As a retired teacher, you’re considering going back to work. And you’re probably wondering what retirement jobs are great for teachers? Don’t look any further I’m here to help you out.
Great retirement jobs for teachers are:
- tour guide,
- museum guide,
- YouTube teacher,
- tutor,
- (career) coach,
- mentor,
- substitute teacher,
- (content) writer,
- consultant,
- social worker,
- research assistant,
- nanny,
- counselor,
- (school) administrator,
- librarian
In this article, I listed 24 retirement jobs that are great for teachers. With including information on what the job is about, why it can be great for you, where to apply, salary and required skills details. So, let’s dive in to find the best retirement job for you.
Retirement Jobs for Teachers
As a teacher, you have various skills and qualities that make you a good candidate for a lot of jobs in retirement. Your experience and the wide-ranging abilities you’ve gained of the years are valuable to a lot of different jobs out there. And also come to your advantage compared to other retirees who are looking for employment in retirement.
You need to know what you want, what you like, and how to market your talents to find the best retirement job for you. Let me help you out by listing a couple of qualities, skills, and talents you undoubtedly have as a retired teacher:
- communication skills
- listening skills
- in-depth knowledge and passion for a specific subject
- the ability to build relationships
- friendly, hopefully 😉
- approachable
- preparation skills
- organization skills
- improvisation
- practical thinking
- a strong work ethic
- community-building skills
- class-room management
- leadership skills
- patience
- compassion
- responsibility
- tolerance
- ability to solve conflicts
- creativity
So now you know what kind of qualities and skills you have. You’ll probably have a ton more, but let’s find out what kind of great careers you as a teacher can pursue in retirement.
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#1 Tour guide
Being a tour guide can be a fun retirement job for you. It’s obvious you like to educate people, and if you love to travel as a tour guide, you can do both. You can work at a tourist attraction, theme park, national park or popular sightseeing destination nearby. Or become a tour guide abroad or on overland tours within the USA or overseas.
There are many different types of tour guide jobs out there, and as a teacher, you qualify for probably any kind of tour guide job. And the perks of being a tour guide are that above your salary, you also get tips and get to travel around for free or work in a beautiful location.
If you’re looking for travel gear, check out our recommendations for the best travel gear. We travel the world full-time, and we have tested a lot of travel gear over the years. We use all these products and recommend them without any hesitation.
Where to apply: Look for jobs on Alaska Summer Jobs, Coolworks or Transitions abroad.
Salary: Average $14 per hour, excluding tips
Skills: Hospitality, communication, problem-solving, good memory, good with telling stories, and humor goes a long way.
#2 Museum guide
As a teacher, you have in-depth knowledge and passion for a specific subject or multiple subjects. And you can put this wisdom into use as a museum guide. You know how to work with groups of people. You have experience in public speaking, and you have in-depth knowledge within a specific field. So you have all the skills and qualities te be an excellent museum guide.
Where to apply: Look for museums (that focus on your subject) near you who are looking for museum guides or employees in other positions.
Salary: around $13 per hour
Skills: in-depth knowledge and enthusiasm about the subject, friendly, presentation skills, communications skills, ability to handle groups of all ages, patience.
#3 YouTube teacher
Why not record your lessons on video and publish on YouTube? If you know how to keep (younger) students interested in a subject with your teaching skills, humor, and enthusiasm. And you’re still passionate about your subject matter and want to continue being a teacher. There is a huge market for you out there on YouTube.
YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world, and this market isn’t saturated yet as Google. Video content is becoming more and more important every day. It’s a fast-growing industry with a lot of opportunities out there for everyone to grab. And in a lot of fields and niches, there is little to no competition, yet. So you can use this opportunity to teach your area and work from home: no annoying students, just you and the camera.
Check out YouTube Channel Geographic Now for inspiration. It can be you in the future.
Where to apply: Start your channel on YouTube. Type in: “how to make a youtube channel” on YouTube and watch a tutorial on how to start.
Salary: You can earn money on YouTube through Ads, Affiliate links, and info products. You can only get paid through Ads on YouTube once you have 1000 subscribers and 4000 hours of watch time or more. On average, you will earn about $9.90 per 1,000 views, but that ranges per YouTuber. But you can increase your salary by affiliate marketing and selling info-products like e-books, courses, etc.
Skills: Be a teacher, learn how to be a good YouTuber by watching Tutorials, editing skills (learn on the job), computer skills.
