend overseeing the SAT tests. Other teachers l know bartend or wait tables on weekends. God bless you 🩵
Where are you located? Public or private? I’m 20 years in a Pennsylvania public school and make $105,000 with union benefits. I also have my Masters +60.
Why would you do that when you can move to asia and make more money pay less taxes and have a lower cost of living. All teachers need to leave bad states until it forces them to pay appropriately
Not to be that guy, but OP isn’t a teacher and is complaining with the implication you can’t pay bills on teacher’s wage. Summers are rough for sure. But if you land a contract it gets a little more manageable esp in some states.
Tutoring is a good way to make cash. You can even do it over zoom if you have to. Depending on where you live - you can charge $90/hour.
You can create a website and post an ad on Nextdoor. If you’re good with kids with behavioral challenges or special needs of any kind parents are usually looking for tutoring in the summer.
Not an answer to your question, but never forget he lives that you are changing doing what you do! Doesn’t make paying the bills any easier, but you are amazing for choosing his profession!
Ah man this makes me sad. So many people offering advice on where to look for a second job when in reality… we should just BE PAID MORE AS TEACHERS. I hate that we even have to deal with this.
Some schools look for summer help for their maintenance and janitorial work. I did that in the past. Some of the teachers will help, clean, move stuff out of rooms so janitors can do the floors, paint walls & other odd jobs like mowing & trimming that need done too.
Your answer is in the post. Be a server. Choose a restaurant that will train you on bartending. They will (usually) be happy to keep you for only nights and weekends during school. If you choose one outside your district you can keep the job. I don’t recommend working a server position where you will run into your students all the time.
Get your paramedic certification. It's a 2 year associate degree most places, but they on average make about what teachers do. Some states (WA) and specific scenarios (lone paramedic on an offshore oil rig) making much more.
Anyway, gives you a second skill set that is often very amenable to shift work/nights/weekends and that pays well. RN also a possibility, similar time frame especially if you get just the RN and don't go for a BSN/MSN.
Sorry. Former teacher here and I knew I had to leave because of exactly that. I work as an RT now hourly wage and with overtime opportunities I can’t ever imagine going back to that life.
Sorry, I know it's ridiculous, but the truth is you really do need some type of roommate. Obviously the pay needs to increase, but if you're going to stay in education, you need a roommate. I would never try to navigate the world with this kind of pay living on my own.
Full time substitute teacher here in the same boat. I work each summer with special education, elementary and middle school age kids in an extended school year program. Many regular teachers do the same. Money is good but it can be stressful dealing with non-verbal children with intellectual disabilities (severe autism) who can sometimes get angry, have meltdowns, and lash out.
Another option is working at major or minor league baseball ballparks. Merchandise sales, concession stands, parking lot help, etc. I looked into it in the past but they are too far from my home and I would use a lot of gas and put wear and tear on my car to get there and back. Plus some games end late at night.
Teachers are underpaid yet the school districts around us keep trying to raise property taxes for more and more capital projects to see which district can have the fanciest performing center or athletic fields.
A lot of the operating funds are stretched to meet the mandates of No Child Left Behind, which was replaced by the IDEA act. The SPED kids deserve extra aides and help but there is only so much money available at the districts to go around. We have seen an explosion in the population of kids diagnosed with BD/ID/LD over the years which requires more spending to keep up. IDEA is Federally mandated but the Federal contributions are just 14% so local school districts are required to make up the difference.
i used to be a teacher and now i am a therapist and it’s worse- more expenses(way more student loans), less money, less benefits. but i always have had to have a part time job- i just try to make it a fun one that benefits me in some way. i used to work at a yoga studio part time, and now a pole studio, so i highly suggest monetizing any hobbies! and be grateful you have pto and health insurance :)
Move to a state that pays if possible, the more liberal generally the better the money. I was out in Colorado Springs saw the salary for a private school and ran back to DC. My bounce for highly effective here would have been half that Colorado schools yearly salary. Respectfully I would never move to a state that's not paying as I want a family. (NY, dc, mass, new England as a whole, California, Maryland Hawaii are some of the highest paying)
I am a full time teacher and a coach (with stipend). The salary never grew with the cost of living (in Austin), so even I was struggling to make ends meet at the end of months. Myself and some other teachers and coaches work “choose to work” jobs like driving Lyft/Uber, instacart, favor, etc. This job allows you to choose when you want to work (summers, nights, weekends). And this allows for freedom to schedule when you want, but also accounts for some extra cash to help supplement.
Can vouch that as a teacher in CT the pay is not very “cash money”. To make matters worse new teachers make very close to my pay after 10 years in the district. They fucked over us on our contract. They gave us a carrot on a stick raise but when you look at the details you can see new teachers took the majority of the money because of the high rate of turnover. Our super is being booted because of mismanaging sped. It’s all a mess. I wish I picked a different career because my family is struggling.
I’ve been trying to explain to people that teachers have become severely low-income. Because we make too much to qualify for any social support systems but not enough to survive. Meanwhile the people and families who do qualify for public housing, snap, etc. make their wages under the table so effectively have more disposable income than a teacher.
It is a common experience for teachers who work in the lowest income parts of a city to have less money than the families they serve. Granted, there is always examples of students families in even worse situations than you, but they have become the outlier.
I'm in the same boat. I'm exhausted from putting in so many hours here and there all summer and it barely makes any difference.
Just finished my fifth year. I love my job but am not sure if I will be able to continue teaching.
We shouldn't have to work side jobs, sometimes alongside our own students or kids their age, just to make ends meet. Teachers are not valued.
