The 10 Best Jobs For Retired Teachers

Teaching is a hard and underappreciated job, to say the least, and retirement is well deserved.

As with retirees in many other industries, it can be difficult for retired teachers to adjust to life without a full-time job taking up so much of their time. Whether you choose to go back to work after you retire because you need the money, or you are bored, or both, there are a number of roles that could be an especially perfect fit for you as a retired teacher.

10 of the Best Jobs for Retired Teachers

Tutor

Average Annual Salary: $33,000

If you’re a retired teacher who is having a hard time imagining not teaching in some capacity, working as a tutor might be a great option for you.

As a tutor, you can work for a school, a third-party tutoring company, or even online. You can also often choose your schedule and how often you want to work, giving you plenty of flexibility.

You’d also get to focus on working with students one-on-one instead of managing a classroom, and if you wanted to try out working with different age groups of students than the one you taught, you could potentially do that as well.

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Writer

Average Annual Salary: $57,000

No matter what subject you taught, you’ve likely honed your writing and communication skills, but this is especially true if you taught English, grammar, or language arts.

Companies need website content, magazines need articles, and the world needs to hear what you have to say via your own blog. Depending on the direction you take, you may or may not make much money, but you would likely have all the flexibility you could ask for as a tradeoff.

If writing isn’t your speed, companies also need good editors, and chances are you’ve gotten your fair share of editing experience working as a teacher.

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Curriculum Developer

Average Annual Salary: $50,000

School curriculum companies need experts to help them make their products better, and who is better to do that than someone who actually has experience using the product?

In this role, you’ll experience the satisfaction of knowing you’re helping other teachers and students have the best educational materials possible.

Plus, you may also be able to work remotely and/or part-time in this job, allowing you to still have plenty of time for yourself.

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School Bus Driver

Average Annual Salary: $34,000

School districts are almost always in need of school bus drivers who have their CDLs and can handle large groups of rowdy kids. As a retired teacher, you would need to obtain your CDL, but after that, you’d likely have the rest of the qualifications bus drivers need to have.

This job may be a great fit for you, too, since you’d only have to work on the days that school is in session, and often schools only need you to show up at work before and after school, giving you the remainder of the day off.

Plus, you’d still get to be around kids and check in on them without having to be teaching full-time.

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Nanny or Childcare Provider

Average Annual Salary: $25,000

If you just love caring for kids, you might be an excellent candidate for a private nanny or childcare facility position. Your credentials as a retired teacher will be valued by employers and parents alike, and you’ll get to focus on interacting with kids without being responsible for their academic success.

Work schedules in this field can vary widely, giving you plenty of options depending on how flexible you want to be.

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School Counselor or Academic Advisor

As a retired teacher, you know as well as anyone that students need guidance outside the classroom just as much as inside. Whether it’s choosing a schedule that will set them up for success, applying for colleges, or trying to figure out how to make friends, students need guidance counselors to help them out.

Retired teachers often come into this role with plenty of experience on what students are struggling with and can help them and their teachers have a more successful year together.

The perks of being a guidance counselor include the fact that many of these positions allow you to work a few days a week or at least have a more flexible schedule than most teachers do, and that you’d get to work with students one-on-one instead of in a busy classroom.

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Corporate Trainer

Average Annual Salary: $54,000

Adults need instruction too, and many organizations love bringing in engaging, knowledgeable teachers to help their employees grow as individuals and as a team.

You’d likely need to complete some training and certifications to do this, but once you do, you can work with a single company, for a third-party professional development organization, or as a contractor.

If you become a corporate trainer, you’d get to put your communication and teaching skills to use, helping professionals and organizations reach their full potential. Plus, most adults know how to sit still, taking some of the stress out of the equation.

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Personal Trainer or Coach

Average Annual Salary: $38,000

If you’re a teacher who also played a sport or simply enjoys working out, consider becoming a personal trainer or coach.

As a personal trainer, you’ll get to work for a gym or fitness center, helping adults meet their fitness goals.

As a coach, you could work for a school coaching their sports teams (as long as you’re somewhat proficient at the sport), or you could coach an elementary team at your local rec center (which requires less athletic proficiency and more ability to control a crowd of kids).

In either of these roles, you’ll get to put your teaching and motivational skills to work, helping people become the best versions of themselves as much as possible.

You also often can pick what seasons you do or don’t want to participate in, giving you plenty of flexibility, and you can pick a less or more stressful role, depending on what appeals to you.

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Museum Educator

Average Annual Salary: $31,000

Museums need employees to give tours, answer questions, and run workshops. As a retired teacher, you’d not only get to put your teaching skills to work in this role, but you’d also get to continue to learn new things and instill a love of learning about the world in others.

Since museums are relatively quiet establishments, it wouldn’t be stressful, and even if you do have some unruly kids come through, you can send them home at the end of the day and know that they won’t be coming back the next day.

Another perk of this job is that you might get discounted admission at the museums and others in your area.

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Substitute Teacher

Average Annual Salary: $33,000

If you’ve officially retired but can’t imagine life entirely outside the classroom just yet, being a substitute teacher could be a great opportunity for you. Whether you choose to do it for a season as you transition into retirement or as a long-term job, schools will appreciate having someone they can trust to call on in a pinch.

While you’d still be managing classrooms in this role, it is often less stressful than being a full-time teacher since you aren’t in charge of students’ progress or of interacting with their parents.

As a substitute teacher, you can usually choose how often you work and which jobs you take, giving you plenty of freedom to balance working with enjoying your new life as a retiree.

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What To Look For in a Job as a Retired Teacher

In addition to the obvious criteria such as pay, benefits, and whether or not you’ll enjoy the job, there are a few other elements that you should consider when looking for a position as a Retired Teacher:

Low stress. Some people thrive in chaos or in stressful jobs, and if that’s you, kudos. Others, however, are often looking for a way out of the craziness of managing a classroom full of energetic kids and their sometimes difficult parents.

If this is the case for you, you should look for a job that doesn’t bring a lot of stress with it. Jobs with a straightforward task to accomplish under a reasonable amount of time or jobs that allow you to work in a quiet environment might be good fits.

Something that you don’t have to take home in the evenings — mentally or physically — would likely be an attractive option as well.
Flexible schedule. Along with minimal stress, you should look for a job that provides you with a flexible schedule. After all, you’re retired, and while that doesn’t mean you don’t still enjoy working or don’t need a paycheck, your goal is likely to take time to do the things you want to do.

Because of this, jobs that offer flexible hours or the option to work remotely are often good fits for retired teachers.

You may even want to look into part-time, seasonal, or freelance positions that give you more power to set your own schedule.
Ability to put your skills to use. Unless you want to put your teaching days entirely behind you, you and others in your community could likely benefit from using the skills you’ve honed throughout the course of your career.

Many companies are looking for experienced communicators and instructors to fill roles, and retired teachers often fit this bill. Or, if you truly love kids, there are plenty of opportunities to work with them in non-educational roles.

You can also find jobs that are less on-the-nose matches for your skillset, though. For example, you probably have great customer service and conflict management skills now, so a position that allows you to put those to use could also be fulfilling.

Never miss an opportunity that’s right for you.

Author

Abby McCain

Abby is a writer who is passionate about the power of story. Whether it’s communicating complicated topics in a clear way or helping readers connect with another person or place from the comfort of their couch. Abby attended Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she earned a degree in writing with concentrations in journalism and business.

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