#4 Tutor
Becoming a tutor in retirement as a teacher is one of the more obvious choices. There are no regulations in place within the private tutoring industry. It means that legally speaking anyone can be a private tutor with no qualifications. But because you’re a qualified teacher, the chances of people wanting you as a tutor are high, and you can earn a lot more per hour than unqualified tutors.
You can become a freelance high school tutor within your region to old students of yours. Or if you have an academic degree, you can think about tutoring academic students.
But the online tutoring industry is growing fast so you can also tutor kids online. This way, you can control your own working hours from the comfort of your own home.
Where to apply: Check out online tutor jobs at Tutors, Care, or Tutor.
Salary: A highschool tutor earns between $30 – $40 per hour, a certified teacher with top-notch experience can make up to $85 per hour. And a trained and qualified teacher for children with special needs can earn more than $85 per hour.
Skills: patience, encouragement, adaptability, openness, problem-solving, and organizing skills. Everything you’ll already have as a retired teacher.
#5 Substitute teacher
If teaching is your passion and you can’t say goodbye of this profession yet, then becoming a substitute teacher can be a great retirement job for you. As a substitute teacher, you need to be more flexible than a typical teacher, because you can be called in for any teaching position within a school. You need to be practical and the ability to adapt to different situations and environments. If you’re up to that task in retirement than being a substitute is a simple and small career change to slide into it.
Where to apply: Apply to a school nearby you. Maybe you can stay with your old employer as a substitute.
Salary: On average around $12 per hour for a K-12 substitute teacher
Skills: confidence, flexibility, adaptability, accountability, passion, sense of humor.
#6 Coach
As a teacher, you have a natural ability to coach and motivate other people. So you’re a great candidate to become a coach in retirement. There are different types of coaching from life coaches, health coaches, sports coaches to career coaches. You can consider becoming a life or career coach for other teachers. With your expertise, life lessons, and years of experience within the same profession that certainly will attract other teachers who need guidance in their life or career.
As a career coach, you assist your clients in identifying personal goals, developing leadership skills and plan and strategize (new) career moves. And as a life coach, you help clients to achieve life goals, overcome obstacles and make changes or shifts in their lives.
Currently, you don’t need a degree or be certified to become a life coach in the US. Life coaches are not regulated by any government organization in the United States, but you should check your local regulations. But becoming a certified coach will help you do your job better.
Where to apply: Check out National Coach Academy or Universal Coach Institute for more information on education and jobs.
Salary: Of a life coach has a wide range. Between $100 – $300 per hour. It depends if you’re certified or not and the years of experience.
Skills: Effective communication, awareness, humble, compassionate, supportive, motivating, curious, innovative, active listening skills.
#7 Mentor
Coaching has a more formal approach, and mentoring is more focused on creating an informal approach between mentor and student. So becoming a mentor can be an entry point for eventually becoming a coach, if that’s what you want to do in retirement. It’s a great way to test the waters and see if you like this job.
If you get real satisfaction in helping another person to learn and grow in confidence and self-esteem, then this could be a great retirement job for you. You can inspire and uplift a whole new generation by being their mentor. And being surrounded by younger people keeps you young at heart and energized as well. It can benefit both parties healthily and positively.
Where to apply: Check out The Mentor Network or ask around your network of people, previous employer, nearby schools and universities or community who can use a great mentor like you.
Salary: On average $13 per hour
Skills: good listener, building trust, encouragement, provide guidance, and constructive feedback, set goals.
#8 (content) writer
When you love to write, you can consider becoming a (content) writer in retirement. In this fastmoving society, it’s very normal for companies and organization to produce content daily. As a content writer, you create content for the web, for example, blog articles, e-books, text for graphics, etc.
This job is highly in demand and is becoming a popular career alternative for people more and more over the years.
Where to apply: Check out freelance writing projects on Upwork and Fiverr
Salary: It varies from 3 cents to $1 per word depending on your experience and technical writing abilities.
Skills: Good technical writing and communication skills, adaptability, strong research skills, a solid understanding of SEO (Search Analyzes Optimisation), able to work with deadlines.
#9 Blogger
You can write for others or write for your own business by starting a blog. Making money with blogging isn’t easy and quick money as many people would think. Many bloggers fail because they stop too soon or don’t know how to write great articles to attract many people. But the ones that keep on going and learn as they go can make great money through affiliate marketing, ads and selling info products.
