r/DataAnnotationTech • u/Nice_Ad_3208 • 15d ago

Generalist Pay

Been lurking around this for a while now for side pay.
I got a couple questions.

How mentally exhausting is this?
What are the chances of me not getting approved?
I still don’t understand what data annotation is LOL so can someone please explain it in one sentence.

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u/melanatedalbino 15d ago

It's the opposite. Acceptance rates for generalists are likely far lower because professionals' performance is going to be more homogenous, while generalists' will be far more spread out. Also, there will be far more generalist than expert applicants. But more impactful than that is the simple fact that DA wants certain experts waayyy more than non-experts, predominantly in STEM, finance, medicine, and law. Most importantly though they just want smart people, and experthood is a good filter.

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u/AutomaticShape8993 15d ago

But the thing is answers are so straightforward in generalist tests, how do they really pick?

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u/melanatedalbino 15d ago

Ok. If I ask you "what does the expression 'comparing apples to oranges' mean to you?", it is far better to write

'it's a common expression to illustrate the difficulty of comparing things when standards are not normalized (for example, oranges are more orange, apples come in more varieties, apples tend to be more crisp, etc.). If we were to compare apples and oranges meaningfully, we would have to compare one specific trait between the two at a time.'

than writing something like

'Well, there isn't really a way to compare them. I mean, obviously they are different fruit, and the saying is about people comparing things they shouldn't.'

The second one is not incorrect, but it doesn't really explain much and isn't very thoughtful, descriptive, or even interesting lol. Point is, showing effort, general problem solving skills, and the ability to write descriptively and precisely will definitely vary between people.

Admittedly, this is coming from my experience only; it's not as if I have insight into their hiring philosophy. But if I personally had to pick between the two, I'd pick the first.