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Best Sites to Make Money Online as a Teen
Branded Surveys 13+
$0.50 – $5 on average per survey with bonus points ($1 sign up bonus)
Average survey length is 10-20 minutes and minimum payout is $5
Collect rewards in PayPal, Direct Deposit or gift cards (100+ brands)
Swagbucks 13+
$0.50 to $1.50 per survey – earn up to $100 each month using Swagbucks
18 unique ways to earn money and free gift cards, plus $5 sign up bonus
Redeem e-gift cards from $1 or withdraw $5 minimum payment from PayPal
15 Jobs for 17 Year Olds
Survey Taker (Swagbucks)
Swagbucks Summary
- 18 ways to earn money and e-gift cards
- $5 sign up bonus
- Up to 10% cashback when shopping online
- $1 minimum e-gift card withdrawal
Being a survey taker is one of the most flexible jobs for 17 year olds. You can participate in surveys at any time of the day or night. So, it is ideal for fitting around your school work, and extracurricular activities. Additionally, since the surveys typically only take a few minutes, you can even work on during your lunch hour or free periods.
Swagbucks is one of the most popular survey sites. You’ll earn SBs or points for participating in surveys and other tasks including watching videos and online shopping.
Surveys typically pay up to 200 SBs. Each SB is worth 1 cent. Once you accumulate 500 SBs, you can redeem your earnings for a 5 PayPal payment or gift card.
Answer Questions (Toluna)
Toluna Summary
- Get paid from $0.01 to $15 per survey
- Receive up to 7 surveys in a single day
- Complete surveys on iOS or Android
- Earn extra money by playing games
Toluna has millions of members and has been around for over 20 years. It offers the opportunity to earn cash answering questions about products and services. Toluna has surveys, polls and even product testing.
There are also sweepstakes where you could win prizes including merchandise and gift cards.
Each task on Toluna offers 15 to 50,000 points. You can also earn 500 points for referring family members or friends through your referral code.
There is a steep minimum withdrawal level. You’ll need to earn 95,000 points before you can request a $30 PayPal payment.
Customer Service (Uhaul)
Most people are aware of U-Haul, but you may not know they offer jobs for 17 year olds. The company runs a work from home program offering flexible hours. The role involves answering inquiries and questions from U-Haul customers, and scheduling hire reservations.
You can expect to earn $7.50+ per hour, with a potential for bonuses.
Applicants need:
- To be computer literate
- Have a good phone manner
- Minimum typing speed of 25 words per minute.
Start Online Business (Shopify)
Shopify Summary
- Free 14 day trial period available
- Build a new website in under 2 hours
- Over 100 payment gateways supported
- Over 6000 apps to improve your store
If you can make or source items to sell, you could start a Shopify online business. The Shopify platform makes it simple to operate an e-commerce business.
While Shopify has some massive brands including Red Bull, Gymshark and Budweiser, you don’t need a massive operation to use the platform. Currently, Shopify has more than one million independent businesses generating $1.5 billion per year.
Depending on your shopping costs and choice of products, you could earn up to $100 or more per item.
Freelance Gigs (Fiverr)
Fiverr Summary
- Set your own prices for your services
- Choose from over 500 service categories
- 3 different options for cashing out
- Protection from fradulent chargebacks
Fiverr is an online platform where you can offer products or services. Each gig allows you to turn almost any talent or skill into an income stream. This provides superb flexibility, as you can complete gigs around your studies.
For example, you may offer crafts, articles, logos or even poems for $5. However, you can also upsell your gigs, offering additional levels for more money.
Bear in mind that Fiverr does take a 20% commission on all your earnings. So, you’ll earn $4 for your basic Fiverr gig.
Provide Your Opinion (Qmee)
Qmee Summary
- Most surveys pay up to $1
- App for Android and iOS
- No minimum payout for PayPal
- Payouts are immediately processed
Qmee is a Get Paid To (GPT) platform where you can earn cash providing your opinions. The tasks on the site include participating in surveys, clicking on ads and using a browser extension.
Most of the tasks typically pay $0.50 or less. However, they only take a minute or two. Where Qmee differs from many GPT platforms is that there is no minimum cash out. So, even if you only earn $0.50 you can immediately cash out.
Play Games (MyPoints)
MyPoints Summary
- $10 sign-up bonus with your first purchase
- Earn $1 on average per survey you complete
- Over 10 different ways to earn money
- Pays by gift cards, PayPal & travel miles
If you enjoy playing games in your spare time, you could turn this into a side gig to earn some extra cash. MyPoints is another GPT site. It has been around for over 25 years and has paid out more than $200 million to its users to date.