Having one or multiple blog websites within different niches is a great way to earn a passive income in retirement. But it takes time, hard work, and consequent effort before you can make money with your blog. So if you like to have a writing hobby, want to learn how to become a successful blogger. And you have enough time (1-2 years) before your website is up to the level where you earn money, then blogging can be a great job for you in retirement.
Maybe you can start a blog website to teach teaching techniques or blog about your teaching subject. Or if you have an interest or hobby that you can’t find useful information on the internet: this can be a niche blog opportunity for you.
To become a blogger, you don’t need an education. Every successful blogger started as a rookie. So if you’re keen to learn on to go, then the success can be endless for you. The best way to start is to find a great niche that you’re interested in (with little competition) and love to write about. And you need to write blogs in a technical way that attract a lot of traffic to your website and gets your articles high ranked on Google.
Where to apply: If you’re interested in blogging, you should check out Income School. Only for $400, they teach you within 60 steps on how to start a niche website and earn a passive income within 24 months.
Salary: Anything between $0 – $7,000 a month, but that is entirely up to your niche, effort, an20d dedication. There are successful bloggers out there even making between $15,000-$60,000 per month. Put those are the top-notch bloggers.
Skills: Knowledge of writing in SEO blogs (search engine optimization), writing skills, computer skills.
#10 Consultant
Your knowledge and level of expertise can be very valuable to others who are even willing to pay for it. And if you’re level of expertise is very rare then you can even earn more money in retirement, then you would expect.
Where to apply: Look for consultant jobs near you on job search engine website like Indeed or Simply Hired. Or offer your consulting services to your previous employer or any other company that finds your knowledge valuable.
Salary: It depends on the field and your level of expertise. On average, between $50 – $150 per hour.
Skills: a level of expertise within one field or in many areas. Work experience within the field, leadership skills, self-awareness, academic, or corporate success within the field.
#11 Social worker (assistant)
A lot of social workers are the guardian angels of vulnerable kids, seniors, or families who need (basic) assistance. As most teachers are very compassionate people, a job as a social worker (assistant) can also be a great retirement job for you.
Maybe you’ve felt being a social worker all the time while you were a teacher 😉
To become a social worker, you need a bachelor’s degree in Social Work. But some companies with entry-level positions like assistants jobs, also accept candidates with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, sociology, or other related fields.
There are different types of social work fields from school, child well-fare, hospice care, medical, public health, mental health to research.
Where to apply: Check out Social Workers or Social Work Guide for more information on education, license, and jobs.
Salary: around $15 per hour
Skills: Communication skills, empathy, emotional intelligence, active listening, tolerance, organization skills, and setting boundaries.
#12 research assistant
As a teacher, you’ve done a lot of research to gain in-depth knowledge. And if that’s something you love to and want to continue in retirement, you can consider becoming a research assistant.
As a research assistant, you help students or organizations to collect data and find relevant information for their research.
Where to apply: Check out nearby colleges, universities, or laboratories for job opportunities. Or spread the word around your teacher’s network.
Salary: between $18 – $22 per hour
Skills: analytical thinking, data processing, computer skills, communication, attention to detail, ability to maintain quality, safety, and infection control standards.
#13 Nanny
If you as a teacher and also maybe grandmother/ grandfather still can’t get enough of kids, then you should become a (private) nanny.
Every busy parent is always looking for a trustworthy person who can take care of their children. And what is better than a qualified teacher who is in retirement and wants to earn extra bucks?
Where to apply: Spread the word amongst your family, friends, and neighborhood. Or apply online to find nanny jobs via Sitter City or Care
Salary: $15 – $25 per hour
Skills: patience, cooking and nutrition, problem-solving, communication, and creativity.
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#14 School counselor
If you love the working environment of a school, and you want to continue to work with students, but from a different angle, you can think about becoming a counselor.
As a school counselor, you help students with academic, emotional, or social problems. Together you set and plan goals, you stimulate action and motivate. And you solve and mediate conflicts between students and teachers.
To become a school counselor, you need to possess a Master’s Degree in School Counseling or a related field. In some states, a minimum of two years teaching a classroom or hold a teaching credential is sufficient to be certified in school counseling.
According to BLS, the employment of school counselors is projected to grow 13 percent from 2016 to 2026. That is faster than the average for all occupations.
