Are you a 16-year-old teenager eager to explore opportunities for earning money without the constraints of a traditional job?
Maybe you’re 13, just entering your teen years, or 17, on the verge of adulthood.
With the approval of your parents or guardians, there are numerous avenues for teenagers like you to start making money.
Working at a young age not only provides financial benefits but also imparts valuable life skills, such as money management and the importance of work experience.
The exciting part is that earning money as a teenager allows you to save for personal desires or future college expenses.
Explore the fantastic ways on how to make $1000 as a teenager and kickstart your journey towards financial independence.
How To Make $1000 As A Teenager In 2025?
If you are a teenager and searching for some ways to earn extra cash, know that you’re not alone in this hassle.
The number of youth looking to work in the US grows year over year.
As per the (BLS) Bureau of Labor Statistics data, 54.4% of Gen Z-ers are working.
And this means that as a teenager, you can start working now if you need to earn money.
There are many side hustles available that teenagers can take on in their spare time while continuing their education.
It might take some time and dedication to hit your first $1k as a teenager, but it is doable.
Here are the best job ideas for teens to earn money online and offline.
Best Online Jobs To Make Money As A Teenager
Online jobs are one of the most excellent and flexible jobs for teenagers.
Whether you are in your first year in college or about to finish high school, you can learn a skill and work online to make money.
1. Make Money With Shutterstock
Are you a photography enthusiast, artist, or musician?
Shutterstock offers many ways to earn income while you roll your camera and bring out the creativity in you.
Contribute to Shutterstock’s Offset and earn every time a client downloads your work.
Alternatively, you can contribute content for Shutterstock’s editorial.
If you are a music artist, you can submit your original music releases to Premium Beat and grow as an artist.
Related Blog: Ways To Make Money On Shutterstock
2. Take Online Surveys
Online surveys are also the most straightforward online jobs looking to earn income.
Online surveys are quick gigs that you can complete in less than 30 minutes for longer surveys.
These surveys are from brands looking to get consumer market insights.
You can complete online surveys from your laptop or phone wherever you are and at any time.
Check out Survey Junkie, Swagbucks, and Inbox Dollars for online surveys.
Related Blog: Best Survey Sites To Make Money
3. Online Freelance
You can complete different tasks on a contractual basis as an online freelance.
Typically, someone on the internet is willing to pay you to do specific jobs like copywriting or web designing.
You can learn and offer online freelance services like;
(A) Freelance Web Designing – You design websites at a fee for other businesses. Shutterstock is an excellent place to get high-quality stock photos to use when creating your clients’ websites.
(B) Freelance Copywriting – It engages in creating marketing materials for helping other businesses to promote their products and services.
(C) Freelance Virtual Assistant – You can offer online office admin services like scheduling calls, meetings, travels, and more.
(D) Be A Web And An App Tester – You can help web designers, app creators, and business owners test their websites and apps before releasing them. Consider websites like User Testing, U Test, and Enroll App.
(E) Social Media Manager – Are you a fan of social media? If so, you have an excellent opportunity to earn around $52,744 per year managing social media pages for other businesses. A teenager can earn 34,809/year, so that means freelance social media management can make you more money than a regular job.
(F) Transcription – Another excellent job for a teenager to make money is transcription. As a transcriptionist, you can help people turn audio to text at a fee. You can transcribe legal audio, medical audio, business meetings, podcasts, or general transcription. Consider website like Transcribe Anywhere.
(G) Captioning – You can help video creators add captions or subtitles to their video content at a fee. Captioning is similar to transcription, and you can do it from home. It is a great way to make extra money while sitting at home.
Related Blog: 17 Best Ways To Make Money For 13-Year-Olds
4. Start A YouTube Channel
Another excellent job for a Gen Zer is creating video content on YouTube.
There are a ton of YouTube niches that you can focus on as a teenage YouTube Creator.
You can make money from your videos in different ways like ads, affiliate marketing, and sponsorship from other brands.
YouTube pays $18 per 1000 views on average.
Examples of teenage YouTubers include MattyBRaps, Jules LeBlanc, and Jacy and Kacy.
Likewise, as a YouTube creator, you can cash in on your follower traffic, which is a great way to make money.
