Your mathematical mind gives you power over complex calculations and equations in ways most people can’t comprehend. And with countless hours of teaching, your ability to strip complicated concepts down to their bare bones for students to understand is legendary.
Or maybe you’re just a really good math teacher 😉
But even with your multiplying superpowers, the rising cost of living can be a tricky equation to solve. And if you're searching for a side hustle to balance the scales, you're not alone.
There's an entire world of side hustles to choose from, but one that leverages what you already know can complement your career and add an extra layer of competency to propel yourself forward.
So, whether you dream of passive income from online sales or fancy working directly with clients, these side hustles for math teachers are packed with ideas to kickstart your journey into the gig economy.
But before jumping in with both feet, let's poke our toe into the water and talk about the perks of math teacher side hustles.
Benefits of Side Hustles for Math Teachers
- They can help you build a network of connections with clients and professionals in related fields.
- Additional income streams to shore up your finances and open doors to new opportunities and endeavors.
- They provide a vehicle to learn new skills and acquire experiences that will enrich your classroom and add diversity to your math teaching career.
- Challenging and creative projects beyond your daily routine's crowded hallways and markered smart boards can ignite innovative ideas and reveal new adventurous paths.
You may even find yourself being pulled towards something bigger than a side hustle, like a full-time business or a total escape from your daily grind. Not that teaching is a grind…
Of course, side hustles aren’t all rainbows and roses, either. In addition to your numerical supremacy, you may need to build industry connections, earn additional certifications, learn how to use new tools and figure out how to effectively promote your side hustle to attract clients.
Along with the various math teacher side hustles below, I'll share some resources for further reading and research.
Disclaimer:
Please note that the starting budget estimates and any income potential suggestions provided in this article are only rough estimates and can vary significantly depending on various factors. These factors may include but are not limited to your location, experience level, competition, target market, marketing strategy, and overall economic conditions. The figures mentioned are not guaranteed and should be used for informational purposes only.
We encourage you to conduct thorough research and consult with professionals in your field to gain a better understanding of the costs and potential earnings associated with your chosen side hustle. For additional information on income potential, you may refer to resources such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Glassdoor, and PayScale, which provide salary and income data for various professions and industries.
Side Hustles for Math Teachers
1. Math Tutoring and Course Creation
In the spirit of lifelong learning, math teachers can extend their reach beyond the traditional classroom by offering personalized tutoring services or creating online courses. This side hustle capitalizes on both your understanding of mathematical concepts and effective teaching strategies.
Adding some marketing skills to your repertoire might be necessary to successfully promote your services and courses, but there are many user-friendly platforms to help.
And with the rise of online learning, there's a growing demand for personalized tutoring and quality online courses.
The time commitment for this side hustle will depend on the number of students or courses you decide to teach or produce. But the flexibility and potential for passive income with online course sales make this a potentially lucrative and satisfying gig.
You can also leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to create lesson plans and personalize course content based on your student's progress and understanding. And along with tutoring course creation, you can add related side hustles to your revenue streams, such as test prep services and selling lesson plans to other teachers.
Starting Cost Estimate: $50 – $1000. This cost on the lower end includes setting up a website or profile on a tutoring platform, or the higher end, creating an online course, and publishing it yourself. And the cost will vary depending on whether you use free resources, invest in premium ones, or outsource some of the work.
Resources: Tutor.com, Wyzant, Udemy, Coursera
2. Selling Lesson Plans
As mentioned above, creating and selling lesson plans is another side hustle that math teachers are uniquely qualified to explore. This side hustle taps into their curriculum planning skills and offers a solution to many teachers constantly looking for ready-made lesson plans to save time and effort.
Some initial effort is involved in creating high-quality, unique lesson plans, but once they are created and uploaded, it's a passive income source, and you can spend your time on other side hustles.
This is probably not a get-rich gig because, as you are intimately aware, most teachers will probably not spend big money on lesson plans. A school might, but individual teachers probably not.
But some extra dough here and there certainly doesn’t hurt.
