The best summer jobs for teachers are the ones that fit your schedule, pay decently, and don't drain the energy you've spent the school year rebuilding. The strongest options in 2026 fall into four categories: tutoring and education-adjacent work, flexible gig work (driving, delivery, moving), remote and online roles, and short-term seasonal jobs.

According to the National Education Association, the average U.S. teacher salary was $69,544 in 2023–24 — but most teachers are paid on a 10-month contract, which leaves a two-month income gap that summer work is designed to fill. EdWeek and other education outlets have reported that roughly 1 in 6 U.S. teachers takes on summer work to bridge that gap.

This guide breaks down 12 of the best summer jobs for teachers in 2026 — what they pay, how much time they take, and how to pick the one that actually fits your summer.

At a glance: 12 summer jobs for teachers

Job type Typical pay Time commitment Best for
Online tutoring $20–$80/hour 5–25 hrs/week, flexible Subject-matter teachers
In-person tutoring (Mathnasium, Sylvan, etc.) $20–$30/hour Part-time, scheduled Teachers who prefer in-person work
Summer camp counselor or director $300–$900/week Full-time, day or residential Teachers comfortable being "on" with kids
Test prep instructor (SAT/ACT/AP) $30–$100/hour Evenings, weekends Content-strong teachers
Curriculum writing / freelance content $25–$75/hour Project-based, remote Strong writers
Moving and delivery gigs with Lugg $20–$40+/hour, tips on top Slot-based, your choice Teachers comfortable lifting ~100 lbs who want zero commitment
Rideshare / food delivery $15–$30/hour On-demand Teachers with a reliable car
ESL or teaching English abroad $1,500–$3,000/month 4–10 weeks abroad Teachers seeking adventure
Online course creation Variable (passive after launch) Front-loaded effort Niche-expertise teachers
Virtual assistant or freelance work $20–$50/hour Flexible, remote Organized, tech-comfortable teachers
Pet sitting and dog walking $35–$75/visit; $15–$30/hour Flexible Animal lovers
Summer school substitute teaching $130–$200/day Day-by-day, 4–6 weeks Teachers staying close to home

First, decide what kind of summer you actually want

Before you start applying, ask yourself two questions. How much do you need to earn? Calculate your monthly take-home pay over the school year and multiply by two to estimate the summer income gap — for most teachers it lands somewhere between $4,000 and $10,000. How much energy do you have left? Teaching is one of the most emotionally demanding professions in the U.S., and a summer spent doing more of the same can quietly burn you into August.

The teachers who get the most out of summer pick a job that's either deeply flexible (you can step away on a Wednesday if you need to) or genuinely different from school (so your brain gets a real break). The 12 options below are sorted with that in mind.

Education-adjacent summer jobs

1: Online tutoring

Online tutoring is the most flexible high-paying summer job for teachers, with rates of $20–$80 per hour depending on the subject and platform. Wyzant, Outschool, Varsity Tutors, Tutor.com, and Preply are the largest marketplaces. Test prep, AP courses, and STEM tutoring command the top of that range; general elementary tutoring sits at the bottom.

You set your hours, work from home, and most platforms let you start within a week. The trade-off is platform fees (typically 15–30%) and the fact that demand drops in late July as families wind down before the school year.

2: In-person tutoring at academic enrichment centers

Mathnasium, Sylvan, Kumon, and Huntington Learning Center hire credentialed teachers for the summer at $20–$30 per hour. The hours are predictable, the curriculum is built for you, and the work is structured — appealing if you want the familiarity of teaching without lesson planning.

3: Summer camp counselor or director

Summer camp roles pay $300–$900 per week, often with lodging included for residential camps, and run anywhere from 4 to 10 weeks. Day camps (YMCA, Boys & Girls Club, JCC, local rec departments) pay at the lower end with a normal work-day schedule. Residential and specialty camps (academic, sports, arts) pay more but require living on-site.

The American Camp Association lists thousands of accredited camps; teachers are heavily preferred for instructor, head counselor, and director roles. The work isn't a break from kids — but it's a break from grading, parent emails, and standardized testing.

4: Test prep instructor (SAT, ACT, AP)

The Princeton Review, Kaplan, and local test prep centers pay teachers $30–$100 per hour to lead small-group SAT, ACT, and AP review classes through the summer. Content-strong teachers (English, math, science) are in highest demand. Most positions run evenings and weekends, which leaves your days open.

5: Curriculum writing and freelance education content

Education publishers, ed-tech startups, and curriculum companies regularly hire teachers as paid contributors at $25–$75 per hour or on a per-project basis. Look at TeachersPayTeachers (sell your own), education startups on AngelList, and content roles at companies like Khan Academy, IXL, Newsela, and CommonLit. This is remote, asynchronous work that pays well if you can write efficiently.

Flexible gig work for teachers

6: Moving and delivery gigs with Lugg

On-demand moving and delivery gig work is one of the highest-paying flexible summer options for teachers — and for the right teacher, it's hard to beat. Luggers sign up for slots (typically 4, 5, or 8 hours) and work the jobs assigned to them during that window. You decide which slots and weeks to commit to, so the work can flex around camping trips, family obligations, or whatever else your summer involves.

