If you want to add to your allowance and gain some financial independence from your parents and guardians, you can easily find unique yet low-skill online jobs that will pay you fairly. Just make sure that you have a bank account or a digital wallet where you can get your earnings.
1. Fill out Online Surveys
The quickest way to earn some money online as a teen is by filling out online surveys. Depending on the website you work for, the surveys can be on countless different topics, and they can vary significantly in length.
💵 You’ll be paid more for in-depth surveys, but don’t expect to make much money. On average, you’ll get between just $0.41 and $2.03 an hour[1].
👉 The best survey sites you can try include:
There are no skill or education requirements, you can start working as a survey taker when you’re just 13 years old, and you can work anytime you’d like – there are no set hours or schedules.
2. Write Book Reviews
If you’re a book lover, you can earn money by writing book reviews. The job would require you to read books, then create summaries, analyses, and personal commentary on the work in question. Most sites will only hire if you’re over 18, but some accept 16-year-old reviewers.
👉 If you want to try your luck as an online book reviewer, you can check out the following sites:
💵 Different sites offer different pay for your reviews, and you can expect to earn anywhere from $1 to over $60 per review[2]. You won’t have to stick to a specific schedule, but you will have to respect the review deadlines you receive.
3. Create Book Designs
If you know how to use photoshop or create digital artwork, you can find online jobs as a book cover designer or even an illustrator.
Admittedly, it’s not exactly low-skill work, but it can be an excellent option for aspiring digital artists.
👉 You can find employment on general-purpose freelancing platforms like:
These three platforms will hire 16-year-olds, with Fiverr’s age limit being just 13, Jooble’s 15, and Freelancer’s 16.
💵 You can set your own rates on these platforms, so how much you’ll earn will depend on you, your skills, and your clients.
You won’t have a fixed schedule, but you will have deadlines you’ll need to meet.
4. Sell High-Quality Photos
High-quality photos are always in high demand on stock photo websites. You can sell the photos you take on countless platforms if you have a digital camera or a decent smartphone camera.
The photos can be of almost anything – animals, busy city streets, nature, buildings, interior and exterior design, libraries, concert venues, and more.
👉 Some stock photo websites will accept contributions from photographers as young as 13, while others have an 18+ restriction. The following sites will hire 16-year-olds:
💵 You’ll only get paid when you upload photos, so you’ll have full work flexibility. The pay will vary based on the platform. Unsplash, for instance, offers a one-time payment (averaging between $5 and $30 per image), while 500px offers a percentage once someone buys your photo.
5. Become a Copywriter
Copywriters write content for ads and marketing materials. As a copywriter, you could write product descriptions on a website, blog posts, social media content, and more.
👉 Depending on your client, some copywriting assignments can be straightforward, while others require a lot of skill. Fortunately, you’ll be able to choose your own assignments by joining sites like:
💵 You can work on all of these sites as a 16-year-old, and you’ll get to set your schedule. Pay will vary by client and project, but you can set your rates. On average, beginner copywriters charge about $10 per 100 words of content.
6. Offer Proofreading and Editing Services
Though not all “writing” jobs require you to be an extraordinary writer, they can still be challenging. So, if you’re not up for writing, you might find more fulfillment in proofreading or editing others’ work.
As a proofreader, you’ll need to focus more on grammar, spelling, and punctuation, while as an editor, you’ll need to make syntactic, semantic, and stylistic changes.
👉 Freelancing sites that hire 16-year-old proofreaders and editors include:
💵 As with writing, you can set your own schedule and determine your rates. On average, editors will charge rates similar to those of copywriters, while proofreaders have lower rates since their jobs are somewhat easier.
7. Write Transcriptions
As a transcriber, your job would be to write transcriptions of audio and video recordings, ensure their accuracy, and edit transcriptions completed by speech recognition software.
For this job, you don’t need any particular skills or tools. As long as you have a pair of headphones and know how to work in Google Docs, for instance, you’ll be good to go.
👉 Virtually all freelancing websites will hire transcribers, but those that accept 16-year-olds include the ones we’ve previously mentioned:
💵 You can set your own schedule, as with most online gigs, but you’ll have to meet your deadlines. On average, you could earn up to $20 an hour as a freelance transcriber, though beginners typically have much lower salaries[3].
8. Offer Translation Services
In case you’re bilingual or know any foreign languages at a native level, you can try your hand with translations. You could translate anything from homework assignments to textbooks, blog posts, product descriptions, and whole books.
Besides knowing another language well enough to do translations, you won’t need any other skills.
👉 Most freelancing sites will have gigs for 16-year-old translators, including the ones we’ve mentioned a couple of times so far:
💵 You’ll have to respect the deadlines you agree on with your clients, but you won’t have to follow a strict schedule. Although freelance translators earn around $26.23 an hour on average, beginners might have to lower their rates to attract clients[4].
9. Find Data Entry Work
Being a data entry clerk is just what it sounds like. You’ll be responsible for entering data into databases and managing records. The data you work with can take many forms: customer information, product information, staff schedules, etc.
It can be a tiring job since it’s repetitive. You’ll need to have some basic knowledge of Microsoft Excel or similar tools, but you’ll receive all the necessary training on the spot.
👉 You can find data entry gigs at 16 on popular freelancing platforms like:
💵 You can also find remote data entry positions with independent businesses. Depending on who you work with, you might have less flexibility than with other freelancing jobs, but you can agree on a school-friendly schedule with your employer. You can expect a salary between $11.78 and $46.39 an hour[5].
