Burnout and Second Jobs Are Preventing America’s Teachers from Fully Upholding the TeacherFIRE Principles
A growing majority of America’s public school teachers are working second jobs during the school year, underscoring deep financial strain within the profession and raising concerns about classroom burnout.
According to a new Gallup survey conducted in partnership with the Bipartisan Policy Center and the Walton Family Foundation, 71% of public school teachers hold at least one side job.
While teaching schedules historically allowed for summer income opportunities, the report found that 85% of those with additional work are juggling those roles during the academic year.
For many educators, side work goes beyond tutoring or coaching. Nearly one-third of teachers take on jobs unrelated to education, including driving ride-share vehicles, delivering food, bartending, or working retail shifts after school hours.
Ashley, a fifth-grade teacher in Washington state earning $62,000 annually, works evenings as a spray tanner and spends winter break at her family’s Christmas tree farm. Her husband, also a teacher, supplements his income with painting jobs. Despite loving the profession, Ashley says financial pressure makes long-term stability uncertain.
The survey paints a broader picture of strain: only 28% of teachers report living comfortably, while more than half say they are just getting by. Public school teachers earn about 27% less than similarly educated professionals in other fields, according to national labor data.
Burnout is a growing concern. More than half of teachers experiencing financial hardship report feeling frequently burned out, a factor experts warn could worsen attrition and deepen nationwide teacher shortages.
Former Education Secretary Margaret Spellings described the situation as “at odds with what we say we value,” calling for stronger pay structures and career pathways to retain experienced educators.
How is This an Issue to the TeacherFire Principles
The findings directly challenge the TeacherFIRE Revolution’s central principle: that the best interest of the child must be the cardinal focus of the educational system.
TeacherFIRE teaches that teachers are fundamental and indispensable in shaping a complete and excellent child. It emphasizes passion, mission, emotional presence, and the deliberate nurturing of a child’s ingenuity. But those traits require energy, stability, and sustained focus.
When educators operate in financial survival mode, their capacity to fully embody the T-E-A-C-H-E-R-S traits, caring with the heart, advancing in knowledge and skill, engaging innovation, and hearing with the inner ear, is strained.
The current crisis is not simply about wages. It is about whether the system is structured to empower teachers to act consistently in the best interest of the child.
If teachers are expected to ignite potential, they must first be supported enough to remain fully present in the classroom.
