Hustle 101

Teaching is a noble and rewarding profession, but it’s not the best-paying job in the world.

As a teacher you usually start with very low wages and have the burden of student debt, and so it’s only natural to look to side hustles or ways to make extra money outside of your chosen profession.

While there are dozens of side hustle ideas out there, here are the ones I think are best-suited to teachers and educators to take advantage of your unique skills and expertise.

Half the people I talk to are still looking for a side hustle idea. The other half have too many to choose from.

If you fall in the second camp, how do you pick which to work on? How do you prioritize your limited time for the maximum impact and result?

We all could use some extra cash at the end of the month, but it’s not like we have a ton of idle time to be hustling all over town.

Here are a few of my favorite ways to put more money back in your wallet — both by increasing your earning power and strategically cutting expenses.

I recently participated in a paid focus group in San Francisco. You know, the kind with the one-way mirror on the wall.

We talked about travel habits and preferences for an hour and half, and I got paid $150 for my time and opinions. Not bad!

The whole thing was pretty quick and painless, and actually kind of interesting, and it got me thinking that this could be a fun side hustle, so I set out to find other consumer research companies that operate nationwide or even ones that conduct studies online.

I wish I was half as smart now as I was at 16.

But learning everything you don’t know is part of the process.

One thing I love about my work is I feel like I learn new things every day. Sometimes they’re small little tweaks and hacks, and other times they’re broader strategies or ideas.

I originally published this post 5 years ago, after my 30th birthday, but decided it was due for an update.