What’s that in the air? Unbearable heat, humidity, and the excitable chorus of children soon to be released from the daily constraints of modern schooling?
Whether you’re rejoicing over the end of a traditional school year or sweating over the pause in paychecks, here are some ways to prepare for summer as a substitute teacher:
Start a side job
I know that for some, substitute teaching is already the side job.
Maybe financial realities will drive you to find a side job for your side job.
Don’t let the sudden stop in available work come as a surprise to you– if that income will be missed, then cobble together some type of plan.
In March, I wrote an article on different side hustle ideas for resigning teachers, and the information there can easily apply to substitutes as well. Take a look at the post for inspiration, true stories from the trenches, and my personal ranking of different side hustles from worst to best.
Teach summer school
Technically, this can be a side job as well, but I thought it earned its own category.
Does your school district invite substitutes to share in the blessing of teaching summer school?
Mine does– but if you do teach summer school, you earn a substitute rate. Womp womp. Even with this unappealing payment situation, I signed up to teach summer school once– in a rare instance of technically being a substitute because I was a certified teacher on a break.
This post will guide you through all the specifics behind deciding if teaching summer school is right for you. Like anything, there are the usual benefits and drawbacks, but add in the sweltering summer heat.
If you do choose to take up the mantle of instruction during summer vacation, I applaud you. Summer school teachers are just a different breed (I can say that, being a former summer school teacher). Forged in the fires of the unrelenting temperatures and a loss of the usual school structures, summer school teachers are a special brand of tough/eccentric. Here are my best tips for success in the endeavor.
Go lean and save up
If your substitute teaching income dries up for nearly three months, is that an issue for you?
It could be that you have plenty of funds to live off of, and you substitute teach “for fun.”
(I don’t find this likely for the majority of cases– because subbing is tough and most people don’t want to do it.)
The substitutes who have some sort of other income or savings may be fine with a break in paychecks.
For the rest, if you’re not going to take up another job, then you really are faced with one final choice: to reduce expenses.
It makes sense that if there’s less money coming in, there should be less money coming out.
Find ways to cut the fat in your lifestyle. There are endless resources out there for saving money, from food to energy to transportation. The Ramsey Solutions website includes 23 actionable ideas for cutting back. Even trying a couple could help reduce expenses to the necessary amount for a few months.
Unfortunately, as substitute teachers, we have to think of ourselves as 9-10-month employees instead of full-year. We have to plan for that gap in missing income.
Take extra substitute teacher assignments before the school year ends
Maybe I’ve caught you before the school waves off that last busload of students.
In that case, whatever your regular work load is, consider increasing it to cover the lean months of summer.
Here are a few real-world examples to make the tactic more clear:
Example sub math:
- I need to work 4x/mo to earn $560 after tax.
- But alas! Three non-earning months are approaching. Multiply 4 x 3 to get 12.
- Now we need to house the 12 orphan days in the months remaining.
- This means May should be covered in a higher volume of sub jobs to make up for the jobless lull. Instead of 4 working days this month, I have to increase it to 12 to still meet that financial goal.
That’s it! You’re adding in extra days the remainder of the school year to make up for not working over the summer.
And here’s another example looking at an entire school year:
Example sub math (part 2):
- Let’s say your family would really benefit from you making $5,000 the next schoolyear.
- Divide your total goal by your one-day pay rate after tax (so for me, it would be 5,000/140)
- This is your total number of days you need to sub. Either stop here or split it up monthly for a more graspable goal.
- In my example, I would need to sub 35.7 days to meet the $5,000. Splittling this up over 9 months would make 3.9 jobs a month.
- Obviously, I’ll round that 3.9 to 4 jobs a month.
- 4 jobs a month is an attainable goal for me. I could take it further, and assuming each month has 4 weeks, make it goal to pick up a job once a week.
- This plan ensures I’m covered for the summer– last-minute calculations not necessary!
Face the summer with a strategy
Don’t be caught off guard or left in the dark with the approaching summer.
You owe yourself that much, substitute.
Substitute teachers are vital to the school ecosystem– take care of yourself so you can fulfill your important duty when the next school year rolls in.
Yes, relax and fully enjoy the summer break, but also come up with a plan to face a few months without your substitute teaching paycheck.
Substitutes: What plan do you have? What kind of side jobs do you recommend getting over the summer? Let me know in the comments!