Where to apply: Find out if you can work as a counselor at your former school or look for job opportunities at other schools, colleges or universities nearby.
Salary: Varies per state, but on average around $28 per hour.
Skills: friendliness, build trust, mediating skills, ability to solve conflicts, leadership skills, patience, compassion, responsibility, tolerance
#15 (school) administrator
Loving the school environment, but want something else? Maybe being a school administrator is perfect for you in retirement. It’s close to “home,” but still different.
The duties of a school administrator vary from school to school. Some school administrators jobs are being the principal, assistant principal, dean, education administrator, provost, or superintendent.
It also differs from state to state what the requirements are to become a school administrator. Check your state regulations but in the more general requirements are: you need a bachelor’s degree, completed a teacher preparation program and two to three years of teaching experience, but that’s already in your pocket. Pass your state test to (public) school administrator’s license, and maybe you need to complete a master’s degree in education administration as well.
Where to apply: Previous employer, or another nearby school. Check out Teacher Certification Degrees for information on requirements and licensing.
Salary: Between $40 – $60 per hour
Skills: communication, leadership, self-awareness, interpersonal skills, IT, numeracy, and organization skills. Time management, negotiation, ability to solve conflicts, and discretion when dealing with confidential information.
#16 Work in a Library
Love books? You can work in your school library or public library in town. There are all sorts of jobs in a library from a librarian, library assistant, technician, administrative services to janitor.
For some libraries, you need to have a bachelor or masters degree (academic libraries) and other libraries (public or school libraries), have positions with only a high school diploma as a requirement. So check out which library environment you find exciting and is close to home and find out what kind of positions within a library you like to do.
Where to apply: Nearby academic, public, or school library. Maybe you can have a (parttime) job at your old school library which saves the hassle of any application procedure
Salary: Depends on the type of position within the library. So it varies between $10 – $30 per hour.
Skills: research, computer, interpersonal, written communication, attention to detail.
#17 (online) test grader
Haven’t graded enough tests during your years of teaching? Being an online test grader or test scorer means you grade tests, essays, or other papers from the comfort of your own home.
Mostly being a test grader means you work seasonally. The most online test grading takes place in the fall and spring. So if you like to have a retirement job a couple of months a year and have the summer off for travel or work on a hobby, then this retirement job can fit you perfectly. And once you’re accepted as an online test scorer and you do a good job, companies will invite you back year after year. So you don’t have to worry about getting a job or a new contract every year in retirement.
Where to apply: There are different kinds of companies who need tests graders seasonally or year-round. So here are a couple of companies you can check out.
- Measurement Inc: they have test projects in English language, arts, mathematics, science, and other areas.
- Pearson: different project and edTPA Scorer jobs.
- ETS: a variety of tests from student leader proficiency tests to high school equivalency exams.
- ACT: score ACT Writing Test papers.
Salary: Depends per test but approximately between $10 – $14 per hour.
Skills: Bachelor degree and teaching experience will land you the job easily.
#18 Park Ranger or Park Aide
If you’re looking for totally different working experience in retirement and love being outdoors? You can work as a park ranger or park aide at National Parks or State Parks. Each year the National Park Service and state park agencies take on rangers and park aide for the summer, and you can be one of them.
You can enjoy the beautiful scenery while welcoming and informing guests into campsites, parks, beaches, or historical sites. Your job can be collecting camp fees, cleaning facilities, area beautification, or explaining park rules to visitors.
There are also other job opportunities within National Parks at hotels, restaurants or gift shops as well.
Where to apply: Check out your nearby state’s park department or look for jobs on USAjobs.gov and search “National Park Service.” Or check out Government Jobs for jobs as a Park Aide.
Salary: on average $14 per hour
Skills: Park rangers and park aide must be US citizens and have a valid US driver’s license.
#19 Online English Teacher
If the English language is still a passion of yours and you don’t want to say goodbye to teaching, you can become an online English teacher in retirement. The most comfortable part is that you can do it from the comforts of your own home.
A lot of different companies are looking for (certified) teachers who can teach English online to kids or adults overseas. Mostly the students are kids from Asian countries. So the hours are often fixed hours per week because of the time difference. But you can decide how many hours you would like to teach, so you’re still in control of your retirement schedule.
