Retirement Jobs and Side Hustles for Teachers

Teaching math
Photo by Science in HD on Unsplash

Many retired teachers want to work in retirement.  Teachers have unique skills that make them perfect for all kinds of jobs and businesses.

This article will present some ideas to get you thinking.  Many of these possibilities can be approached as either a job working for someone else, or as your own business.

Freelance Proofreader

It seems like everyone is writing these days.  Publishing your own book is now an available option to almost everyone.  There are millions of blogs.  People everywhere are creating content (an income source in its own right.)

But not everyone is a perfect writer.  And even good writers need their work to be proofread.  This creates an opportunity for some teachers.  Teachers have spent years reviewing the writing of others and they are used to really looking at the details.  These are the perfect qualities of a good proofreader.  It is not for everyone, but if you like detailed work it might be perfect.

Freelance Translator

The world is getting smaller, but the world still speaks many different languages.  If you are bilingual, you have an in demand marketable skill.  Foreign language teachers are the obvious fit for a translator, but many other teachers have experience in more than one language.

Graphics Artist

Good graphics are always in demand.  While there are many sources of online graphics small businesses often need something custom.  If you are an art teacher, or any teacher with a creative side this may be an opportunity for you.  You can always take a course or two to polish your skills.

Tutor

There have always been companies hiring tutors to help anxious parents dealing with a child having trouble with math or reading.  Others specialize in helping high school students prepare for the SATs to improve their odds of getting into the college of their choice.  Most tutoring companies love hiring retired teachers that have the required skills and credentials.

Online Courses

As a teacher you probably have knowledge gained over many years of experience.  Why not create an online course?  There are multiple online platforms that will host your course for a share in the profits.  And there are even online courses that teach you how to create online courses!

Teach Writing

The Internet is all about content these days.  That means decent writing skills are a must.  There are people out there that have a lot to say but could use some help polishing their writing skills.  If you are a teacher with that kind of experience it is a natural fit.

Teach Business Math

There are great small business owners out there that admit to being terrible at math.  They have great people skills and good business sense but could use some help improving their basic business math skills.  This could take the form of personal tutoring, online tutoring, or even a book, video, or workshop.

Paid Speaker

For some getting up and speaking in front of others is torture, but there is always a demand for good speakers.  Retired teachers have spent a lifetime standing in front of a difficult crowd!  You could speak about your funny teaching experiences, how students learn, or a host of other topics.  Parent groups could be a good market to target.

Bookkeeper

A Bookkeeper can be your full or part time job, or your full or part time business.  Many small businesses would rather concentrate on running and growing their business and let someone else handle the books.  Teachers that like detailed business math can make great bookkeepers.

In recent years what is needed to call yourself a bookkeeper has changed.  Software like Quickbooks and online accounting offerings have expanded who can “handle the books.”  You don’t necessarily need to know all the accounting principles, just the software in theory.  However, knowing the accounting behind the software certainly helps and the more you know the more valuable you are to your clients.

Book Publisher

Amazon and other services have completely transformed who can be a book publisher.  While the barriers to entry have fallen considerably you still need a quality product and good marketing strategy.

Many teachers have the writing ability to write articles and the natural extension to this is writing a book.  There is lots of online information to help you make this happen.

There are many other possibilities for retired teachers.  Hopefully, these ideas will help get you thinking of what might work for you.

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