10 High-Paying Side Hustles for Teachers (2026)
If high paying side hustles is on your radar, this short guide cuts through the noise. Here is what is worth knowing, and how to put it to work today.
Key Takeaways
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- Teacher salaries have been on the decline since 2010, so it’s no surprise that 17% of educators work a second job. Whether you’re a te...
Teacher salaries have been on the decline since 2010, so it’s no surprise that 17% of educators work a second job.
Whether you’re a teacher looking for something to supplement your income all year long or a short-term opportunity to bring in extra cash during the summer months, side hustles are a excellent option.
This article focuses specifically on opportunities for trained educators who are looking to make extra money using their skills and experience. If you’re interested in non-education-based options, check out our article on side hustles for beginners.
Table of Contents
Toggle#1. Sell Lesson Plans
Teachers Pay Teachers is the world’s largest catalog of educator-created content, with more than 7 million resources available on the platform. Users are able to search by keyword, grade, subject, format, cost and more. This site was started by educators for peers to be able to share and benefit from their hard work creating classroom resources.
To get started selling on the site, you need to sign up for a free account and complete a basic profile. From there, you can begin uploading resources to your store. TPT hosts free and paid resources. As a new seller, your first product listing must be a free product. After you upload your first free product listing, you can add unlimited paid products.
The Basic Seller account is free and TPT takes 45% of the sales plus 30 cents per transaction. The Premium Seller account costs $59.95 per year and allows you to keep 80% of the sale with 15-cent transaction fees (orders of $3 are more have no transaction fee).
Basic vs. Premium accounts on Teachers Pay Teachers.This side gig could provide passive income thanks to the ability to upload unlimited product listings and its millions of users. Selling lesson plans does require work upfront, but then you’re able to sell the product over and over for years to come.
Another option for teachers who like creating printables is to skip selling them altogether and publish them for free on a Facebook Page instead. This approach requires a different mindset, focusing more on consistent posting and volume rather than individual product sales, but eligible Pages can earn directly through Facebook’s Content Monetization program.
#2. Sell Printables
Educational printables are digital-only products that users purchase then download and print to help supplement their lesson plans (meaning that no physical products are created or shipped). These products are quick and don’t require additional preparation for the teacher.
Teachers can take games, worksheets and posters they have made for their own classrooms and turn them into extra money by selling them to other educators.
Here are just some of the printables that are sold by teachers:
- Bookmarks.
- Bulletin board decorations.
- Classroom awards.
- Classroom posters.
- Coloring sheets.
- Games and puzzles.
- Holiday activities.
- Rainy day activity sheets.
- Worksheets.
There are multiple platforms to sell printables, with Teachers Pay Teachers and Etsy being the most popular options. Etsy charges a 20-cent listing fee plus a 6.5% transaction fee on all sales. (See the previous section for Teachers Pay Teachers’ fees.)
Printables range in cost, but the average sells for $2 to $5. While this side gig may not produce thousands of dollars per month, shops with steady sales can bring in $10 to $100 per week.
This side gig is similar to selling lesson plans, where you create the product upfront, then are able to sell it over and over. If you have already created items like these for your classroom, then you’re already part of the way there. Just create your account on a selling platform and upload your products.
Learn more in our guide to selling digital downloads on Etsy.
#3. Tutoring
If you’re a tutor who specializes in high-demand subjects like math and science, you can expect higher rates than for more general subjects. The same is true when it comes to credentials: if you have a master’s degree or topic area certification, you can command an especially high rate.
That said, rates for tutoring services vary widely, averaging $25 to $80 per hour when teaching students privately. Tutors may find a more steady flow of clients when working with a tutoring center like Mathnasium or Kumon. However, these establishments generally require an hourly commitment and thus offer less flexibility than building your own client base.
Online tutors can anticipate $25 to $50 per hour. Using sites like Tutor.com, educators can host a profile and set their own rates. Clients can also leave ratings and reviews, to help you establish your reputation as a tutor.
If online tutoring is something you’re interested in, check out our post on the best online tutoring jobs and platforms.
#4. Test Prep
Summer is a excellent time for high schoolers to be preparing to take the ACT and SAT tests. One-on-one instruction (or even small group classes) is something a lot of parents are willing to pay top dollar for. The average SAT tutor rates are between $45-$100 per hour.
Test
Final Thoughts
Before you check out, double-check high paying side hustles against current offers and any coupons you can stack. Small habits like this add up to real savings over a year.
Originally published at thewaystowealth.com.
Holly Humbert
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