If you’re looking for a remote job for your teen, keep reading! We have a massive list of ways for your teenager to make money from home.
I remember my first job like it was yesterday. I delivered a weekly community newspaper every Tuesday after school to approximately 100 homes in my neighborhood. It was a job I dreaded, but it was the only way I knew how to make extra money at the young age of ten.
I earned a measly $4.05 a week and delivered those papers in the rain, snow, and sunshine (I grew up in Minnesota). I did this job for about two years; then, I passed it on to my sister, who later passed it on to a neighbor kid. From there, I worked a variety of side jobs like babysitting, cleaning houses, ironing clothes, and selling stuff at garage sales until I could apply for a “real job” at Dairy Queen when I was 16 years old.
Labor Laws and Remote Jobs for Teens
Nowadays, the job options for young teens are quite different. Going out into the community isn’t always an option.
In the US, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) has rules regarding wages, hours worked, and minimum age requirements. And with changes in parenting trends and intense homework schedules, it doesn’t leave young teens with many options for earning extra cash.
However, it’s not all bad news.
With technological advances, there are many unique ways for young teens to make extra money, especially if they have an entrepreneurial spirit. All they need to get started is a little spare time, a laptop, and an internet connection.
24 Side Hustle Ideas and Online Jobs for Young Teens
If your teenager is looking for a job to do from home, here are some of the best side hustle ideas and work-at-home jobs for young teens.
Is your teenager comfortable talking on the phone, mature, and good with people? If so, they can get a customer service representative job with U-Haul. This part-time job is open to teens 16 and up, and the pay is $11 per hour with the potential to earn $17-$28 per hour. This customer service role requires a computer with high-speed internet, a headset, and phone access. You’ll also need a quiet space to do the work, and experience is preferred. Be sure to check out our full U-Haul work-from-home job review here.
Young teens 13 years and older can make money online through Swagbucks. All your teen has to do is create an account and start performing activities like taking surveys, watching videos, playing video games, and testing websites. For each task completed, your teen will earn SB (Swagbucks). These SB can be traded for gift cards to major retailers (Amazon, Apple, and Walmart) or cash via PayPal.
While young teens can’t use smartphone apps like Wag! or Rover (you have to be 18 for those), they can offer their pet sitting and dog walking services to friends, family, and neighbors. My daughter has been pet sitting for our neighbors for years. Teens can quickly spread the word by creating simple business cards or flyers and distributing them to neighbors or online in various neighborhood groups.
With Branded Surveys, teens ages 16-17 can make money by answering surveys online (must have parent’s permission); otherwise, you must be 18 to use the platform. To start, sign up for an account, answer a few simple questions to verify your demographics, and take surveys. For each survey completed, you’ll earn points that can be redeemed for gift cards from major retailers or cash via PayPal or Branded Pay. Branded Surveys is open to teens in the US, Canada, and the UK.
What’s your teen’s talent? Are they good at making online videos? Graphic design? Writing? Young teenagers can use Fiverr’s online marketplace to make $5-$10,000 using skills they already possess. They can design graphics for websites, do voiceover work, or even manage social media accounts. The sky’s the limit! You must be 13 years and older to sign up as a seller.
For teens who enjoy taking surveys on a variety of topics, SurveySavvy offers the opportunity to give feedback and share opinions on all sorts of products and experiences. Teens can earn $5 just by signing up, and there are additional ways to make bonuses by referring new members and registering other devices. Participants must be 13 years of age or older to use the site.
Teens who are tech-savvy and creative and who enjoy writing and photography might try blogging as a way to make money online. The great thing about blogging is teens have the freedom to create whatever content they desire, and they can use it as both an outlet for creative expression and a chance to boost their tech and writing skills. Setting up a blog isn’t complicated or expensive, and once monetized, teens may find blogging lucrative and an excellent way to build their skills for future endeavors.
Eva Baker started her blog, TeensGotCents when she was 16 years old. Fast forward, and she has a team of teen and college writers who write content for her money-making website.