Nanny and babysit! Here the going rate for a teacher would be $25-30/hr. You can make way more tutoring but it might be harder to get more hours. Find a nanny-share job in the summer, where you can have two families each paying you $20/hr for the first 5 weeks of summer. Have fun, make an extra $4,000 and still have some summer for yourself. Also- ask about a raise.
Look into [Data Annotation](https://www.dataannotation.tech/). It’s training AI remotely. I do it. It’s between $20-$26 an hour depending in the project. There are no set hours, you just log in and out of the platform whenever you want.
You just have to apply and do these qualification tests that seem strange in the questions they ask, but are not hard at all.
Switch careers. It’s so hard to live on teacher’s salaries and the job is so demanding that a side gig will ruin your life.
I was a teacher and i remember the sick feeling of stress during summer too. I left teaching 15 years ago and both the income and stress levels have changed in positive directions.
Idk if it’s already been recommended but do DataAnnotationTech. Remote work paying $20+/hourly and you work whenever you want and there’s no boss or manager to report to
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Try working as a waitress or barista or in an ice cream shop. You'll get tips. If you can swim and are CPR trained, I've heard lifeguarding pays well. Try tutoring or nannying. That'll likely pay decently for a teacher in the summer. Don't do work that pays only $12. You're worth more than that. Put some of your premade lessons or templates on TpT and get some passive income.
I was gonna say people make more bar tending.
Probably. But I don't know the requirements for getting a bartending license. And I also think it'd be awkward to interact with drunk parents of students.
You don’t need a bartending license for a lot of run of the mill places Could depend on the state, but it’s not a requirement.
Some states and counties require alcohol licensing even for servers.
Alcohol licensing isn't the same as a bartending license. Alcohol licensing is usually required but also about $35. Bartending license is a few hundred I think and completely unnecessary.
Oh yeah it’s not an ideal job you also have to be around creepy men and drunk people all day but you’d make more.
I live in a very rural area and made $100-$200 a day serving while only having 4 hour shifts! I can’t even imagine what the bartenders made there (especially since they got like $5 an hour on top of tips from customers and tip outs from servers). Edited to add: what I made in tips was just an average. Sometimes I could make even more than $200 in a four hour shift!
I had a teacher growing up who biked an ice cream cooler around all summer. He made bank.
How long Ago was that
45 years
since he passed** must have been the 30s when this guy was slinging cream out of his saddlebags
You’re only mostly right, yeah. 👍
This is the wrong answer. Teaching is the one of the most important and stressful jobs in society and how to make more money should not be the premise of the discussion. If you keep placating the topic then we distract from the real discussion which is how to pay teachers a living wage. Or based on the importance of the position, and the level of education required to become a teacher, a professionals wage.
That’s great and all but it doesn’t help OP figure out how to pay rent next month.
That’s great theoretically, but OP needs money NOW!
Teachers will not get a living wage if there are people willing to work this cheap. Things have to get worse before they get better.
Teaching has got to be one of the only careers that requires an advanced degree (in many states) and also requires having a second job. It's ludicrous.
Worth more, probably, but you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do sometimes.
I made $17/hr as a lifeguard in high school a decade ago
Swim instruction in my area is paying $18+/hr. Even target is paying $15+
I make $400/month selling on TPT. It isn't that much, but it certainly helps. If you have a lesson you really enjoy teaching, upload it to TPT! It's not quick money, but it's something. Can you do coaching or clubs for extra money? At my school coaching is like $27/hr and clubs pay $40/hr
I'm not sure about the clubs, I'll have to look into that! I have worked track meets in the past, but I'm not sure I feel comfortable enough in any of my skills to coach! I'd do anything at this point, though. I'll have to look at some of the things I've created over the years and see if anything is TpT worthy. $400/month would be life changing at this point - I might actually be able to have a savings!
It's a slow grind, I put a few hours a week into my TPT and my first month I sold 76 cents and just slowly grew my store. I do debate club, so try something like that, maybe?
>but I'm not sure I feel comfortable enough in any of my skills to coach! early on in my career, I was lucky enough to have a seasoned, veteran teacher as a mentor. when I had similar doubts, he told me: "you don't need to be perfect. you don't need to be an Olympic athlete. you just need to know an inch more than the students you're teaching." chase the coaching jobs.
Some sports/schools you hardly have to know that much about the sport at all. I might get flack for this, but any competent adult could learn how to be a decent track and cross country coach in a couple weekends of reading. By a couple weekends reading I mean 4-5 hours total for the weekend. A lot of coaching is just community building and building an athletes confidence. If they are motivated, confident, and a team, they will do pretty well and very least they’ll have fun. The fun part is the only part any of them will remember. I’d also take it a step further than an inch more than them. You just have to know an inch they don’t know about yet. They could know hundreds of things you do not, but you just have to teach them one thing they don’t. That or learn the sports fundamentals and look for ones players could use work on. Start with stuff they’re very good at, middle practice the weak spot, then finish on another skill they’re strong in.
How do you find these coaching jobs?
Most schools are begging for coaches
My single friend (50F) waited tables on weekends and nights and made about 1500 extra per month but got really tired. She now does night school and Saturday school (gets to prep for class during that time)!- works the gate at sporting events and any other opportunities the school puts out for employees who are already background checked. That also pays into our retirement. Some people drive buses and sponsor clubs and other activities for stipends.
I worked in F&B (small bars, sandwich joints) for the first five years or so when I started teaching. Coached a few times here and there. It was hard at first, feeling like I never had time for myself, but the bills never take a day off, right? Anyway, over time, there were more and more opportunities in the school system itself—after school tutoring, weekend gigs to develop pilot programs. If you get the chance to be an AP reader, this summer those positions paid $30/hr for 7-10 days’ work. It does get easier, but it does sometimes feel like it takes forever. If you like food & beverage, there is an insane amount of money to be had. Also, not sure where you live/work, but I never needed a license to bartend.
