12 Best Side Hustles for Teens to Earn Extra Money

1. What Is a Side Hustle?

A side hustle, or a side gig, is a type of job/work that’s often done along with a full-time job. But for teenagers, side hustles can also be part-time work they can undertake along with their studies and full-time responsibilities.

Teens may decide to do side hustles to earn some extra money in their free time or to turn their hobbies into a business. And with the wide range of jobs available, there are a lot of lucrative options that teenagers can explore.

2. How Can Side Hustles Help Teens?

2.1. Provides Financial Freedom

The additional income from a side hustle can help teens gain more financial responsibility and freedom. Investing money in their side hustle, managing the expenses, earning an income, and saving some of it can help them learn crucial financial lessons early on.

2.2. Helps Develop Skills

Side hustles can offer opportunities for teens to gain valuable work experience and master different skills. Depending on the gig they take up, they may learn negotiation skills, interpersonal skills, or budgeting.

2.3. Cultivates Entrepreneurial Spirit

Being introduced to the world of side hustles develops a business mindset in teens’ minds. It teaches them how to keep a growth and problem-solving mindset while being action-oriented.

2.4. Enhances Networking Opportunities

Working a side hustle opens up opportunities to meet new people outside of your normal circle. These can make valuable networks if you’re looking to build a career from your side hustle in the future. And even if you aren’t, these connections can prove useful in other ways and may become potential clients, too.

2.5. Enables to Build Their Resume

Teens can use all of their experiences and the skills they’ve learned to build their resumes. A strong resume will help them to get better opportunities in the future and deliver better results at work.

3. Tips to Consider While Choosing Side Hustles for Teens

3.1. Interest and Passion

Pick a side hustle that you’re interested in or want to build a career in the future. It’ll help you learn relevant skills while also exploring the field.

3.2. Availability of Time

Some side hustles for teens can end up taking a lot of time. So, it’s important for teens to consider how much time they can spare from their daily studies and extracurriculars for side hustle tasks like setup, marketing, planning, sales, budgeting, and more.

3.3. Safety and Legal Formalities

Some types of side hustles may require safety and legal permits or licenses. And some states have restrictions on working hours for minors. Teens need to educate themselves about any such regulations to ensure they don’t face legal trouble later on.

3.4. Learning of Skill Development Opportunities

While there are plenty of options for side hustles for teens, it is easy to get stuck with a tiresome job. Make sure to prioritize gigs based on the upskilling opportunities they provide.

3.5. Credibility of the Opportunity

Since this is their first experience in the gig market, teens should be cautious of fraudulent or bad employers and analyze gigs carefully. They should ensure that the opportunity and pay are sensible and the employer is reputable.

4. 12 Best Side Hustles for Teens

4.1. Freelance Content Writer

Strong writing skills, a laptop, and WiFi are all this side hustle idea requires. It also allows you to upskill in a writing niche like SEO, essays, PR, social media, blogs, and more. So, make sure you choose a niche you want to master or put on your resume.

Freelance content writing gigs can be easily found on sites like Upwork, Fiverr, or Freelancer.com. These jobs can typically earn you between $17 and $23 per hour.

4.2. Part-Time Graphic Designer

With basic knowledge of graphic design apps and design, teens can start taking graphic design gigs, too. It’s a useful side hustle for teens who want to build a design portfolio for the future.

On average, a graphic designer can earn $17 to $29 in an hour. Lots of part-time gigs in graphic design are available on Dribble, The Design Kids, and FlexJobs.

4.3. Dog Walker

Dog-walking side hustles for teens are the best option for those who like to have a flexible schedule for their side gig. You’re only required to walk the dog and watch over them, so there’s not a lot of setup or investment required either.

A single dog walk can earn you $11 to $16. Rover and PetSitter are some helpful sites if you’re looking for work online. But you can also rely on some word-of-mouth marketing to look for dog walking gigs in your neighbourhood.

4.4. Sports Referee

Refereeing for sports games is an easy way to monetize your time while also enjoying the sports you love to watch.

These gigs typically pay $20 to $30 for a single 90-minute game. You can find many such gigs on sites like LinkedIn or Glassdoor.

4.5. Fitness Coach

Teens who are skilled in certain sports or are into fitness training can also become fitness coaches for younger kids. It is a viable option for teens looking to build a career as a personal trainer.

Depending on your skills and expertise, you can expect to earn between $18 and $70 per hour.

4.6. Food Delivery Agent

With a driver’s license, teens above 18 can deliver food in their free time to local businesses. Food delivery agents earn approximately $7-$10 for each batch of deliveries.

You can find food delivery jobs on sites like DoorDash and Uber Eats.

4.7. Online Tutor

Online tutoring is one of the best side hustles for teens who want to help younger kids learn their lessons better. It only requires you to have an internet-enabled device and some know-how about video-conferencing tools.

You can provide tutoring sessions for subjects that you excel in. They may be traditional subjects like math and science, and languages or even musical lessons.

Online tutoring side gigs can pay anywhere from $12 to $100 an hour. And you can easily find these on sites like PalFish, Cambly, and Udemy.

4.8. Influencer on Social Media

If you have a strong social media presence, you can leverage it by putting out engaging content on social media and becoming an influencer. While it may take some time to grow followers and earn income, this option can help you grow a strong personal brand.

Once you become a nano, micro, or mid-influencer, you can easily command an hourly wage of between $25 and $3000.

4.9. Home Cleaner

House cleaning side hustles for teens don’t require any qualifications, and the only investments required are transport and time.

Home cleaning jobs, on average, pay $14-$20 per hour. You can look for home cleaner side gigs on sites like FlexJobs and Housekeeper or find local jobs by word-of-mouth marketing.

4.10. Online Survey

Online surveys only require an internet connection and an internet-enabled device, and these jobs can be done from anywhere and at any time.

You can easily earn from $2 to $18 per hour by filling out surveys online. Although, you want to make sure you check the payment methods before taking on a gig. Websites like FreeCash, Swagbucks, and Survey Junkie are good places to look for this kind of work.

However, with online surveys, you want to be careful with the information you share and the sites you access. You might also want to consider setting up a separate email address for this work.

4.11. Babysitter

Babysitting is one of the few side hustles for teens that’s always in demand. And it requires no qualification or setup, except for maybe some skill in handling kids.

Babysitting gigs can pay $15 to $18 per hour, and you can look for these jobs on websites like Care.com, UrbanSitter, and Bambino.

4.12. Start a YouTube Channel

A YouTube channel is a great option among side hustles for teens who want to earn a passive income. It is also the ideal choice for teens who’re passionate about creating content and sharing it with the world.

For every 1,000 ad views, you can easily earn $3 to $5. However, setting up a YouTube channel and earning an income from it will require you to invest both time and effort. And while the sources of income are plenty, it’ll be a while before you make an income.

You can get started by watching a couple of YouTube videos or reading articles online before you start your channel.