9 Summer Jobs for Teachers of All Personalities

For those of you who are teachers, this is a loaded question. You might take offense to the implication that you are worry-free for two to three months, getting paid to relax from the moment you leave the building on the last day of school until you step foot inside again for the first day back.

If you need a break from young people but want to stay within the realm of curriculum development, Teachers Pay Teachers is calling you. As a member of this online marketplace, you can buy from, sell to, or share for free with other teachers. The products include course materials, lesson plans, classroom decorations — pretty much anything you can think of related to teaching. Once you join the network, you can begin to build your shop and cultivate the reputation of a recognized seller with trusted content. You likely already have created countless resources for your own use, so why not make some money for all the time and originality you invested and equip fellow educators with reliable, effective tools? With a well-established identity, you can sell new products throughout the year as you make them and continue to earn without much effort. As an added bonus, the website serves as a bountiful bank when you’re the one in search of a specific item.

Some of you may have your own business or take part in a side hustle during the school year and cherish the summer weeks when you can quit your day job for a while. Use this precious time to devote yourself to that endeavor — for enjoyment, income, or both. Whether you run a company that started as a hobby or passion, consult for a direct sales enterprise, or exercise your entrepreneurial spirit in another fashion, really lean in and make the most of your time spent outside the classroom.

Leverage your experience with kids to land you less academic, more fun-oriented jobs to liven up the summer days and make a little extra cash. If you have fond memories from your own childhood of bunk bed sleeping, mess hall eating, and campfire singing, look into positions at camps in your area. Think about incorporating a proficiency or favorite pastime into your knack for teaching and give lessons or lead workshops for children or adults in that field--sports, music, art, etc. Your school or district might even hire teachers as guides for programs that provide kids with unique project or field trip-based learning experiences that could be more entertainment than work for you. 

If you’d like to step back from the teaching scene altogether, consider a job on the opposite end of the spectrum that utilizes a different knowledge base.

Do you have a relative who has his or her own business? Maybe your spouse does photography, your sibling is a real estate agent, or your parent runs a company. Ask whether you might be able to support them in a specific task for their business or as an all-around assistant. They might jump at the chance to have an extra pair of hands or a different perspective. It could already be in their budget to hire you for the summer, or perhaps the help you provide brings in more revenue that can go, at least in part, to you as commission.

Several possible arrangements exist within the scope of childcare, too. You probably have friends or siblings who work during the summer and would love to drop their kids off with you, as an alternative to a larger daycare facility. Given a mutually agreed upon set-up and payment plan, it could be a win-win for all parties involved. If you’re ambitious enough and aren’t tired of taking care of kids who aren’t related to you, opening your own care business and marketing to families in your community is another potentially lucrative option.  If nothing else (and though it won’t contribute to your finances), you can always stay home with just your own children to save on outside care costs.