I can remember my teenage days well. I didn’t want to work, but I needed to make money to support my social life. So I umpired, cut grass, and bagged groceries. I didn’t particularly love any of the jobs, but in order to offset my spending, I needed to work.
The good news for teens today is there are a wide range of ways to make money – that weren’t around when I was a teenager. Most of them require a good work ethic, but there are a lot of new opportunities available.
Luckily for many teens, they may already be very skilled in certain areas that could easily translate into a nice side income for them. For example, I remember hearing about a teenage girl who designed Myspace backgrounds and was making more money than her parents. So potentially, a teenager who is willing to work hard could make considerably more than working traditional “jobs” like at McDonalds, cutting grass, bussing tables, etc. For even more, check out these 5 legit work-from-home job opportunities.
What type of teen are we talking about?
The seven year period defined as the “teenage years” sees a wide range of maturity levels. I remember moments where I showed high levels of maturity and moments that are better left unspoken. Interestingly, the frequency my immaturity didn’t necessarily decrease as I grew closer to 20 years old. My point in saying all this is that some of these jobs are going to require a teenager who is “on the ball”in terms of maturity. But if you have (or are) one, these could be much better alternatives to “would you like to supersize that?”
Jobs requiring moderate maturity level
1. Social Marketing Consultant
Many companies are looking for qualified candidates who know the ins and outs of Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter to help them with their social marketing efforts. Head over to a job site and search for “social media marketing”.
2. Sell stuff on eBay for Mom and Dad
I am sure mom and dad wouldn’t mind sharing some of the profits, if you sell some of their clutter for them.
3. Freelance Write
As they say on the web “content is king” and everyone wants it. Places like Elance or Odesk have thousands of different job openings available for freelance writers. If you are not in a rush for receiving compensation and know how to do keyword research, there is money to be made writing at Hubpages and Squidoo. For more on this method, check out How to make money with Hubpages.
4. Have a Garage Sale
If it is something too large or that won’t sell on eBay for some reason, you can always have an old-fashioned garage sale!
5. Write product reviews
There are places like Ciao, Epinions.com, ReviewStream.com that pay for product reviews – if you have an opinion and can type quickly this might be a good option.
6. Find odd-jobs on Craigslist
Some of these might be landscaping work, or similar odd-jobs, but it might be great summer time work for teens!
7. Take online surveys
I am not particularly fond of the whole online survey thing since I had a bad experience using CashCrate. But there are lots of online survey sites and people who do it successfully. Here are a few if you want to investigate it further (Survey For Profit, Survey Adventure, Global Test Market, OnDemand Research, Survey Networks). I recommend proceeding with caution and definitely not paying anything to join.
8. Sell Plasma
Not sure how old you have to be, nor how painful it is, but if you are into that sort of thing, it can be a way to make some quick money.
9. Take part in medical studies
I have a couple friends who have almost done this exclusively as a job. They were basically human guinea pigs, but they made some decent cash at it. Sometimes they would have be at the medical facility for up to 48 hours, so your schedule may need to be flexible. Just google “medical studies” + your city to find some options.
10. Sell Digital Photos
Making money as a photographer has become easier over the last decade. There are now lots of sites looking to buy digital photos: Shutterstock.com, 123RF.com, Dreamstime.com, CreStock.com, Fotolia.com. As with most things, the better you are the more money you will make, but it can be nice passive income if you work at it.
11. Bank Account Opening Bonuses
Not sustainable, but it’s a quick way to make money. ING Direct offers $25 for opening a new account and Virtual Bank offers $20. If you do some digging you will probably find many other companies offering cash bonuses for opening accounts.
12. Tutor or give lessons
Are you great at math, science, or kicking a field goal? Why not advertise your skills to those a few years younger than you? Many parents are willing to pay a teenager to tutor their child in an area that needs development.
13. Create Myspace backgrounds
or Twitter backgrounds for that matter. Just set up a simple site to sell your work, get a paypal “buy it now link” and you are off and running.
Jobs requiring a uniquely mature teenager
14. Create Websites
I can’t tell you how many people have asked me to build them a website since I started this one a couple years ago. I am not seeking the work and people are requesting it, so if you do a little legwork and pursue small business owners, there is a lot of work available. Teens might be great for this, because they would be able to work for less than some higher end website developers, which would put them in the price range that it seems many small businesses are looking to spend.
15. Blogging
Two years ago I wasn’t sure if there was money to be made blogging, but I have since found it to work out nicely. It isn’t something that will provide much income quickly, but if you stick at it, it can. I wrote extensively about how to make money from a blog a few months ago.
16. Design Web Logos
If you have a flair for design, it may be worth trying to make some money designing logos for small business or blogs.
17. Freebie Trading
I first heard about freebie trading from Leslie who made $28K last year doing it part time. It seems like it requires a certain kind of person, but clearly there is potential as a decent money maker.
