We have finally made it to the summer. Frigid breezes and down coats are a thing of the past. From here on out it is heat, barbecuing and the sweet scent of freshly-cut grass. While the full-on summer vacation of school days may be gone for most, teachers still get to enjoy a plethora of days away from work. Unfortunately, this may not work for every school employee. In fact, according to a 2016 study by the National Center for Education Statistics, one-third (32%) of teachers with one year or less of teaching experience had jobs over that summer. Teacher summer jobs are more common than you’d imagine.
Furthermore, the aforementioned statistic was studied years before the pandemic (thou we shall not name). With the ever-increasing price of living, and the ever-static teacher salary, the need for teacher summer jobs is higher than ever before.
Ultimately, we aren’t here to discuss the economic and social implications of educators needing to stretch a salary across three months but here to give guidance on gigs available during the summer.
Here are our top 10 teacher summer jobs.
- What Makes a Teacher Summer Job?
- 10. Continue Teaching – Online Tutoring
- 9. Start Writing – Freelance and Content Creation
- 8. Search Around and Bid – Sell Items on Auction Sites
- 7. Help Others Work – Become a Resume Writer
- 6. Become a Delivery or Personal Driver – Uber, Postmates, etc.
- 5. Work in Summer Activities – Tour Guide, Destination Work, or Lifeguard
- 4. Help Others Daily – Dog Walking, Babysitting and Home Care
- 3. Teach English – ESL Instructor
- 2. Make Fast Cash – Become a Server
- 1. Create Your Own Business – Sell Personalized Crafts or Services
- Conclusion
What Makes a Teacher Summer Job?
As a staffing agency, we often discuss the importance of resume consistency. Simply put, quick stints at jobs and employment gaps can be detrimental to the integrity and impressiveness of your resume.
Consequently, if a teacher decides (or has to) work a job during the summer break, they are looking at short-term employment. While this may not reflect badly on the teacher’s future education career, it can leave a sour taste in the mouths of employers if the timeframe of employment weren’t discussed or understood.
Ultimately, no one wants to burn bridges.
Therefore, educators with summer breaks are often looking for short-term jobs (which we will refer to as gigs). They require employment that is easily started and easily leavable once the school session restarts. While finding these three-month gigs can be easy for teenagers looking to make a buck during their vacation, it can be tougher for those with financial responsibilities. A quick, minimum-wage job at the boardwalk might not cut it.
When deciding what are the best teacher summer jobs, we looked at both pay and accessibility. You want something that can pay the bills and have an easy margin of entry. A white whale of all summer workers, if you will.
10. Continue Teaching – Online Tutoring
If educating the minds of the youth is your true passion, why stop when school lets out?
Learning never stops, even during the summer. In fact, there are tons of teaching opportunities during vacation months. Students may be trying to hone new skills, prep for state testing, or learn a new language entirely. Henceforth, there are tons of teaching jobs available.
Furthermore, working as an online tutor can allow you to have an abundance of flexibility. Sites like Wyzant allow tutors to set their prices and make their schedules. This flexibility allows you to continue enjoying summer activities and still get paid. Lounge by the pool, teach for an hour and still make money? That’s an ideal summer.
If you have a teaching specialization, then you can justify charging even more for your tutoring time. For example, if you have a master’s degree in a niche subject, people are likely to pay more for your services.
9. Start Writing – Freelance and Content Creation
Are you a great writer? Maybe English is your specialty and teaching category. Even if you do not teach the art of the language, you can still find gigs as a writer everywhere.
There are always websites, publishers and other sources looking for writers. Fortunately, most of these jobs are usually temporary, with a set start and end date or flexible freelance agreements. With a quick search, you can find plenty of companies looking for content creators, with the majority of the work being right from home.
If creative writing or technical text isn’t your specialty, then you can always look for transcribing jobs. These freelance gigs involve typing out the words said in a video or audio format. Henceforth, it doesn’t take any writing skills, just the ability to sit and type for an extended period.
With the importance of content creation skyrocketing in SEO, publications and other formats, companies are always looking for writers to lend a hand. If you want to help around your town, reach out to your local newspaper. They may have freelance writing jobs available.
8. Search Around and Bid – Sell Items on Auction Sites
Enjoy spending your free time scouring through local garage sales and thrift shops? Yup, me too. The post-spring-cleaning days often call for a variety of second-hand items being available.
Ever thought about making money off of it?
If you are well versed in a specific type of item or have a keen eye, there is plenty of profit to be found in the buying and selling sites like eBay and Poshmark.
For example, let’s say you are particularly knowledgeable about comic books (no, really. Comic books can sell for tons on resale sites). You can spend your days searching around the book boxes in antique stores and yard sales, selling off your findings for profit. Not only does this lead to some easy money, but it can plan out your summer adventures.
If you decide to start reselling clothes, you can plan a trip to a closeby city to hit up their thrift stores. There’s a summer activity.
7. Help Others Work – Become a Resume Writer
It’s ingrained in our society to listen to what teachers have to say. We owe the majority of our knowledge to you all, anyway. So, if someone needs help crafting their resume or cover letter, they are more likely to choose a teacher as their guide.
This leg up puts you at an advantage for resume editor gigs. Ultimately, sites like WriterBay allow you to post yourself as a writer and have others reach out to you for help (or vice versa). This work requires a strong resume and professional ability, which you already have. As stated, people are more likely to choose teachers for help, helping raise your services in popularity.
While sites like WriterBay have a plethora of freelance writing options available, we pinpointed resume editing because it’s always available and needed. Essay help may take a downturn during the summer months, but people will always need resume help.