Lugg is one of the largest on-demand moving and delivery apps in the U.S., with over 1.5 million Lugg moves completed across 4,000+ cities. Here's why the pay structure works well for teachers:

  • You earn a percentage of every job you complete. Whether a job is per-minute labor or a flat-rate delivery, Luggers earn commission on every fare. And summer is peak moving season — demand spikes in May, June, and July — so there's no shortage of jobs and no ceiling on what you can earn. The more slots you take, the more you make.
  • Tips are paid out per move. Customers aren't required to tip, but many do, and tips go directly to the Luggers on the job. Top summer earners on Lugg clear $1,000+/month in tips alone on top of fare earnings.
  • Same-day pay. You don't wait for a weekly direct deposit. Earnings hit your account the same day you work.
  • Schedule control. No required minimum hours and no fixed weekly shifts. If you don't want to work a given week, don't pick up any slots. If you do sign up for a slot, you're expected to commit to it.

Two ways teachers typically join:

  1. As a driver with a pickup truck, cargo van, or box truck (2001 or newer — no sedans or SUVs). Drivers bring their own moving equipment (straps, dollies, blankets, stretch wrap). You can also rent a qualifying truck for the summer.
  2. As a helper — a second mover on a job — if you don't have a qualifying vehicle. All you need is your phone. You pair up with a Lugger who has the truck, and both of you earn a percentage of each fare; the driver takes a larger share since they're providing the vehicle and equipment, but the helper cut is meaningful, and tips come on top.

Applying to become a Lugger is a short form that takes about two minutes, and most teachers can be activated within the week. For a deeper read on the driver side, Drive for Lugg covers vehicle requirements and the activation flow, and the helper guide walks through the smartphone-only sign-up. If you're weighing gig work against traditional driving roles like UPS, UPS driver jobs vs. gig apps breaks down the trade-offs.

Is Lugg right for every teacher? No. The work is physical — you have to be comfortable lifting up to 100 lbs and moving furniture, and a lot of jobs happen outdoors in summer heat. But for teachers who are physically capable, who like a change of pace from the classroom, and who want a schedule-flexible summer income with same-day pay, Lugg pays better per hour than most gig apps and lets you walk away the moment school starts again.

7: Rideshare and food delivery

Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart, and Uber Eats are the obvious choices if you have a reliable car. Pay typically runs $15–$30 per hour after expenses, with peaks during evenings and weekends. The work is highly flexible but per-job pay is smaller than moving-and-delivery work — you're trading volume for higher per-trip pay.

8: Pet sitting and dog walking

Rover and Wag pay $15–$30 per hour for walks and $35–$75 per visit for sitting and boarding (boarding pays the most). Summer is peak demand because families travel. Teachers with a yard or pet-friendly home often build a full schedule of $1,500+/month in boarding within a few weeks.

Remote and online summer jobs

9: Online course creation

If you have a niche you've taught for years, you can build a course on Outschool, Udemy, Teachable, or Thinkific and earn passive income through the summer and beyond. The catch: the first 1–3 months are mostly upfront work with no guaranteed return. Teachers with an existing audience — a TeachersPayTeachers following, a popular social presence — see the best results.

10: Virtual assistant or freelance work

Upwork, Belay, Fiverr, and Contra are the largest marketplaces. Teachers do well as virtual assistants ($20–$50/hour), proofreaders ($25–$60/hour), and freelance writers because the skill stack — organization, communication, editing — is exactly what clients need. The first two weeks are about building a profile and landing your first few reviews.

Travel and seasonal summer jobs

11: ESL or teaching English abroad

Short-term summer ESL programs run 4–10 weeks and pay $1,500–$3,000 per month, often with housing included. WorldTeach, CIEE, Greenheart Travel, and Teach Away run the most reputable programs. A TEFL certificate (40+ hours, around $300 online) is required for most paid roles. This is the option teachers pick when summer is the trip more than the paycheck.

12: Summer school substitute teaching

Most districts run shortened summer school for credit recovery or enrichment and pay substitute teachers $130–$200 per day. You're already credentialed, you already know the system, and you can apply through your district's HR portal in about an hour. Slots are limited, but if you get one the work runs 4–6 weeks and pays consistently.

How to choose the right summer job for you

The two most useful filters are how much you need to earn and how much social energy you have left. If you need to close a real income gap ($5K+) and have the bandwidth, stacking is the move: a higher-paying anchor job (test prep, curriculum writing, residential camp) plus a flexible gig (Lugg, tutoring) for the gaps and weekends.

If your goal is to rest with a little income on the side, lean toward the most flexible options on the list — gig work and online tutoring — where you can turn it off the moment you need a real break.

The takeaway

The right summer job for a teacher isn't the highest-paying one — it's the one that closes the income gap you need closed without spending the rest of the energy you'll need in August. Pick one anchor job that fits your bandwidth, then stack in something flexible (gig work, tutoring) for the weeks you want more income. If you want the most flexible option on the list and you're in one of the 4,000+ U.S. cities Lugg operates in, signing up to drive or help on Lugg takes about two minutes and you can be activated within the week.