18. Become a Census Taker
The 2010 census is underway and there may still be census taker positions available in your area. You may need to be 18 to apply.
19. Sell articles
Following in that same vein, you can sell articles you write at places like Constant-Content.com, ArticleSale.com, Helium.com.
20. Start an eBay business
Last year I experimented with starting an eBay business to see if there was money to be made. While profit margins can be thin selling on eBay, there are over a million eBay businesses, so it is a viable option.
21. Sell widgets on Etsy.com
If you create any kind of arts or crafts or widgets of any sort, you should check out Etsy.com.
22. Join a Focus Group
There are likely to be focus groups in your area that may be willing to hire teens. Google “focus group” and your city to get started.
23. Be a Mystery Shopper
This is the dream job isn’t it? You get to shop and get paid! The added bonus is that you secretly have recourse when you are treated poorly in the store.
More ways for teens to make money
If you are looking for additional reading, check out these articles…
- 12 ways to make extra money
- Making money and earning extra income
- 52 ways to make extra money
- 15 ways for teens to make money this summer
- 26 ways to make extra money
- 15 quick ways to make money
{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the mention- great list!
Wow! What an excellent resource for making extra money. I haven’t been a teenager for a L O N G time but I would try almost all of these. Thanks!
I wish I saw a list like this when I was a teenager, lol. Great article, great recommendations. Freebie Trading – I highly recommend it. I love it, and that $28K was definitely a blessing!
Any teenagers that read this list – I recommend for you to take action on AT LEAST one of the things on this list.
Quite a useful list! Thanks – very helpful
This is a great list of opportunities to make money. You are right – they are not your typical teen jobs, like lawn work and babysitting.
You have really put some initiative in this list and come up with great ideas. Ok, teens, now it’s up to you to implement them!
Great List,
My 18 year old sister has been complaining that there are no jobs and thet she can’t make money. After reading this, I think she just might be lazy. I’ll forward it to her and see if she still comes up with excuses.
Also, there’s a great book called ‘The ABC’s of Making Money For Teens’
Very Good Resource. Sorry I can’t think of the author’s name off hand. Wait, Google….. Dr. Denis Cauvier and Alan Lysaght
Best Advice I’ve heard? Know what you want, unleash your immagination and get your ‘But’s’ out of the way.
Go For It,
Guy
Thanks for the ways. Thats really helpful info that related with us.
hey i was wanting to get work as web design, i am 15 years old and know what I’m doing can you please tell me where i should start looking for work?
Jesse,
I am not a webdesigner, but if I were in your shoes I would probably start offering my services on elance.com, and let people know that you are doing web work. So maybe use myspace and facebook, etc to get the word out.
Great list! I think these days everyone could use this list.
hey, useful stuff. thanks
what went wrong with cash crate? thinking about joining it
If you want to offer lawn care/snow removal or any kind of services to your neighbors, simply send postcards to 100-300 of you neighbors. Tell them you are available to mow the lawn, clean the pool, shovel the sidewalk, rake the leaves, move furniture and anything else that is legal.
I did this several years ago a couple young family friends and they got phone calls immediately. We addressed each postcard like this:
To Our Neighbors at
123 Main St.
Anytown, NY 12345
Don’t waste your time trying to get names to put on a postcard. “To Our Neighbors at” works just fine.
Walk along the streets near your home making note of house numbers. No need to pay for a mailing list.
If you print the postcards at home you can mail 100 for less than $35.
If you do this consistently, you should have a pretty good little business or source of extra income relatively quickly.
Be sure to get the e-mail address of all your customers so you can reach them in the future.
As the leaves start to fall, you can send an e-mail reminding them that you are available to rake the leaves. Encourage them to let their neighbors know about you as well.
Good luck!
Great list. I’m going to share is on my blog at MicroBusinessForTeens.com
My oldest daughter tutored and gave piano lessons. My younger daughter was paid $70 by our hair dresser to set up a website on 1and1.com using their free Website Builder. Sweet! Your ideas really will work.
Teenagers need to know about the tax implications of their self-employment, so I launched TeensAndTaxes.com to help them out.
Carol Topp, CPA
Thanks, for the information!!! I’m going on a trip and i need to raise some money!! Thanks again!!
All doable opportunities but first you have to commit yourself to doing ‘something’ and then you have to ‘do it’. Not always an easy thing for most people.
If you have a natural entrepreneurial spirit, a skill, you’re a self-starter and you have the will to be successful, you’ll be on your way
These tips are really helpful. Thanks for these infos.
This is a fantastic article and it really has given me help. I want to go to this thing in the summer called Creation Fest and it has music and speackers to celebrate God and it costs a lot! I was looking for help and I found this. $100+ seems easy at first but then your stuck when your my age. Thanks a whole bunch and I will probably come back again.
