How Teachers Can Supplement Their Salaries

Educators frequently supplement their teaching salary by coaching a sport or advising an extra-curricular activity. The motivation for such positions is sometimes monetary, but most often it is from a desire to help students experience success.

Often, the educator has a personal passion for the activity like coaching baseball or directing the school’s play. Other times, the teacher may be taking on a completely new role and learns vast amounts of information alongside with students.

Supplement advisors form close relationships with the involved students. Since the students are actively choosing involvement in the activity, behavior management is rarely a concern. Educators are able to mentor students in a different type of learning atmosphere through supplement positions.

Opportunities for coaching and extra-curricular advisor positions are more common at the high school level. However, elementary school teachers will frequently take on a secondary level supplemental position.

Before agreeing to a supplement position, the educator should make sure he is aware of all the responsibilities involved. Is travel required? Is the program fully funded or will fundraisers need to take place? Who is in charge of scheduling the group’s events? What hours are the facilities available for practice? Will there be an assistant?

Just as for regular employment, the school board must approve an employee for supplemental work. Sometimes other applicants are involved in an interview process. One does not have to be a school employee to coach or lead an extra-curricular event though precedence may be given to school employees.

The pay for advising supplemental positions varies from several hundred dollars to thousands of dollars largely depending on the time investment required. Many school districts have payscales developed for their supplement positions. With additional experience, pay raises tend to occur every year. However, some positions are entirely voluntary.

Interested teaching candidates can use the ability to coach a sport or lead an activity to help make their application more noteworthy. Willingness to direct a sport or activity that is hard to find an advisor for is highly regarded.

Also, a supplement position may be obtained before a teaching position opens giving the candidate an entryway into the school system.

Depending on the position, supplements can be very time consuming. First year teachers are often pressured into taking supplemental positions. Teachers must analyze how much time the supplement position will take and ensure it leaves enough time for regular teacher job duties, any enrolled master’s courses, family and household duties, and personal time.

With supplementary positions the educator is working with a group of students who are passionate about the sport or activity. There is usually an intense desire for the students involved in the sport or activity to succeed. Combine this drive with an area of interest to the educator, and supplement positions feel more like play than work.