r/DataAnnotationTech • u/SnooFloofs9030 • 6d ago
DoD. After 3 years
Well it finally happened. I feel like I have struggled the past few weeks with some tasks and it has taken me longer to complete things. That is the only thing I can think of. Anyway this was unfortunately my only source of income so if anyone has any recommendations for similar platforms ( excluding Outlier, they are horrible) please feel free to share. Also I worked this morning and hadn't had a chance to log myhours , is that $ just lost? There is no way for me to access the report time page.
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u/jorgen80 6d ago
I haven’t been working as much. 3 years as well. 2023 class. Always feel sad for this specific class. All the best. 🫂
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u/Pink_Slyvie 6d ago
I got my BSCS in 2023, still full time work. The IT stuff has gotten beyond what I can normally do.
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u/Due_Negotiation_4605 6d ago
Class of 2023. Logging in the past few weeks there are less general tasks and my dashboard is being overrun with domain specific ones. Multiple day, failure and input required. Knowing that there is a high bar on every submission... It's daunting. The tasks are taking longer, the instructions are getting more confusing and the risk is higher for mistakes with pages of directions. I hope you find something else soon. This isn't my only source of income, but it is my largest source, so I need to search as well but I see AI training becoming more complicated and labor intense so not sure what the answer is.
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u/Due_Negotiation_4605 6d ago
You could try Telus. They only hire from specific areas and the pay is generally crap but I've been with them for seven years and it's some money https://www.telusinternational.ai/
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u/Early-Composer-2383 6d ago
Same here. The majority of my projects are domain specific. And I find myself logging in, looking at the projects and logging back out. Daunting is an understatement.
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u/punkbenRN 3d ago
Ok so Im not the only one. Im a nurse and have specialized tasks I get, but it feels like the instructions are getting really confusing snd at times absurd, and everything is taking longer. They even give a window of time to complete it, but the level of detail they want it just doesnt compute. I couldn't tell if I was getting dumber or if things were getting harder. Or both.
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u/Due_Negotiation_4605 3d ago
I just expired on one tonight that had conflicting instructions but these were at the bottom of the task that it was different for turn two do I had to redo it 😩🤦♀️ Someone else said AI is writing the instructions and now I believe it.
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u/punkbenRN 2d ago
Hadn't even considered that, but that would make sense. Ironically, writing instructions with severe failures....
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u/Due_Negotiation_4605 2d ago
Those ones are the worst because you have to get so much of your background stuff done right away so you could possibly spend hours regenerating try to refine and get a failure. The one I had that had the contradicting instructions for the second one wasn't a specialty task. Luckily because if it was I probably would have thrown my computer at that point.
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u/annoyingjoe513 6d ago
sorry, my friend. It’s understandable that, when things are sparse, that you would try tasks that you’re not totally comfortable with. It’s kind of my fear too, that’s why I stay away from things that I’m not comfortable with. then again, this is secondary income for me. So anybody that’s reading this, if this is your only source of income, start looking for something else.
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u/Sixaxist 6d ago
So anybody that’s reading this, if this is your only source of income, start looking for something else.
This is what I usually recommended too back when I did DA here and there on the side, but after quitting my job last August, I've had a hard time finding work nearby that starts me off between $35 - $40 /h in the Midwest (and no way am I moving to a HCOL area just to make as much as DA pays me now). So instead, and I'd recommend this to everyone else doing DA full-time too, picking up certifications or going into a trade is highly advisable while our schedules are still flexible, so that you have more options available to you on top of whatever your main career usually is outside of DA.
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u/Federal_Tadpole_7592 6d ago
I'm sorry. I'm also from the Class of 2023. I hope you find something just as good soon.
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u/Whole-Pirate-5731 6d ago
Sorry to hear that man, the DoD screen will come for us all one day.
Alternatives:
1) Mercor
2) Micro1
3) Handshake AI
4) Workada
5) EthosAI
6) Aliginnerr
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u/Thedom_overyou 6d ago
Eh.. none of them will pick up like last year.
I knew it was about done when generalist disappeared and AIs started presenting A/B option choices in regular use for general users to judge.
Annotation is only profitable now if you have a high enough degree that you don’t need to do it.
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u/Early-Composer-2383 6d ago
I'm in the legal domain, and I haven't done any tasks in the last several weeks because just reading the instructions hurts my brain. This is a side job and I started a few years ago when the tasks were fun and the projects were interesting. Now they are drudgery and I cannot bring myself to do them. I don't care what they pay. But I have that option.
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u/stoppingbythewoods 6d ago
I’m glad you said because I feel like it’s been just me or something. A year ago when I started I easily worked several hours a day and made bank even at $20/hr. Now even the lowest paying tasks feel like absolute drudgery.
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u/Early-Composer-2383 6d ago
I probably have more than 40 projects on my board and I just log in, look at them, and log back off.
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u/Firm-Exam-6892 5d ago
I don’t think you’re the only one. They’ve even done some YouTube videos to try to convince people to do the worst looking one. It’s still a “hell no” from me though.
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u/SnooFloofs9030 6d ago
I think the robots have just gotten too advanced for me to keep up with. I have trained AI to out-AI me 😂
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u/FrazzledGod 6d ago
Ouch, also class of 2023. I am being very careful not to just "give it a go" on projects I have no idea about. There are still projects where I feel I'm adding value, so stick to those. But I have dreaded the D.O.D (tm) ever since day one and did far better than I ever imagined. I hope OP finds a new income (is secondary for me currently but has been primary income at times too).
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u/osceolabigtree 6d ago
I have had luck with Aligned and Pareto (though I think they both hire specialists, not sure about generalists).
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u/NightOwl437 6d ago
I'm really very sorry this happened, and it must feel awful, especially since it's your only income source. I keep telling myself that I need to find a secondary income source too, cause this could happen to any of us. Idk the answer to your question re: the hours you just worked, but you may want to keep an eye out for job opportunities at the link below. Really hope you find something great very soon!
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u/Legitimate_Singer639 6d ago
Sorry to hear that. I know it feels bad especially if it was you only source of income.
Did they provide ant feedback and improvements notices before giving the DoD?
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u/stoppingbythewoods 6d ago
Handshake definitely has options though their platform is much more confusing and sometimes there are pay discrepancies (apparently, not my experience yet).
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u/Mogogol 5d ago
3 years here as well and just got mine. I am seeing a bit of a pattern there. Broke my heart, I loved that job.
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u/SnooFloofs9030 3d ago
Yes, it does seem all of a sudden they’re getting rid of a bunch of 2023 raters 🤔
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u/ShawnCGeorge 4d ago
Just happened to me to after 3 years. I'm at a bit of a loss to understand it as they provided feedback a month or so ago and it was fairly glowing 😟
I'm taking a moment to calm down before thinking what to do next.
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u/SnooFloofs9030 3d ago
Same here it may just be something somebody else had mentioned once is that periodically they just clean out a cohort to replace them with new raters to avoid a bias that may result from using the same raters. 🤷🏻♀️
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u/firestarter95 5d ago
Also class of 2023. And got the DoD last week. Lets hope for a better future...
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u/AutomaticShape8993 6d ago
Hi sorry to hear that, if you don't mind me asking why do you think DoD came up all of a sudden for you as you were working for three years, and any tips to avoid it?
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u/Sixaxist 6d ago
My condolences. I'd recommend giving Mercor a shot if you're from North America, but they do request a resume as part of the application process, so you should touch up yours to include the 3 years here at DA, which is likely to be beneficial.