Easy Online Jobs for Teens
If you’re a teen looking for easy ways to make money, the good news is there are loads of online jobs for teenagers out there. Whilst some online work may require you to be over 18, a lot of these online jobs for teens are suitable for those aged 13 and over.
As a teenager, it can be hard to find a good job because of all the potential obstacles. For example, not yet having a car or access to good transportation or not being able to work certain shifts because of being in education.
That’s why it’s great that it’s now possible to find online jobs for teens! It’s a brilliant opportunity for teenagers who want to make money, that simply wasn’t an option 20 or so years ago.
Advantages of online jobs for teenagers
There are lots of great advantages to finding an online job as a teenager. For starters, you don’t even have to leave your room – and we all know how hard it can be to get a teenager out of bed!
Flexiblility – with working online you’re often free to work around your own schedule at a time and pace that suits you.
Ease – no need to commute or find transport to get to work – just work from home.
You can start an online job for teens from as little as age 13!
Disadvantages to working online as a teen
One main drawback to working online as a teen is that a lot of websites that offer paid work use PayPal as a payment method and PayPal only allow users aged 18 and over to create an account. If you do want to use Paypal to get paid as a younger teenager you’d need to be paid into a parent or guardian account.
Luckily most of these sites offer alternate payment options such as gift cards, VISA or Mastercard payments so there are plenty of payout options to consider, along with creating your own invoices for other paid work.
Online safety
It’s always important to make sure to be careful about giving out personal information online. Always check terms and conditions along with privacy policies to make sure any data shared is secure.
You should never be required to pay any money for any of these online jobs, so don’t give out your card details.
Employment laws for teenagers
In the UK, there are restrictions on how much teens can work at different ages, so when you’re looking to start any of these online jobs for teenagers, it’s best to know what you’re allowed to do before you begin.
At 13, children are allowed to work part-time, up to 25 hours a week.
At 16, minimum school leaving age is reached, and teenagers this age and above can work full time (up to maximum of 40 hours a week). However, in England children are required to be in some form of education or training until age 18.
At 18, adult employment rules and rights apply.
How to make money online as a teenager
Here are 9 great online jobs for teens to consider, whether it’s to earn some extra pocket money, or start a journey into teenage entrepreneurism.
Paid surveys for cash (13+)
Taking surveys is an easy way to earn a little extra pocket money, and a lot of survey sites allow teenagers to register with parental consent.
All you have to do is answer questions about your lifestyle and consumer habits, and give your opinion on products and services.
You’ll be rewarded for your time with either cash or gift vouchers.
Here are some popular survey sites for teens to try out:
Swagbucks (13+)
Swagbucks is a survey get-paid-to site that offers lots of different ways to earn extra cash. Along with taking surveys, you can also get paid for playing games, downloading apps and completing various tasks and surveys. You’ll earn points (called sb) for each earning activity which you can then exchange for cash or gift cards.
Ysense (13+)
Ysense is similar to Swagbucks, another GPT site. It offers a wide range of surveys which pay varying amounts depending on the length of time they take to complete. The amount you’ll earn in shown in cash.
You can choose to redeem your earnings for a wide range of gift cards, PayPal, VISA and more.
Qmee (16+)
Qmee is a reward website that allows you to earn money for searching the web. When you install the Qmee extension to your browser, you can earn for viewing sponsored results when you search online.
With Qmee, you can also earn by completing surveys and cashback offers.
YouGov (16+)
YouGov is a survey platform that asks you to share your opinion on news, current events, entertainment, sports, politics and more.
Once you’ve signed up you’ll receive invitations to take surveys via email, or you can choose to download and take surveys within the YouGov app.
You can choose to cashout for vouchers or have your earnings transferred directly to your bank account.
Gig work on Fiverr (13+)
Fiverr is a huge online marketplace for hiring people for all sorts of online work. You can offer your services for whatever kind of work you’re good at – writing an article, creating a design, writing code, creating custom graphics, social media management, you name it!
Just sign up and create your own ‘gig’ to advertise your services.
Rates on Fiverr start from (yep, you guessed it) $5, but you are free to set your own pricing. It’s free to join, but Fiverr take a 20% commission, so you’ll keep 80% of your earnings.
