Whether you’re in high school right now or know someone who is, you’re probably also aware that the need for extra cash is real. Having loose cash to spend on school supplies, food, clothing, and fun activities or put towards college can be an extremely helpful resource, but sometimes it’s hard to tell where to start.
Here are our most favorite ways for high school kids to make money.
1. Online Surveys
If you don’t mind taking some time out of your day to answer questions, there are sites out there that want to know what you think and will pay you to tell them! You can sign up at well-known places like Swagbucks or SurveyJunkie, or browse through our big list of survey sites.
2. Babysitting
Babysitting is an established classic first job for a reason! It also looks good as an extracurricular on a college application, since it requires responsibility. Our advice is to start with relatives or neighbors, especially if you don’t have previous experience.
3. Mechanical Turk
Amazon’s Mechanical Turk program has little jobs you can do that their AI currently can’t. You’ll be asked to do simple things like identify objects in pictures or outline things- and get paid to do it!
4. Furniture Assembly
IKEA has been, for better or worse, a shift in the way furniture is made and sold. Mostly, it means putting it all together has become a do-it-yourself affair. That’s where you come in. If you have one near you, print out some flyers and put them on windshields in the parking lot. There also are gig sites that can connect you to clients, like TaskRabbit and Fiverr.
5. Garage Sale
Picking through garage sales and flea markets to find treasures and resell them online is called arbitrage, and it’s a great way to make your money pile bigger. Bring your phone along with you and look up selling prices on places like eBay or specialty collectibles sites to make sure you’re getting a good deal!
6. Golf Caddy
More or less every town in America has a golf course in or near it, which means you can probably become a caddy there! According to the New York Times, caddies can make “an average of about $120 for carrying two bags 18 holes.”
7. Kindle Direct Publishing
Are you a creative type? Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, you can publish it for free through the Kindle store and make money off any sales you get from it! Your book will go up within two days of submitting it, and you can determine what it costs.
8. Move Furniture
People buy houses and rent new apartments all the time. The least favorite part of moving though, for most people, is packing and moving all the belongings. You can do that for them for a fee. Out an ad on Craigslist and let people know you are available.
9. Penny Stocks
Penny stocks are shares of a company that are usually sold for less than a dollar. They go up and down quickly and can be used to turn a quick profit.
10. Affiliate Marketing
One of the best ways to make money in high school online is affiliate marketing. If you have a decent following on social media or have a popular blog, you can easily make money by becoming an affiliate marketer.
11. Recycle
Collect aluminum cans and trade them in for cash!
12. Redbubble
Turn your designs into stickers that you can sell and earn a little passive income from!
13. Sell Coke (the drink)
Sell soda for a dollar each and make a nice profit.
14. Sell Stock Photos
Sites like Shutterstock will pay you every time someone buys the rights to use your photography in their products!
15. Build an Online Store
Set up your own online shop easily with Shopify.
16. Design & Sell T-shirts
Sell your t-shirt designs on sites like Teespring for a cut of the profits.
17. Online Tutoring
If you know your way around a math problem, you can probably help other students who don’t.
18. Drive for UberEats
Deliver food and earn money!
19. Get a Part-Time Job
There are lots of online jobs for teens and students as well as offline jobs in restaurants.
20. Yard Care
Cleaning up people’s yards, mowing their lawns, or watering their gardens are all jobs that you don’t need a lot of skill or experience to do, making them perfect high school jobs!
Other Ways to Earn Quick Cash While in High School
– Become a Lifeguard or a camp counselor
– Be a mystery shopper on sites like Bestmark
– Join a Paper Route
– Offer to do chores for money
– Make a Lemonade/Baked Goods stand
– Wash Cars
– Play an instrument for tips
– Offer to promote a local business
– Give manicures
– Play games on apps like Lucktastic
– Sweep sidewalks
– Clean houses
– Answer calls for Uhaul
– Shovel sidewalks in the winter
– Walk dogs on Wag!
– Walk dogs or pet-sit on Rover
– Start a store on Amazon, eBay, or Etsy
– Start a garden and sell fresh produce
High school is a great time not only to make spare money but to grow as a person and have new experiences. Figuring out how to make an extra buck is a great chance to learn new skills, mature, and maybe even prepare for college while you’re at it! It’s never too early to build that entrepreneurial spirit, after all. If you want to learn more ways to earn money, you can check out our guides here.