And this is another gig where AI can be your valuable assistant. It can be used to outline and create your lesson plans. It can also help with copywriting and conversion optimization to sell them successfully.
Starting Cost Estimate: $0 – $300. Your startup cost could be zero if you already have lesson plans created. If not, you might need to invest in resources to create high-quality lesson plans. Although free resources are available, premium content creation tools and outsourcing can speed up the process.
Resources: Teachers Pay Teachers, Classcraft
3. Test Prep Services
Math teachers can also use their math wizardry and teaching experience on test-taking strategies that prepare students for standardized tests. You may need to brush up on your knowledge of specific standardized test formats and requirements. But the demand is usually high, especially during college application seasons.
Developing a comprehensive test prep curriculum won’t pay immediately the way other side hustles like buying and selling or driving for Uber will, but again, this gig can provide passive income once your educational materials are up online and being sold.
In fact, creating test prep and study guides is responsible for at least two of the most successful online business stories that exist in digital entrepreneur lore.
Affiliate marketer Pat Flynn, and YouTuber Ali Abdal, who have both made millions online, started out by creating test prep and study guides. Pat Flynn helped architect students prepare for the LEED AP Exam, and Ali Abdal, a medical student at the time, made videos about medicine and studying.
Starting Cost Estimate: $100 – $500. This includes the cost of purchasing test prep materials and advertising your services.
Resources: NAEP, eLearning Industry (How to Start a Test Prep Business)
Related Side Hustles
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Side Hustles to Pay Rent
How To Flip Money
Do Side Hustles Work? Facts and Statistics
… Continue with Math Teacher Side Hustles
4. Freelance Writing, Editing, and Fact Checking
If you enjoy writing, this may be a perfect side hustle for you. While general freelance writers are losing jobs to generative AI, such as ChatGPT and specialized AI writing platforms, teachers writing on specialized topics are still in demand.
AI has broad knowledge of many topics but lacks depth of knowledge on many specific topics. And math is one area that AI has had less than stellar results, although that can change at any time.
In addition to freelance writing, you can also offer fact-checking and editing services.
Many publications use AI to write articles requiring specialized knowledge, and they then hire subject experts to fact-check and edit those articles.
Although this is another side hustle unlikely to make you rich, the demand is relatively high as educational websites and publications constantly need fresh content to satisfy search engine and social media platforms' algorithms to attract readers.
Depending on your propensity for writing, the time commitment may be greater than you’d like, but again, AI is very good as a writing assistant as long as you’re using your own expertise when it comes to facts, concepts, etc.
Prior to AI, general freelance writers have typically charged between $0.04 – $0.08 per word, but subject expert writers have been able to charge as much as $0.50 – $1.00 per word. The higher rates come as your build a portfolio and reputation for delivering high-quality work.
Starting Cost Estimate: $0 – $500 depending on marketing and platform fees, and writing courses you might take. You might also want to invest in a professional website to showcase your work.
Resources: How To Become a Freelance Writer
5. Math Blogging or YouTube Channel
Starting a blog/niche website or YouTube channel in our digital age can be lucrative. And for math teachers, it’s a side hustle that allows them to create engaging math-related content and monetize through affiliate marketing, display ads, lead generation, and sponsored content.
Both platforms can also drive traffic to, and sell, an online course or lesson plan (if you’ve created them).
Knowing a little about this (as it’s how I earn my living), I must be upfront and say it’s a heavy lift initially. It requires significant content creation without immediate financial compensation to get traction.
Of course, I don't want to discourage you. The long-term benefits are worth it, and I can vouch for the freedom of working anywhere and any time you want.
Again, AI can help you with content creation, search engine optimization (SEO), and conversion rate optimization (CRO).
Starting Cost Estimate: $50 – $500. This includes the cost of setting up a website (or YouTube channel), investing in recording and editing equipment, and a high-quality course that shortens your learning curve and starts you on the right foot.
