Making Extra Money for Teachers

My wife and I are both teachers - and teachers, especially in the state of Florida, do not make much. I enjoy my job, and I like to think that I am good at it, but sometimes I wonder if I had realized how poorly teaching pays, would I still have done it? I am sure many teachers feel this way - and I am not sure how our government can expect a quality education system while underpaying teachers. This, however, is not the point. There are some things you can't control, so instead, we have been looking for ways to bring some extra income into our house.

This may not be earth-shattering information, but here are some ways to make some extra money that we have considered:

Tutoring - this is the first obvious idea for teachers. Why not make money doing what you are trained to do? I really can't justify taking time away from my kids to work for minimum wage at the local grocery store - but tutoring often pays a decent rate ($20 or $25 per hour in my area). I am a music teacher, so I am looking into teaching music lessons, which pay pretty well. It takes some time to get clients, but I am starting to look. I used to tutor more often, but had to start from scratch when I moved.

Writing - Most teachers develop plenty of their own materials for their classes - worksheets, tests, presentations, lesson plans, etc... Why not try and make a little money of the work you have already done? It is a little harder to make real money this way - but if no extra work is required, then why not? I have sent some of the things I have written to publishers, and one of them is actually being published! You never know unless you ask. Not sure where to look or who to ask? Try googling for companies that publish educational materials in your subject area.

I have plenty of stuff that has been turned down - that's okay. I am going to set up a website where teachers can have my stuff for free - I am then going to place some google Adsense ads on the site, and will hopefully make a few bucks that way. If you don't know what adsense is, or how it works - google it - their are plenty of blogs explaining how it works.

My wife got a job writing for a curriculum company - she saw an ad online for a company looking for teaching to write for them, gave them a call and they hired her. Her income is based on royalties from the sales of her work. She works on it for a few months, and will collect money for years. Not a bad deal.

Extra Work at School - Sponsor a club, teach after school, take on extra responsibilities... There are so many things for teachers to do at school besides teaching extra classes. I have taken on extra supervision responsibilities after school, sponsored clubs, taught an extra class, anything I can find. It all adds up - the only way to find out is to ask someone, I ask my principal. I even volunteer to work for events for outside organizations who rent my school after hours. They have to have a school employee there, so why not me? It pays time and a half!

These are not the only ideas, this is just what we have thought about. There are plenty of other things, too. If you have any ideas, please share in the comments!

Comments

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[saladdin]

I am tired of hearing how teachers are so underpaid. I say you're overpaid. Need proof? Why does the US always rank nelow most countries in test scores?

saladdin

[Mike]

Thanks for your opinion, and for your opinion on how much I should be making.

The U.S. would do much better if teachers were paid more here. Higher pay attracts more people to the field. In many states, systems are trying to find ways to find ways to get more teachers. Through alternative certification, almost anyone can become a teacher. For many school systems it has become more about putting warm bodies in classrooms then fidning highly qualified teachers.

Could you imagine if the starting salary for a doctor was $27,000 per year, and the average salary for an experienced doctor was $40,000 per year? Not many people would go into medicine anymore, and it would be hard to find good doctors.

Your comment sounded more like an insult, which is unfortunate because I wrote to offer ideas for people to earn extra income, not to solicit comments about what my work and time is worth.