For example, you are very good at drawing and crafting.
In that case, you can contact some gift manufacturers, such as GS-JJ.com, and let them produce beautiful custom products based on your graphics, such as custom embroidery patches, custom keychains, custom stickers, etc.
After that, you can show how to design and use these products in your video to attract your fans to buy them.
These will help you earn more money.
Related Blog: How To Make Money With YouTube?
5. Be A TikTok Creator
You are a teenager looking to make money, and you probably have TikTok.
Many teenagers are scooping a significant share of the TikTok creator fund, sponsorships, and affiliates by creating content on TikTok.
Unlike other video content sites, the virality nature of TikTok can propel your career in a short time.
TikTok trailblazers like Charlie D’Amelio (17 years), Arishfa Khan (18 years), and Chase Hudson (19 years) are earning millions of dollars by creating TikToks.
To succeed on TikTok, though, you need to be unique, and one way to do that is to use funky music on your TikTok videos.
Use Shutterstock’s premium beat to get unique and trending music for your TikTok videos.
Related Blog: How To Make Money On TikTok?
6. Run An Instagram Shop
Another ideal way for a teenager to make money is to start an Instagram shop.
You can create your Instagram shop and sell any in-demand merchandise.
Some of the products you can offer include apparel, jewelry, beauty, personal care products, art, printables, home decor, and much more.
You don’t need a ton of Instagram fans to sell your products — we explain more on this here — and there are also a dozen of ways to make money on Instagram.
Related Blog: How To Make Money On Instagram As A Creator?
7. Be An Etsy Seller
Did you know that a teenager can sell stuff on Etsy?
Well, as long as you have your parents’ or legal guardians’ approval, you can create an Etsy shop and make money selling your merch.
If you are great at crafting, art, and hand-making stuff, Etsy is your place.
You can sell home decor, paintings, jewelry, clothes, phone accessories, miniatures, planners, and much more.
8. Start A Dropshipping Business
Dropshipping is another excellent job you can do online as a teenager.
As a “drop shipper,” you are the bridge between the manufacturer and the consumer.
Your job here is to market manufacturer’s products and take customer orders.
The manufacture will fulfill the order, so you won’t have to deal with any physical items.
You can create a dropshipping store through web hosting service providers like Siteground, Hostinger or GoDaddy.
Alternatively, you can use providers like Shopify to create your dropshipping store.
You can then look for your dropshipping suppliers on AliExpress, Inventory Source, MegaGoods, and much more.
Dropshipping is flexible, and you can earn between 20% to 30% for every sale you make.
Averagely, you can earn $1000 to $5000 per month as a drop shipper.
9. Photography
Do you love rolling the camera and snapping?
Starting a photography business is another excellent way to make money as a teenager.
You need photography skills, image editing software, and the equipment to start your photography business.
You can make money as a teen photographer by;
(A) Doing Photoshoots
You can offer photoshoot services to customers and get paid.
For instance, you can be a child photographer, wedding, product, maternity, and pet photoshoots.
(B) Selling Photos Online
Another most straightforward way to earn from your photography business is to sell your photos online.
Bloggers, designers, businesses, and many others need photos and pay for professional stock images.
You can create a self-hosted photo store and sell your pictures or use other markets available online.
The best high-paying markets to sell your photos include Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, Etsy, Instagram, Tour Photos, and Alamy.
You can make 15% to 40% of the photo price after a sale on Shutterstock. And what’s more?
When you sell more photos on Shutterstock, you move up the creator level, which means more earnings.
Additionally, you can sell videos on Shutterstock.
The most lucrative photos to sell are nature, working people, food, and places.
(C) Participating In Photo Contests
There are a ton of photo contests that bring photographers together and offer huge prizes.
You can join these contests, and you might win a good reward for your work.
Some of the fantastic photo contests to try your luck include Sony World Photography Awards, Smithsonian, Alexia Foundation Student Grant, iPhone Photography Award, The Young Ones ADC, and Nikon Small World.
(D) Create A Photoblog
Photo blogging is an excellent niche for professional photographers.
You can start your blog and share your adventures as a photographer.
Also, you can use the blog for marketing your photography business, selling photos, and monetizing through ads.
