Teacher

The standard pathway to becoming a school teacher typically involves first getting a degree, but teachers don’t usually get a bachelor’s degree in education. Instead, it’s more common to first get a bachelor’s degree in the subject you want to teach and then get a master’s degree in education.

That said, you don’t necessarily need an education degree to teach. It may be possible for you to start teaching without a degree in education, depending on your state’s teacher requirements. Some states allow you to start teaching right away with a temporary teaching certificate or enroll in a teacher preparation program or teacher education program that allows you to gain teaching credentials while teaching in classrooms.

Technically, it is possible to become a teacher without a degree. There are a few different alternative routes to teaching that allow you to bypass teacher education requirements.

1. Become an alternate-route teacher

If you’re exceptionally knowledgeable or skilled in a particular field, you may qualify to become a teacher without going to college by applying for an alternate route to teaching certification. This is the main way to transition to teaching in schools without any degree or teaching credentials.

Alternate route teaching programs are designed for industry professionals who are looking to change careers and move into teaching. The idea is that what you lack in formal education (bachelor’s or master’s degree) you make up for in equivalent skills and experience.

The process looks a little different from one state to the next, so search alternate route to certification options in your state to find out what you’ll have to do. You may need to undergo training, but it’s sometimes possible to start a teaching job in a public school before you’ve completed the training program.

2. Become an English language teacher

If you’re a native English speaker, there are several ways you can teach the English language without getting a degree or even any licenses or certifications. For example, you can become an ESL teacher, which would allow you to teach in a real classroom at language centers where you live.

Alternatively, you can become an online English teacher. With this option, you teach English virtually from your computer from home or anywhere you like. You may end up teaching students from all over the world.

The final option is teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL). This usually involves moving abroad and teaching English in classrooms in foreign countries, although you can also teach online from your home country.

3. Become a substitute teacher

Depending on where you live, you may be able to become a substitute teacher without a college degree. Substitutes have different responsibilities than full-time teachers. Since they don’t usually need to plan course curricula or make large-scale decisions, teacher training and education isn’t quite as important.

There are a handful of US states that allow people to work as substitute teachers with just a high school diploma, so check whether you live in one of these states. However, bear in mind that depending on the competition where you live, it may be difficult to actually get hired by a school to substitute teach without teaching qualifications or prior experience.

4. Become a teaching assistant

Unlike primary teachers, teaching assistants don’t usually need a bachelor’s degree or a degree in education. While you won’t technically be teaching the class, you will play a fundamental role in supporting classroom teachers and educational activities in a traditional classroom setting.

Some educational settings have a greater need for teaching assistants, and depending on competition and demand, certain roles are easier to break into without a degree. Some options include becoming a special education assistant or a teacher assistant for vocational classes.

The process of becoming a teaching assistant varies from state to state. In most cases, you will need at least a high school diploma (or equivalent) and be expected to pass a certification exam and a background check.

There are several types of teachers who don’t necessarily work in schools or traditional classroom settings. Choosing a nontraditional teaching job allows you to pass on knowledge and skills to students without having to go through the same rigorous education and licensing requirements as traditional school teachers.

Here are some alternative teaching careers that don’t require a college degree. Some even offer the opportunity to work for yourself on your own terms or only teach part-time as a side hustle.

Music teacher

It’s entirely possible to become a music teacher without a degree. While it’s much trickier to do if you want to teach music in public or private schools, there are countless teaching opportunities outside the classroom.

It goes without saying that you’ll need to have musical expertise, whether that be advanced skills playing an instrument or in-depth knowledge of a particular music-related subject, such as music theory or composition.

Many music teachers run their own side hustle, offering private lessons to individual students. It’s also possible to find a job teaching music at a local studio or music store. You can even become an online music teacher and quickly find students on online tutoring platforms.

Dance teacher

If you’re skilled in a particular style of dance, then becoming a dance teacher could be an option for you. Many dance teachers have years of dance training but no formal degree in the subject.

You can teach anything from ballet or salsa to break dancing or ballroom dancing. Many dance teachers work at dance studios, but you can also teach dance fitness classes at gyms, offer private dance lessons, or host your own workshops.

Yoga instructor

Becoming a yoga teacher is a simple and relatively quick process compared to becoming a school teacher. You don’t need any degree. Instead, all you need to do is complete a yoga teacher training program and get certified. You can do this in just a few weeks or months.