Resources: Wealthy Affiliate, Blogging for Money, YouTube.com (Starting a YouTube Channel)
6. Becoming a Virtual Assistant
This side hustle isn’t specific to math teachers, but math teachers can leverage their organizational and problem-solving skills to provide better-than-average virtual assistant services.
Virtual assistants help their clients with administrative tasks, scheduling, and other responsibilities such as writing, editing, social media management, etc. The demand is relatively high as many businesses and entrepreneurs are now outsourcing these tasks.
Generally, virtual assistants have flexible schedules, but not as flexible as a freelance writer or YouTuber might have, for example. However, relative to those side hustles, your pay is immediate.
Virtual assistants are typically paid hourly or per project, so you’re not spending months creating a course or website with the hope of earning money at some point in the future.
So, in that respect, it’s a more tangible side hustle.
Starting Cost Estimate: $0 – $500. Your startup costs could be zero if you do little more than set up a profile on freelance platforms for exposure and job searches. However, you might want to invest in a professional website, productivity tools, and a virtual assistant course.
Resources: Become a Virtual Assistant, Upwork, Fiverr
7. Organizing Math Camps
Math teachers can use their teaching skills to organize math camps or workshops. If you also have some event planning and marketing experience, this could be a side hustle for you. And depending on where you live, the demand can be reasonably high during summer for parents who are looking for educational activities for their children.
So, it’s not a year-round side hustle, but summer may be the exact time you’re looking for something else to do with your time. And it allows you to engage with students in an informal and fun setting, different than what you and your students are accustomed to during the school year.
It may be politically incorrect to say, but your potential revenue will depend on school demographics in your area. While the number of camp goers might not vary, the fee per participant will. And this may not be a gig you’re looking to make much money from, but rather provide a run and educational experience with enough to cover your costs and a few bucks for your time.
Another option you might consider is a collaboration with fellow teachers. You don’t have to focus specifically on math. As I was typing this, my daughter just came home from her first day of what they’re calling summer camp at the high school nearby.
It’s not the summer camp I remember (which my other daughter is currently at) with cabins and canoes.
So, calling it a “camp” seems strange to me, but for the last few years, we’ve enrolled her in these pseudo-camps (can I call them that?), and she enjoys them. The one this year has 70 kids and runs for a few weeks in the summer with various events that’ll keep her busy.
Although I don’t have firsthand experience organizing these camps, I do know, as a parent, they are in demand. And we have much appreciation for those who do organize them every year.
Starting Cost Estimate: $500 – $5000. The cost will likely vary greatly depending on the number of campers, venue availability, equipment, materials, marketing/advertising, insurance requirements, etc.
Resources: MathCamp, NRPA (Planning Camp Programs)
8. Proofreading
While not specifically a math-related side hustle, math teachers have a finely-tuned attention to detail that’s well-suited to proofreading. As a teacher, you also have strong grammar and spelling skills, making this gig a good fit.
You can offer proofreading services locally to businesses and other organizations or online through freelance platforms. Some courses like Proofread Anywhere teach you how to start your own proofreading business.
Like most side hustles, this one works well with others. In this case, you can also offer your clients freelance writing, fact-checking, editing, and virtual assistant services.
Starting Cost Estimate: $0 – $1000. Setting up your profile on freelance platforms is free, but you may want to advertise locally or take a course to start your own proofreading business. Tools like Grammarly are also helpful for proofreaders and, although relatively inexpensive, are still an additional cost.
Resources: Proofread Anywhere, Grammarly
9. Selling Math-Themed Merchandise
For something different, you can leverage your love of numbers, symmetry, and geometric precision to design and sell math-themed merchandise. While everyone is a potential customer, you may find a target audience of math enthusiasts and students.
Who doesn’t want a t-shirt or coffee cup that says, (drumroll please) …
- “Decimals have a point.”
- “I see you have graph paper; you must be plotting something”, or…
- “You’re acute-y-π”.
Okay, there’s a reason I’m not a comedian or a math teacher, but you get the idea.
Like most side hustles on this list, AI can help you whether you’re using generative text AI for ideas or AI art generators like MidJourney.
