Teachers are about three times as likely as other U.S. workers to have two jobs, according to the Pew Research Center. In a recent Fact Tank post, Pew reports that 16% of U.S. public school teachers held non-school jobs during the 2015 summer break. A slightly higher percentage (18%) worked second jobs during the 2015-16 school year.

Which teachers are most likely to take on additional jobs? According to Pew’s analysis of data from the National Center for Education Statistics, younger and less experienced teachers, who generally have lower salaries, are more likely to have summer jobs. Among teachers with only one year of experience of less, 32% worked a summer job, compared to 13% of teachers with 15 or more years of experience. However, the percentage of teachers taking second jobs during the school year did not seem to vary by level of experience or age. These summer jobs amounted to around 12% of new teachers’ annual income. For more experienced teachers, summer jobs made up 6 or 7% of their annual income.

Male teachers were more likely than female teachers to have a second job during the summer and during the school year. And secondary teachers were more likely than elementary teachers to have second jobs.

According to Pew, these trends have remained consistent since the 2007-08 school year.

Source: Schaeffer, K. (2019, July 1). About one-in-six U.S. teachers work second jobs — and not just in the summerFact tank: News in the numbers. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center.