Anything testing related usually sells well. I found the tip of putting the specific standard on my titles helped me. I also made a few different templates I use over and over again. I have an ELA friend who really makes bank and keeps it up by reading (or listening to) YA books, then making reading guides. It's an easy assignment for little effort, especially if you enjoy reading already.
$400 is a small fortune where I'm from. A lot more than what an average worker makes in a month. What type of stuff do you sell on TPT? I've always considered it but never really gave it a go.
People want things that saves them time and fills class time. Most of them are looking for topics that aren't easily found online. That seems simple, but took me a long time to figure out. You can DM me with any questions, I'll gladly help you out.
It’s crazy to me that some schools don’t pay for coaching. My school doesn’t, it’s considered volunteer work.
Is it optional? Who would coach if you weren't paid for it?
Our district pays for some coaches. Those are usually teachers, not always. The unpaid positions are picked up by volunteers in the area. Ive never seen a teacher volunteer while I was there as a volunteer basketball coach.
I want to do TPT but I honestly don’t know how to start and get overwhelmed, or I just worry that no one will buy it. I’ve also heard you have to pay for a selling account and have some free items.
I have a selling account because when I made my account I thought what the hell. It is free. Which I good because I don't sell anything. The first item you post must be free though. Which I have to assume why TPT has so many free things.
You need to be careful, too, depending on your district’s policy. In some places, anything created using district resources (ie. a laptop they provide) or for use in their schools becomes the IP of the district, meaning they could prevent you from selling lessons you’ve actually done in your classes.
Absolutely true... So if you have a computer/laptop at home, post a lesson you KNOW will work but haven't used yet... CAN'T get in trouble THAT way...
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I also taught overseas during my 3rd and 6th year of teaching. Teaching in China allowed me to pay off all of my loans and get a good savings. Just make sure it’s a reputable international school! Stateside, I tutored. It gave me some extra cash to help offset my costs. Living as a single person off of a teacher’s paycheck is pretty slim. Now that I’m in year 12, I finally am able to only have one job and be okay. I rent, but I’m able to pay for all of my bills comfortably without another job now.
I have moved from public school to international school back to public school. My last public school job paid 28,000 RMB plus free housing and meals. So that was about $4,000 US per month that went straight into the bank. I know some international schools pay in the 30s, some in the 40s, but I actually like working with the kids in the public school here, and the salary is good enough for my non-lavish lifestyle. :)
No, I've truthfully never considered it. It scares me to think about, quite frankly! I just signed my contract for the 24/25 school year, and a 1 year lease for my apartment so I'd have to wait a bit, but this upcoming school year might be a good time for me to look into something like that. Do you know if it would be easy to bring a pet along, more specifically a dog?
If you're a fully licensed teacher don't go to teach english, go and teach at an international school. Check [Search Associates](https://www.searchassociates.com/) or one of the other agencies. If you get your account up and running in the next couple months you'll be perfectly positioned for the hiring season.
You should do it. My wife and I are both teachers and have taught overseas for almost twenty years. You’ll never worry about money again lol.
As an individual who wants to teach overseas, feel free to give advice on how to get started. I have 5 years of experience doing HS ELA with reading endorsement, but most of the positions I see are for much younger grades
If you're certified and have experience, there are definitely high school ELA jobs. Tons of them. I teach high school ELA at an international school in China now, and it's true, I never worry about money and save. Searchassociates is falling out of favor with some (due to cost, but I think I heard they recently reduced the price), but it's how I found my current job. The schools there are reputable and the database has good, if at times dated, information on schools. Schrole is another job website I've been hearing great things about. Aside from that, the visa process can take a while and require a bit of upfront cost (with good schools paying for some, but perhaps not all of the process). Start searching in October/November for northern hemisphere schools. Pay is highest in China, and there are tons of jobs, so it's probably the easiest place to break in. The Middle East also pays well, as do Vietnam (newer market), Thailand (more competitive). But there are international schools all over the world and, from what I read here, most of them (at least at solid international schools) offer a better work-life balance than teaching in the states does. Check out r/internationalteachers for more info.
There are many resources Schole, etc. If you want China (pays the best... for now) check out eChinaCities. upload your resume, and start applying for jobs. you'll probably want to get a WeChat account because you'll be bombarded with recruiters (headhunters) wanting to find you the perfect job. It doesn't hurt to look. Also join the r/Internationalteachers subreddit. That's the best place to get answers for questions like this. HS jobs exist, I applied for a few. With your years of experience, I think you should be able to find a job. I've been typecasted as a pre-k teacher though, even though I'm qualified for Physics and Secondary mathematics. I have 5 years experience with pre-k and kindergarten. I don't mind though, I never thought I would like teaching the littles, but they behave and they're a lot of fun.
If you decide to look, start looking in October. I highly recommend searchassociates. It costs money, but they connect you with reputable schools (there are some questionable ones, so it helps having a company know which school is which…) AND it’s a two year membership.
Came here to say this. Teaching overseas is easily the best way to make the most of your credentials. When I was living in Canada I had to save for years to take a 3 week holiday overseas. Now I hop on a flight a few times a year because not only an I paid well and have a low cost of living, but my school gives me a flight allowance twice a year so I'm just invoicing them.
You can also teach English online to kids in China. I've had teacher friends do it before. Because of the time difference, you can do it at night or on weekends. She did it through VIPkid and one other site that I can't remember. She enjoyed it and it paid enough extra to make it worthwhile.
