Nowadays, everyone has an opportunity to earn. Whether young or old, you can start making money. Unlike previous generations that restricted jobs, today’s digital age is more welcoming. Teenagers now have countless safe platforms to choose from, both online and in real life. By earning your own money, you begin gaining and developing life skills you’ll need later on. There’s no better time to start growing than now. Whatever type of talent or skill you have, there’s something that you can do.
Here are 10 way for a teen to earn:
Taking paid surveys
Ratings, reviews, feedback, and view counts contribute a lot to companies. Because of this research sites ask consumers to assess different services. These sites offer money, vouchers, or gift cards in exchange for answering surveys. You will only need fast internet, a cell phone or a computer and a few minutes of your time. Generally, surveys take up 5 – 15 minutes to finish. Each site has different limits per day and requirements. You only need an email address to sign up for most, and a Paypal account to cash out your earnings. Rewards vary from $1 – $10 per survey.
Recommended: If you have an interest in answering questionnaires try this. Sharing your opinion is a good and hassle-free way to earn money. You can sign up for as many sites as you want, and do as many as allowed. You can do this after school, or between breaks.
Links:
https://www.lifepointspanel.com/
Selling your used items online
Used items, unless broken, still have some value. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, after all. Selling your unwanted items online is a good way to earn money. You can sell as many items as you want, set the price, terms for pick-up or shipping, and payment method. Depending on the site, there may be fees, but most are free to use. You need an email address to sign up, and a Paypal account to receive your money. It’s easy, convenient, and you don’t have to do anything but wait for a buyer.
Recommended: People looking for easy money with no commitment should try this. You only have to post your items online and wait. Even when you need to ship items, you can choose to have couriers pick it up from your home. Selling online is convenient, and you can do this at your leisure.
Links:
https://www.craigslist.org/about/sites
User testing websites
Many websites are being built and put up on the web daily. To see how their sites function, there is a massive need for testers. User testing websites offer anyone with the required tools and knowledge to earn as a tester. The basic requirements are fast internet speed and an updated computer. For some websites, you will need to pass an assessment exam to qualify as a tester. Don’t worry though, you will have time to study the instructions and tutorials before you take the exam. If you fail, you can also retake it several times. The pay varies on the website and tasks but generally start at $10 or above.
Recommended: Perfect for people with a discerning eye. Patience and attention to detail will help in looking for website issues, and errors. Worthwhile for those interested in programming or IT related topics. This is a good way to have an idea of how websites work, and what goes on in web development. You may also start familiarizing yourself with programs that you might use in the future.
Links:
Crowdtesting: UX & Usability Testing | QA & Functional Testing
Online freelancing
Freelancing is getting more and more widespread. Clients and businesses are outsourcing from anywhere in the world. The huge demand is letting anyone have the chance to provide their services. This includes teens as well. Freelancing websites allow teenagers to work as long as they meet their Terms of Service. There is a specific section for teenagers, and the pay varies from project to project, from $20 to $100. The jobs range from video editing, voice acting, to illustration design, and more.
Recommended: Teens who have skills that they want to further develop will grow in this field. There are several types of jobs you can take, and you can expand your skill-set while you learn. Getting contractual jobs is a great way to recognize different types of companies. You’ll have an exciting chance to experience what it’s like to have a client that you will have to work with or answer to. This builds networking skills that you will need when you become a professional.
Links:
Babysitting
Parents busy with their jobs are always looking for an extra pair of hands to help. You can offer a babysitting service to people you know. This is an easy job to start, and you won’t need to bring anything. You can post on your social media account so your potential clients are people you know. They can recommend you to their friends and get you more clients. The rate for this service is hourly and will depend on you. Some begin with as low as $5 or as high as $15.
Recommended: A great way to make money for people who love children, and enjoy taking care of others. Should you consider being a professional nanny, this is the opportunity to try it out. It’s a tiring and demanding profession but is rewarding especially if it’s your passion.
Pet sitting
Like a babysitting service, you’ll be taking care of and watching pets. The American Pet Products Association 2019-2020 survey revealed 85 million families owned pets. So it’s no wonder that pet sitting services are booming now. As a teenager, you can offer your friends and their families this service. You can also post on your social media account to reach more people. In this type of service, you don’t have to bring anything with you. The rate is daily and usually start at $20 up to $75 depending on how long you’ll be watching.