Selling merchandise works best when you already have an audience. If you have a website, YouTube channel, social media following, or a local audience through an organization or even you’re planning, these may be a great place to market your products.
You can also sell your products on platforms like Etsy.
Starting Cost Estimate: $200 – $1000. This includes the cost of creating designs, producing the merchandise (which is usually print on demand), setting up an online store, and possibly taking a course or two.
Resources: Etsy, GCV ePrintable Course, Printful
10. Offering Bookkeeping Services
As a math teacher, you can use your command of numbers to start a bookkeeping business. Not only a good side hustle, I have a friend who turned her bookkeeping business into a full-time gig, and she’s been working from home for several years now.
You may need to learn to use accounting software and brush up on financial regulation knowledge. With more people joining the gig economy and starting home businesses, the demand for bookkeeping services is high. And many small businesses are also looking for someone they can trust with their finances.
There is a learning curve, although your math expertise will certainly shorten that curve. But you might also need to step up your marketing and advertising game to find clients… which is a valuable skill in itself.
In fact, someone who can land clients can succeed with just about any business and even provide marketing services for small businesses and professionals who need clients.
Having watched my friend’s bookkeeping business grow over the years, there’s a good possibility you won’t have a lot of time for anything else. However, a virtual assistant service is a great add-on to bookkeeping.
Bookkeeping also lends itself to long-term clients because once you’ve established trust and a working knowledge of their business, they are reluctant to go through that process with someone else.
Starting Cost Estimate: $500 – $1000+. Starting a bookkeeping business can be relatively inexpensive, but there are costs for accounting software and client acquisition. You may also need to take a bookkeeping course, either online or locally, if available.
Resources: QuickBooks Online Certification, Xero
11. Financial Planning and Tax Preparation
Here’s another side hustle, like bookkeeping, that takes advantage of your numerical expertise. Unlike bookkeeping, however, the barrier to entry is a little more challenging.
Becoming a financial planner requires knowledge of financial planning (obviously), tax laws, and you’ll also need certification. Client acquisition can also be more challenging than bookkeeping, but financial planning is more of an advisory gig, whereas bookkeeping involves sifting through piles of invoices and financial records, creating reports, summaries, and so on.
Having said that, adding financial services to a bookkeeping side hustle can be a secondary income without having to be an aggressive salesperson, as many financial planners are.
Again, this has the potential to become long-term and full-time. And if you’re not camera-shy, you can build an audience on YouTube. Financial YouTubers are among the highest-paid content creators.
Starting Cost Estimate: $500 – $5000 depending on certification and educational requirements, financial planning software, and advertising and sales costs.
12. Statistical Consulting
Math teachers with a background in statistics can provide statistical consulting services to businesses or researchers to help them make sense of data and use it to make informed decisions.
They can also design studies and surveys, collect and analyze data, interpret the results, and provide reports and recommendations.
As a statistical consultant, you can also provide staff training on statistical methods and software.
Since many small to medium-sized businesses don’t have (or can’t afford) a dedicated data analysis team, and many don’t have the expertise or time to accurately interpret complex statistical data.
Your statistical knowledge and mathematic background can fill the gap by providing expert analysis and actionable insights. You can help them better understand their customer base, gauge the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns, optimize logistics and operations, patterns in staff behavior, and so on.
And a math teacher-turned-statistical consultant can bring a unique toolkit to the table. You’re not someone who just enjoys math but rather someone who has a deep understanding of it because you’ve been teaching it for years.
Therefore, you are skilled at explaining complex ideas in a way most statistical consultants can’t. And working with students gives you unique insight and intuition regarding critical thinking and problem-solving.
Some types of businesses that might benefit from your expertise are…
- Marketing Agencies – Need help analyzing campaign results and consumer behavior data to optimize their strategies.
- Healthcare Providers – May need assistance with analyzing patient data, conducting research studies, or evaluating the effectiveness of treatments.
- Retail Businesses – Require statistical analysis to optimize inventory management, understand consumer buying patterns, and improve sales forecasting.
