Getting $10 pocket money for mowing the neighbor’s lawn is so last year. Some teenagers are racking up thousands of dollars from online side hustles.
In fact, recent research from the digital marketing platform Whop has found that there is at least one “ultra high earning” teenager in every U.S. high school making $10,000 or more each year without leaving their bedrooms.
Thanks to TikTok, Depop, and Twitch, making money online has now surpassed traditional first jobs like waitressing and newspaper delivery, according to the report.
Around 42% of American teenagers are earning money through digital channels—with some of those as young as 12. Only 38% are in traditional jobs.
Although some aspirational youngsters—an estimated one in every 625 pupils—are making thousands from their side hustles after school, the study found that the average teen has earned $718 in the past year online.
‘Ultra-high-earning’ teenagers are influencing after school
It’s not just your Kardashians and D’Amelios who are making money from snapping selfies or posting product reviews on their grids—teenagers are getting in on the action after school.
According to Whop, one in three students under 18 have been approached by a brand to sponsor a product through their digital channels, or know someone who has.
Eight percent are reviewing products on their channels for cash and 7% have landed brand sponsorship deals. They’re earning $94 a year on average.
Although influencing isn’t the most popular way to make money—it ranks below selling clothes and streaming video games—it has the potential to be the most lucrative.
While the average teenager is technically earning more (just over $100 a year) by selling their unloved hoodies, sneakers, jeans and more, the few teens taking home more than $1,000 from online gigs are most likely influencing.
According to the report, nearly half a million U.S. teens have hit the “high-earning” threshold, thanks to brand-sponsored posts.
Top money-making schemes for teens
1. Selling clothes, footwear, or apparel accessories — 16.69% of teens
2. Streaming video games — 10.09%
3. Earning in-game currency — 10.79%
4. Video game tournament prizes — 9.20%
5. Product reviews — 8.75%
6. Brand sponsorship earning through social media accounts — 8.60%
7. Viewer earning from social media platforms — 6.55
8. Affiliate marketing (An agreement with a company to pay commission to influencers for visit/signup/sales of their product) — 5.70%
9. Dropshipping (buying and selling products) — 5.30%
10. Paid for unboxing videos — 4.90%
Entrepreneurial youth
This isn’t the first piece of research to suggest that young people are rejecting traditional ways of earning money.
Last month, one study revealed that 72% of Gen Z workers don’t want to climb the ladder at work and step into management. Instead, they said they’d rather progress in an individual contributor role or go solo to cultivate their own personal brand.
It perhaps explains why the second fastest-growing job title among Gen Z grads on LinkedIn right now is “founder.”
Meanwhile, separate data shows that more than half of Gen Z say they would become full-time influencers if they had the opportunity, and the percentage has only gone up in surveys dating back to 2019.
Likewise, there’s a growing cohort of young people rejecting the rat race to join trades like landscaping, HVAC, and auto maintenance, where they can be their own boss and earn six-figure salaries without student debt.
“The way people make a living is changing—Gen Alpha and Gen Z’s entrepreneurial mindset alone is proof of that,” Cameron Zoub, Whop’s co-founder, concluded in the report. “Our findings are clear: younger generations are hungry for opportunities to make money online. It’s a sign of the times, and what more is to come.”
“They aren’t mindlessly scrolling as some would have you believe,” he added. “They’re building their networks, meaningfully engaging with brands, and creating their own path to financial freedom.”
Are you an “ultra high-earning” teenager? Fortune wants to hear from you about your side-hustle. Email: [email protected]
