Many teachers put upwards of 60 hours a week just in the classroom alone, and although that is more than a given full-time job, many teachers still have other jobs in order to compensate for the close to minimum wage pay they receive. Despite their long hours and exhaustion, teachers across the country are now entering the gig economy on their off-hours to make ends meet. Some teachers may work part-time or full-time jobs to supplement their income, while others may work in fields related to their teaching subject as a way to gain additional experience. As part of the 16 percent of American teachers who have second jobs according to the Pew Research Center, this is what a few of our very own Lincoln Southeast teachers do to make ends meet. 

Sarah Fischbein, Algebra and Statistics teacher at LSE, spends her Tuesdays and Thursdays proctoring and grading tests at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. 

Although the extra job brings in extra money, Fischbein says that she is sacrificing personal time. “I just need the extra money.  Do I need the money more than I need, like, my own personal time? Or is that something I can sacrifice?”

Another obstacle for teachers who work outside the school is having to deal with the stress and time crunch that comes with it. 

Teachers get very little time to themselves during the day. With what little time they have, they are dedicating it to even more work. “I only have one plan period during the day, so then [I’m] dedicating two or three nights a week outside of work to something else. It’s just kind of exhausting,” Fischbein said.  

Samuel Segrist, English 10, Creative Writing, and AP Language and Composition teacher at LSE, just recently quit his part-time job working at Barnes and Noble. “Sometimes I found [that] I was missing out on time with friends, or if there was a concert or movie … I found out I was missing out on those by having [a] part-time job,” Segrist said. 

Jordan Brandt, who is currently a student teacher at LSE, has worked part-time at Target for the past three years. 

“The time crunch can be stressful when you feel like you don’t have enough time to get everything done. You don’t have enough time to cook a full dinner because you have to go to work or come back home and I just need to go to sleep, so it can be hard to fit everything in.”

It is important to note that while having a second job can provide additional income, it can also be challenging for teachers to balance their teaching responsibilities with their additional work commitments. Moreover, it is important for teachers to balance their workload and ensure that their responsibilities outside of school do not interfere with their ability to effectively teach their students during the school year. However, it may also be helpful for teachers to discuss their financial concerns with their school administration or seek out resources for financial planning and budgeting.