It can be tough for busy teens to fit a part-time job into their schedule because of their limited availability and resources. If you want to make money without leaving home, there are a few jobs you can try online.
Create a Niche Blog
While the blog market is saturated, there's always room for highly specific content. Create a completely unique blog that covers topics not frequently shared in an original way to get the most bang for your buck. The payout is entirely dependent on how much work you put in and how many subscribers you have. There are several ways to make money from a blog including:
- Allowing advertisements
- Writing sponsored content
- Offering premium content for paid subscribers
Take Surveys
Companies want to understand the needs and wants of their customers in order to make the most profit. So, they often hire customers who meet their target audience guidelines as a form of market research. You can make money taking online surveys when you find companies specifically looking for the opinions of teenagers. Generally speaking, you can expect to make under 10 dollars per hour for your time, but the surveys can be completed any time and usually only take a half hour or less.
Become a Professional Crafter
Teens can make money crafting online by selling homemade goods, designing graphics, and writing how-to articles. You can create a social media account or website for free to use in selling your crafts or find a reputable website like CafePress to sell through. Because crafting is a popular job, try to create things no one else is making using new and exciting materials. Income will depend on demand for your products.
Manage Professional Social Media Accounts
Many small, local business try to keep up with technology and create social media accounts to drive business, but they often don't have the time or skill to add great content. Reach out to businesses in your area to see if you can work as a freelancer uploading posts to their social media accounts. Since they aren't likely to have a huge budget, you could expect to get paid as little as a few dollars per post. If you are posting for them daily or weekly for several different businesses, that could add up quickly.
Sell Local Photographs
Some large companies like real estate agencies or hotels buy local photos to use on their websites or promotional materials. Since they may be owned by a larger company that is headquartered outside your region, they need local photographers to snap the images for a good price. Once you've created an online portfolio, you can sell some of your photos on stock image websites too.
Other Jobs for Teens to Make Money Online
Some of the other online jobs for teens can become inroads to bigger careers or provide you an opportunity to become an entrepreneur. You may decide that a virtual job is the ideal solution to your situation or possibly be your dream job.
Game Beta Tester
How fun would it be to have a job that pays you to play a video game? There are some game companies hire teenagers to beta test their games. In most instances, you'll need own gaming equipment that is compatible to the game. The job description will list the type of game platform requirement. You'll need to keep accurate records and details, so you can report any bugs you find in the various gaming tasks. Check out game company websites for their open job listings and submit your resume per instructions. The average pay ranges from $8 to $14 an hour. For example, Activision Blizzard once advertised a job for a Functional Game Tester-QAMN that paid $13 an hour.
Listen and Review Music, Fashion or Commercials
How about earning money to listen to music, review fashion items or watch commercials? Slice the Pie will pay you to listen to 90 seconds of a music track and write a review. If you don't want to listen to songs, then how about reviewing fashion items or commercials? You listen/watch and review. That's it! Slice the Pie sends your review to the artists/fashion designers/commercial producers. The pay is between $0.05 to $0.20 per track, depending on your reviews. You must be at least 17 years old. You're paid twice a week via PayPal, so you'll need to set up an account.
Tutor Students Virtually
There are many online tutoring companies, but not all are reputable and not all hire teenagers. Do a thorough search for peer-tutoring jobs to find one that fits your skill set. TUTR is one online tutoring app that hires students. If you can't find a trustworthy company online, advertise your own virtual tutoring services for regional teens. You can use a platform like Facebook to video chat and accept payments in one place. Teen tutors typically make between $10 to $15 per hour.
Be a Voiceover Actor
Do you dream of being an actor? Break into the business with Voices.com as a voiceover actor! There isn't any age limitation. You can join for free, but there are also membership levels with discounts for children and teen members. You'll be required to upload a voice sample along with your profile so potential employers can find you and know how you sound. Voices provides recordings for audiobooks, movie trailers, documentaries, businesses, podcasts, television, educational institutes, and telephone recordings. The pay varies according to the project with an average of $100 per voiceover project.
Sell Your Graphic Designs
If you're a talented graphic designer, then you might find CaféPress.com a good venue. You can start your own business by uploading your designs for various items, such as t-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, home décor, and much more. You pay CafePress a percentage of each sale and are sent the remainder to your PayPal account or you can go the old-fashioned route and receive a check. Once your design is live you don't need to do anything else. This is a great way to generate an income stream that doesn't require a lot of work after your initial set-up and you have everything in place. Upload as many designs on as many products as you wish. You can always add, delete or edit your designs. You must be at least 13 years old.
Work-From-Home Opportunities for Teens
Working online from home requires the ability to recognize legitimate online business opportunities and some serious time management skills. Finding jobs for teens over age 13 in the real or virtual world can be challenging, but it's not impossible.