Thank you very much for your article, your article gave me a lot of inspiration, perhaps, what we need is keep keep !keep !keep !keep !
As this is money-making for teens, you should know that all of the digital photo sites require you to be 18+ except for crestock.
Anyways, thanks! Great help!
HELP?
I am 17 in May and currently studying year 12. I don’t have a job though have tried a couple times. Given i have exams coming up i can’t manage a normal job but need some source of income – even if its small. I’m not all that technical so a lot of the things up there don’t work. I have strong english skills, love working with kids. I like sport, , languages animals and can cook. I have tried to get babysitting but haven’t had much luck so far.
Some advantage is I look uni age already.
I wouldn’t mind being a so called “guinea pig” or given plasma but I wouldn’t know how to go about organising it.
Does anyone have any ideas on how i can make some money in the next 6 months or so while I study? After that i will get a job and work full time hopefully.
Any ideas would be useful,
Thanks,
Rose
I am teen non resident of US, UK and Europe. Can I still make money for any of these sites you mentioned?
Rose and others looking for employment this summer: Retry the babysitting idea. Summer is a good time to babysit. Maybe volunteer a few times first and then use those families as references. Tell everyone you know that you are available to babysit. Use email, Facebook, fliers, word of mouth. Also try offering a set time every week, like Tuesday evenings form 5-9 pm in your home. Parents know they can drop off their children without calling ahead. They really appreciate that. It takes time and persistence to get the word out, butit can be done!
I would add mowing lawns and washing cars. Not only are they good physical, outdoor exercise, but these are “no-tech” jobs that teens can promote very effectively via online tools like Twitter and Facebook.
Example: offer promotions and coupons via Twitter, where they are likely to get passed along to friends and neighbors.
Another “no-tech” promotional tool: print a sign displaying your business name and phone number/Web site address, and post it on the front lawn of any customers while you work. Home remodelers do this all the time.
A big sign lets people driving by see the name of the hard-working teen who’s washing the car or mowing that lawn, for free, effective advertising.
Finally, never forget prayer, which gives you direct access to the most-powerful force in the universe, God!
All great ways, even for teenagers. I have to say #2 and #9 are probably my favorites.
Heyy, i’m wondering if all these sites do £ aswell as $
If not do you know any that do do £ ?
Thanks
Jessica, I am not sure – sorry
Please help. I turn 15 in a few weeks and live in WA and the whole state has labor laws where I have to be 16 but I really want to get a dirt bike this summer. It’s hard to find a job and everbody mows there own lawns! What should I do? How do I tell the difference between a real site that will pay for suveys and a fake one? Is it possible to make 3000 in 15 weeks?
I want to make a job out of website design and video editing and im only 14 but i was thinking for barmitzvahs and weddings and stuff for the videos but im not sure how to start with webpage design jobs and who to ask because most jobs have websites now.
Hey,
I was just wondering how people make money from blogging becuase I’m 15 and would love to try it! Also, do you know how to create myspace backgrounds? I think I would really like that!
Thanks
hey has anything new come up? i need to raise about 600 dollars to get something any ideas
i think anyone should help your parents do business and than get money from them so it is a way that you can save more money and experience!!!!!!!!!
Do you have any idea of any safe survey sites..by safe I mean that the site won’t give me any viruses and stuff like that.
Thanks for the info for some reason ever since i was a kid i wanted a job now i have some ideas = )
Hi,
I’m a teen who’s really interested into doing this stuff- but what should I do about taxes? Many websites are only 18+, as well.
But mostly, my biggest hurdle has been taxes. I would be extremely grateful for any help, thank you!
Susan,
Teenagers need to know about the tax implications of their self-employment, so I launched http://TeensAndTaxes.com to help them out.
Start reading the articles there. It should answer most of your questions. If not, drop me an email from the contact page on http://TeensandTaxes.com
Carol Topp, CPA
“Great list! I especially like the tutoring stuff. I’m good at Math that’s why I tutored once for my godparent’s 8th grader. I had fun with the her and her mum cooks the most delicious brownies. I don’t think I can donate a plasma or be a human guinea pig. But maybe you should add herb and vegetable planting. This job doesn’t require too many technicalities and is so far the easiest thing to do. There’s a method called square foot gardening for those who don’t have big spaces. It’s so simple to do and gardening in small boxes requires small maintenance. There is plenty of information on the web about how to do so. Once you get growing you can even sell your fresh produce to your neighbours at a cheaper price, and earn some fast money in the process . P.S. I also would want to partake in an online survey. Some people recommended Cash Crate but I’m also curious about what happened to you?
“
these could be the most important and genuiene ways to produce a good amount of money to work on and these works very genuinely and people earn lot of money through this.
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