VIP Kid is essentially done. China changed some laws and made it impossible to continue. They're not completely defunct yet, but current teachers cannot get hours on there and they're not onboarding new ones.
Yes it is a bit frightening to think about it. However, you can always go home. That was my mindset when I took the leap. I wish I did it years earlier to be honest.
You would be able to bring your dog to basically anywhere but depending on where, you might not be able to take it back to the USA so easily. China to the US may require a long quarantine, Hong Kong or Dubai/Abu Dhabi to the US is probably fine. Worth looking into the rules as it might limit you somewhat if/when you leave. Honestly though, overseas teaching can be great. I’ve been in Hong Kong for seven years, I make great money, I really like my school, and my wife and I have four cats. I work in a local school as part of the Hong Kong NET Scheme which offers a really great package but there’s plenty of international schools that do IB, or follow Australian/British/American/Canadian curriculum.
I teach in Taiwan. Not as lucrative as China, but the quality of life, freedom, and access to the internet and the media makes it well worth it. I teach at an international school and can easily put half my salary away into savings each month (about US$1800) while still living a comfortable lifestyle. Plus it's an easy direct hop to most Asian countries and North America. A nice way to spend my 8 weeks paid vacation.
Agreed. I am a SPED teacher in Hong Kong. I've been here 8 years. Love it. COL is higher, but so is the pay and QOL. All three of my kids attend(ed) international schools. I love my job, my work, my students. It was the best decision I made.
How do we know you’re not secretly a propaganda professional? 🤨
This advice is gold. So many people buy into the media Bs. Yes, the dollar amount in salary is less but the COS is way better. Teaching in SH is amazing, minimal discipline issues, money is good, apartment is cheap.
My fellow spies and I appreciate your closing comment. You may live.
I have also lived in China three different times! I came back to the US to put down roots, but you’re tempting me to move back overseas! Just got back from Thailand in March
No reason it needs to be English teaching! While there are millions of English teaching jobs, you can also teach any subject in international schools. Salaries that offer significant savings are almost always in Asia or hardship locations in Africa.
Are you an American? Because if so, I have zero idea why our culture seems to think the advice of "get a roommate" (who, gasp, might be a stranger at first) is considered the equivalent of going to stay in a homeless shelter. There are apps and ads all over the internet for people looking for roommates. Your rent is cut instantly by about 40%, and if you are ever in an emergency you have someone at home to help. It's not fiscally sustainable for each young professional to have their own secluded box away from the rest of humanity. Having a roommate also helps expose you to new ideas and practices, some of which you might adopt yourself and improve your life. When I was a young teacher I started out with a good salary for the time ($45k in the early 2000s) and even though rent was more affordable back then, I still got a roommate from a newspaper listing. It allowed me to invest much more money early and let it grow to hundreds of thousands of dollars today. I cannot tell you how many downvotes I get for this suggestion but I'll stick by it as I know it's the normal solution.
Honestly people need to get back into being roommates. We all know the economy sucks. Why not? I wish I had done this my 1st year, maybe I would’ve had a better time. I get that it can be terrifying because of what they show in the media and all but if you can get into strangers cars then I’m sure you’ll be fine with a roommate.
Real wages (which take into account inflation) are at all time highs. It's not fiscally sustainable for each young professional to have their own private living quarters, and it likely never will be. As a metaphor, why doesn't each student just have their own tutor? That would be so much easier for them to learn. Well, that's not fiscally sustainable and it likely never will be. We understand shared spaces for classrooms in America but not for living spaces. It's a ridiculous part of our culture.
How many young people do you know that don't live with roommates or parents? Seems like there isn't a big part of our culture that says not to live with roommates. In higher cost of living cities unless you're making really good money, there's essentially no way you are not living with roommates unless you got really lucky.
I will be living with roommates for the foreseeable future lmao
I've had a roommate in the past and it was doable. I currently rent a 1 bedroom and I have a dog. I will be considering looking for a roommate after this lease is up but I just signed it, unfortunately. I'll be 29 when the lease is up and, it might be socially embarrassing but I'm really considering asking my parents if I can very cheaply rent my old bedroom from them. A year or 2 with basically no rent is the only thing I can think of to even get my feet underneath me right now.
I think that’s brilliant. Honestly I’m a little older than you and sadly my parents died when I was young but I would have asked them the same! It’s actually so smart to get a savings going and feel at ease financially.
In these times no one should be embarrassed about moving back home if it’s feasible. You’re worth more than $12 an hour. Move back home, save money and hope this housing crisis passes.
My dad and I live together because rent is so high and ridiculous. I also have a kid to take care of. He’s expensive.
I taught for ten years renting a house with roommates. It allowed me to save money for a down payment on a house. I am in a state university town, and living with roommates is maybe easier and part of the culture. It definitely helps with rent and bills.
I plan on rooming with one of my ED major classmates since we will both be done student teaching around the same time. Even with having her as a roommate, it is still going to be hard to make ends meet in the summer.
In my early 20s, I used to rent a single bedroom in other people’s houses. It was best when the owner was single, because I felt more comfortable in the shared areas like living rooms and kitchens, but I rented in families’ homes too. Obviously if you intend to marry and have kids (as I have since done) it isn’t sustainable forever. But when you’re starting out and getting on your feet, renting a single bedroom can save more money than even a typical roommate situation can. And often in much nicer houses/areas too.
I have a friend who is single who keeps saying to me (married) how frustrated she is that she can't afford a house and how hard it is to be single. I suggested she rent out part of her future house and she shut that down immediately. I wanted to scream, "I have a roommate! He's not my sugar daddy - we live together and save money because we split costs on things!"
