In the morning they are teachers, in the evening they work in restaurants. Teachers are looking for extra jobs to earn extra money

The new school year started last week. According to many teachers, in addition to issues related to science, the issue of low salaries in education has also returned. In a professional group popular on social media, which is followed by tens of thousands of people involved in education, numerous questions are asked about the possibility of earning extra money outside of traditional tutoring. Older teachers tell their younger colleagues about their experiences in other jobs and also share information about possible remuneration.

Teachers’ salaries. They are looking for additional activities to earn extra money

“Does anyone manage to combine working at school and at a store or gas station?” – one of the teachers started a new discussion a few days ago. Many job seekers openly admit that it is embarrassing that people in this profession have to work extra hours to earn some normal money for living.

“I combine work with tutoring – from September, traffic jams will be my main source of income. I treat my school salary as pocket money.” – wrote one of the teachers. “And I have a full-time job in a regular company and I work extra money at school,” added the second one. One of the popular options recommended by teachers themselves is to work in several schools, but part-time in each of them. In their opinion, this form of cooperation with several schools is profitable because you can earn as much as a good salary in a corporation.

There were also many hints, some of them may be surprising. Some people worry whether it is possible to work like this in the long run. Mrs. Agnieszka works as a kindergarten teacher, and in the afternoons she starts her second job as a nanny. Mrs. Anna also describes her second job. “I worked full-time in a kindergarten, plus electronics stores on weekends – as a merchandiser or promoter”. However, she warns other teachers that additional money is gained at the expense of health.

First they work at school, then they go to work in a corporation

Mrs. Barbara speaks in a similar tone. “I work full-time at school and part-time in a corporation. It’s quite hard” – he informs. Reading subsequent statements by teachers, one may get the impression that some of them work from morning to night and on weekends.

“He works at a special school full time plus overtime. I do theater etudes once a week in kindergartens and schools. Additionally, she works as a therapist in a seniors’ home for several hours a week,” reads another teacher’s entry. Many of the comments sound almost similar. “Full time at school plus remote work”. “I work two jobs, but I have the second one 100 percent. manual. It’s not easy, but thanks to this I am making my dreams come true” – he points out. Further examples are also not optimistic.

“Full-time job in kindergarten with children and 1/4-time job at KFC” – this is another entry about additional activities. One of the ladies works in a kindergarten eight hours a day and earns extra money in a store. “It was different for me. “Full-time job as a kindergarten teacher plus pedagogical therapy – five hours plus probation officer” – admits another.

Teachers work below their qualifications. A long list of additional professions

The list of professions in which teachers earn extra money is long. In addition to working in restaurants, retirement homes and office work, they perform other professions that have nothing to do with their education. “In addition to my full-time job at school, I also bake cakes. “I bake to perfection” – notes one of the ladies. Unfortunately, some people work below their qualifications, for example accepting offers for office cleaning.

According to experts, teachers earn extra money because they have to, not because they want to. Many of them have no choice but to go to another employer after working at school. – Working two jobs is most often dictated by insufficient income. In addition, there are daily, increasingly higher expenses in almost every sphere of life – they claim.

The market situation favors additional work. Companies will hire anyone to work with them

The current situation on the labor market favors teachers who are looking for an additional source of income. Companies cannot fill vacancies, even though they are constantly looking for workers. Many employers are ready to accept any employee without looking at their CV. If no one applies for a given position, recruiters accept people willing to cooperate on a half- or quarter-time basis. Some teachers admit that they have long since put their pride aside, and for a few hours of additional work a day they receive a second salary, which is equal to the teacher’s salary.

Labor market specialists pay attention to another very important aspect. Teachers are increasingly talking not only about the possibility of earning extra money, but also about changing their profession. – In the context of changing industries, the stakes are, of course, higher or much higher earnings, but also a completely different nature of work – says Maja Gojtowska, HR process consultant.

In her opinion, this can be clearly seen in the example of teachers who, in recent years, have been more and more willing to retrain not only to earn more, but also to work in a different way – remotely/hybrid, and not only stationary or in other conditions – in the office, not at school, interacting with colleagues and business clients rather than with students and parents.

– The decision regarding the direction of changing the industry is very individual and should result not only from temporary fashion, but also from the candidate’s unique competences and talents. Year by year, we observe a large outflow of employees from Polish education. Teachers are great at working as recruiters, salespeople, marketers and content creators, adds Maja Gojtowska.

Nothing for free. They work at the expense of their time

According to Dr. Marek Szopski, a sociologist from the University of Warsaw, each of us wants to earn more, and teachers also have a similar goal. This is due to the fact that one salary does not meet their daily needs. However, the lecturer warns that nothing comes for free. – When teachers take on additional work, they pay with their time. And this most often causes various consequences in the long run, says Dr. Szopski.

This is confirmed by Mrs. Anna, a Polish language teacher at one of Warsaw’s primary schools. He works at school from Monday to Friday. Three days a week, after work, he goes to his second employer, where he works as a proofreader. On Saturdays he gives private lessons.

Her husband, Jacek, is a PE teacher at another primary school in the capital. After school hours, he conducts classes at the football club with young football players three times a week. From October, there will be additional classes or matches; matches of the capital’s youth league are usually held on Saturdays or Sundays.

– Yes, we earn four wages and have enough for everything, but it all comes at the expense of our time together. We spend our entire days running, away from home. We are a telephone family, we have to be connected all the time. We call each other dozens of times a day to keep in touch. During the week, if nothing unexpected comes up, we have the entire Sunday free – says Mrs. Anna.