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.
Thankfully, there are ways to make money without a job while in high school. Whether you are a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior, there are many ways for students to make money.
So if you want to know how to earn extra cash while in High School, read on!
Table of Contents
Best Ways to Make Money in High School
Here are our most favorite ways for high school kids to make money.
1. Answer 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. Baby Sitting
It’s 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.
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3. Become a 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
No, not running one yourself- that’s the old way of doing things. 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. You can learn more about Kindle Direct Publishing and sign up here.
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. Couches are heavy, and the last thing most people want to do is move them on their own. You can do that for them for a fee. Out an ad on Craigslist and let people know you are available. You can also get new customers by letting your friends, family and neighbors know about your services.
Read our post on moving tips and hacks so you an be prepared.
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. You can find a list of available stocks here.
10. Do 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. There are many affiliate marketing programs that you can sign up for for free. Then pick a few companies that have products related to the topic of your blog or what you usually talk about on your social media pages. You’ll be given a unique link that you can place on your blog or social media posts. Then every time someone clicks on that link and becomes a new customer for that company, you get a commission.
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One of the best affiliate marketing networks is Rakuten. You can join for free and get started right away.
11. Recycle
The next time you see a can by the side of the road, think of that as money just laying around for you to collect! The price of aluminum goes up and down, but if you collect a lot of it you can trade that in for cash!
12. Redbubble
Redbubble is an easy way to turn your designs into stickers that you can sell and earn a little passive income from! There are also tools you can use to adapt your designs to t-shirts and posters. You can learn more and sign up here.
13. Sell Coke (the drink)
The premise of this one is simple: people like soda, and with more and more schools banning it these days, this is a good opportunity for a student with business sense to come in and fill that demand. Sell them for a dollar each and you’ll 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! So if you’re a shutterbug, get snapping and get creative!
Here’s a list of sites that pay for your photos.
15. Build an Online Store
Do you have a knack for getting people interested in things? Feel like you’re a natural salesman but don’t have the money or time to open a store? Shopify allows you to set up your own online shop easily.
16. Design & Sell T-shirts
Got a flair for design? You can sell your t-shirt designs on sites like Teespring for a cut of the profits. They also have ways to make designs for hats, bags, iPhone cases, and more!
Check out our big list of sites to design and sell t-shirts.
17. Do Online Tutoring
If you know your way around a math problem, you can probably help other students who don’t.
You can try asking around for clients locally. Sites like Chegg Tutoring (review) charge upwards of $7 per lesson, so charge less than that and you’re set.
Check out best online tutoring jobs for students for more online tutoring jobs for teenagers and tips.
18. Drive for UberEats
Got your license? Put it to good use by delivering food! Even if you don’t have a license, you can work for UberEats as long as you have the means to get from point A to point B.
19. Get a Part-Time Job
High school is a great time to get started in the working world. There are lots online jobs for teens and students as well as offline jobs in restaurants, like washing dishes or waiting tables. Personally, I started out at a grocery store, which is a comfortable gig if you can get it.
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! Advertise in your neighborhood to make sure you know who you’re working for and don’t have to go far to earn money.
Other Ways to Earn Quick Cash While in High School
The following are other ideas you can use to make cash while attending 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 Rover
- Start a store on Amazon
- Or eBay
- Or Etsy
- Start a garden and sell fresh produce
These are just a few other options to give you an idea of the kind of stuff you can do to make money.
Final Thoughts
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 (like learning how to make money in college!) while you’re at it!
It’s never too early to build that entrepreneurial spirit, after all, and if you want to learn more ways to earn money you can check out our guides here.
Those are really nice options but in Uganda it is really hard to get such maybe a few.
I know what you mean, Parwoth. I come from Iran originally, so I know there are much more opportunities in the U.S. I hope as things get better (economically, socially, politically, etc.), that these kinds of opportunities will become available.
As for right now, I think freelancing would be a great option for you since you can do it from anywhere. As long as you have internet, you can work. Think about what you are good at (writing, SEO, coding, etc.) that you could offer as a freelancing service. Then sign up with a few freelancing sites and slowly build up your portfolio. Good luck!