- Tech Companies – Deal with large amounts of user data that needs analysis to improve product design, user experience, and marketing strategies.
- Nonprofit Organizations – Can use statistical analysis to measure the impact of their programs and optimize resource allocation. Your expertise can also assist in marketing efforts that support fundraising efforts.
Starting Cost Estimate: $0 – $1000. This may be a zero-dollar startup, depending on your background in statistics. However, it could approach several hundred or more if you require additional education, statistical software, and a marketing budget to land clients.
Resources: American Statistical Association, Coursera
13. Creating Math Art
Like creating math-related pintables and merchandise, math teachers can also use their appreciation of mathematical patterns and structures to create and sell math-inspired art, jewelry, sculptures, etc.
Of course, having an artistic side is a must for this side hustle to make sense. You don’t need to be a great artist, but you should at least enjoy it and have a desire to learn… if not a hunger for it.
But for the right person, this side gig allows you to satisfy your creative itch by combining the beauty of mathematics with visual aesthetics to create something unique. Some examples include:
- Fractal Art – Use fractals to create infinitely complex patterns that are beautiful and mesmerizing, possibly integrating them into everyday scenes or building abstract worlds.
- Geometric Art – You can also create intricate designs using geometric shapes and patterns such as tessellations or polyhedron models.
- Fibonacci and Golden Ratio Art – As a math teacher, you know the Fibonacci sequence and Golden Ratio appear frequently in nature and are widely considered to be aesthetically pleasing. You can experiment with Fibonacci-inspired abstract paintings or Golden Ration photography.
- Mathematical Knots – Knot theory is a branch of topology. As a math artist, you can create beautiful and complex designs or sculptures based on mathematical knot models.
- 3D Printed Sculptures – Combine one or more of the above ideas with a 3D printer for unique and aesthetically appealing three-dimensional sculptures.
Now, this being an art side hustle, the challenge is always how to make money with it. Art is subjective and competitive, so you may need something intangible to go along with it. A story and a persona, for example.
Places you can sell your art include…
- Etsy – You’re probably familiar with Etsy, but if not, it’s an online marketplace popular for selling handmade items.
- Society6 – This is a print-on-demand site where people sell wall art, prints, tapestries, etc. You can upload your designs, and Society6 handles the printing and shipping.
- Art Fairs, Fringe Festivals, Craft Shows, Markets, Boardwalks, Etc. – These are all great places you see art being sold locally. They allow you to interact directly with customers, to share your stories, and explain the mathematical concepts behind your art.
- Online Art Galleries – Websites like Saatchi Art or Artfinder allow artists to sell their work to a global audience.
- Your Own Website or Blog – If you have the technical skills, you can create your own website to sell your art. This gives you full control over your shop, and you don't have to pay any commission fees.
- Social Media – Many artists are not only selling art on social media but with unique videography and editing skills that document the creation process and make money through advertising, sponsorships, online course sales, memberships, etc.
Starting Cost Estimate: $100 – $1000. This includes the cost of art supplies, creating the art, and setting up an online store.
Resources: Saatchi, Artfinder, Society6
14. Developing AI Homework Assistance, Apps, and Guides
This is a developing field with some uncertainty, but one with opportunity as well. If you have some coding skills or experience with AI (which can write code for you), you can combine your math teaching skills, lesson plans, and curriculum to create an AI tool or prompt guide that provides homework assistance to students.
As an aside, you can offer this to your own students but also sell it online either to individuals or license it to other teachers. You can even sell customizable AI tools for teachers that provide their own lesson plans and curricula.
And you don’t have to limit it to math teachers only.
The initial effort and time commitment for this side hustle would be challenging during the development phase, and like any entrepreneurial endeavor, there are no guarantees. But if you’re looking for new and novel opportunities, this could be the right project and side hustle for you.
You can also sell online courses that show teachers how to build their own online tools or how to leverage AI to help their students get better grades and embolden a new generation of “super-learners”.
Okay, maybe that’s too lofty of a goal.