MyPoints allows you to earn points playing games, watching videos, and participating in surveys. You can even earn cash back for your online shopping with retail partners such as Walmart or Amazon. This can provide up to 15 points for each dollar you spend.
Once you accumulate $10 or approximately 1400 points, you can redeem a gift card. If you prefer PayPal payments, you’ll need to reach approximately 4,000 points to receive $25.
Test Products (Valued Opinion)
Valued Opinions Summary
- High average payout per survey of up to $5
- 5 membership levels with tailored surveys
- Quick turnaround time for e-gift card
- Low minimum cash out threshold of $10
Valued Opinions is an online community where you can earn rewards for testing products and sharing your opinions. The product reviews and surveys are worth up to $5 and typically take up to 20 minutes.
There is a $20 minimum redemption. Once you reach this level, you can claim gift cards, Amazon vouchers or airline miles. All gift cards are electronic, so you can expect to receive them within 24 hours.
Write Articles (Helium)
If you enjoy writing, you could write articles as your part time job. There are lots of blogs, publications and platforms that need regular content to entertain and inform their readers.
One of the best freelance sites to look at is Helium. This will allow you to connect with clients looking for content on a variety of topics. This job is easy to get started as you don’t need any specialist equipment. However, there is a potential to earn up to $200,000 a year.
Complete Small Tasks (Amazon Turk)
If you prefer the idea of doing a variety of tasks as your part time job, you could complete small tasks with Amazon Turk. This microtasking platform offers tiny jobs, such as Capchas that typically pay less than $0.50. While this doesn’t seem like much, each task typically takes less than a minute. So, your earnings can quickly add up.
You will need to pass qualification tasks for tasks in different areas. Most of the tasks are HITs or Human Intelligence Tasks. So, you may be completing polls, categorizing videos, transcribing audio or filling in Captchas.
Do Voice Over (Voices.com)
If you have a pleasant voice, consider doing voice over work. Voices.com is a community for voice artists. This platform can help you to find jobs voicing commercials, narrating audio books or even participating in live events.
There are new jobs on the boards almost every day. Each listing details the requirements for the job, so you can determine if you should apply.
You can sign up for a free guest account, but to increase your chances of landing jobs, you should upgrade to a premium account. There is the potential to earn $40 or more per hour.
Start Youtube Channel
YouTube is one of the most exciting jobs for 17 year olds. This platform has created many millionaires before they were legally adults. Ryan of Ryan’s World is just 9 years old, yet he earned $26 million in 2019.
Of course, there is some strategy to make a decent income on the platform. You need a minimum 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watched video hours across 12 months to claim ad revenue. You also need to choose a niche that has popularity potential.
Your earnings will depend on your niche, content quality and posting consistency. But, it is not unreasonable to develop an income of $2,000 a month in your first year.
Become Photographer (Photosesh)
If you have a quality portfolio and can pass a background check, you could become a photographer with PhotoSesh.
This platform offers a number of benefits including:
- Work flexible hours
- Gain exposure for your photography
- Leads will find you in your location
- Sync your calendar to maintain a work schedule
- Enjoy a ratings system that could allow you Elite status.
To join PhotoSesh, you just need to download the free app on your iOS device and submit a profile.
Become a DJ (Bark)
If you enjoy music, you could become a DJ in your spare time. This can be a fun, yet lucrative job that you can work at weekends.
You can choose to be a mobile DJ, working events such as birthdays or weddings. You will need some equipment and access to a vehicle. However, if you’re into music, you may already have most of the things you need, such as decks, good quality headphones and a mixer.
You can find gigs by word of mouth or join a platform like Bark.
Review Music (Slice the Pie)
Slicethepie Summary
- Earn cash for reviewing products, songs, and commercials
- Each review is typically $0.02 up to $0.20
- Get 20% of all your referral’s review earnings for 60 days and 10% after
- $10 minimum payout
Another music themed job you could try is reviewing music on Slice the Pie. This innovative platform helps artists and unsigned bands to get honest feedback.
There isn’t massive earning potential, but you can spend your time listening to music and earn up to $50 per month.
To begin using the platform, you’ll need to complete the online application with some of your basic personal information. When you log in, you can explore the music categories to see the tracks. You will need to listen to a track for 90 seconds or more and then provide a rating and comments.
What Companies Hire 17 Year Olds?
What is the Best Job to Start With?
This depends on your interests. Think about what you enjoy doing in your spare time and see if you can turn it into a gig.
For example, if you like listening to music, try Slice the Pie, but if you prefer writing, sign up for Helium.
