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.
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”.
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. I have a consistent flow of passive income coming in from writing I did for 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. 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.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. 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.
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…
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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