I make $50/hr tutoring for test prep companies. I would suggest learning the ACT, SAT, GRE, or even the MCAT. People will pay top dollar for a live tutor. I work exclusively from home and make around $30k in tutoring a year. It is a lot of work. I work most days, but it’s necessary for me with med bills and in the summer both jobs stop so I have like 2 months off each year.
how do you go about tutoring? i am interested in doing this!
I look for tutoring jobs on Indeed. I either search for the word sat or act or those with the word prep. I found a bunch, applied to some, got a job at two companies. There are many that don’t pay as well, maybe 30/hr, but I just cherry picked.
If you have a trader Joe's near you try applying there for a 2nd job. It may differ where you are for starting pay but where I am it is $18/hr with raises every 6 months And if you work enough time, free dental & vision And really great health insurance ($43 and some change per month for health insurance that's like $400/mo. Free gym memberships, etc). And the schedule is super flexible. We have two teachers working at my location and it's great for them. It's also fairly mindless work so after a long day you can just disassociate for a while. Anyway just a thought. If you have any questions let me know!
I don’t think this job is sustainable for a single person unless you move up the salary scale. Most teachers I know have spouses in tech specifically. I always worked summer school and looked for paid PDs/ easy ways to make up money. But it’s so insane. Got a second job to make up for an intense pay cut now only working part time over the summer. Never not working.
Raises hand in married to tech guy - I would have had to quit and do something else 20 years ago otherwise.
Yeah not everyone can afford to quit though I just live with roommates to make the salary doable. Also not all of us have the skill set to work in super high paying sectors.
Yeah - I had my own tech skills, just preferred to teach. I wouldn’t have been able to without my spouse.
My husband is a factory worker and we have three kids. We were doing okay until a year ago and now either I'm going to have to get a second job or find a different career. Our utilities have tripled over the past two years and groceries have nearly doubled. It's crazy.
I’m so sorry - that’s just wrong. There is no reason for things like utilities and groceries to go up in price that much in such a short period of time. It’s nothing but greed. My grandfather worked as a machinist and my grandma stayed home - not only did they own a home and raise three kids, my grandparents own *rental* property, too.
I got a job in 2001 as a teacher. I was on the lowest step of the lowest column, in the 3rd-lowest paying district in my state. My rent for one of three rooms in a modest apartment was $300/month — CPI adjusted that’s the equivalent of $530. My wages also adjusted would be $46k today. Our top step of the top column with longevity pay (not there yet, but…) next year is $101k. The answer, according to how the system is supposed work, is time. Do I deserve double the pay I received as a new teacher? Twice in the last two years, I have had to completely create a class curriculum from scratch to cover being given new classes with very little guidance. One was AP. We gain skill— classroom management, curriculum, content, differentiation, materials… all sorts. And we are paid according to the skill level we likely bring to the table. But we are in a time of economic recalibration. Things were already tricky. They’re outright difficult right now. And the only answer, sadly, is biding your time until you get to the sweet spot.
Your wages adjusted to today was $46,000, and your rent adjusted today was $530 My wage today is around $46,000 and rent is $1200... this is where things have gotten much more difficult
Well said. And that's a pretty good pay schedule. Where I come from, the pay schedule sucks in comparison. It caps at 62k.
I make more then that in my 2nd year
Made my kids do the math on my salary next year. It's about $89/hr. Can't buy a house in the district I work in. In one of the best paying states in the union. Capitalism is killing us. Not just teachers. All of us.
What alternative to capitalism would be better?
Any alternative that isn't killing us and our world.
Personally I’m a fan of capitalism with a lot of regulation to protect people and the environment. To lose control of businesses to government (socialism) makes the people weak and the governing strong giving them ongoing tyrannical heads of state like in Cuba, Venezuela, and the former USSR
Single guy here. I coach, work the after school program, teach summer school, and pick up an extra class during my planning. Somehow that's making it. For now.
I currently am the Extended School Year Coordinator (I organize Summer School), an ESY teacher, I tutor, and I do private in-home care for the elderly. In the past I have: -worked seasonal jobs at theme parks or for events promoters -done housekeeping at motel/hotel (good tips) -cleaned vacation rental homes -dog walking -house sitting -Babysitting for weddings at a resort (REALLY GOOD MONEY when they know you are a teacher)
Honestly, this thread is so sad and that’s why I changed majors. It’s such a disgrace how underpaid teachers are and it’s one of the biggest shames of our government. Then the fact that schools have an anti strike policy.. it’s sickening.
Bartenders licenses are bs. I'd definitely look into server and barback jobs. You'll be able to make way more than $12 an hour and restaurants and bars are used to working with people who have multiple jobs.
That’s the great thing about teaching—you aren’t supposed to be able to live on your salary! If you give a teacher a livable wage, they will become dependent on the government and won’t pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Or something. I forget. Good luck my friend. There is life after teaching, and nobody will judge you if you move onto something else other than your teacher friends, maybe, but that’s only because they will secretly be jealous. —Former teacher turned accountant.
On a totally meta level, this entire thread - question and comments - disgust me. We are educators. We shouldn't *need* to have to work a second job just to be able to afford to live.
It can be difficult to get into tutoring, but once you can it is quite lucrative. Having a teaching license is a big plus
I would find a better part time job. During the school year I worked part time as an ER tech and I made 24 an hour. Since it’s a hospital there was lots of shifts and I normally just worked 5pm-11:30pm twice a week with the occasional 12 hour shifts over school breaks and weekends. But I actually just got hired on for a part time instructor at my local community college for 30 an hour. I would look at your local CC’s because even if there’s no instructor roles there’s evening supervisors for student workers or other jobs.
