Teenagers are some of the most committed people I know. They’ve got a lot of optimism and are so willing to get out and try new things. Teens are also some of the most enterprising people around. I have two teenage kids, and they’re constantly talking about these big, possibly-world changing plans. Nothing can get between a teenager and their dreams.
Nothing, it seems, except for one cold hard truth: the earning capacity of a teenager is extremely limited. And as any grown-up has had to accept, you’ve got to have a sizeable income to make your goals and dreams a reality. Unless said teenager is a programming whiz and develops a kick-ass app before they graduate high school, they need to find ways to make money.
The good news is that there are now more opportunities than ever for teenagers. Back in the day, how to make money as a teenager involved working a paper route, babysitting, mowing lawns, or selling lemonade. While all those methods are awesome and continue to be a great way for teens to make money, the internet has opened up a lot of opportunities for them. And the best part is, these online earning methods for teens are super-easy to do. We all know teens are under a lot of pressure academically. Plus they have to bounce from one social activity to another. So these online earning methods for teens are easy to fit into their busy schedules.
In this post, I’ll be giving you a list of ways for teenagers to make money online. The methods listed here are inspired by the ways my own teenagers make money online. They’ve all tested these methods, and they’re legit (and safe) ways to make money online for teens. If you know any hard-working and enterprising teens, show them this post!
Use Rewards Sites
Let’s start with the simplest way for teens to make money online. Rewards sites are perfect for teens because they don’t require any special skills or experience. But they do require a certain amount of time and commitment for them to be worthwhile. So they teach teens the value of committing to a project.
Rewards sites come in several shapes and flavors, but generally, they reward the user for doing a bunch of simple online tasks. These tasks usually include (but are not limited to) answering surveys, watching videos, and completing offers. If you’re worried about a company giving surveys to teens, don’t worry. These surveys are part of market research. Companies want to know what their target market (such as teenagers) are into. And since the surveys are targeted towards a specific demographic, teenage members will only get surveys that are appropriate for them to answer (no alcohol- or smoking-related surveys, for example.
Videos, on the other hand, are a great source of passive income. They don’t need to do anything beyond letting videos play. My kids love this earning method because they can leave videos playing while they play sports, or during their commute home. It doesn’t take any time away from more important activities. Completing offers require the user to sign-up for trial subscriptions to other sites. They might require a credit card number, so the last earning method might not be completing appropriate for teens (unless you trust your son or daughter with your credit card info!)
Whenever they complete a task, an amount of earnings is credited to their account. When they reach a certain amount, they will be able to withdraw their earnings – usually, there are cash and gift card options for them to pick from. If this sounds like something they’d like to try, here are some legit rewards sites for them to try out:
GrabPoints
MySurvey
SurveySavvy
Global Test Market
Ipsos I-say
Kidz Eyes
Springboard America
American Consumer Opinion
VIP Voice
Valued Opinions
Do Audio Transcribing and Data Entry
This earning method is a step up from answering surveys and watching videos. Transcribing audio recordings and doing data entry takes a lot of attention to detail and professionalism (some of these recordings might contain confidential information). Most of the recordings that need transcribing usually come from lawyers, doctors, and academics. These recordings are usually from meetings, conference calls, or personal notes. It’s hard to review audio recordings, so audio transcriptionists provide written documents based on the recordings. It’s a valuable job and teaches kids a lot of skills that will be valuable later in life.
A lot of online companies hire transcribers and data encoders on a freelance or part-time basis. A lot of them – or at least the legit ones – also require certain tests and even training sessions. This is actually a good thing since it teaches teens how to work towards a goal. To get started, here are a couple of good sites to check out:
TranscribeMe
Rev
Tigerfish
Quicktate
DionData Solutions
Clickworker
Works as Language Instructors
The world has become more connected than ever. Business has become more global, and it isn’t unusual for business people from Tokyo to do business with counterparts in the United States or Canada. And since English is usually the de facto business language, there’s a great demand for English instructors.
If your kids show a high capacity for English, and the ability to teach, becoming an English instructor might be right up their alley. This might seem like a big jump for them, but it doesn’t have to be. I myself worked as an English tutor back during my freshman year in college. My first batch of students were some exchange students from South Korea. But I do need to point out that this requires a lot of skill and dependability from teens. But if they show the appropriate skills and maturity, this could be the perfect gig for them. And who knows? They might even be able to build a network from the people they teach English to!
There are sites that hire online tutors, or work as “freelance marketplaces.” A few of these sites might require a college degree or some relevant work experience. Obviously, a teenager won’t have those. But the freelance market is a great place for them to start. And it’ll even teach them how to market themselves to a wide audience.
