5 Flexible Online Summer Jobs for Teachers

By Ashlee Anderson

After the final bell rings on the last day of school, signaling the start of summer, teachers get a much-needed break from the hustle and bustle of the school year. The Monday through Friday routine is temporarily put on hold for the next 60+ days, as educators and students alike enjoy their time off during summer break.

But those two to three months that school’s not in session isn’t all fun-in-the-sun and leisure-filled days. Many teachers often spend the summer months prepping for the year to come or take on a seasonal job to supplement their income outside of the school year.

After 180 days in the classroom following a lesson plan made months in advance, adhering to a set schedule into the summer may be a less-than-ideal working arrangement for educators on break.

Fortunately, teachers have several online summer job options that offer tons of flexibility and enough freedom to earn extra money while still having plenty of time for summer fun.

1. eNotes Content Developer

As an online learning resource, eNotes brings together teachers, students and researchers into one education-driven virtual community.

Students turn to eNotes for study guides, practice quizzes and general help when they’re feeling stuck. And during the school year, teachers use eNotes to discover classroom resources and connect with other education professionals.

To grow their scholarly community, eNotes hires current teachers to share their knowledge with students as an academic expert. You’ll get paid for each question you answer and can contribute as much or little as you’d like. Pay rates for answers can range from $4-$37 depending on how much students bid per question and your rank as a contributor.

To apply for the educator and writing program at eNotes, just submit an application and answer one sample question. That’s it. You should hear back within 72 hours whether you’ve been accepted as a paid contributor for eNotes.

2. TeachersPayTeachers

TeachersPayTeachers is an online marketplace built specifically for educators. This easy-to-use platform is the perfect place to sell your original classroom creations like lesson plans and worksheets. You can even sell physical products and other educational resources you no longer need.

Since 2006, educators have made more than $200M selling their original work and gently used classroom goods on TeachersPayTeachers. As an educator, you too can set up shop and offer your unique instructional ideas for sale digital downloads or clean out your classroom and earn money on items you no longer use.

It’s free to sign up on TeachersPayTeachers, and as a seller, you’ll have two membership options:

Basic Membership – Basic Membership is free, but you’ll be charged $0.30 per transaction on teacher-created items and $0.99 for each used item sold. The Basic Membership also offers a 60 percent royalty on gross sales.

Premium Membership – Premium Membership comes with a $59.95 annual fee but offers a greater royalty of 85 percent on gross sales, and there are no transaction fees to pay.

Whether you choose Basic or Premium, teachers are paid once a month for sales made the previous month. Payout options for educators living in the U.S. include PayPal or Dwolla.

TeachersPayTeachers is a great platform to be a part of during the summer, but it also offers the chance to earn passive income well into the fall and beyond since digital goods can be created once, yet sell over and over again.

3. Wonder Researcher

As an online personal research assistant tool, Wonder helps save busy people time by answering their questions with detailed responses that are backed by reputable sources.

Here’s how it works: Clients submit a question to Wonder, and one of their researchers gets to work finding the best possible answer. The final product is delivered to the client in a well-written synopsis that comes complete with references.

When you join the Wonder Research Network, you get paid to conduct online research and answer questions – and, as a teacher, you probably know a thing or two about research best practices!

But first, you’ve got to go through the application process which includes a short quiz and a mock research task. Your application is then reviewed and depending on how well you do on the quiz and submit mock research, you might be invited to become an independent researcher in their network. But be patient, it can take seven to 10 business days before you hear anything.

Once accepted, you’ll find this is a super flexible summer job option that allows you to work whenever you want and as much as you’d like. Simply log in and claim any available questions and get to work.

On average, you can expect questions to pay $8-$40 each. Top researchers can earn as much as $20-$30/hour. Whether you choose to answer one question a day or just one a week, all payments are made every two weeks via PayPal.

4. PrepNow

PrepNow is an online tutoring company that aims to provide personalized test prep services to their students. As a PrepNow tutor, you’ll mainly support U.S. students who are preparing to take the SAT, ACT or PSAT.

This flexible summer job can easily be carried into the new school year since PrepNow will work around your busy schedule; you just tell them which times and days work best for you.

Ideal PrepNow tutors have at least two years of teaching or tutoring experience, graduated from one of the top 50 colleges or universities in the U.S. and are confident tutoring students in both the math and reading portions of the SAT/ACTs.

On top of the super flexible schedule, PrepNow tutors are paid via direct deposit and get to be a part of a fun company culture that includes contests and an active teacher community on Facebook.

5. Gradiate

Gradiate is reinventing the way students’ work is graded. They’ve built a system that easily allows teachers, parents and students to submit ungraded assignments in a matter of seconds. That’s when a Gradiate Genius gets to work and returns the assignment in two hours or less, complete with an accurate grade and helpful feedback.

Gradiate supports students, parents and teachers around the world, so there’s work to be found 24/7/365, even into the summer months. When you become a Gradiate Genius, you’ll get to work on your own schedule all while supporting students on a global scale.

At this time, Gradiate is looking for graders who are comfortable in English, but they plan on soon expanding to other subjects, like Computer Science, History and Biology.

To apply as a Genius, simply fill out their application, and take a short quiz. Once accepted, you’ll need to complete training within 24 hours. From there, you’ll work on your own terms while earning $25/hour as you grade essays, problems and papers in a fun and rewarding environment.

Bonus Job: Teach Conversational English

You don’t need to be an ESL teacher or even have experience teaching students a new language when you take on a summer job as a conversational English tutor.

Join the global community of Cambly tutors and earn $0.17 for each minute spent talking with students. You can log in and work whenever you want, day or night. The Cambly dashboard will ‘ring’ when a student is ready to chat; it’s entirely up to you whether or not to answer.

Earn On Your Own Terms

Even though school is out, the truth is, you’re probably still busy at work as you constantly come up with new ways to introduce learning into your classroom. And, during the summer months when there are plenty of activities going on, the last thing you’ll want is to be completely tied up with a seasonal job.

With these online jobs for educators, you can easily prepare for the school year ahead and earn extra money all while leaving enough time to enjoy the summer season. In fact, these jobs are flexible enough that, who knows, maybe you’ll hold onto your summer job year round as a way to supplement your income—even when school’s in session.

I hope these flexible home-based business ideas got your creative juices flowing! If you're still searching for more flexible jobs and business ideas — be sure to check out these articles:

• Flexible Jobs That Pay $19 or More Per Hour
• Flexible Home-Based Business Ideas for Women
• Leapforce a Flexible Work-at-Home Job – No Set Schedules

Ashlee Anderson is a freelance writer, blogger and gig economy enthusiast who enjoys the freedom and flexibility of working remotely. After starting a note taking business in college, she’s continued to work for herself as a solopreneur ever since. Today, Ashlee continues to embrace solopreneurship and the endless possibilities to make money as an independent worker. She encourages others to ‘think outside the cubicle’ so they too can find happiness in working on their own terms. Follow along with Ashlee over at Work from Home Happiness where she shares plenty of practical advice, ideas and beginner-friendly ways for freelancers, solopreneurs and remote workers to use their existing skills and experience to earn a living from home.

This page includes affiliate links. Please be aware we only promote advertising from companies that we feel we can legitimately recommend to our readers. Please see our disclosure policy for further information