As a yoga teacher, you’ll have plenty of options when it comes to where you work. You can work in a gym or yoga studio, at resorts, or even open your own studio. There’s even potential to travel as a yoga teacher by teaching yoga online or hosting pop-up sessions in various locations.

Driving instructor

If you’re one of the many Americans who know how to drive, then why not consider becoming a driving instructor? You can offer in-person driver’s education classes, which isn’t too far removed from teaching a high school or community college class. And most importantly, you don’t need a degree to teach people how to drive.

Requirements for driver’s ed teachers vary from state to state. In many cases, you’ll need to complete a driving instructor course, pass an exam, pass a background check, and get a driving instructor license.

CPR instructor

Becoming a CPR instructor is one of the fastest ways to start teaching. Because CPR requires such a finite amount of knowledge and training, getting certified to teach CPR is a very quick process. Getting CPR certified only takes 1–2 days. After that, you can get qualified as a CPR instructor in as little as 2 days.

One of the best parts of a CPR teaching side hustle is that courses are very short, often just lasting a day or two. This makes teaching CPR a great way to teach part-time or sporadically when your schedule allows.

Private tutor

As an alternative to standard teaching, you could opt to become a tutor. Instead of teaching classes or groups of learners, this involves one-on-one teaching with individual students.

There are countless different subjects you could teach as a private tutor, from traditional classroom subjects like math or science to languages, professional subjects (accounting, business management, programming, etc.) or even hobby subjects like chess or songwriting.

One of the best parts about a tutoring side hustle is that you get to decide when, where, and who you teach. You can tutor in person or use an online tutoring platform. It’s also an easy gig that just about anyone can pick up—you just need to find out what subject you’re most knowledgeable about.

Religious teacher

Plenty of religious organizations rely on religious teachers to educate youth and newcomers about the religion. Since this type of teaching often doesn’t happen in school settings, you usually won’t need to have a degree.

Workshop instructor

There are no requirements you need to meet to share your knowledge with others if you’re doing so through private events. This means you can easily host your own workshops without a degree or any of the other stringent requirements that school teachers need to meet.

Workshops are a particularly great way to teach subjects that fall in the broader categories of arts, crafts, or cooking, although you could host workshops on any hobby or interest you have. You could host the workshops in community centers, public spaces, or in your own home.

The trickiest part to achieving success teaching workshops is finding students and attendees. You’ll find this part easier if you’re teaching a popular or particularly niche topic that few people have the skills or knowledge to teach. It can also be a great tourist activity, so finding ways to market your workshop to visitors can help you succeed.

Nanny or governess

While working as a nanny primarily involves basic child care, some nanny jobs involve teaching. When you teach as a nanny, you usually provide private lessons only to the children in the family you’re working for, and these lessons usually take place in the home. You may tutor in a particular subject or teach the children on a comprehensive range of subjects.

Corporate trainer

Working as a corporate trainer is a lot like teaching. This role involves educating adults on topics related to their profession, usually in an office or business setting. This is a great way to become a teacher if you have extensive professional experience in a particular field but no degree.

Online course seller

Selling online courses is similar to teaching online since it allows you to teach virtually and work remotely from home or anywhere else. The key difference is that instead of offering live classes, you’re recording your lessons as videos, compiling them into a marketable course and then selling that course as a product online.

There are plenty of websites that allow you to sell online courses, such as Udemy and Skillshare. You can also sell courses on your own website.

Content creator

In today’s digital age, social media offers a wealth of opportunities for creators to educate their audience without any teaching credentials. For example, you could become a YouTuber who records instructional videos or start a blog that features how-to guides and informational pieces on a particular topic.

Teaching is a rewarding profession. For many, it’s a full-time career. However, teaching can also be an excellent side hustle for people who have advanced knowledge or skills in a particular field and who have the temperament to be good educators.

Teaching in school settings isn’t a good side hustle because of all the requirements involved in becoming a teacher. Other types of teaching jobs that don’t require a degree make for much better side hustle opportunities because of the lower costs involved, fewer requirements, and shorter timeline to getting qualified.

Is it hard to become a teacher?

Generally speaking, anyone can teach—as long as they have wisdom to share with others. But in a stricter sense, if you’re dream is to become a school teacher, the reality is that it’s hard work, and it takes a long time.

To teach in schools, you need to meet your state’s teacher requirements. Teacher licensing requirements usually include being at least 18 years old, having a bachelor’s degree, passing a background check, and demonstrating your teaching skills and subject-matter competency.

However, there are several ways to become a teacher without working in a classroom setting, and these options usually have laxer requirements.