7 Ideal Summer Job Options for Teachers
Summer is just around the corner, which means kids are thrilled to be done with school but many of their teachers are wondering what to do.
Some may focus on rebooting from the school year and indulging in some travel. Others are frantically looking for ways to supplement their teacher salaries to keep that savings account well-funded. Here are seven ways teachers can make some extra money during the summer.
[See: How to Live on $13,000 a Year.]
1. Summer School (the Cliché, but Practical Option)
The last thing some teachers want to do is stay tethered to a classroom during the summer -- but it just might make the most sense.
"I became even more grateful for the opportunity to teach in the summers early in my career," says Jessica Bufkin, a Dallas-based editor for the personal finance site PTMoney.com, who taught English to junior high students for 13 years. "It helped refine my classroom-management skills more quickly, as well as deepened my ease with my subject matter."
Bufkin would pick up at least one semester of summer school each season, for a common reason.
"My primary motivation was financial. I needed that extra boost each summer for things like travel, car repairs or simply building up my savings account."
[See: Your Month-to-Month Guide to Savings.]
2. Local Clubs and Organizations
Teachers are highly qualified to transition from classroom leaders to counselors or educators for local clubs and organizations in their communities.
Athena Lent, a middle school teacher in Phoenix, Arizona, used to spend her summers working with the Boys & Girls Club.
"Boys & Girls Clubs and other youth development [organizations] are counting on an influx of children during the summer, since schools are closed and parents still have to work," Lent explains. "They hire accordingly ... and it's the same hours as teaching, which is a nice perk."
Lent learned about the job through word of mouth and recommends that teachers speak with co-workers for inspiration about where to find summer gigs. She remains involved with the Boys & Girls Club, but has transitioned to a job in which she helps facilitate trainings for other teachers during the summer months.
3. Scientific Research
Rachelle Ruffner works as a full-time substitute teacher in Fairbanks, Alaska, during the school year -- but in the summer, she's a biological field research technician.
"Working as a biological field research technician during the summers provides me with the hands-on experiences no books could ever provide," says Ruffner, who received her undergraduate degree in wildlife biology and conservation. "I may be out there collecting bear hair but I work with people from all different backgrounds so I come out learning about various plants and animal species, some random fun facts and I become a part of real-life problems needing real-life problem-solving skills."
This highly unique job allows Ruffner to be a resource for her students who are interested in becoming scientists.
"When I was a student I never got to meet anyone that actually worked in the scientific research field so I enjoy being able to offer myself as a resource if a student is interested," explains Ruffner, who is now pursuing a master's degree in education to teach high school biology.
4. Day and Sleep-Away Camp
Camp counselor and director positions are coveted by both teachers and non-teachers alike.
Michelle Argento, a former elementary and high school music teacher, spent her summers working as a camp counselor and program director.
"Many college musicians and music teachers are recruited based on their talents and backgrounds to work at the ... higher-end or top-talent, audition-based summer camps," Argento says. "The pay is incredible and room and board is included."
But it isn't just the ability to fund her savings account during the summer that kept Argento coming back to camp.
"My primary motivation was mainly money, but summer camp counseling in the music world is also all about networking too," Argento explains. "You meet a ton of artists in your industry that work in big-name orchestras or theaters."
Working the sleep-away camps does require teachers to give up a majority of their summers and prep work starts as early as December. Day camps provide the opportunity to stay at home and work on a more typical teacher schedule.
5. Seasonal Tourist Attractions
Summer is prime time for family vacations, which of course means an uptick of tourists into major cities -- and even smaller ones. Teachers can capitalize on this by looking for seasonal work at amusement parks and sports venues, or as tour guides.
Bufkin knows fellow teachers who work part time at Six Flags and the Globe Life Park, where the Texas Rangers play, during the summer months.
6. Food Trucks
Two solid months off provides teachers with a unique opportunity to pursue their hobbies full time.
"I had a friend who owned her own hot dog stand," Argento says. "She would travel around the country in the van to different state fairs. She did it mainly to travel, but she made a good wage from it too."
[See: A Guide to Launching Your Side Business.]
7. Tutor (Via Skype or In Person)
Sarah Li Cain works as a second grade teacher at Shenzhen American International School in Shenzhen, China, and runs the site High Fiving Dollars -- but she spends her summers visiting friends and family in the U.S. and Canada. Still wanting to earn extra income during her downtime, Cain leverages technology to tutor students in China while she travels North America. It didn't take much for her online tutoring job to take off.
"During the summer, parents in China talk to each other a lot and many of them want to work with an experienced educator/tutor at the beginning of the school year, so it can get really busy for me," Cain says.
Bobby Hoyt, a former band teacher in Houston, Texas, spent his summers teaching private lessons as well as group music clinics.
"For music teachers, private lessons are easy to get started with," Hoyt says. "Most educators with a music degree were trained privately in college, so there is familiarity with how lessons should be formatted to help kids be successful."
Hoyt also liked his ability to get back to the basics while working one-on-one with a student to develop his or her fundamentals with the instrument.
Eventually, Hoyt moved away from teaching summer lessons because he coveted his time off from the school year to recharge and spend time with his wife. He left his band director position to run MillennialMoneyMan.com and Stellaris Marketing.
Warning: Take Some Time for Yourself
While teachers work a variety of jobs in the summer months, quite a few do share a common piece of advice: Take some time for yourself.
"If choosing summer school, I would advise anyone to not underestimate your need for rest in the summer," Bufkin cautions. "The last thing you want is to burn out. We don't need to lose more good teachers."
Erin Lowry writes about personal finance and serves as the content director for MagnifyMoney.com, a site dedicated to helping consumers save money by finding simple and transparent financial products. She is also the founder of the personal finance blog Broke Millennial.