You can also create a photography and filming course and sell it on your blog.
10. Start A Blog
Are you a teenager that loves to cook, craft, design, fashion, money, gaming, tech, etc., and have a knack for words?
You can start a teen blog and make money as a teenager.
The best thing is to write and blog about something you are passionate about and build blog traffic.
You’re probably wondering, “How will the blog make money?”.
There are a thousand plus ways you can monetize your teen blog.
And these include; Affiliate marketing, ads, sponsorship, and you can also create and sell merch, courses, and services through your blog.
So how does a teen start a blog? First, you need a domain name and a host—a name and space on the internet— to create a blog.
You can get these with blog hosting sites like Hostinger, Siteground, Godaddy, etc.
Related Blog: Best Ways To Make Money From Blogging For Beginners
11. Tutor Kids Online
Did you recently finish high school and need to keep busy making money?
Online tutoring can be an excellent source of income for teenagers.
As an online teen tutor, you can offer services like homeschooling, homework help, teaching English, and much more.
You can offer your teaching services on Fiverr, PalFish, and Student-Tutor.
Other tutoring sites that pay require 18+ years to tutor, including VipKids, Qkids, and Cambly.
12. Make Money On Facebook Gaming
Facebook Gaming is a platform that allows gamers to stream their gameplay and connect with viewers.
It is also a great way to make money as a gamer. By building a following on Facebook Gaming, gamers can earn money through sponsorships, donations, and advertisements.
Additionally, Facebook offers a revenue-sharing program for its partnered creators, giving them a portion of the revenue generated from ads shown during their streams.
Whether you’re a professional gamer or just starting, Facebook Gaming can be a lucrative way to make money while doing what you love.
Related Blog: 14 Ideas To Make Money On Facebook
13. Create Apps
Do you have coding, writing, and design skills?
You can create apps for businesses and make money online as a teenager.
There are many sites to build apps, and you need to have computer and app creation programs.
Choose an app creation platform like Appery and Appy Pie if you don’t have any coding skills.
You can offer your app creation services on online marketplaces or through your website.
14. Be An Expert On Just Answer
Did you know that you can work and get paid to answer questions online? That’s right!
Sites like Just Answer will reimburse you up to $7,000 to answer questions online using your computer or phone.
The best idea is to have a computer or a phone and a strong computer connection.
You choose the questions to answer and set your working hours with Just Answer.
15. Sell Digital Arts
Artistically inclined teens can monetize their skills by selling digital art.
Mastering digital art tools, creating a portfolio of digital artworks, and exploring avenues like NFT platforms or online marketplaces such as Etsy enable them to showcase and sell their creations.
16. Online Mystery Shopping
Online mystery shopping is another avenue where teens can provide valuable feedback to businesses.
By signing up for reputable platforms, paying attention to details while evaluating customer experiences, and submitting comprehensive feedback, teens can earn monetary compensation, gift cards, or other rewards for their insights.
17. Gaming Coach
Gaming enthusiasts can become coaches, capitalizing on their expertise in specific games.
By establishing a coaching profile on gaming platforms, offering one-on-one coaching sessions, and creating content with tips and tutorials on platforms like YouTube or Twitch, teens can monetize their gaming skills.
Best Offline Jobs For Teenagers
If online jobs for teenagers don’t work for you, you can consider the traditional offline jobs.
Unlike online jobs that offer pay flexibility, most of these jobs pay per hour.
18. Pet Or Babysitting
Do you love babysitting or love looking after pets? You can look for pet or babysitting jobs near you and earn some cash.
You can make between $10 to $25 per hour as a babysitter, which can be great pay for a teenager.
19. Sell Your Stuff
If you have extra unwanted stuff and are in excellent condition, you can sell them and make money.
Also, selling this stuff can be the ideal way to get capital to start your business as a teenager.
Sell those games, clothes, jewelry, shoes, books, or even your old phones and make money.
Furthermore, selling your excess stuff is a great way to create space in your room and keep it clutter-free.
20. Be A Grandkid On Demand
If you didn’t know, there are grandkids on-demand on Papa Pal.
This job is perfect for teenagers who love to care for elderly citizens.