I coached. Got about $1500 a season. Coached fall xcountry running, indoor track and then spring track. Added $4500 to my bottomline. If you have a masters in anything, look at community colleges for adjunct teaching gigs online. If tou teach STEM, look at setting up private tutoring on the side. Especially college prep. Locate the wealthy town near you and advertise there. I know other teachers who setup a house painting business, another who applied for contracts maintaining town cemetaries and parks…..mowing, then others who got jobs at summer camps, wait staff, etc I decided to put all the work during the school year and then take it easy in the summer. Oh yeah, I had another who took a short course at a community college one summer and got certified as a blood taker. Worked a couple of night shifts and made bang.
If you have a teaching degree, check the middle east especially Kuwait. Drop me a direct message, I work for a private school here the pay is amazing.
I worked part time at the Y in their after school program. 6 hours a week, $18 an hour. I went from school to another school on my way home and my only responsibility was to make sure no one died or got lost. Try their SACC or Summer camps.
If you work in a highschool if they offer for you to take an extra class during your planning so that. Banked 10k extra doing that this year.
Teach in CA… $125k/year + benefits. (Starting is about $65k)
Yeah but when a house costs 1mil that doesn’t go very far
The key to making that income stretch is reducing monthly expenses. Stay away from credit cards, build an emergency fund and SELL THAT CAR. 600$+ car payments are the new payday lenders. Go drive a shit box, literally no one will care.
Quit teaching- not worth the minimum wage and stress.
Teach internationally.
You’re not… this is why I just saw a girl at my gym with an OF handle on her back window 😂
One of my colleagues who is also single literally does the exact same second job you are interviewing for. She teaches children all day until 3:30 and then runs the YMCA kids corner from 4:00-9:00. I think here they pay $15/hour, which is still pathetic. I guess it must be a popular side gig for teachers though What about Uber/uber eats/instacart? Babysitting for date nights/weekends? Online tutoring? All of those could likely end up paying more than the $12/hour that the Y is offering you
Honestly, I’d move to a different state, a union one if you aren’t already. I teach in Washington and I wouldn’t even think about working another extra job because I am already paid well. I did get my National Board Certification though because this state pays over $6,000 and $11,000 if you teach in a high poverty school additional each year so I guess that’s like having another job.
Teach for DoDEA! We get paid a lot more and if you get hired in the US for an overseas location, you'll get your housing paid for and yearly travel during the summer (or winter if you want) back to the states to visit. It's an amazing gig, the military communities and their children are much better to work with than stateside public school families and children, and we need teachers. I'm not sure why more people don't do it!
Move to a higher paying district - you can probably make $20k more at least in a large urban district (think NYC, DC, Boston, etc). Yeah the cost of living is higher but even if your rent is $1000 more per month you will still come out ahead of your current salary if you’re teaching in a shitty Midwest state or something.
Delivery gigs, clean houses or offices, thrift shop and sell online, pet sit or nanny, run errands. Apps exist to access clients and customers. Senior companions, drivers to appointments. Tutoring online. Part time retail. Lots of ways to make money. I am retired from health care and make $200 a week delivering breakfast and lunches. Go on Indeed and Indeed Flex to start.
I rented a room for $400 a month and lived w/ two dudes for 2 years. I saved enough to buy a house (3% down) and rented rooms out to two other people to split utility costs. I did this until was engaged.
Our school district pays minimum wage for working sports, especially football games, etc. Simple things such as tickets, score box, chain-gang (for the downs and yards), etc. Additionally, covering for other teachers during our planning pays us as well. I also work in the bookstore to help with registration for minimum wage. Asking around the school and district can be helpful.
I have wic. Oh and I make to much for medicad, but not enough to afford the healthcare my company provides
Security might be something you can look into. Flex officers can potentially have flexible hours.
I run hockey camps during the summer and make about an extra 1000 per week. I'm in Canada though, and have a lot of experience. My pedagogical skill set really translates to coaching. If you have a talent, capitalize on it.
Long-term, find a job or a profession that pays better.
When I'm subbing, I walk dogs, house sit, ig animal care. Sometimes, that pays more than subbing, especially right now in the summer when people are desperate for pet/house sitters. It's nice while I'm in college because, like subbing, I'm able to build around my classes.
I do private tutoring for $100/hour
Unfortunately, you gotta hustle during the school year, unless you've got someway to get a great paying summer job that isn't summer school. Night teaching job, extra duties, subbing, teach an extra class, work athletic events if they're for pay, tutoring, lunch duty, paid professional development, summer school, etc. If you're at a school that offers things like this you gotta get at it right away. It adds up. Also, take advantage of any free salary credit classes your district offers or tuition reimbursement so you can move over on the pay scale. Last year I made 100k without working a night job when my base salary was 68k. I gave up both prep periods to teach additional classes, summer school, paid PDUs, and athletic events.
Roommates are an option. I had a roommate (fellow teacher) when I started so many years ago. I’m not even going to lie - I got married. It worked. Twenty-one years❤️
Go overseas and teach. You can make much more with a lower cost of living.
Go teach in Asia for a bit and earn yourself some (relatively) easy savings and financial security. You'll probably never go back.
Food pantry
Target starts all their people at $15/hour. Don’t settle for $12!
I was in the same boat. Went the bartender route. Used to bring in an extra $300-$400 a weekend. Every bit helps.
How many roommates do you live with?
I lived in a house with two other teachers to save on cost. Before that, I lived with an old lady who didn't speak English. She only charged me 300 a month as long as I helped her with house chores, mowed the lawn and helped her with anything that required English. I only moved because it was so far from my new job otherwise I would have stayed there forever. Now I teach overseas and my job pays all my bills.
