Amazon Mechanical Turk

I, as a poor college student, am a big fan of Amazon Mechanical Turk. Granted, I'm addicted to the internet, so the website is always at my fingertips. I'm always looking for ways to save or make some money, and I've been an avid Amazon shopper for quite some time and trust the site. Mechanical Turk consists of a list of tasks that you, the worker, can do. They are quite varied in their content, difficulty, and the amount they pay, although many of them tend toward the under-ten-cents range. When you complete a task, your work is sent to the person who requested it, who then decides whether to accept it or not. If they accept your work, money is transferred from their Amazon account to yours, where you can then transfer it to your checking account.

Turk is a legitimate business - the site itself isn't a scam. You really can earn money by doing these tasks, and it costs nothing to sign up. The tasks are usually very short and easy to complete, and you learn quickly which ones are worth your time and which ones are not, since certain requesters tend to post the same type of tasks over and over again. Also, occasionally tasks will come up that are very easy and pay comparatively well - for example, I'm getting paid a dollar to write this review, and it's all my opinion. There are other tasks, however, that pay even more and offer something of a challenge, like translation or transcription. However, you have to be careful to make sure you're not wasting your time. Like I mentioned earlier, most tasks pay under ten cents, and many pay less than two cents, so unless you can finish quickly, it's really not worth it.

Also, although most requesters pay up when you've done the work they asked for, some will never accept your work, basically scamming you out of your time. Check Turk-related forums to see what other people are saying - you'll learn what to look for and avoid from their experiences. Finally, although the money you earn is real, chances are it will be a disappointing amount. For intermittent work over two months, I've earned sixty dollars, which is enough for about two tanks of gas and a burrito or two. Not exactly what I'd call big bucks. Overall, it's a good diversion, but not the way to earn your living.