16 Ways To Make Money Online as a Teenager

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Thanks to a booming digital economy, online jobs for teens are plentiful. If you’re a teenager who wants to learn how to make money online, you’re in the right place.

The ways that teens make money are no longer limited to mowing lawns, scooping ice cream or working at the mall.

In this article, I’ll review how to make money online as a teen by analyzing some of the best online jobs. Whether you’re looking to earn extra cash or just avoid the part-time job your parents want you to work, you should be able to find some ideas here.

I’ll also look at the labor laws for teenaged workers in the United States.


The Best Online Jobs for Teens

Learning how to make money online as a teen is a great way to start figuring out what you do or don’t want out of your future career.

Whether you want to earn money to go to a theme park or you’re saving for college, sifting through the best online jobs for teens can give you some great ideas.

1. Start a YouTube or Twitch Channel

Time Involved: High
Potential Reward: High

Ryan Kaji made nearly $30 million on YouTube in 2020 as a 9-year-old. Microsoft reportedly paid popular gamer Ninja “$20 to $30 million” just to leave Twitch. So the ceiling for potential earnings on these platforms is sky high.

The majority of children six to 17 years old want to be YouTube stars according to multiple surveys.

However, you’ll face intense competition if you want to make it big. And even if you do, it’s one of the most demanding online jobs, because you have to produce new content constantly.

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If you’re set on making money by starting a YouTube channel, pick a specific topic that you’re passionate about and stay focused on it.

2. Sell Your Digital Art as NFTs

Time Involved: High
Potential Reward: High

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) have exploded in 2021, topping $1.2 billion in sales volume in the month of July. Blockchain-based technology carries many applications — including the ability to sell digital art.

With the help of his dad, 12-year-old Benyamin Ahmed made $160,000 in Ethereum in July 2021 by selling pixel art of whales.

There’s a steep learning curve to produce, create and sell NFTs, but the market is growing at a rapid pace at the moment. If you’re a digital artist and you’re not afraid to tell your story on Twitter, there’s an opportunity to make good money.

3. Learn To Code

Time Involved: High
Potential Reward: High

There’s a huge demand for developers, from web developers to data analysts to backend developers. If you can code, you can work as a freelancer or even get a remote online job fairly easily, even if you’re a teenager.

Learning to code can be intimidating, especially since many people in the industry are self-taught. However, Lambda School will train you to become a software engineer or data scientist remotely, and you won’t have to pay any tuition until you get hired.

That can be a great deal, considering the career opportunities, for those who are interested in an alternative route to college.

4. Tutor Other Students

Time Involved: Modest
Potential Reward: Relatively high

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Tutoring can be one of the higher-paying online jobs for teens, as some online tutoring companies don’t have an age restriction.

Plus, if you’re just a little older than the students you’re teaching, the material probably is fresh in your mind. You may not have to do much prep work to figure out how to help with homework.

5. Social Media or Community Manager

Time Involved: High
Potential Reward: Moderate

If you’re looking to make money online as a teen, and you’re adept at building a brand and a following on social media, you can often find work as a social media manager.

At a minimum, you may be able to sell your social media account, especially if your audience and content are built around a specific theme, such as a sports team.

Like any content-related job, this is a high-energy undertaking that requires a ton of upfront dedication with no guaranteed payoff. It is, however, a nice way to dip your toes into entrepreneurship.

6. Remote Customer Service Representative

Time Involved: Modest to relatively high
Potential Reward: Somewhat modest

U-Haul is an example of a company that will hire teenagers as remote customer service representatives. It may make for a nice online job for 16-year-olds.

If you want to learn how to make money online as a teen, but you still want to experience real-world interaction in the workplace, this type of position could appeal to you.

7. Sell Family Members’ Stuff Online

Time Involved: Modest
Potential Reward: Relatively high on a per-hour basis, but limited

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My youngest brother attends college in another state.

When my wife and I moved earlier this year, we uncovered a pile of stuff that we wanted to sell. (Sound familiar?) However, I didn’t want to spend time creating listings, researching pricing and figuring out shipping.

I sent my brother pictures of each item and told him I’d give him 50% of any profits he generated by selling my stuff. He sent me an address and a shipping label when something sold. He made $565.39 in a relatively short time period.

Perhaps you have a relative, neighbor or family friend who’s willing to work out a similar deal with you.

8. Flip Items Online

Time Involved: At your discretion
Potential Reward: Somewhat high if successful

You don’t need family members to buy and sell physical items online. However, you may need specialized knowledge.