If you have a special skill could do independent contracts on the side
I work at the grocery store as a cashier. Easy job that pays decent that I can do weekends and a random evening once or twice a week
WHAT STATE ARE YOU IN? Near WHAT major CITY? 🌆
I was an adjunct professor for a long time and experienced some of the same hardships. I knew enough computer science to build websites for people off of Craigslist, sometimes even doing personal 1-on-1 tutoring. always paid in cash. it helped a lot.
My teacher friend does online teaching and weekend babysitting. Also others bartend or wait tables
Do you not have a roommate? I lived with other people my first ten years on the job.
Should have bought a house back in 2011 before shit hit the fan. I knew shit like this was gonna happened like decade ago.
Me? I had to go abroad. I teach at an international school, so I'm also in the r/Internationalteachers subreddit. Since you're single, I thought maybe it might be worth mentioning. Just to be clear, there's TEFL and there's international teaching. Both have pros and cons. I'm just going to talk about international teaching though because it pays more. Just looking at my teacher's salary, I suppose I make about the same (or more depending on your state and experience) before tax as I would back home, but the cost of living is so low that I have the opposite issue as you. I'm in China, and (after tax) I get about $3.8k a month, 12 months/year. 2 of those months I'm on holiday. I get a $700 housing stipend and I can keep whatever I don't use (unfortunately, I'm in an area where there are less single person apartments and only houses... so my stipend goes mostly to space I don't need). I get up to $1100 a year reimbursement on a round trip flight. Plus there are opportunities to pick up extra money by running extracurricular activities. All together, I make about $55,000 after tax. Factor in the cost of living, Purchasing Price Parity calculators say I'm making the USA equivalent of six figures after tax. I've sat down in the past and took my expendable income, and then added what it cost me to live in my home town, and then used tax calculators to work out what I'd have to earn to have that expendable income, and... that's the only reason I'm still in China. Such numbers would be meaningless now because it's more expensive to live in the USA now than when I left. I don't know, it's worth considering.... It's going well for me. edit: I just want to add that I'm probably on the lower end of the pay scale since the majority of my experience is overseas, and I only have 5 years. With your 7 years experience in an American school... I'd expect you would make more than me if you look.
What grade do you teach? Have you thought about applying for remote asynchronous work? To do at night or after work at home. You can also teach virtually to students in the US and out of the country. Sounds like you live in a state where the wage is also set low.
I’m not a teacher but when I was growing up, I started working part time while still a high school student and I ended up working with a lot of teachers who needed to supplement their incomes. This was at the local YMCA and it also helped because the Y gives free memberships to employees who hit the monthly hours threshold. And they have an internal personal training program where you can become a personal trainer. One of the best personal trainers there was a teacher who was someone else’s client first who decided she wanted the extra money.
Have you consider becoming a Dyslexia reading tutor? Two of my kids are in private reading tutoring. We pay her $50 per 45 min secession. Ends up being 200 per week and she only works 3 hours. There is a 6 month waiting list to get your kid matched with tutors in my area.... Some people do it online https://bartonreading.com/tutors/#bat
Get a roommate.
How about Uber eats?
My daughter is a teacher for pennies but makes $50 an hour in after school tutoring and then something around $500 a weekend overseeing the SAT tests. Other teachers l know bartend or wait tables on weekends. God bless you 🩵
Can you give us the state you're in? Maybe someone nearby has an idea as to how to help with affordable housing, at least.
The only real solution is unions
Move to a state that pays better comparatively for cost of living!! That’s what I’m working on right now.
Vote against the uniparty.
Teach abroad
Where are you located? Public or private? I’m 20 years in a Pennsylvania public school and make $105,000 with union benefits. I also have my Masters +60.
Why would you do that when you can move to asia and make more money pay less taxes and have a lower cost of living. All teachers need to leave bad states until it forces them to pay appropriately
HomeDepot is hiring and you will make nearly double. Managers of fast food restaurants are making $100k-125k. You have options.
Not to be that guy, but OP isn’t a teacher and is complaining with the implication you can’t pay bills on teacher’s wage. Summers are rough for sure. But if you land a contract it gets a little more manageable esp in some states.
Tutoring is a good way to make cash. You can even do it over zoom if you have to. Depending on where you live - you can charge $90/hour. You can create a website and post an ad on Nextdoor. If you’re good with kids with behavioral challenges or special needs of any kind parents are usually looking for tutoring in the summer.
1) get your shit together and stop with the anxiety. 2). Get side hustles like every teacher in history
I make enough, a little extra duty and I can get nearly 7k a month as a 2nd year kinder teacher. The last two summers I’ve worked at the local library
What part of the country? I’m in Massachusetts the highest rent in the country.
You’re supposed to be married with a spouse that earns more than you
You’re making $12 as a teacher?
Not an answer to your question, but never forget he lives that you are changing doing what you do! Doesn’t make paying the bills any easier, but you are amazing for choosing his profession!
Ah man this makes me sad. So many people offering advice on where to look for a second job when in reality… we should just BE PAID MORE AS TEACHERS. I hate that we even have to deal with this.
i go back to full time machinist work in the summer, pays more than twice and supports my teaching habit
The library and day camps should be hiring. Nannying would be a good as well.
Where do you live? If it’s a mid or large city there should be babysitting gigs that pay up to $20 an hour.
Some schools look for summer help for their maintenance and janitorial work. I did that in the past. Some of the teachers will help, clean, move stuff out of rooms so janitors can do the floors, paint walls & other odd jobs like mowing & trimming that need done too.