Resume writing marks all of our checks for teacher summer jobs. It’s mobile, pays well and can fit perfectly into your vacation timeline without unsavory resignations.
6. Become a Delivery or Personal Driver – Uber, Postmates, etc.
In 2009, a little company created what would become one of the best gigs in working history. A company named Uber would go on to provide driving services in over 72 countries, amassing over two-billion dollars in revenue. This success would go on to spawn multiple ridesharing companies and a plethora of likewise services.
We can’t argue with how useful and effective services like Uber, Postmates, Grubhub and Lyft are. Not only do they provide great services for their clients by bringing about an ease that can only seen in 2024, but they create the perfect side gigs for workers.
Got a safe car and time on your hands? Drive for a ridesharing company and work as long as you want. Want to get some exercise riding a bike in the city? Deliver groceries and food to denizens. The options are endless and the flexibility relies solely on you.
This entry is a duh, of course. Everyone knows that these services exist and are easy to start working for. We would be fools not to mention them, though.
5. Work in Summer Activities – Tour Guide, Destination Work, or Lifeguard
Let’s circle back around to one of our main factors in teacher summer jobs. The main concept is to find a job that’s willing to employ you for a certain period. Here’s the great thing: there are plenty of summer companies looking for employers for a set time. Match made in heaven.
Live near a beach? Check out businesses and locations that only open during the summer months. They are looking for temporary workers, which is exactly what you are.
Don’t live near a beach? What summer-related tourist attractions are near you? Maybe a tourist spot needs tour guides, or a local pool needs lifeguards. Regardless of where you reside, there are always summer businesses looking for seasonal help (that’s you).
4. Help Others Daily – Dog Walking, Babysitting and Home Care
The summer months often mean travel and vacations for other people. Furthermore, with school being out, some parents are left struggling to find a place for their children during the work day. Luckily, there are more on-demand gigs available than rideshares and food delivery.
Got a knack for walking dogs? Good at nannying or watching over others? There are always gigs available on applications like Rover and Care.com. From dogsitting to babysitting and tutoring, paying jobs are always available to help others with their day-to-day.
Once again, being a teacher only increases your value for these roles. For example, people are more likely to hire teachers for tutoring or babysitting jobs. You have a history of taking care of children, after all. You are easy to trust!
Like the other ideas on this list, these side jobs check off the list for teacher summer jobs. It allows for a flexible schedule, decent compensation and the ability to return to your teaching career at the end of the summer.
3. Teach English – ESL Instructor
You may not be an English teacher by trade, but don’t skip past this entry!
You still here? Okay, listen. You still know the language, even if you are not an English teacher. If you are native to the U.S., you’ve been speaking the language your entire life. This grasp of the language makes you qualified to teach English to international students.
Firstly, you will need a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certification to start working with sites like EF.edu. Luckily, these certifications do not take much to achieve and only require a high school diploma. Though it may require some time and effort your first time around, you will be ready to teach English every summer going forward.
Sites like the aforementioned EF.edu allow you to teach English to international students online. This work may involve adults or children in a multitude of class sizes. International English companies create the lesson plans and technology. All you need to do is help others learn. Not only are you getting paid for at-home work, but you are helping others brighten their future. Win-win.
2. Make Fast Cash – Become a Server
If you live near a summer vacation spot, local restaurants are always looking for seasonal help. The food industry can always use part-time hands, even if you don’t live near a beach or resort.
Okay, let’s point out the obvious. Being a server is a bit of a strange choice for seasonal work. For many, serving is their full-time career. Why jump onto it for a few months at a time? There are a few reasons.
Firstly, serving can lead to a multitude of great and flexible cashflow. It’s not uncommon to see a server at a busy restaurant walk out with a couple hundred dollars in cash after a night. If you live in an area that sees an uptick in population during the summer months, serving money can be found bountiful.
This is not to say that serving is an easy gig (I was certainly not cut out for it). Ultimately, serving is a transferrable skill. If you are good at it, you can always find work to fall back on. If you are good at it, there is always money to be found in busy or up-scale restaurants. It’s a fantastic side job, and with the array of different restaurants and hours, you can always find a job that fits your scheduling needs.
1. Create Your Own Business – Sell Personalized Crafts or Services
What’s better than making money doing something you love? That’s why you are a teacher, after all. Right?
What is your side hobby? Do you enjoy knitting? Maybe you are insanely skilled at glass blowing. Luckily, we live in 2024. There is a market for everything.
Sites like Etsy allow artists and craftsmen to sell their work across the world. Not only can you gain profit from doing the hobbies you love, but signing up for these sale sites is super simple. Ultimately, you don’t need a business license (though you should get one if you start making a significant profit). If you have a hobby that results in a product, someone will be willing to pay you for it.
Overall, this can be the ultimate teacher summer job. Not only does it allow for flexibility and profit, but it calls for spending your days crafting something you enjoy.
Maybe you do not create sellable objects. Maybe you have services that can be distributed to the world or community. You could always set up a website or business for online work. For example, if you are a web designer, you could start a small business to help local businesses create websites.
Simply put, if you need a job for the summer months, the best thing to do is create your own. What are you good at and how can you profit off of it? We live in a world where anything is possible; you just have to think outside the box.
Conclusion
And those are our top 10 teacher summer jobs. Gigs that fit your time frame, create profit and take advantage of your applicable skills.
We have to plug ourselves, though (don’t act surprised). At Tier2Tek Staffing, we employ a plethora of jobs in a plethora of industries, with some being temporary or contractual. Keep an eye out for gigs that apply to your skillset on our job page. You never know what might be out there.