If your teenager enjoys recording and editing videos, starting a YouTube channel might be the perfect work-from-home job! While it takes some work to build up an audience and become a full-time YouTuber, teens who have a YouTube account can sign up for Google AdSense with their parent’s permission and start earning money with their videos. YouTube participants must be 13 years or older (and 18 and older for a Google AdSense account). YouTube also has a Shorts Creator Fund for content creators, so there are multiple ways to monetize your account.
One teen that’s found success as a YouTuber is Makenna Kelly (age 13). With 1.63 million followers on her channel, Life with MaK, it’s reported that she earns a whopping $1,000 daily from her advertising revenue.
The direct sales company, Think Goodness, which includes Origami Owl, Willing Beauty, CMYK, and Intuitiv Wellness, allows people ages 11-17 to enroll in their business opportunities. Think Goodness was founded on the premise of empowering mother-daughter teams to sell through the direct-sales model. After 14-year-old Bella wanted to make money for the purchase of a car, she and her mom started a company that would help others achieve their goals as well. Enrollment for Think Goodness begins at $23, and according to their website:
“Youth ages 11-to-17 can join the community with a Think Goodness Purpose Partner to build their own businesses. Not only does this spread goodness, but it also helps them gain valuable business and life skills to empower them to impact their own lives – and the world for good.”
The smartphone app, Receipt Hog can be downloaded by anyone over the age of 13 (under 18 must have parental permission). Once downloaded, you snap a picture of your receipt each time you go to the store. Purchasing certain products can result in cashback and rebates, plus the opportunity to participate in surveys and contests to earn even more. If you’d like to join, you can use my referral code jen59328 here for a bonus.
Ibotta is a smartphone app that rewards users for in-person and online shopping. To get started, download the app, and before going shopping (usually grocery shopping and big box stores), check the app for products you intend to purchase. If you see an item, you’re going to buy, click on it, and add it to your list. Then verify the purchase by scanning your receipt and bar code. You can earn additional cashback by referring friends to the app. Your account must have at least a $20 balance to redeem your earnings. Teens who want to use the app must be 13 years old to participate.
If your teen has design skills — they can make money designing and selling t-shirts online with Teespring. The platform is free to use, and once teens have created their products, they can promote them via social media platforms. For each product they sell, they’ll earn a set amount. Payments are distributed via PayPal or Payoneer. Teespring is open to teens 13 years old, but they must have permission from a parent if they are under 18.
13. Enter Giveaways
There are many opportunities to earn from online giveaway sites like Infinite Sweeps, Facebook Giveaway Group, and Sweeties Sweeps. (Note that most sites require parent permission if under 18.) I tried this myself and didn’t have much luck. However, many people who commented on my article said they’ve won a decent amount of cash and prizes. If this sounds appealing, you can check out this post for ideas on how you can enter giveaways and earn money and rewards.
If you’re the creative type and enjoy making handmade goods like digital printables, slime, jewelry, bow ties, or a million other products, consider setting up a shop on Etsy. According to Etsy’s minor policy, teens who wish to sell on Etsy must have a parent or guardian manage their account and cannot participate in the community feature if they are under 18.
One young teen that found success on the platform is LeiLei Secor. She started selling handmade jewelry on Etsy at 16, and in three years, she earned 100K, which she is now using for college tuition.
15. Complete Household Chores
If you don’t mind getting out of the house and doing household chores like dishes, vacuuming, and laundry, check out Care.com. According to this thread, teens between the ages of 16-17 can create a parent-monitored account and help others with their housekeeping tasks. Other sites like TaskRabbit and Handy require that professionals be at least 18 years of age. By creating some inexpensive business cards or posting your services online on sites like Facebook or Instagram — you may be able to find some clients who will pay you to clean their homes.
16. Babysitting
If your teen loves kids, babysitting may be their ticket to making money. While your teen can offer babysitting services to friends, family, and neighbors, they are a couple of apps that allow young teens to join (of course, with parental consent). Bambino allows teens between the ages of 13-17 to join when a parent becomes a Consenting Parent User. On Care.com, teens between the ages of 16-17 can create a parental monitored account. Other platforms like Nanno and Sittercity require sitters to be at least 18 years of age.