You can get paid to help older people by running errands, giving them company, and general care.
For instance, you can go shopping grocery, offer car rides, do house chores for the elderly or give them company and friendship.
According to Papa Pal, you can earn up to $3000 per month if you commit yourself to this gig.
21. Gardening Services
Many individuals lack the time or expertise to maintain their gardens.
As a teenager, you can offer gardening services such as lawn mowing, weeding, and basic landscaping.
Advertise your services locally, and consider offering packages or seasonal discounts to attract clients.
22. Car Washing
Offering car washing services is a practical way for teens to earn money.
You can set up a mobile car wash service in your neighborhood, providing a convenient solution for busy individuals who want a clean vehicle.
Ensure you use quality cleaning products to deliver satisfactory results.
23. Grocery Shopping Assistance
With the rise of busy lifestyles, many people appreciate assistance with grocery shopping.
As a teen, you can offer to do the grocery shopping for elderly or busy neighbors.
Charge a reasonable fee and ensure you communicate effectively to meet their specific needs and preferences.
24. Fitness Training
If you’re passionate about fitness, consider offering fitness training services to peers or community members.
This could involve creating simple workout routines, offering guidance on healthy living, or leading group fitness sessions.
You can conduct sessions at local parks or even virtually.
25. Language Tutoring
Fluency in a second language can be a valuable skill.
Teens proficient in a particular language can offer tutoring services to those looking to enhance their language skills.
Advertise your services online or through community bulletin boards, and tailor your sessions to the needs of your clients.
26. Arts And Crafts Workshops
If you have artistic or craft skills, consider hosting arts and crafts workshops for kids in your neighborhood.
You can charge a fee for each session, providing materials and guidance for various creative projects.
This not only allows you to earn money but also fosters creativity in the community.
27. Home Organization
Many people struggle with keeping their homes organized.
As a teen offering home organization services, you can help declutter spaces, organize belongings, and create efficient storage solutions.
Develop a system that suits your clients’ needs and offer your services at affordable rates.
28. Plant Care Services
Indoor and outdoor plants require regular care, and not everyone has a green thumb.
Teens can offer plant care services, including watering, pruning, and repotting.
Advertise your services to plant enthusiasts in your community, and consider providing care tips along with your services.
29. Personal Finance Coaching For Teens
Teens interested in personal finance can venture into coaching their peers.
By educating themselves on budgeting, saving, and basic investment strategies, they can create engaging content through blog posts, videos, or social media.
Offering virtual workshops and one-on-one coaching sessions for a nominal fee can provide personalized financial guidance.
30. Custom Apparel Design
For those with a creative flair, custom apparel design can turn passion into profit.
Learning design tools, creating a portfolio, and utilizing print-on-demand services or online platforms like Etsy allows teens to sell their unique designs.
Collaborating with local influencers or friends can enhance the visibility of their custom apparel.
Conclusion
Remember, the journey towards earning $1000 as a teenager is not just about the money.
It’s about the invaluable experiences, lessons, and personal growth that come along the way.
It’s also an excellent chance to cultivate financial literacy in kids and teens, a skill that will serve them well throughout their lives.
So, take charge, believe in yourself, and start working towards your financial goals today.
Remember, learning about financial literacy now will set you up for a brighter future. Get started now!
FAQs
There are several ways for teens to make money. You can consider getting a part-time job, doing odd jobs for neighbors or family friends, starting a small business, offering tutoring or pet-sitting services, or participating in online surveys and gigs.
Part-time job options for teenagers include working as a cashier, barista, lifeguard, babysitter, dog walker, retail associate, or fast food employee. Many local businesses hire teens for such positions.
To start a small business, think about your skills and interests. Whether it’s baking, lawn care, or graphic design, create a business plan, set competitive pricing, and promote your services within your community or online.
Yes, there are various online platforms where teens can earn money. You can try participating in paid online surveys, becoming a micro-influencer on social media, or offering services on websites like Etsy, Redbubble, or TeePublic.
It’s wise to save a portion of your earnings for future goals or emergencies. You might also explore opening a savings account at a bank. While investing is typically better suited for long-term financial goals, you can learn about basics like stocks, bonds, and mutual funds as you gain more financial knowledge.