10. Create Catchy Jingles
Just like you can sell the photos you take, you can sell some of your music. If you know how to play an instrument and can create simple jingles, there are plenty of sites where you can sell your tunes.
👉 Most platforms where you can sell your music don’t have a strict age requirement, so you can join them as soon as you hit 13. Some of the top sites to join include:
💵 Some sites let you promote your music for a fee, but then you get to keep all the royalties. Others work like photo-sharing platforms, where you receive a percentage every time someone downloads your song. Therefore, there are no pre-set earnings you can make. It all depends on how many people buy your tunes.
The job is fully flexible, as you can upload your music whenever you feel like it.
11. Start Tutoring Online
At first glance, online tutoring seems rather complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. You can approach it the same way you would any tutoring position. Identify a subject you’re great at, check with your teachers and peers to see whether anyone needs tutoring, then offer them online classes after school.
👉 Alternatively, you can join different types of tutoring platforms and teach English to foreigners, for instance. Some of the popular platforms that hire 16-year-old native English speakers as tutors include:
💵 Depending on your chosen platform, you can either set your own rates or get paid a fixed amount per online class. On average, you shouldn’t expect to be paid more than $15 to $28 an hour[6].
While most platforms allow you to set your schedule however you want, you might have to complete a set number of hours every week.
12. Try Your Hand as a Virtual Assistant
As a virtual assistant, your job would be to handle administrative tasks. That could include booking accommodation, managing someone’s schedule, making phone calls, and handling emails, all from the comfort of your home.
👉 Most virtual assistant positions require you to be at least 18 years old, but you can still find employment as a 16-year-old on platforms like:
💵 Most virtual assistants work part-time and have a predetermined schedule that can fit your school hours. The average salary is around $27.77 per hour, though some clients could pay significantly more or significantly less[7].
13. Become a Remote Customer Service Representative
You don’t need much more than good communication skills and a bit of patience to be a remote customer service representative.
You would be tasked with answering phone calls, handling customer complaints, answering questions via live chat, assisting customers with their orders, and more. Before you start, most companies will first have you undergo employee training to familiarize yourself with its products and services.
👉 You can find companies that hire 16-year-old remote customer service representatives on platforms like:
💵 You’ll typically have set hours, so there is not much flexibility with your schedule. On average, you’ll get paid around $15 per hour[8].
14. Give Voice Narration a Try
Voice narration can take many shapes and forms. You might lend your voice to ads, apps, games, and even audiobooks. You’d get the entire script, then simply have to record your voice reading it.
It doesn’t take much effort to get into voice narration, but you will have to hone your skills, learn to convey emotion with only your voice, use proper intonation and emphasis, and more.
👉 You can find voice narration jobs on most freelancing platforms like:
Voice narrators can be of any age, as different projects require different-sounding voices. Though you likely won’t have a fixed schedule, you will have to send your recording by a deadline, so make sure you follow it.
💵 You’ll typically get to set your own rates, but you’ll usually get paid around $16 to $24 per hour[9].
15. Sell Things You No Longer Need Online
As a 16-year-old, you likely have plenty of clothes, shoes, and accessories you’ve outgrown, whether physically or stylistically. If you want to make some extra cash, you should consider selling your used clothes online.
Of course, you can only sell clothes that are in good condition, without rips, stains, discoloration, and the like.
👉 Most platforms don’t have an age limit for who can sell their items, but it’s in your best interest to look for sites that specialize in teen and young adult clothing. Those include:
Selling your clothes online isn’t exactly a job, so you won’t have any schedules to adhere to. Just sell your clothes whenever you feel like it. Your earnings will depend on the platform you use and the type of clothes you have.
💵 In some cases, you could sell dozens of shirts, pants, accessories, and more for just a couple of dollars, and in others, a single branded dress, for instance, can earn you hundreds.
16. Flip Stuff for Profit
An alternative to selling your used clothing to get some extra cash is flipping items for profit. In a nutshell, that usually means buying items such as jewelry, clothes, even home decor, electronics, or furniture, potentially fixing it, then selling it for a higher price than you’ve paid.
If the items are in good condition, you don’t need much skill to get a profit. You just need to offer an appealing price to your potential customers.
👉 You can flip stuff and then sell it for profit on platforms like:
💵 Just like selling your used clothing, there’s no fixed schedule you’ll need to follow, nor is there a fixed income. You’ll only earn as much money as your customers are willing to spend.
17. Test Your Luck as a Content Creator
Finally, as a 16-year-old looking to make money online, you could test your luck as a content creator or an influencer.
There are countless different types of content you could create. You could be a fashion or makeup influencer, a streamer, a gamer, or even a slime video creator. You could even become a virtual assistant to influencers. Your imagination is your only limit.
👉 Some of the platforms you could use for sharing your content as a 16-year-old with parental agreement include:
Remember that earning money as an influencer or content creator is fairly difficult. You’ll need to find your audience, share the type of content they enjoy, and keep working diligently. You can work at your own pace, but you’ll need to keep to a posting schedule if you want to see success.
💵 To earn money, you’ll need to accumulate a large enough following – on most platforms, that means at least 10,000 followers, but likely more. What you’ll earn depends heavily on the platform, content, and audience.
Final Thoughts
Looking for online instead of in-person jobs as a 16-year-old can be highly beneficial. Online jobs tend to offer more flexibility. They are also less stressful and often more fulfilling. However, many don’t provide consistent earnings, so you must keep that in mind when applying.
In any case, you’ll be able to make some extra cash without too much effort, so it is all well worth it.