But AI is good at providing tailored guidance for the individual. And teachers who can find time-saving ways to bridge the learning gaps unique to each student will have more time for themselves, less frustration, and students with better test scores.
Finding ways to make learning more fun and engaging is also a never-ending challenge, and AI can help with that too. Building a tool, guide, or course that teaches other teachers could provide a decent revenue stream.
But probably more important than something other teachers can use is something parents can use to help their children become better students and improve their grades.
For example, my kids have reached the age where I’m no longer much help when it comes to homework. Most of what they’re learning in school, I haven’t even thought of in 30+ years. And the way it’s taught today differs from what we were taught.
I know I wouldn’t hesitate to buy an AI tool that could help my kids with their homework, especially if it was adapted to their specific teacher and school curriculum. And I’m certain many other parents wouldn’t hesitate either.
Starting Cost Estimate: $1000 – $5000. The cost of developing an AI tool could be expensive if hiring a developer. However, as mentioned earlier, AI is good at coding. Therefore, you can probably get by with a basic programming course and AI or hire someone who can use AI to code quickly and efficiently to reduce the overall cost.
Resources: NCTM, Google Gen App Builder, GitHub Copilot
15. Write Math-Inspired Fiction
Sticking with our creative-themed side hustles for math teachers (and AI), what about math-inspired fiction?
Writing a book used to be a marathon endeavor that took years if you were doing it part-time. But this is another area where AI has changed the game.
Contrary to the hype, AI can’t write entire novels or scripts. At least not yet. Maybe by the time you’re reading this, it can.
But for now, good fiction will still come from human minds.
Where AI shines is with research, structure, outlining, brainstorming, character development, and laying down your first draft.
You can also use it to give you ten, twenty, or thirty ways a character might say a particular section of dialogue instead of spending an entire day writing and rewriting it yourself, only to give up and push it off to another day.
And for part-time novelists, that day often never comes.
But now, there are purpose-built tools that help you bring your stories to life, and what many novelists don’t have is specific experience and knowledge that they can bring to their stories.
And as a math teacher, you have expertise in at least two areas (math and teaching, maybe more) that can bring a professional level of depth and understanding to your story. For example, some math-inspired stories could be:
- Mathematical Mysteries and Espionage – A series of detective or spy novels where the protagonist uses mathematical concepts to solve crimes and uncover conspiracies.
- Math in an Otherworldly Setting – A futuristic or magical world where supernatural abilities or phenomena are based on mathematical principles.
- Time Travel – Stories of time travel often involve mathematical calculations, which are the key to navigating through time. How about a series where a math teacher takes his students through time for various adventures and returns before the bell rings? Just a thought…
- Mathematical Dystopias – A dystopian society where algorithms or mathematical abilities determine people's roles and social standings.
- Math and Music: A story about a musician who uses math to create unique compositions.
- Math in Space: A space exploration story where mathematical calculations are the key to getting home.
- Math and Love: A romantic story where the protagonist struggles to find love. So, she uses mathematical theories to find patterns in love and relationships that give her dating superpowers. Of course, this goes bad somehow, but ultimately, she finds real love.
Of course, this is not a side hustle that gives you a quick payday, but depending on your financial situation, it may be the side hustle that leads to a life you’ve only ever imagined.
It’s also one I wouldn’t have recommended before generative AI because I’ve spent years working on uncompleted novels, and until now, it never seemed like a viable future.
But this is a new and unexpected era. If you have a story to tell or have ever dreamed of being an author, now is the time.
Starting Cost Estimate: $0 – $10,000. I only put this estimate at $10K for those who self-publish and distribute their book. However, this is unnecessary. You can publish your book for free with KDP (Kindle Digital Publishing).
For the most part, you can get by with free tools like ChatGPT (for AI assistance) and Notion (for planning and outlining). And as a teacher, you undoubtedly have a favorite word-processing software you already use.
However, there are additional tools like purpose-specific AI novel software and fiction writing courses you may also want to explore, which range in price from tens to hundreds of dollars.
Resources: KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing), Sudowrite, ChatGPT
