I just got paid for last term's teaching, and was pleasantly surprised that it was actually a bit more than I'd been expecting - although it still won't cover a term's rent until I get round to reclaiming tax (which, with the new tax year, I should be able to do as soon as I get the various necessary P60s - which will probably take a while).
Teaching, on an hourly paid basis, can just about support you, if you can get enough of it (and, sadly, exams next term mean there isn't much to go round) but it's not exactly a decent living. That's why I'm job-hunting now. It seems, however, that it's possible to earn up to £30,000 (via) - more than most of the lecturing jobs I've applied for - writing essays for other students!
As the article notes, these essay writing services normally claim their products are to be used as guides or templates. I've been tempted to provide my students similar model answers myself, and don't see anything wrong with that. The problem is that most of them allow students to not only ask for any essay title they like but also include further personalisation, such as the bibliography style (and, presumably, what's on it/referenced). Their defences would be more credible if they made it harder to pass off these essays as one's own - e.g. supplying them in a distinctive format, in PDF files, with the source clearly identified, and copies submitted to online plagiarism checking sites.
Never sure about these things - still, have the time I've been teaching the little darlings have basically needed the essay written for them.
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