Make Extra Income by Teaching What You Know

Here's another great money making idea left as a comment on my post titled Use the Skills from Your Job to Make an Extra Income:

I've found that teaching can also be a good way to make some extra money. After finishing up my MBA last December, I started applying to local colleges about teaching night classes.

I started teaching some Economics courses at an ITT Tech campus. This was good experience, but the pay wasn't great. I figured it was a good stepping stone.

It turned out I was right. After about 3 classes, I got a call and offer from a 4-year school closer to home looking for a Quantitative Analysis instructor for their evening MBA program. This kind of class was right up my alley. Not only was it closer to home, but the pay was 2.5x as much!

So now, depending on the class schedule, I'm pulling in an extra $700 - $1000 per month for teaching 1 night per week. And trust me, teaching the same class the second time is much easier. Once you've prepared for the class a couple of times, it's gets to be pretty easy to prepare.

Holy cow, what a GREAT idea! And an extra $700 to $1,000 per month is pretty good.

Before you give me the "yeah, but I couldn't teach Quantitative Analysis" speech, let me say that you don't have to. If you simply know how to do something and can speak in front of people, you can teach courses on things like personal finances, growing roses, playing a sport, and so on. There are all sorts of colleges, community colleges, tech schools, etc. that all need teachers. Maybe one of them is you!

Comments

[FinanceAndFat]

Interesting. That is something I've thought about a lot, but haven't done anything about yet. I have partial plans to get my Master's degree, but I haven't decided for sure yet. I guess that is what is holding me back.

[Curtis]

Thanks for noticing and pointing out my earlier comment! It really is nice. The place I teach pays me $267 per class session. They only pay once a month, so the 8 week classes are paid out spread over the months the class is taught (so, 2-3 equal payments).

Plus, with it being paid the last day of the month, it's a nice little extra boost to that savings account before I review our net worth at the end of the month!

[tatsrus]

I too teach, but I do it online since I have two young kids. It's so convenient and does pay some of the bills, like groceries. $1,000 here and there every few weeks tend to add up...

[David]

How did you get started? I would not mind teaching something like personal finance or something IT related. I however only have a BS, no masters of any kind. How would I get my foot in the door at a place like ITT or something online?

ITT Tech is the "clip joint" of colleges. They leave the student wondering what happened to that education and job "placement" they were explicitly promised.

[Jeremy]

ITT Tech is a joke. I went there, while my buddy went to our local community college. My classes cost me 4 times as much, but he got a better education.

However, after working in the industry for 15 years I am getting ready to start teaching night classes at the same community college that I did not attend. This article is helpful to know what pay to ask for.