My other brother buys and sells sneakers, for example. He’s immersed enough in the space to understand which shoes he can buy and flip for a profit.

This takes more skill and business savvy than simply selling items already on hand. But it also can scale more easily and last longer as an income stream.

9. Create and Sell Arts and Crafts

Time Involved: Depends on sales
Potential Reward: Moderate to somewhat high

Before online jobs for teens became an option, if you wanted to make and sell something, you were mostly relegated to putting up a lemonade stand in your front yard in the summer.

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Now, huge online marketplaces such as Etsy allow you to create and sell pretty easily online. Although this is a way to make money online as a teen, it could also be a family effort. Teamwork for the win!

10. Virtual Assistant

Time Involved: Moderate
Potential Reward: Mostly modest

You may be able to work as a virtual assistant, depending on how old you are. Virtual assistants make phone calls, secure travel plans, make phone calls and respond to emails.

If you’re interested in making money online as a virtual assistant, try browsing FlexJobs or Indeed.

11. Test Websites, User Experience

Time Involved: Sporadic
Potential Reward: Relatively high on a per-hour basis

One easy, remote job for teens involves offering your opinion on websites and apps for money. Two potential options are UserTesting.com or TestingTime.com.

Much like focus groups, this type of work can come in spurts. If you’re looking to make money online as a teen sporadically, it can be a fun, well-paying gig. But don’t expect to be busy all the time.

12. Bid on Freelance Jobs

Time Involved: At your discretion
Potential Reward: Modest, but could be high volume

Task- and creator-oriented jobs are perfect for some teenagers. If you’re at least 16 years old, you can bid on jobs at Freelancer.com. Three recent postings I found: “re-type a PDF into Word,” “make me a YouTube thumbnail” and “virtual assistant needed.”

If you’re at least 13 years old, you can bid on projects at Fiverr. Predominantly a site for graphic designers, you can also bid for jobs if you’re proficient at web development, digital marketing, writing, video animation and more.

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13. Freelance Writer

Time Involved: At your discretion, but potentially high
Potential Reward: Low to start with a chance to increase over time.

There’s no shortage of sites that accept freelance writers, either as part of a revenue share (calculated on page views, with a minimum amount of earnings to cash out) or via story pitches to editors.

Know that it does take time to hone your craft and find an area of expertise as a freelance writer. But if you focus on a niche or a specific area, and you commit to doing it for a long time, it can be a fun way to earn money in an area you’re passionate about.

14. Brand Ambassador

Time Involved: At your discretion
Potential Reward: Low

Ever wanted to get paid when your parents buy things? The Boostapal Ambassador Program may be your answer.

Get paid $10 per new student you enroll. You’ll also potentially make money each time your “boosters” — often your parents — make purchases at certain stores.

15. Fill Out Online Surveys

Time Involved: At your discretion
Potential Reward: Low

Survey Junkie, Swagbucks, Qmee, MyPoints and Opinion Outpost are just a few of the prominent online survey sites.

These sites typically don’t pay much. You earn points for completing brand surveys or signing up for email offers. However, most brands are looking for feedback from specific types of people.

Whether you’re a teenager looking to make money online or you’re a parent, you can invest a decent amount of time into multiple surveys only to learn that you don’t qualify for the rewards.

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It’s still a flexible job that you can complete at any time from almost anywhere.

16. Quality Assurance

Time Involved: Often at your discretion
Potential Reward: Low

As with most jobs that are relatively fun and offer incredible flexibility, the pay can be very low for online quality assurance jobs. It’s more of a side gig for extra cash than a part-time job for teenagers.

One example of this work: reviewing calls through Humanatic.


What Are the Labor Laws for Teenaged Workers in the United States?

According to federal law, 14- and 15-year-olds can’t work more than eight hours in a day, can’t work more than three hours on a school day, can’t work more than 40 hours in any week and can’t work more than 18 hours per week while in school.

Minors also are restricted to working between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Federal law also protects anyone under 18 years old from working several hazardous jobs, such as operating a forklift or coal mining. The Department of Labor puts out a long list of reading material for companies looking to employ teens.

Each individual state — and each company — can impose even stricter rules.


Final Thoughts

Some of the best online jobs for teens offer opportunities to make extra cash on incredibly flexible schedules.

Whether you’re looking for a permanent side hustle or you’re trying to figure out how to make summer money online as a teenager, I hope this article sparked some ideas and helped you understand the types of jobs that are available.

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