Survey Junkie allows teens 13 years and older to make money by taking online surveys. To start, create an account, answer a few intro questions, and then take surveys. For each survey, you’ll be awarded a certain amount of points that can be redeemed for gift cards, cash via PayPal, or bank transfer. Survey Junkie is open to teens in the US, Canada, and Australia.
If your teen enjoys testing stuff out and surfing the web, they can make money as a website or app tester for Userlytics. Teenagers 16 years old and older may apply for these gigs. Just fill out their online application, interact with the requested website or app, and then get paid via PayPal. Users worldwide may apply, and test payout ranges from $5-$90 per test.
User Interviews recruits individuals 18 years and older and teens at least 13 years (with parent’s consent) to participate in surveys, focus groups, and website testing gigs. Most tasks take between 30-120 minutes and pay between $40-$200 per study. User Interviews accepts participants from the US, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Germany, France, and the UK.
If your teen is talented in a particular subject, like music or math, they can make extra money by tutoring others who need help. One such 14-year-old teen that went this route is Gillian Perkins. She was approached by a fellow student, and so began her flute tutoring business. She eventually branched out and started posting ads on Craigslist to get even more students.
When my daughter was in elementary school, I hired our teen neighbor to come and listen to my daughter read to help her improve her reading skills. All she did to get my business was asked if I needed a mommy helper during the summer.
At Vocal, teens ages 13 and up can create written content for cash! To get started, create an account, and upload your written content to the website. For each piece of content that is read 1,000 times, creators will earn $3.80. There are also opportunities to make tips from readers and win money from contests. While it’s not a lot of money, it’s an excellent way to improve your teen’s writing and editing skills and create good writing samples they can use for other freelance opportunities. Vocal accepts creators from all around the world, and payments are distributed via Stripe. However, your account must reach a $35 threshold before requesting payment.
PanelPolls is a market research firm that allows kids ages 2-14 and teens ages 15-17 to participate with parent permission. Simple surveys pay $1-$10 per survey, and focus group studies pay between $50-$300. My teenage daughter signed up for PanelPolls last summer, and during that time, she was only sent one invite for a study which she did not qualify for; it seems like they may have more participants than studies. However, it still may be worth checking out.
MyPoints is another survey site where teens ages 13 and older can earn points for taking surveys and shopping online. Points earned can be traded for gift cards from major retailers and cash via PayPal. New users can also earn $10 just for creating a new account. According to this review on Money under 30, it takes 700 points to earn a $5 gift card.
24. Content Creator
If your teenager is on social media and they have high engagement rates, and they’re building a loyal following of fans, becoming a content creator is a fun way to make money from home! Social media sites like Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest have creator funds where they are paying content creators money to create original content for their platforms!
Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest require users to be at least 13 years old to register for an account on their own. Each platform has different eligibility criteria for joining its creator funds, so visit each site for details, and for other platforms with creator funds, check out this post.
Content creators can also make money through sponsored brand campaigns; for more information, see this post for tips for getting started.
Getting Paid
While some of these gigs pay out in gift cards, others make payments via PayPal, Stipe, or direct deposit. To ensure your teen gets paid for their work — you’ll need to open a PayPal or bank account. A person must be at least 18 years old to obtain a PayPal account on their own.
Final Words About Remote Jobs for Teens
Many companies do not have age requirements listed on their websites, so if you’re interested in a particular job, contact the company and ask if they hire young teens. Also, if you have a skill like graphic design, digital marketing, or you’re an expert in a particular subject; try reaching out to those around you. You’d be surprised how many people will pay you for your skills and services. If you’re willing to drive your young teen to work and pick them up, here is a list of companies that hire 14- and 15-year-olds.
So there you have it, the best online jobs for young teens! Do you know of some other ways for teenagers to make money? Drop us a comment below; I’d love to know what kind of job your young teen is doing from home!
Originally published February 21, 2017. Content updated May 2021.