Where to apply: Check out these companies for online teaching jobs English Hunt, 51 Talk, Teach Away and VIPKID
Salary: Between $20 – $25 per hour
Skills: Fluent in English and depending on the company, you need a bachelor’s or college degree (in education). But that’s already in your pocket.
#20 Sell your teaching materials online
You have years of teaching experience and developed a ton of teaching materials, methods, lessons over the years and that’s probably dusting away right now. Is it? Well, dust it off because you can earn money by selling your teaching recourses, classroom materials, lesson plans, activities, and even classroom decor online.
Where to apply: Check out Edutopia and Teachers pay Teachers to register and get for more information.
Salary: You can make a couple of hundred dollars a month or more, depending on what you have to offer.
Skills: Knowledge of how you can sell your teaching materials in the best way.
#21 Public Speaking Coach
Speaking in front of a crowd is natural for you as a teacher. But that isn’t for everyone. For a lot of people, public speaking is one of their greatest fears. And giving speeches or presentations comes with a lot of jobs. And you can be the solution there are looking for. Because of your qualities and skills as a teacher can be very valuable to others. If you market your talents the right way you can make great money in retirement.
You can become a public speaking coach for different people from teachers, salespersons, managers to CEOs from successful companies. You teach them:
- to overcome their fear of public speaking,
- learn tricks on how to keep a crowd interested,
- and how to sell their story the best way possible to help grow their business.
You don’t need a degree to become a public speaker. And your years of experience in the classroom is sufficient to help most people overcome their fear of public speaking. But knowledge on how to coach people, and knowing business communication will help you coach people in the corporate industry as well.
Where to apply: Start your own business as a freelancer to help individuals or provide lessons and your services at different companies. Or check for jobs nearby on Indeed or Simply Hired.
Salary: Presentations coaches can charge half- or full-day sessions from anything between $2,500-$5,000 (plus travel). Or hourly prices for individual coaching can vary between $50 – $150 per hour.
Skills: coaching skills, problem-solving, sales, business communication skills, leadership, team communication, argumentation, and persuasion.
#22 Trainer
You know how to educate others and how to keep an audience interested and entertained, so why not use these skills to become a trainer in retirement. And the possibilities for being a trainer are endless.
Do you like dogs? You can become a dog trainer in retirement. Do you like first-aid? You can become a first-aid trainer for companies. Or maybe you have a hobby you’re great at, and people are willing to pay for your expertise. For example, painting, crafts, cooking, car mechanics, or whatever you can think of. Or maybe you’re the fittest retiree in town, and you can consider becoming a personal trainer for other retirees.
Pass the required tests or exams to become a licensed trainer within your desired field and start enjoying life in retirement as a freelance trainer.
Where to apply: Get information on licensing and state regulations within your desired field, get your license, and start promoting your services.
Salary: Entirely depends on the field and your years of experience. But probably anything between $10 – $150 per hour.
Skills: in-depth knowledge of the field, communication, interpersonal, organization, enthusiasm, passion, patience, humor.
#23 School Bus Driver
If you love to be around (your) students you can also consider becoming the school bus driver in retirement. You can still keep on eye on the students and influence them in a positive way, but be away from school and doing something new.
It can be a refreshing job for you in retirement, but you need to earn you a school bus driver certificate to be able to do this job in retirement. And these are the requirements:
- Have a commercial driver’s license (CDL)
- Must have at least 20/40 vision and a 70-degree field of vision in each eye.
- Have a clean driving record.
- And have good hearing.
Where to apply: You previous school or other schools nearby.
Salary: Around $14 per hour
Skills: school bus driver certificate, good eyes, and ears.
#24 Government Jobs for retired Teachers
Government jobs can be one for the best jobs for retirees because they come with many benefits. Some positions provide health and dental coverage with only working a minimum of 10 hours a week. And this coverage can make a lot of difference to live a stressfree life in retirement.
It’s also sometimes easier to get a job as a retiree at the government, due to special hiring programs. And the government provides free training on the job at many different positions.
There are many different government jobs out there for retired teachers and I’ve made a list of websites you can check out to find a position that fits you:
- Government Jobs
- Federal Retirement
- USA Jobs
- Experience Works: they help older adults through job training, volunteerism, and employment.
- Jobs at National Institute of Health
- Jobs at the Education Department
- Fed Hire Vets offers job placement opportunities for retired veterans.
If you haven’t found your perfect job within these 24 retirement jobs for teachers, you should check out my other article with the 50 best jobs for retirees here.
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