The Ultimate Guide to Alternative Jobs for Teachers
Considering alternative jobs for teachers? Explore our guide to the many flexible career options available to today’s educators.
When teachers pursue jobs other than teaching, they enjoy more flexibility, an expanded impact, and increased income – just to name a few of the many benefits of working beyond the classroom!
As a teacher, you are likely a multi-passionate person who has many skills to offer. This is why so many educators often feel overwhelmed when they first begin exploring other career options.
In this ultimate guide to alternative jobs for teachers, get clarity on potential flexible job opportunities for teachers and consider which ones align with your interests, transferable skills, goals, and lifestyle.
Whether you’re interested in exploring freelance jobs or the best side hustles for teachers, or you’re considering leaving the classroom altogether, you’ll discover exciting, sustainable ways to stay in education but not necessarily the classroom.
6 Alternative Jobs for Teachers Outside the Classroom
A teaching degree doesn’t have to mean a career inside the classroom. There are so many jobs for education degrees other than teaching - many of which still allow you to have an impact on students and their learning. Explore our top six picks for the best second careers for teachers.
Education Consulting
Becoming an education consultant allows you to share your expertise (that you already have!) to improve education, whether you’re advising EdTech product developers, educational companies, textbook publishers, nonprofit organizations, school districts, or government agencies. It’s one of the best alternative jobs for teachers because it’s so flexible.
Some of the many different ways you can work in the field could include:
Advising educational app developers on what types of activities they should include in their apps
Weighing in on possible educational products, sharing your feedback on developmental appropriateness, pedagogical approaches, etc.
Giving input or feedback to a nonprofit or other organization on educational content
Providing professional development on specific subjects or approaches
If being a consultant interests you, start by thinking of Ed Tech companies or other organizations that you know about or come across. Explore their websites and see if they are hiring. Even if they're not, consider pitching your skills if you feel like you'd be a good fit!
Tutoring & Teaching
Online teaching is an excellent way for educators to use their skills and expertise to reach a wider audience. And it’s a great way to make some extra money from the comfort of your own home.
Whether you’re looking for full-time, part-time, or flexible online teaching jobs, there are a variety of positions available. You can even focus your online teaching career on your preferred subject/ area and grade level/audience.
Decide whether you will work for an established company or create a class of your own to market on a teaching marketplace. Consider exploring Outschool, Allschool, AdLife, or Preply.
If you’re interested in teaching English and want to be part of a large company, definitely look into sites like VIPKid, Magic Ears, and Dada. There are so many tutoring companies that hire former teachers!
Homeschool Coaches is a company that connects homeschooling families with educators looking for homeschool teacher jobs online.
Prefer to work one-on-one in specific subject areas? Consider being an online tutor. There are many opportunities for full- or part-time online tutoring jobs at home through tutoring companies.
Or consider starting your own tutoring business. Do you have former students or other youth in your life who would benefit from tutoring? As a starting point, reach out to those families to offer your services.
Online teaching is one of the best career options for teachers who don’t want to be in the classroom but want to continue working directly with students.
Education Coaching
Have you ever considered being an instructional coach? Virtual education coaching is one of the best alternative jobs for teachers who want to put their diverse expertise to good use outside the classroom. As an online coach, you can support education professionals in any location.
Generally, coaching virtually is a lot like in-person coaching. Education coaches take a collaborative approach to problem-solving and professional growth for teachers. Coaches ask reflective questions and get educators to talk about the challenges they face in the workplace. As an education coach, you can work together with them to come up with innovative solutions that help improve their instruction, classroom management, and other key skills.
There are many different organizations that focus on online instructional coaching. EdConnective, Sibme, and BetterLesson are just a few examples. Do some research into organizations that you might want to coach with, and consider what might be the best fit for you.
Writing & Designing Curriculum
As a classroom teacher, you’ve likely designed countless lessons and activities for your students or school. Did you know that as a curriculum developer you can use your creativity, passion, and expertise to create curriculum that students and teachers can use around the U.S. and even the world?
Curriculum development is one of the best careers for teachers leaving teaching because it’s a fantastic way to use the skills and experience you already have.
Curriculum developers or designers create materials to improve student learning and support teachers. This includes everything from designing textbooks or worksheets to creating lesson plans or even full learning units. Curriculum developers may also advise organizations on developing learning plans that support their product, mission, or service.
A wide variety of curriculum development jobs are available, whether you’d like to work with textbook companies, EdTech product developers, nonprofit organizations, school districts, or even statewide educational agencies.
Whether you’d like to start a career in curriculum development (full or part-time), Educator Forever can help give you the skills and real-world experience you need.
Our Curriculum Development Foundations Program is a 5-week flexible and empowering program designed to give you everything you need to develop engaging curriculum, stand out in the job market, and take your career to the next level. You’ll walk away with a supportive community and a top-notch portfolio to submit for job opportunities.
Education Writing
If you love writing and want to help teachers, parents and/or kids, education writing may be for you! It’s one of the best flexible careers for teachers leaving teaching, because it still gives you an opportunity to make an impact on education.
Numerous education sites feature blogs and articles by guest writers. Think about what sites and publications you read, then look at their websites or contact info to see if they accept submissions. Explore Edutopia, WeAreTeachers, Learning for Justice, and other sites for educators.
Consider starting your own blog as a way to establish yourself as a writer and build a writing portfolio. Think about topics that would be appealing to parents, teachers, or kids. Then think about what you are motivated to write about. Try to meld these two brainstorms together to create the content on your blog.
Using Medium is an easy way to start blogging without setting up your own website. You can grow your audience and post easily.
Start Your Own Education Business
Not sure if these alternative jobs for teachers are the right fit? Consider starting a business!
There’s no one better suited to create positive change in the education system than teachers, and starting an education business gives you the power to make the change you want to see and truly solve problems.
With a deep understanding of the education system (best practices, teaching methods, curriculum, etc.) and teacher and student needs, teachers are well-positioned to start impactful education businesses.
You may want to create a digital course that thousands of people benefit from. Or perhaps you want to start an online teaching business, an education consulting business, or a tutoring business. There are so many businesses for teachers to start - the possibilities are endless!
If you want to become part of a supportive community and gain the business skills necessary to grow your education business, apply to join the Grow Your Education Business Accelerator.
This empowering program will guide you to launch a rewarding, profitable education business successfully. While many ideas and courses out there focus on business strategies, this program is uniquely designed for the education industry to give you everything you need to have a successful education business.
Ready to take your education career to the next level?
Whether you’ve decided to explore alternative jobs for teachers or want to start your own education business, the best thing you can do is to start taking action right away.
But getting started is sometimes easier said than done, and you might find yourself fighting self-doubt, imposter syndrome, or limiting beliefs.
The best way to overcome these challenges is to seek extra support. That’s why Educator Forever began - to help teachers and former teachers find rewarding alternative careers in education.
If you want more support on this journey, check out the Educator Forever Network. We’ve helped thousands of teachers to identify their own skills and learn how to apply them to flexible new careers.
Through the Educator Forever Network, you’ll get instant access to our signature Beyond the Classroom course, giving you step-by-step guidance on how to make your dreams a reality. You’ll learn much more about the possibilities for education work beyond the classroom, discover exactly where to find flexible jobs in education, and get the support you need to help you land those jobs. You’ll also become part of an inspiring community of like-minded educators expanding their income and impact in education.