Amazon Mechanical Turk is a crowdsourcing market place that allows companies and basically anyone a platform to post tasks that they need to complete. These tasks are called HITs – Human Intelligence Tasks. These tasks need a human to complete them since computers simply can not give the answers/reactions/information that are needed. The group or person who posts the HIT is a requester and the person accepting the HIT is the MTurk worker.
The HITs can vary from simple call this shop and gather information, to fill out a reaction survey to a video you may have to watch, and even transcribe this audio file. There are many HITs available at any time, and with no set schedule you can work as little or as much as you want. Before you accept a HIT there will be a brief description of what needs to be done, the price per HIT, and the requirements ( as in if there is a training or qualification round that needs to be done).
What Does It Cost?
Payment also varies. You can make a few cents for the easier jobs, up to a hundred or so for the more complex ones like audio transcribing. You can choose to have your pay added right to your Amazon account so you can buy things off your wish list quick and easy without touching your weekly paycheck or savings. Or you can have a check mailed to you. Plus if you do a great job, a requestor can give you a bonus of their choosing.
After you complete your HIT and submit it, the request will review and either accept or decline your work. If it’s accepted, the money is now in your MTurk account to withdraw. Amazon payments to your Amazon account are quick and fast, so you can spend them without much, if any, wait.
Most people who use MTurk will not be able to make a living wage, but if you are looking for something fun to pass the time, to earn a few extra dollars for the holidays, or just starting getting things off your wish list and into your home, MTurk is a great option. Flexible times, no educational requirements needed, and you can do this anywhere, from any computer, at any time.
