7 Jobs For Retired Teachers To Generate A Passive Income

Retiring after years of teaching can be exhilarating at first. But the need to stay active and earn more money can soon make you reconsider.

Luckily, your skills are still needed in several ways, and you don’t have to get back into the classroom if you don’t want to.

In this article, we’ll explore the top seven jobs for retired teachers. Whether you’re looking for a full-time, part-time, or private practice business in the education niche, these alternate roles can help you fulfill your needs.

Best 7 Jobs for Retired Teachers

Discover the top jobs for ex-teachers along with their pros and cons to navigate your post-retirement career path: 

1. Online Tutor

Online tutoring allows ex-teachers to offer digitally supported education guidance to people of all ages anywhere in the world. 

You get to interact with individual students or hold group sessions and help students learn more about a topic, improve their skills, and reach their academic goals.

As an experienced teacher, you can also consider starting a tutoring business and collaborating with more former teachers to build a successful new company.

Pros

• Helps you return to your roots but remotely;
• Teach students through multimedia formats;
• You don’t always need to follow a strict curriculum.

Cons

• Fewer company benefits compared to on-site teaching.

2. Course Creator

As a retired teacher, you own a wealth of knowledge that could help you create better courses for people.

You can create and sell online courses on several platforms like Udemy, Coursera, and Teachable. If you build them from scratch, you’ll also need to consider the production values of your course, so investing in a good camera and working with a video editor may be necessary.

You can also help create courses for other people as a freelancer. Search for collaborations on Upwork to meet industry professionals looking to build their educational program and offer your assistance. 

Pros

• Potential to upsell for personal consultation through courses;
• Time-tested passive side income stream;
• Digital courses are accessible to a worldwide audience.

Cons

• Marketing the course can require upfront costs.

3. Essay Consultant

Being an essay consultant can be rewarding and helps you stay active in the education circuit by helping students with their writing. 

This includes brainstorming ideas to editing and proofreading literary and non-literary works. You can also work with students on long-form materials like academic essays, personal statements, and creative writing assignments.

This is a great opportunity if you have a writing background, such as if you were an English teacher or have strong grammar, punctuation, and editing skills to help students improve their work.

Pros

• High-demand gigs as foreign students continue to apply to universities abroad; 
• High-income potential since essay consultants can charge per hour;
• High volume of essays requested on education job boards.

Cons

• Knowledge of university preferences is a must.

4. Lesson Planning

As a teacher, you’re already aware of the level of precision needed for creating lesson plans, and now you can help others improve theirs during your retirement. 

For instance, you can sell module breakdowns or refine course materials for in-person and online programs. Try visiting your local college community or student-organized events for networking opportunities. 

Pros

• Stay connected with the teaching community;
• Stick to your niche subject and master lesson-planning techniques; 
• Work as a personal consultant for prominent educational institutes.

Cons

• Acquiring consistent clients can be challenging.

5. Homeschool Consultant

Becoming a homeschool consultant provides self-employment opportunities for retired teachers by guiding parents in educating their children. 

You can help with everything from curriculum development to creating a growth-oriented environment and conduct assessments to choose the appropriate material for the child’s learning.

This isn’t like a traditional job, and you’re most likely working as a freelancer and juggle with multiple clients and their specific needs. Even so, it can be rewarding to know you help improve the academic outcome of homeschooled kids.

Pros

• Stay employed during summer months for continuous income;
• Partner with a homeschooling organization for consistent projects;
• Focus your work on each child’s individual needs to improve their performance.

Cons

• Building a roster of clients can take time.

6. Adjunct Professor or Sub

If you miss the classroom, becoming an adjunct instructor or substitute teacher helps you stay connected to your profession with less commitment.

These roles typically involve working part-time for schools and colleges. You may teach one or two classes per semester, though some subs could have more classes.

If you want to work in a university specifically, you might need to get a master’s degree and other relevant formal education to prove your expertise. But, you can work in a high school or lower institution without more diplomas. 

Pros

• Access employment opportunities from a broad range of educational institutions;
• Involves more interactions with students;
• Build your resume for further advancement in tutoring gigs.

Cons

• Unavailability of jobs in your area could compromise your side income goals.

7. Educational Consultant

An educational consultant helps institutions improve their operations. This gig directly ties into how well a school teaches its students. You may take part in anything from improving the teaching materials, offering additional training for teachers, and counseling students on their academic future.

Besides classroom management techniques and holistic professional development, an ex-teacher can also be a corporate trainer for multiple educational consultancy services. 

You can also work remotely as a consultant and help schools or students from all over by sharing your expertise as a former teacher. Usually, with these roles you’ll focus more on the skills you’ve acquired through your job (such as curriculum management) rather than the subject you taught.

Pros

• Help students to make informed career decisions;
• You can collaborate with multiple schools at the same time;
• May have flexible hours.

Cons

• More time spent in research and reading documents leads to less student interaction.

Similar Jobs

Here are some additional jobs that ex-teachers can look at after retiring from full-time professor positions:

• Copy editor jobs: Use your language skills to help writers refine their work while getting paid for it;
• Remote weekend jobs: If you want to commit less to your side hustle, check out the best jobs you can do during the weekend from your home;
• Fun side hustle ideas: Making money doesn’t have to be tedious as long as you choose one of these fun side gigs. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Wrapping Up

As a retired teacher, you have an edge when looking for new employment. Your teaching skills alone make you the ideal candidate for several exciting work opportunities. 

Even better, you can decide exactly which type of job you want now in your golden years, from working with students one-on-one to offering your key insights as a consultant from time to time.

What did you think of these jobs for retired teachers? Let us know in the comments, and don’t forget to share this link with anyone else looking for a new gig.