Teaching is by no means a very financially rewarding profession.
Even though teachers are doing one of the most important jobs in society, full-time public school teachers make a mere $56,069 per year on average.
That's where Teachers Pay Teachers comes in.
The online marketplace for course materials and lesson plans has attracted 1.8 million teachers, whom have collectively sold more $30 million worth of materials online.
The top 10 sellers on the platform have generated more than $5 million in sales, netting around $4.4 million in total. Deanna Jump, pictured above, currently earns more than $80,000 a month.
Teachers Pay Teachers features course materials for grades ranging from preschool to the collegiate level. But Teachers Pay Teachers Head of Product John Yoo says they have seen the strongest interest in the K-12 sector.
On the high school level, Yoo says Tracee Orman's material on how to integrate "The Hunger Games" into the classroom has been widely popular.
"She's not only become seen as the expert in using the Hunger Games in the classroom," Yoo says. "She's done what I think all good teachers do, which is marry the things that kids are interested in and turn it into really good curriculum. You know, use what they're interested in to draw them into the classroom."
Yoo notes that not all teachers have found the same success as the top 10 sellers. In order to be successful on the platform, Yoo says they encourage teachers to leverage social media to get their name out there.
"Teachers by nature need to share with each other," Yoo says. "That's part of what it means to be on the job. [...] Whether you're experiences or new, you need to figure out how to teach things in ways that resonate with kids."
Business Insider got in touch with many of Teachers Pay Teachers's most successful teachers to learn more about their experiences.
Amy Lemons: "Through the funds I made from this business we were able to adopt our first child."
Teaching experience: Seven years teaching 4th grade, 1st grade, and now 2nd grade.
Sales: Not disclosing.
Amy Lemons on TPT: "TpT has been such a blessing to so many people that I know. One of the greatest aspects of this business is the connections I've been able to make with other teachers all over the world. It literally is a community and has helped improve so many classrooms through networking and collaborating resources. The biggest traffic source for my store is my blog: stepintosecondgrade.blogspot.com. I started blogging almost two years ago and never imagined the impact it would make.
The biggest blessing of TpT has been our adoption this past year. Through the funds I made from this business we were able to adopt our first child, a three year old cutie from the Congo. Everything else TpT has done is so small in comparison to the blessing of bringing our family together. However, the extra income has allowed me to purchase things like books, classroom supplies, research materials, and so much more for my classroom.
We really do believe the Lord has blessed us so much. The blog has been a great source of traffic, but the blessing of TpT is nothing short of a miracle from the Lord in our lives."
Melissa Kozerski and Nicole Farrar: "Every penny has gone into her children's college fund."
Teaching experience: A combined 26 years teaching grades 1-6
Sales: $313,000
Melissa Kozerski and Nicole Farrar on TPT: "It has been inspirational and incredibly rewarding to see people all over the world use our ideas and lesson plans in their classrooms. We truly love helping other teachers. Creating lesson plans for other teachers has also helped us become better teachers in the process!"
Kozerski and Farrar say they collaborate on their ideas and work together to create innovative, high-quality lesson plans. They also use all of their lesson plans with their second and third grade students.
What they've done with the money: Farrar says every penny has gone into her children's college fund, while Kozerski has saved the money, "nothing fancy!"
Jodi Durgin: $326,000 in sales.
Teaching experience: Jodi Durgin has taught Preschool, Kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, and 3rd grade. Durgin has taught 3rd grade for six years now.
Sales: $326,000
Jodi Durgin on TPT: Durgin could not be reached for comment, but we will update this piece if we hear back from her.
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