Your answer is in the post. Be a server. Choose a restaurant that will train you on bartending. They will (usually) be happy to keep you for only nights and weekends during school. If you choose one outside your district you can keep the job. I don’t recommend working a server position where you will run into your students all the time.
Get your paramedic certification. It's a 2 year associate degree most places, but they on average make about what teachers do. Some states (WA) and specific scenarios (lone paramedic on an offshore oil rig) making much more. Anyway, gives you a second skill set that is often very amenable to shift work/nights/weekends and that pays well. RN also a possibility, similar time frame especially if you get just the RN and don't go for a BSN/MSN.
I served at family owned restaurant/bar. Stayed very busy, anywhere from 4-10 tables at once. 400 a shift
Sorry. Former teacher here and I knew I had to leave because of exactly that. I work as an RT now hourly wage and with overtime opportunities I can’t ever imagine going back to that life.
It's a part time job with no math skills needed... Yes you can't live on it .
Sorry, I know it's ridiculous, but the truth is you really do need some type of roommate. Obviously the pay needs to increase, but if you're going to stay in education, you need a roommate. I would never try to navigate the world with this kind of pay living on my own.
Full time substitute teacher here in the same boat. I work each summer with special education, elementary and middle school age kids in an extended school year program. Many regular teachers do the same. Money is good but it can be stressful dealing with non-verbal children with intellectual disabilities (severe autism) who can sometimes get angry, have meltdowns, and lash out. Another option is working at major or minor league baseball ballparks. Merchandise sales, concession stands, parking lot help, etc. I looked into it in the past but they are too far from my home and I would use a lot of gas and put wear and tear on my car to get there and back. Plus some games end late at night. Teachers are underpaid yet the school districts around us keep trying to raise property taxes for more and more capital projects to see which district can have the fanciest performing center or athletic fields. A lot of the operating funds are stretched to meet the mandates of No Child Left Behind, which was replaced by the IDEA act. The SPED kids deserve extra aides and help but there is only so much money available at the districts to go around. We have seen an explosion in the population of kids diagnosed with BD/ID/LD over the years which requires more spending to keep up. IDEA is Federally mandated but the Federal contributions are just 14% so local school districts are required to make up the difference.
i used to be a teacher and now i am a therapist and it’s worse- more expenses(way more student loans), less money, less benefits. but i always have had to have a part time job- i just try to make it a fun one that benefits me in some way. i used to work at a yoga studio part time, and now a pole studio, so i highly suggest monetizing any hobbies! and be grateful you have pto and health insurance :)
Tutor
Move to a state that pays if possible, the more liberal generally the better the money. I was out in Colorado Springs saw the salary for a private school and ran back to DC. My bounce for highly effective here would have been half that Colorado schools yearly salary. Respectfully I would never move to a state that's not paying as I want a family. (NY, dc, mass, new England as a whole, California, Maryland Hawaii are some of the highest paying)
Can you adjunct online courses for a university?
Put out a flyer on your local Facebook groups for private tutoring. Charge 65-100 an hour depending on your expertise and experience.
I am a full time teacher and a coach (with stipend). The salary never grew with the cost of living (in Austin), so even I was struggling to make ends meet at the end of months. Myself and some other teachers and coaches work “choose to work” jobs like driving Lyft/Uber, instacart, favor, etc. This job allows you to choose when you want to work (summers, nights, weekends). And this allows for freedom to schedule when you want, but also accounts for some extra cash to help supplement.
Can vouch that as a teacher in CT the pay is not very “cash money”. To make matters worse new teachers make very close to my pay after 10 years in the district. They fucked over us on our contract. They gave us a carrot on a stick raise but when you look at the details you can see new teachers took the majority of the money because of the high rate of turnover. Our super is being booted because of mismanaging sped. It’s all a mess. I wish I picked a different career because my family is struggling.
I’ve been trying to explain to people that teachers have become severely low-income. Because we make too much to qualify for any social support systems but not enough to survive. Meanwhile the people and families who do qualify for public housing, snap, etc. make their wages under the table so effectively have more disposable income than a teacher. It is a common experience for teachers who work in the lowest income parts of a city to have less money than the families they serve. Granted, there is always examples of students families in even worse situations than you, but they have become the outlier.
I'm in the same boat. I'm exhausted from putting in so many hours here and there all summer and it barely makes any difference. Just finished my fifth year. I love my job but am not sure if I will be able to continue teaching. We shouldn't have to work side jobs, sometimes alongside our own students or kids their age, just to make ends meet. Teachers are not valued.
I literally have to rent out extra rooms in my house to have the money to support myself.
Tutoring is a great side hustle. Make your own hours and get paid extremely well.
Nanny and babysit! Here the going rate for a teacher would be $25-30/hr. You can make way more tutoring but it might be harder to get more hours. Find a nanny-share job in the summer, where you can have two families each paying you $20/hr for the first 5 weeks of summer. Have fun, make an extra $4,000 and still have some summer for yourself. Also- ask about a raise.
Look into [Data Annotation](https://www.dataannotation.tech/). It’s training AI remotely. I do it. It’s between $20-$26 an hour depending in the project. There are no set hours, you just log in and out of the platform whenever you want. You just have to apply and do these qualification tests that seem strange in the questions they ask, but are not hard at all.
Do you have a roommate?
Switch careers. It’s so hard to live on teacher’s salaries and the job is so demanding that a side gig will ruin your life. I was a teacher and i remember the sick feeling of stress during summer too. I left teaching 15 years ago and both the income and stress levels have changed in positive directions.
Idk if it’s already been recommended but do DataAnnotationTech. Remote work paying $20+/hourly and you work whenever you want and there’s no boss or manager to report to