Recommended: For those who love animals, this will be a great way to spend time and earn money. Do you want to be a veterinarian? Or an animal biologist? If you have any thoughts of working with animals, you can try and start with this. Pets can sometimes be rowdy so it can be exhausting. You need to genuinely care for animals so that you can work well with them.
Yardwork
You can offer to mow lawns and other yard work in your neighbourhood. Gardening is exhausting, and many of your neighbours might not be too fond of it. You can start by asking them or putting up flyers around your area. You will have to decide whether you will be providing the lawnmower and the tools or if you will be using your client’s. This can affect how much you can charge, so you should think about this first. Once you’ve settled on your tools, specify what your services are and your price. For lawn mowing, you can charge $20. Other yard work is $10 per hour or you can discuss it with the yard owner.
Recommended: This one is for people who don’t mind doing manual labour or enjoy gardening. Despite being time-consuming and strenuous at times, this is a simple job. It doesn’t need any specialized skill and can earn you a good amount of money regularly. You control your schedule so you can do it as little or as much as you want.
Get a part-time job
Look up part-time jobs online or in your city. You’re bound to find a couple of positions available for teenagers. Cashier, clerk, grocery bagger, and other similar jobs are usually open for part-timers. You’ll need to provide documents, like valid IDs and permission from your guardian to apply. Having a part-time job is the same as having a regular job, so you will need to fulfil your weekly hours. As an employee, you will receive a salary, and it will depend on the type of job you get, from $8 to $14 per hour.
Recommended: Teens who are eager to get work experience will grow by having part-time jobs. As an employee, you will handle unexpected situations, especially when dealing with customers. These situations help you gain skills like time management, financial awareness and self-reliance. Having work experience will also be a great addition to your resume, and help in your career path.
Tutoring
Contrary to popular opinion, you don’t have to be at the top of your class to tutor. As long as you have good grades, and can communicate well, you can start a tutoring service. Even if you’re not a straight-A student, you can share your knowledge and help others get better grades. You can start by asking your friends and family, or by posting online. You can teach younger students or schoolmates that are having difficulty keeping up. State the subjects you can teach, create an outline and your rate. The usual charge for this is $20-$40 per hour, depending on the subject and your level.
Recommended: Students with above-average grades should tutor. Doing this type of job will need good communication skills so you can be an effective teacher. This will be enjoyable for people who like studying and explaining things to others. Passionate tutors may even choose this as a career and end up as a professional tutor or teacher in the future.
House cleaning
Cleaning is one of the simplest yet gruelling jobs. You will need physical strength and stamina to do this job. Comparable to yard work, cleaning is laborious and takes a lot of time. Since dirt is visible, you’ll need to be thorough and detailed. You can offer house cleaning service to your neighbours and on social media sites. For this type of job, you will need to bring some cleaning supplies to make sure you can clean everything well. You will decide the scope of your service and its limitations. Your rate can be per hour or depend on the size of the home and the tasks involved. You may charge $10.50 – $15 per hour.
Recommended: This is ideal for people who don’t mind hard labour and enjoy cleaning. You will not need to have certain skills for this job. The main duty is to clean well and ensure the items in the house are safe. If cleaning sparks any passion, it might be a possible route for you in the future. It’s a simple and draining job but is always in high demand.
Teach Music Lessons
If you know how to play a musical instrument, you can offer to teach it to others. You can ask around in school or your neighbourhood for anyone who has an interest. Post about your offer online, so you can reach more people. You have to decide whether you’d prefer your students to come over, or if you’d like to teach them at their place. Your rate will depend on your skill level, with the lowest at $35 up to $75 per hour.
Recommended: Understanding people with good communication skills should go for this. Patience is the number one key, as not everyone will have the talent or skill to grasp the lessons quickly. By teaching, you will learn how to take care of other people, and how to nurture their ability. You will also become more responsible, as you will need to take charge of your students. Teaching music can also be a long-term career if you feel that it’s the path for you.
With so many options to choose from, earning money shouldn’t be out of reach for teenagers. You have to consider which type of job fits your strengths right now. Before taking on anything, you should completely understand everything that comes with it. It would be good to try something new and unfamiliar, but you have to make sure that you will stick to it until the end. Never forget that you have unlimited potential, and only you can decide what you can and cannot do. Who knows, maybe you’ll end up finding your dream job along the way.
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