Job ideas for a former Latin teacher / current counseling student

May 31, 2023 12:01 PM

My friend taught high school Latin but got overwhelmed with the public school stress. She's now in graduate school to become an art therapist. She's been staying home with their small children. Her husband lost his job (not my place to ask) and I'm trying to help her brainstorm ideas for income.I'm hoping the hive mind here can think of some specific suggestions rather than general things like "try tutoring." She lives in Salem, VA.
posted by mermaidcafe to Work & Money (6 answers total)

People with teaching skills and experience are extremely valuable as trainers/professional development folks in the private industry world. I work for a software company and at least one of our "training consultants" is a former public school teacher with no previous tech industry experience.
posted by phunniemee at 12:04 PM on May 31 [1 favorite]

Another tack to take is to identify large employers in the area and see what kinds of jobs they have open. Looks like one of the biggest employers in the Salem/Roanoke area is a large healthcare system - most of their job postings are for medical professionals but there are also tons of office, customer service, even lab jobs that are open to people with no particular qualifications (or none beyond a bachelor's).

How much money does she need to make? Is she in a "financial emergency, need money right now" kind of situation or is this more of a "career change" kind of situation? What kinds of hours can she swing (does she need to work around her degree program)? Is working from home (with her small children and husband in the house) an option or does she need to be out of the house to work?

Honestly I think most people can be good at lots of very different kinds of jobs, and a lot of the time the logistics of what jobs are available and acceptable are more important than whether the work and the worker are exactly suited to each other.
posted by mskyle at 1:14 PM on May 31 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: @mskyle Some good ideas. They definitely need money now, but she also needs to be with her kids at home bc one is special needs. Part time could be an option. I’m sure there are jobs she could do there!
posted by mermaidcafe at 1:37 PM on May 31

I unfortunately do not have a good online tutoring company recommendation, but as an experienced freelance tutor, I can tell her to insist upon TOP DOLLAR for Latin tutoring. In New York it would be $100/hr., maybe $125.
posted by 8603 at 1:44 PM on May 31 [1 favorite]

A friend of a friend was a Latin teacher who did pretty well doing SAT prep tutoring as a side hustle. That can definitely be part time and maybe even online/remote. I'd try running solo before I signed on with an agency, personally.
posted by SaltySalticid at 4:52 PM on May 31 [1 favorite]

Perhaps she could apply to teach summer school (just a few weeks) or be a summer homebound teacher with a local school district, of which there are a few in her area.
posted by smorgasbord at 5:42 PM on May 31 [2 favorites]