This is one of the best opportunities for online jobs for teens, as you can start earning from age 13 and can choose to profit from the skills you already have.
Sell designs (13+)
If you’re creative and like to design, you can create and sell your work online with platforms such as Teespring (13+), Cafepress (18+) and Amazon Merch. These all allow you to upload your designs for things like T-shirts, mugs, totebags and so on. When someone chooses your design and purchases merchandise you’ll be paid a commission. These are print on demand services, so you don’t need to hold any products or handle any printing or anything yourself. Just upload your designs and wait for sales.
Learn to code (13+)
Learning to program often comes easier the younger you start learning. Being able to code really opens the door to earn good money, as a teenager and beyond.
There are lots of free and paid courses online to help you learn. A popular provider is Codeacademy, who offer some free coding classes, as do Udemy and Skillcrush.
Once you have coding skills you can offer your services for quick coding jobs on Fiverr and Upwork, set up a business creating websites or even start applying for work as a software developer.
Developing these skills will set you up to always be able to easily find online work.
Paid to play apps (13+)
MistPlay is an android app that allows you to earn rewards for playing games. Once you’ve downloaded the app you’ll see a list of games available for earning and can choose which you want to play.
As you play, you’ll earn ‘units’. You can then redeem your units for Amazon gift cards, VISA payments, Google Play vouchers and more.
Selling and Reselling (13+)
The online marketplace world is huge! There is plenty of money to be made selling online. You can start making money by selling your old and unwanted items, such as games, books, tech and clothing, but the really money can be made by buying things at cheap prices and reselling for more.
You can look out for bargain buys at charity shops, garage sales, car boot sales and similar and then list them online to make a profit.
Some good places to list things for sale are:
- Facebook marketplace
- Local facebook buy/sell groups
- Ebay
- Gumtree
- Selling apps such as Schpock, Depop and Vinted.
Read more: Guide to selling clothes for cash
Website testing (16+)
User Testers get paid to assess the usability of websites and apps, providing feedback and suggestions based on user experience.
To become a website tester you will need a computer, laptop or mobile device, a built in microphone and a reliable internet connection.
You will also need the ability to speak out loud in English.
User testing work consists of completing tasks or instructions while using or viewing websites and apps and speaking your thoughts aloud, along with answering any questions given in the brief.
Brands use testers feedback to build better products and improve user experience.
Some good places to sign up to be a tester are:
- Userlytics (16+)
- UserTribe (18+)
- Usertesting (18+)
Review music (17+)
If you’re 17 or over, you can sign up to become a reviewer for Slice the Pie, which is an online paid review site. You get paid for sharing your opinion of music tracks, clothing and more. These reviews go directly to unsigned artists and fashion designers to help them gain feedback. The more reviews you leave, the more you can earn. Slice the Pie pays out to PayPal, once you’ve earned $10.
Game Testing
What better online job for a teenager could there be than testing video games? That’s right, you can really get paid to play games. This gives you the chance to earn money while having fun and helps game developers improve their games and work on any bugs and issues.
One place to apply for games testing work is PlayTestCloud. They pay approximately $9 per 15 minute test. While testing you’ll be required to speak out loud while playing which gives developers great feedback and insight into players thoughts and feelings about the game at each point.
Tips for working online as a teenager
- Figure out how you’ll be paid
It’s no good doing work online only to find out you can’t accept their payment methods. It’s a good idea to set up a bank account for your earnings.
Some online jobs will only pay through PayPal or other online payment providers, whereas some will pay in gift cards which might suit you better. - Be organised
Make sure to manage your time well so you can keep on top of both your education and your work. Whilst some online working can be flexible, others require keeping to deadlines, so staying organised is a must. - Keep a record of your income
It’s always good to keep an up-to-date record of your earnings. This will help both when it comes to budgeting and tax purposes.
Working online as a teenager is a great way to start earning some extra cash, it can be a stepping stone into saving up for things you’d like, or a flexible step into full-time work or even starting your own online business. It’s also a great way to gain experience and grow your finances, the younger you start, the longer you have to build both!
Also read: How to make money on the weekends