How to Make Money as a Teenager

The year was 1996. I was 11 and I wanted a job. So, I picked up the phone book and started flipping through the yellow pages to find a suitable employer.

What’s that you say….a phone book???

Yes, this was back in the old days.

Anyway, after hours of searching and cold calling restaurants and cafes I hadn’t found anyone willing to hire me. This was largely due to the fact that the legal working age in Alberta is 12 (I was 11), but that was a minor detail I had failed to consider.

While I do not advocate that 11 year olds start looking for full time employment I do think you are never to young to start dabbling in work and entrepreneurship. Whether it’s a lemonade stand or selling your old toys at a neighbourhood garage sale, there are many ways you can make some extra cash when you’re young.

If you don’t want to go the standard retail or restaurant route then read on to discover some other great ways that you can make money as a teenager.

How to Make Money as a Teenager

“______Sitting”

Babysitting. If you are 11 years+ then you are able to take your babysitting course (at least in Canada). This is not to say that someone will hire you at 11 years old. In fact, 11 seems crazy young to take care of little kids or babies. I just had a baby and let me tell you, they are a whole lot of work…I’m in my early 30’s and sometimes I don’t know what to do. In saying this, I got my first babysitting job when I was 12 and I ~~was~~ felt fully capable!

Pet sitting. This is usually easier than babysitting children. The great thing about animals is they don’t talk or cry! However, I did pet sit a cat that was diabetic and required multiple insulin shots throughout the day. Understandably, the cat was not excited to get a needle and it took hours to coax the cat out from under the bed/dresser/shelf and I was usually covered in scratches by the end of it.

Housesitting. This is where it’s at. You get paid to take care of a house. No crying kids or bitchy cats. Just water a few plants, turn on some lights and it’s money in the bank.

The Pros: These jobs are great because you are basically your own boss — you get to pick your own clients, you get to set your own rates (this can be intimidating but you need to learn to negotiate a fee that works for both parties) and you get to decide which jobs you want to take…though if you are trying to make money, beggers can’t be choosers!

The Cons: Screaming kids, dirty diapers, picking up poop and potential scratches or bites (from children and/or animals). Sick kids/animals, dead animals (thinking fish, frogs).

When it comes to housesitting you need to be diligent. If you forget to lock a door or turn on the alarm system it could result in major consequences. Similarly, things can happen when the home owners are out of town, water leaks, power outages, the furnace could stop working…you need to be prepared to deal with this (usually it’s a simple phone call to the homeowners to inform them of the problem).

Use Your Skills

Tutoring. Do your friends come to you when they need help with their homework? Do you get top grades in English or Math? Can you speak another language? Perhaps you should start tutoring to make a few extra bucks. You can make good money as a tutor ($20 +/hr) and by tutoring others you will get even more comfortable with the content you are teaching (this will be great for your GPA). While you can choose the entrepreneurial route and go it alone there is also the option to work for a tutoring company.

Social media coaching. Not all of us were born knowing how to take a selfie or tweet. If you are super savvy when it comes to social media then perhaps you can offer your services to those who are less inclined.

cell phone and scrabble tiles that spell "social media" — Make money as a teenager

Build websites. Sticking to the technology theme, if you are a website wizard or have some coding skills then put those to good use. This may come as a shock to those of you who are extremely tech-minded….not everyone knows how to code. In fact, I would venture to say the majority of people in my generation and above do not know how. Use this to your advantage.

If you aren’t into finding your own clients you can always look into joining sites like FIVERR (an online marketplace that allows freelancers to sell their services). As a freelancer you get to set your price point. This is great for people with graphic design skills, artists, writers, programmers…you name it. You do have to be at least 13 years of age to become a seller on the site.

The Pro’s: Again, you get the opportunity to be your own boss, choose your clients and you can even set your own hours. In addition you can start to build a lifelong network of clients/friends. You have no idea how invaluable this is.

This is especially true if you are pursuing an entrepreneurial endeavour that you think you might want to continue after high school. For instance, if you choose to build websites in high school and then go onto be a programmer, graphic designer etc. you can refer to back to your old client list when you are looking for clients in the “real world”!

The Con’s: There are some start up costs associated with some of these options. For instance, when it comes to building websites you will need to own a computer and have the proper software to make this possible.

You need to hustle. If you go the entrepreneurial route the you will need to find your own clients. This can be time consuming. You will need to find a good balance between school work and your side hustle.

Get active and get outside

Work at a golf course. A golf course can be a great place to work while you’re going to school. If you are under 18 then your options are limited to the grounds crew and back shop. If you are over 18 you can look into cart girl/guy opportunities. This is a great job if you are into golf/want to golf. Golfing is super pricey but employees usually get free golf or at least some sort of discount.

Shadow of flag on golf green — Make Money as a Teenager

Landscaping/lawn care/snow shovelling.You are young and able! So use your brute strength and do something physical. All you need to start your own snow shovelling company is a shovel, your winter clothes and some hustle. Want to expand your business – buy a couple extra shovels and hire your friends. The start up costs for landscaping can be a bit more depending on the services you want to offer. Start small, offer lawn mowing and raking and purchase some used equipment off of kijiji.

Deliver fliers or newspapers. If you have high hopes of becoming a billionaire one day then this job might be a good fit. Many millionaires and billionaires from Warren Buffet to John Bogle and Samuel Walton all got their start delivering newspapers!

Coach/referee/lifeguard. Are you an athlete? Do you know the rules of soccer/basketball/football…? Then this could be a great way for you to make money while participating in a sport you love. Make sure you look into the requirements as there are usually some pre-requisites like an entree level referee course or first aid certification.

Door to door sales. This might sound like a nightmare job to many of you. Selling a product door to door where you have to talk to people face to face and convince them to buy something that they didn’t seek out. But, there is an upside.

Selling is a skill that is required in most jobs, like it or not. Whether it’s selling a product or selling yourself. So, this can be great practice for your future career. I am truly an introvert and the idea of selling anything to anyone makes my body shudder….and I did this. I reallllly wanted to travel to Thailand my first year of university and I was willing to do anything…even door to door sales…yikes! To make the idea of this a bit more digestible choose to sell a product that you like, have used and believe in.

Camp counsellor. I refused to go to overnight camp as a kid and this is truly one of my biggest regrets in life. This is likely because the entertainment industry has done such a great job of making camp look like so much fun (think Wet Hot American Summer). So, if you also missed out on sleep over camp then now is your opportunity for a do-over, but as a camp counsellor. Hike, swim, build forts, do crafts and spend your summer outside.

Work at a gym. Want a hot bod? Then this might be a good fit for you. Most gyms offer employees a free membership as a perk. I worked at a gym my last year of high school and first year of university. This was a great fit at the time. The freshman 15 is no joke people (google this if you don’t know what I am talking about). This was the first time in my life that I needed a gym membership in order to fit in my pants.

The Pro’s: These jobs will keep you active. Kill two birds with one stone, work and exercise at the same time! Many of these jobs will also get you outside. This is especially positive during the summer months. Every Canadian knows how important it is to milk every single sunshiny day. You don’t want to be stuck inside during our short summer.

The Con’s: Sometimes people at golf courses think they are super posh and treat “the help” like crap. They are just the worst. Some of these jobs require very early mornings (golf course, newspaper, camp counsellor and gym)….but, that usually means you are done early and can enjoy the late afternoon sun. Another con, for some… sales. Just yuck.

I would love to hear from you….

I would love to hear about any other great (or not so great) jobs that you’ve experienced while in high school or university. What jobs would you recommend to others if they are looking to make some extra money? What jobs would you steer clear of?

The Benefits of Having a Job in High School