From eight hour days, practice for sports, homework, and getting enough food and sleep on top of that, it’s hard to balance all of that and a part-time job on top of it all.
For those who either don’t have time, a ride, or just aren’t old enough for a part-time job, we gathered some tried-and-true side hustles your classmates do to make quick convenient cash. And by that, we mean the paper money that can be handed to you the same day, or “under-the-table” without taxes or having to wait for a standard two-week pay period.
“My official job is that I’m a swim instructor, but I also pet-sit and do landscaping work,” Kiera Hale (’25) says, explaining how she earns her money. Pet-sitting and landscaping are some of the many side-hustles that high schoolers have uncovered, along with many other ways to make money.
Finding ways to earn cash can be as simple as selling your old clothes, either through social media (like Snapchat or Instagram stories), or even at one of the popular local thrift stores, like Plato’s Closet, located on W Eisenhower Pkwy, Ann Arbor.
“The process is really easy,” says Plato’s Closet associate Amira Fritzsch (‘25). “You just bring in your old clothes, leave a phone number and show a picture ID and we’ll send a text to you when they’re ready. It typically takes up to an hour, but can be as long as the same day. The pricing depends on how new it is and the current styles and trends. We pay people 20-40% of what we’ll sell it for. We usually sell it for 50-70% of the original price.”
If you are looking for a part-time job, there are resources at Skyline’s CUBE, located on the third floor, to the left of the library. “I have a couple of resources, and local places in the area that are looking to employ teenage candidates,” says Anthony Woodford, College and Career Coach in the CUBE. “What we can do is check your age limits and look at employment opportunities around where you live, and attempt to gain employment within walking distance.”
