How Much Money I’ve Made Using My Special Education Degrees Outside the Classroom

It Was Never About the Salary — It Was About Earning My Own “Enough” Number

There’s a question thousands of Special Educators have whispered to me.
I’ve heard it in school hallways, in DMs, in the pause before someone works up the courage to ask:

“How much can I actually make using my Special Education degree… but not in the classroom, doing what you do?”

They’re not asking how to make 6 figures.
They’re asking how to create options outside the classroom.

They want to hear about the possibilities. Flexibility. A life that isn’t tethered to a bell schedule or the district pay scale.

And I get it — because that’s exactly what my “Enough” number gave me.

It wasn’t about chasing a higher salary just to build my bank account or buy the latest bio-hacking trend on Instagram. (Although I really do love my red light.)

It was about protecting what mattered:

• Time at home with a medically fragile child

• Stability after a financially devastating divorce

• The ability to serve families and my community in ways the school system simply couldn’t

Your Special Education degree is not a limitation.
It’s leverage.

And the income I’ve built from it? It came from seasons when life demanded something different from me — and my skills rose to meet that demand.

Let’s walk through what those seasons looked like, what I earned, and the opportunities they revealed.

 

 

 

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A post shared by Catherine Kahl • Master IEP Coach®️ Founder (@heycatherinekahl)

Phase 1: Choosing Family and Flexibility (2000-2010) 

My First Pivot: Trading IEP Expertise (2000–2005)

Two baby girls, thirteen months apart. A house filled with nap schedules and Cheerios. A heart torn between wanting to be home and needing income.

I wasn’t looking for a business.
I was looking for a way to contribute financially without missing the years everyone tells you, “go fast.”

So I used what I already had — my Special Education degrees — to help families in my community:

• Coaching parents through IEPs

• Creating visual supports for families

• Supporting families in a way that I could still be there for mine

What this season earned:
Just enough to ease the grocery budget.
Just enough to cover private preschool.
Just enough to give me time with my girls without financial panic.

And that was the point:
Enough.

The Crisis Pivot: When Life Forced Me to Go Fully Virtual (2006–2010)

Then everything shifted.

My youngest daughter developed severe seizures, and overnight, leaving the house to work wasn’t an option. I needed remote income before remote work was even a thing.

So I taught myself how to do what no one I knew was doing yet:

• Build a basic website

• Coach parents over the phone

• Deliver IEP support completely online

What this season proved:
My skills were portable.
My income was crisis-proof.
And “working from home” was absolutely possible — even in 2006, even without Zoom, even with a medically complex child beside me.

If your life is asking for flexibility your job isn’t giving you…
Your degree may be more adaptable than you think.

Start your journey to figure out your "enough" number and how to get it: Grab the Special Educator Guide to Creating Extra Income. A simple starting point, designed to meet you right where you are.

Phase 2: Rebuilding Security — and Then Doubling It (2011–2015)

Divorce has a way of clarifying things.
Suddenly, my financial reality boiled down to one choice:

Double my income… or go back to the classroom.

So I doubled down and built more than a teacher's salary in less than 6 months.

I filled my calendar with clients, but like all service providers eventually discovered, time has limits. To grow, I needed to scale without adding more hours.

So I turned the tools I was already using — checklists, short training videos, step-by-step guides — into digital products families could buy anytime.

And that shift changed everything.

What this season earned:
Years of steady, sustainable digital income.
Speaking opportunities.
Wider impact.

And in 2015, one of the proudest moments of my life:

I bought a condo — in cash — for my daughters and me.

It wasn’t about lavishness.
It was about stability that I created myself.

Phase 3: Teaching Others, Building Legacy, and Expanding Impact (2016–Now)

Once your foundation is secure, you get to think bigger.

For me, that meant helping other Special Educators create income and freedom using what they already know — not by leaving the field, but by expanding how their skills work in the world.

Scaling My Impact (2016–2020)

My client list grew.
My speaking schedule filled.
And my inbox started overflowing with Special Educators asking, “How do I do what you’re doing?”

In 2017, I turned my system into the Master IEP Coach® Program — a place to teach, support, and mentor others to create new levels of impact and income.

Meanwhile, local businesses and nonprofits began seeking my expertise too — not for IEPs, but for inclusive communication, accessible services, and disability friendly experiences.

My Special Education skill set translated far beyond schools.

What this season earned:
Exponential income growth.
Professional recognition.
Long-term financial assets, including purchasing homes as investments for retirement stability.

This is what leveraging your degree can look like — not leaving the field, but widening it.

The Real Strategy: Seven Income Paths, One Flexible Degree

Over 25 years, I didn’t follow one magical path.
I followed seven — choosing the right one for the season I was in.

Some were digital.
Some were local.
Some were parent-facing.
Some were community-focused.

But all of them were rooted in the same truth:

Special Educators are problem-solvers. Communicators. System builders. Pattern spotters. Advocates.
Those skills are valuable everywhere.

And you don’t need:

❌ A business plan
❌ A social media audience
❌ To quit your job (yet or ever)

You just need one starting point — one that aligns with your life, energy, and responsibilities today.

That’s why I created a guidebook that works like a self-paced coaching session with me. Inside, you’ll find:

• The seven income paths I’ve personally used

• How to stop minimizing your own expertise

• A simple process for choosing your first step

• Personalized AI prompts that work just like a coaching session between you and me.

This isn’t about hustling or chasing six figures just to have a flashy income number.

It’s about designing a life that feels doable, aligned, and genuinely yours.

Grab your guidebook and begin your self-paced coaching session. Let’s find your “Enough” number — and the income path that gets you there.