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Teaching is a labor of love and tremendous sacrifice. Writing lesson plans, managing classroom behavior, creating assessments, grading work…it can become increasingly overwhelming. Teachers often lament about the poor correlation between the amount of work they do and the compensation they receive.
Is this your cry? You aren’t alone. An article published on Timeinc.net indicates that “the average salary for teachers in the United States has fallen in recent years as the cost of living expenses continue to rise and pensions, health care premiums and other expenses drive deeper into a teacher’s budget.”
Earning money from a side hustle is almost mandatory for your survival. There are some online jobs for teachers that won’t exert undue pressure on your time and well-being. We’ve listed the top 6 here as a guide.
Teach English Online
ESL teachers are in high demand globally. Some online companies have tapped into this market by offering online ESL tutoring. Students love the convenience of online education and, therefore, tend to flock these sites regularly.
Some of the best online ESL learning sites to get an online teaching job include:
- VIPKid
This website is specifically tailored to Chinese students. You can earn between $14 and $22 per hour. Higher rates are given to teachers with exceptional application videos and high positive outcomes.
The beauty of VIPKids is that lesson plans are already prepared for you. All you need to do is review the plan beforehand and prepare the required material.
However, there’s a catch. You must commit to a 6-month contract. Backing out isn’t an option. Additionally, you must have a University degree and must deal with time difference issues. You will also have to pay a fee if your internet connection drops for more than 3 minutes.
- Cambly
Students on this site already have some English mastery. They primarily want to focus on developing their conversational skills. Most of the students come from Saudi Arabia although the platform is open to people from all over the world.
One of the drawbacks of this platform is that you won’t earn more than $10.20 per hour. Also, the foundation of the platform is based on people developing their conversational skills. Therefore, you won’t be having structured classes but will be doing more chit-chatting.
- Italki
Italki gives you greater control over the tutoring experience. You aren’t limited to teaching English; you can teach any language in which you’re fluent. Additionally, you set your own rates based on your experience and credentials. Most professional teachers charge $25 per hour.
I use Italki to learn Spanish and there are many teachers who work 10 hours a week and some work full-time hours.
You also determine the platform you’ll use to teach the lessons. This allows you to choose the platform with which you’re most comfortable. From Skype to FaceTime, it’s great not being restricted to a website’s video conferencing tool.
However, there are 2 drawbacks with using Italki. Firstly, the company ages a 15% commission. Secondly, you must create and execute your own lesson plans. It’s up to you to decide if the benefit of greater autonomy makes these pitfalls worthwhile.
Become an Online Tutor
Online tutoring isn’t limited to teaching English. Teachers are skilled in various disciplines. You can use your skill to your advantage by becoming an online tutor. Tutor.com is a great place to start.
Students who subscribe to Tutor.com range from children to adults. Therefore, you have a wide audience to choose from.
Pay on Tutor.com ranges from $11 to $12 per hour. More difficult subjects attract higher rates. Online tutoring is a good way to build side hustle using your teaching skills.
Become an Online Course Creator
You can even take things a step further by either creating your own online course or creating an online course for someone else. In fact, IMod Education predicts that at least 50% of classes will be available online by 2019.
Some of the top online learning platforms that you can use to create your own online courses include:
The strongest advantage you have as an educator is that you know how to create engaging lessons. You also know how to create the support material to enhance the learning experience. Experience such as this will help you develop a course that people will want to continuously engage with.
Success as an online course creator, however, goes beyond creating the course. The created course is pointless if there’s no audience for it. Here’re some tips that you can use to succeed as an independent course creator:
- Be very specific about your topic. The topic should speak directly to the needs of your target audience. For instance, a course on Teaching Mathematics is broad. You can be more specific by calling the course “How to Teach Mathematics to High Achievers in Elementary School”.
- Ensure that there’s demand for your topic. You can do this by searching for competitors who produce similar courses or people who publish books about the topic on Amazon.
- Strategically position your brand using social media and blogging. Always bear in mind that your brand should appeal to your specific target audience…don’t try to appeal to the masses.
- Develop a Unique Selling Position and sell it! Think carefully about what makes your brand unique…that’s what forms your USP.
Create Education Resources that Other Teachers Can Use
One of the most beautiful things about the teaching profession is that most teachers like to support other teachers. One of the areas where teachers often need help is with finding worksheets and lesson ideas.
Several websites provide teachers with these resources. Their secret is paying other teachers to develop the material and then reselling it to other teachers at a reasonable price. The creator of the material has the potential to earn more money based on quantity; the more people buy is the more the person earns.
Some popular websites that pay teachers for the material they create include:
- Teachers pay Teachers
- Mathematicsworksheets.com
- TeacherFileBox
- InstructorWeb
Build a YouTube Channel
YouTube is a popular topic when discussing how to earn money online. According to Omnicore, YouTube has more than 30 million active daily users. People want to see videos related to the topics they care about.
This is where you come in. You can create high-quality videos that explain common areas in your subject that students tend to struggle with. These videos can then be compiled based on themes to create a YouTube channel to which people subscribe. Khan Academy is a classic example of one such channel.
Here’s how you make money with your YouTube channel.
- Subscribe to the Youtube Partner program. This program allows channels with enough viewers to monetize their content by displaying ads created by other YouTube users. Your channel must have 4,000 hours of watched video and 1,000 channel subscribers in order to qualify.
- Include affiliate links in your video description. Some of the best education affiliate programs include: edu, money, Parent Resource Center, and By Offers. The more people who click on the affiliate links and make purchases, the more money you’ll earn.
- Include links to your website. You can sell products and services on your website and directing people there increases your customer base.
Learn more: How to make money from YouTube: This will give you insight with tips and strategies on how to create a successful YouTube channel.
Create a Blog in Your Niche
Blogging is another side hustle that can help you earn extra income. There are types of education blogs that you could create:
- A blog that provides teachers with creative strategies for teaching difficult concepts in your niche
- A blog that helps students understand difficult concepts in your niche
The audience you choose determines the type of content you create. Some tips that’ll help you create a successful education blog include:
- Use keywords and keyword phrases related to the topic throughout the article. This makes it more likely for the article to be found in searches. However, there’s a fine line between using the right amount or too many keywords. Using keywords and keyword phrases too often throughout the piece will cause search engines to mark it as spam. Therefore, you must strategically use the keywords so that they naturally flow throughout the piece.
- Create downloadable support content. Readers will feel that they’re getting more value if you do this.
- Make your explanations as clear and engaging as possible. Readers don’t want to feel like they’re reading through a muddled mess.
- Include videos to further enhance the explanation. People are more likely to watch videos than they are to read text. However, having the text to support the video helps reinforce what’s being presented.
When your blog starts getting multiple views (over 1,000 constant views and clicks on articles), you can start monetizing it. There are 2 ways to monetize a blog:
- Include affiliate links.
- Link the blog to your Google Adwords account so that you can earn money from ads.
Putting It All Together
Depending on your woefully inadequate teacher salary will lead to frustration. Online jobs for teachers are a great way to earn additional income without exposing yourself to undue stress. The online jobs that allow you to use your skills as an educator include: teaching English online, becoming an online tutor, becoming an online course creator, creating and selling education resources, building a YouTube channel, and creating a blog in your niche.
Succeeding in any of these side hustles requires commitment and consistency. Most will require a great amount of time and effort initially, but the rewards are worth the effort. It’s time to make an online job work for you.