Here are a few places for them to start:
Tutapoint
Rosetta Stone
Upwork
Skyword
PeoplePerHour
Nothing, it seems, except for one cold hard truth: the earning capacity of a teenager is extremely limited. And as any grown-up has had to accept, you’ve got to have a sizeable income to make your goals and dreams a reality. Unless said teenager is a programming whiz and develops a kick-ass app before they graduate high school, they need to find ways to make money.
The good news is that there are now more opportunities than ever for teenagers. Back in the day, how to make money as a teenager involved working a paper route, babysitting, mowing lawns, or selling lemonade. While all those methods are awesome and continue to be a great way for teens to make money, the internet has opened up a lot of opportunities for them. And the best part is, these online earning methods for teens are super-easy to do. We all know teens are under a lot of pressure academically. Plus they have to bounce from one social activity to another. So these online earning methods for teens are easy to fit into their busy schedules.
In this post, I’ll be giving you a list of ways for teenagers to make money online. The methods listed here are inspired by the ways my own teenagers make money online. They’ve all tested these methods, and they’re legit (and safe) ways to make money online for teens. If you know any hard-working and enterprising teens, show them this post!
Use Rewards Sites
Let’s start with the simplest way for teens to make money online. Rewards sites are perfect for teens because they don’t require any special skills or experience. But they do require a certain amount of time and commitment for them to be worthwhile. So they teach teens the value of committing to a project.
Rewards sites come in several shapes and flavors, but generally, they reward the user for doing a bunch of simple online tasks. These tasks usually include (but are not limited to) answering surveys, watching videos, and completing offers. If you’re worried about a company giving surveys to teens, don’t worry. These surveys are part of market research. Companies want to know what their target market (such as teenagers) are into. And since the surveys are targeted towards a specific demographic, teenage members will only get surveys that are appropriate for them to answer (no alcohol- or smoking-related surveys, for example.
Videos, on the other hand, are a great source of passive income. They don’t need to do anything beyond letting videos play. My kids love this earning method because they can leave videos playing while they play sports, or during their commute home. It doesn’t take any time away from more important activities. Completing offers require the user to sign-up for trial subscriptions to other sites. They might require a credit card number, so the last earning method might not be completing appropriate for teens (unless you trust your son or daughter with your credit card info!)
Whenever they complete a task, an amount of earnings is credited to their account. When they reach a certain amount, they will be able to withdraw their earnings – usually, there are cash and gift card options for them to pick from. If this sounds like something they’d like to try, here are some legit rewards sites for them to try out:
GrabPoints
MySurvey
SurveySavvy
Global Test Market
Ipsos I-say
Kidz Eyes
Springboard America
American Consumer Opinion
VIP Voice
Valued Opinions
Do Audio Transcribing and Data Entry
This earning method is a step up from answering surveys and watching videos. Transcribing audio recordings and doing data entry takes a lot of attention to detail and professionalism (some of these recordings might contain confidential information). Most of the recordings that need transcribing usually come from lawyers, doctors, and academics. These recordings are usually from meetings, conference calls, or personal notes. It’s hard to review audio recordings, so audio transcriptionists provide written documents based on the recordings. It’s a valuable job and teaches kids a lot of skills that will be valuable later in life.
A lot of online companies hire transcribers and data encoders on a freelance or part-time basis. A lot of them – or at least the legit ones – also require certain tests and even training sessions. This is actually a good thing since it teaches teens how to work towards a goal. To get started, here are a couple of good sites to check out:
TranscribeMe
Rev
Tigerfish
Quicktate
DionData Solutions
Clickworker
Works as Language Instructors
The world has become more connected than ever. Business has become more global, and it isn’t unusual for business people from Tokyo to do business with counterparts in the United States or Canada. And since English is usually the de facto business language, there’s a great demand for English instructors.
If your kids show a high capacity for English, and the ability to teach, becoming an English instructor might be right up their alley. This might seem like a big jump for them, but it doesn’t have to be. I myself worked as an English tutor back during my freshman year in college. My first batch of students were some exchange students from South Korea. But I do need to point out that this requires a lot of skill and dependability from teens. But if they show the appropriate skills and maturity, this could be the perfect gig for them. And who knows? They might even be able to build a network from the people they teach English to!
There are sites that hire online tutors, or work as “freelance marketplaces.” A few of these sites might require a college degree or some relevant work experience. Obviously, a teenager won’t have those. But the freelance market is a great place for them to start. And it’ll even teach them how to market themselves to a wide audience.
Here are a few places for them to start:
Tutapoint
Rosetta Stone
Upwork
Skyword
PeoplePerHour
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