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| How to earn $50 per day on MTurk |
really i can earn $50 a day on MTurk?
Actually, yes, if you know how.
Myself and many other MTurkers can earn $20, $50, and according to some $100 a day by completing dozens of short tasks over the course of several hours. Therefore, it is certainly quite possible to make decent money on MTurk. Although it is very rare to earn enough to be a full time job. For most MTurkers (like me), the platform offers a good source of additional income.
For example, I joined MTurk in late 2013 to supplement my income from transcription, which was my first (and short-lived) side hustle. Anyway, since I didn't make much from transcribing, I needed a way to make some easy money. Over the years, I have relied on MTurk as one of my tried and true sources of making money online. While most MTurks are lucky enough to earn a few bucks a day, I have managed to get a number of tips and tricks that allow me to earn up to $50 a day on MTurk when I really have money problems. Although I no longer use the platform on a daily basis, as my career as a freelance writer has grown substantially in recent years.
However, based on my 8+ years of experience, if you really want to earn $50 a day on MTurk, then you need to learn everything you can about the platform, as well as the tips and tricks top earners use to maximize their income. Profits.
What is MTurk?
Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) is a site that offers users (referred to as MTurkers) the ability to earn money online with short jobs, which often take seconds to complete. Amazon launched the platform in 2005 as a way to connect employers with a large, diverse, in-demand workforce capable of completing projects that require human intelligence. In other words, tasks that cannot be automated by AI-powered programs.
At any given time, you can find thousands of short jobs on MTurk ranging from tagging photos to examining figures on a receipt, validating data, conducting interviews, completing surveys and market research studies, or transcribing audio files. Honestly, I don't think running out of available jobs is possible. However, that doesn't mean that all available jobs pay enough to be worth your time and effort.
Basically, the goal of MTurk is to help companies gain the necessary experience, intelligence and knowledge to strengthen their data collection and analysis processes. That is why MTurk's focus is on Human Intelligence Tasks (HITs) that machines cannot perform as effectively as humans.
Amazon Mechanical Turk has been a game changer for many companies that would otherwise lack the capabilities and resources to scale such large projects. The platform has also been a game changer for people like me looking for a legit way to make money online in our spare time.
How do I become an MTurk worker?
Joining MTurk is very easy. Just follow these simple steps:
Visit the Amazon Mechanical Turk website.
Select the link that says "Get started with Amazon Mechanical Turk".
Since you are registering as a worker, you will need to apply for a worker account.
You will then be prompted to enter your Amazon ID and password. However, if you don't have an Amazon account yet, you can select the option to create one.
Since MTurk earnings are considered taxable income, you will be asked to enter your Social Security Number.
You will then be prompted to set up your payment information. MTurk pays workers weekly via direct deposit into a bank account. (No PayPal.)
You can also choose to receive your earnings in the form of Amazon gift cards.
What kind of tasks are there in MTurk?
As mentioned, there are thousands of tasks available at any given time on Amazon Mechanical Turk. Here is an overview of the three most common and highest paying jobs on MTurk.
Market Research Surveys and Studies: My favorite MTurk jobs are market research surveys and studies. Most of them are short and pay well for the time it takes to complete them. For example, I can often make $1 in less than five minutes, which equates to more than $12 per hour. However, even the lowest paying surveys can be worth it if they take less than a couple of minutes to complete. For example, a $0.25 study that only takes one minute equals $15 per hour.
Transcription – If you are a fast typist and a good listener, then you can earn decent money on MTurk by transcribing audio files. AOften, you'll get a bonus on top of an hourly transcription fee. In fact, I have seen some transcription projects that pay up to $90.
Data Tagging – These jobs can include identifying objects on images, verifying transactions on receipts, and anything related to data analysis. While most data labeling tasks may only pay pennies, these short tasks can usually be completed in a matter of seconds. That means it's possible to complete hundreds of data labeling jobs in an hour (earning about $15 per hour).
How can I earn $50 to $100 per day on MTurk?
If you want to make good money on Amazon Mechanical Turk, then you should follow these tips and tricks.
Select Highest Paying HITs – You can filter HITs based on salary, making it easy to find the highest paying jobs. Since my earnings goal is around $12/hour, I always look for tasks that pay an average of $0.20 per minute. For example, you could accept a short two-minute survey that pays $0.40, but decline a 20-minute survey that pays $1.00. In other words, find the best return for your time.
Maintain a high approval rating – In order to get paid, your work must be approved by employers. Plus, a higher approval rating means you'll have access to a greater number of jobs, not to mention higher-paying jobs. Therefore, maintaining a high approval rating (above 98%) can give you a significant competitive advantage over other workers.
Check regularly for new HITs: Since most businesses operate during normal business hours, that means most HITs are uploaded by businesses during normal business hours. So you want to check the platform frequently throughout the day for new jobs. I once read about a lady who installed a buzzer on her computer that would go off whenever a new HIT (that met her requirements) became available. That way you would never miss a job.
Increase your earnings with MTurk browser extensions: Neither I nor anyone else could earn more than $50 a day on MTurk without browser extensions. For example, plugins like Greasemonkey, Turkopticon, and Tampermonkey can automatically find and accept the highest paying HITs before most other workers have time to manually accept them.
Filter applicants: Not all applicants (employers) are the same. Unfortunately, there are some unscrupulous people on the platform who will try to stop paying workers. That is why you also need to filter the applicants. For example, Turkopticon can help you filter out employers who have a history of rejecting a large number of HITs.
Join a forum for MTurkers – Another way to find out about high-paying HITs on Amazon Mechanical Turk is to join a forum for workers. MTurk Crowd and Turker Nation are my two favorite forums.
Get more qualifications: Many jobs, especially the highest-paying jobs, require special qualifications that are issued directly by the applicants. For example, you may need to complete a sample HIT or take a short survey to qualify. However, it may be worth getting access to high-paying HITs.
Set Earning Goals – MTurk has a cool feature that allows you to set a daily earnings goal. That way, you can see how close (or far) you are to reaching your goal for the day. When I was working on MTurk every day, I created a spreadsheet to record my daily earnings to monitor my progress.
In short, Amazon Mechanical Turk can be a great way to earn money online in your spare time. In fact, it's not uncommon for workers to earn $50 a day (or more) by following the above tips and tricks. I have read several stories of top workers who manage to earn $100 a day on MTurk. While I've never made that much, I've been very grateful for the platform over the years, as it has allowed me to earn money online during dry spells with my other freelance jobs.
