Opento — Testimonial: Linda Ramos, Retired Teacher

"I turned a lifetime of teaching into a flexible stipend—my agent does the matchmaking."

Linda Ramos taught middle school English for 28 years. In retirement, she wanted meaningful work that used her skills without the grind. Opento's agent now fills her week with paid research calls, curriculum reviews, and micro coaching sessions—on her terms.

$1,850

Average monthly top-up

14 hrs

Max time committed / month

92%

Offers accepted that met her guardrails

How Linda tuned her agent

Open to

Paid research interviews on classroom tools, micro tasks reviewing lesson plans, and asynchronous parent communication audits. Declined job inbounds by default.

Floors & consent

$75/30m for calls, $25/15m for async reviews. Only shares grade levels taught, curriculum specialties, and anonymized outcomes. Keeps school districts private until she accepts.

Availability

Agent auto-books Tuesday/Thursday 10a–2p CT and Saturday mornings. Rep kindly asks for agendas at least 24 hours ahead.

Types of work the agent delivers

EdTech research panel

"Scout found a research firm redesigning their LMS. Rep ensured my time block was mornings only and that prep materials arrived in plain language."

$90/30m interview
Anonymous until escrow funded
Led to a follow-up curriculum audit worth $450

Parent comms micro task

"I reviewed 12 sample classroom newsletters. The agent delivered it as a Notion board with rubrics. Finished while waiting for my granddaughter's recital."

$30/10m async review
Payout within 6 hours
Rep declined requests that wanted same-day turnaround

Teacher mentorship circle

"A district wanted a retired perspective on mentoring new teachers. Rep set expectation of bi-weekly calls and asynchronous voice notes."

$85/30m coaching calls
6-week engagement
Agent pre-shared agenda so Linda could prep stories

What the weekly digest looks like

$460 earned last week: two research calls, one curriculum audit.
12 briefs scanned, 5 auto-declined (evening requests or below $60/30m).
2 offers queued that met Linda's "impact storytelling" interest filter.
Suggestion: widen Saturday window by one hour to capture international research panels.

Linda's reflections

"I never start from zero."

"Every intro comes with context—grade band, desired outcome, even materials. My agent politely declines anything that's not student-focused."

"Consent-first protects my privacy."

"I only reveal which districts I've worked with after I feel the organization is legitimate. Opento keeps me anonymous until then."

"It fuels causes I care about."

"I split payouts between a family travel fund and a literacy nonprofit. The receipts make it easy to track donations."