Any ways to earn extra money as an academic?

[historyrocks]

My money situation isn’t great. I’m a historian—are there are any ways I could earn more money as an academic? I know I could be an external examiner, but that’s just a few hundred quid and wouldn’t make any difference. I’m wondering about tutoring, ,but not whether there is any demand in my subject.

How much time do you have for additional money-making activities? You need to factor in things like prep time etc. So a 1-hour tutoring session might end up taking 3-4 hours of your time with communication, travel, preparation, feedback etc.

You'll also need to check your employer's policy on particular activities to make sure you don't enter into something which is a conflict of interest.

I don't think tutoring would have legs in History. It's not like STEM where students need help to unravel and understand really complex equations or laws. What exactly do you envisage tutoring them in?

But I think there are some ways to make extra money given your background.
Could you start up a local history walking tour?

Could you offer archival research into people's houses? I would pay for this, I've thought about sponsoring a PhD to do this

You could offer tutoring for international students to better understand the British context of their degrees. I've noticed students (in social sciences) from overseas really struggle with the timeline of British history which sets the backdrop for much of their degree. I could see a kind of introduction to British history being quite useful for students on certain degrees.

I get that money is tight now, but I think a good strategy is to put yourself in the best position possible to get promoted up the pay scale which will pay off in the longer-term. What job do you have now? Are you a lecturer?

Depending on your history specialisation you could apply to be a marker (examiner) for the University of London's international programme. It can be quite a slog but depending on how many scripts you take on, you can make a few thousand or more over the summer.

When Covid restrictions end you might be able to make some money giving short courses over the summer to US students who have come to London for a summer school.

I earn most of my extra money doing consultancies for international organisations or governments. I did a quick google and found some links for historians:

www.sra-uk.com
pastpreservers.com

This might be of interest? www.bath-preservation-trust.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Historian-web-content-writer-brief-Bath-and-Colonialism-Archive-Project.pdf

Also found this at Fulham Palace Trust (possibly expired, but you get the idea): www.archives.org.uk/images/ARC_Recruitment/2021/ARC_Recruitment_11th_June_2021.pdf
And this: www2.le.ac.uk/departments/museumstudies/JobsDesk (Consultancy on Arnos Vale cemetery in Bristol - not archival history though)

I found a couple of personal websites from historians offering their services.

I would also try to raise your profile by becoming a trustee or board member of some organisations relevant to your interests.

I taught for University of London programmes for years. It was really good, and I thought pretty well paid.

Lots of exam and assignment marking

Thank you for those great suggestions, esp for the University of London. Where do they advertise work/when?

@Adrenalina. I’m a senior lecturer, appointed a couple of years ago. No way am I going to make professor for a while.

www.jobs.london.ac.uk/vacancies.aspx

Looks a bit different from the work I did - I was employed directly by the university rather than as a contractor at the time. I imagine I saw the advert originally on jobs.ac.uk - but this was long time ago now

You need to search for the ULon International Programme webpage. Dr Gilbertson’s link is for jobs at Senate House.

Looks like the distance learning History BA is run by Royal Holloway. I would try contacting the people features here: london.ac.uk/courses/history

Ah, thanks - sorry about this