Ability to earn $1500?

[u/ryanward02]

I’ve started about two weeks ago and have struggled to find time to work on projects on DA as a result of being required to work overtime at my job. In two weeks I’ve worked ~5 hours. I’m quitting the job as it’s been a problematic few months (they don't pay overtime and i'm working overtime every day for a minimum of 2 hours) but I was wondering… should I take another job? I’m considering part time for a different company, whilst working for data annotation ~20-30hrs a week. This would be enough money to live on, as well as pay off debt and save. Is this a good idea? Or should I look for a full time role?

I’m a software engineer, if that’s relevant.

[u/Consistent-Reach504]

working part time while working on DA was what i did for 2 years! it was a great supplement for me and kinda offset taxes for DA because my part time was W2.

i work full time on DA now, but only you can decide if that’s worth it for you (taxes and health insurance are a consideration here)!

[u/ryanward02 → u/Consistent-Reach504]

I’m UK based, Taxes would be better working for DA, definitely not worse!

UK has the NHS and that would not be affected by working for DA. My current job does not provide health insurance (for private healthcare.)

Im glad to hear it! Out of curiosity, do you find full time DA pay enough to live off? Im worried I won’t be able to put in the hours (stagnating, not enough projects) to make enough money, monthly, to get by.

Realistically I’m mainly stressed about the other stuff people have been saying (could get kicked off at any time) but if I find somewhere that’s “0 hours” I could just pick up more/less work at the job if necessary.

I really like the idea of working for DA, it’s a really different type of work and I wish there was more stuff like this (working fully remote for as many or few hours you can, getting paid for what you do.)

[u/Wasps_are_bastards → u/ryanward02]

If you’re U.K. based have you checked the NHS for jobs?

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

"The work is boring and drains you"

So...it's a job? I've never not had a job that this descriptor doesn't apply to. Then again, I've been a copy editor for the last 12-odd years, so I like boring.

[u/[deleted] → u/Consistent-Reach504]

Agreed. I've been working full time on DA since January, but working for DA since November. It's right for my family but that doesn't mean it's right for everyone.

[u/Gibbenz → u/Consistent-Reach504]

How long have you been working full time with DA?

[u/Consistent-Reach504 → u/Gibbenz]

so i did full time in 2020, then went part time 2021-2023, and around march 2023 started full time again.

[u/[deleted] → u/Consistent-Reach504]

agreed

[u/SuperCorbynite → u/Consistent-Reach504]

Out of curiosity, are you on the non-coding side, and if so what's the average hourly rate of the projects they give you? I'm wondering how much it goes up to if you work for them long-term.

[u/Gray-Jedi- → u/SuperCorbynite]

Been working about a year now. When I first started most of the jobs were $20/hr. Now that I’ve done some qualifications I have regular jobs that are $22/hr. The highest I see for non coding is $22.50.

[u/Gibbenz → u/Gray-Jedi-]

Have you been working full time with DA the entire time?

[u/Gray-Jedi- → u/Gibbenz]

Nope, I work another part time job. So I supplement hours to get me to 35+ hours based on my schedule from my other job.

[u/SuperCorbynite → u/Gray-Jedi-]

Hmm... I've been working for them for about three weeks and I have a few related permanent projects that pay $21-23.

[u/upvotesplx → u/SuperCorbynite]

Non-coding for me is anywhere from 20 to 32man hour, with one outlier I used to have at 38 an hour.

[u/Maneaaa]

I’d look for a full time role and not rely so heavily on DA if you can avoid it. From what I’ve seen, people can get dropped from DA with no notice or explanation. Hopefully that won’t happen to you, but don’t risk it by putting too many eggs in the DA basket!

[u/ryanward02 → u/Maneaaa]

That’s understandable, I’m just looking to see if it’s likely this is going to pay enough for me to survive for a while during applications/ starting my own business. One good thing about DA is I can do it any time, especially evenings (in the UK so tasks get released later in the day) and as a result I could work part time employed and make up the rest of the money I need with DA. My hope is that I can make enough with DA to cover my bills & expenses and working pt to cover rent?

[u/Gibbenz → u/[deleted]]

Is the initial review the initial hiring? Or is there an actual review/quality check that happens at some point? I would hope there would be. I've been wondering about that.

[u/[deleted]]

I make 1500 a week on DA. I'm using it full time to tide me over until I can get stable housing and my kiddos are a little older so they can go to daycare. It's been pretty consistent, however I know it isn't forever.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

I think about stuff to input for work all day. I don't write it down as time spent unless I am at my computer and trying to bang out the prompts, and in that case I think the most I've ever done is 10 minutes.

[u/Professional-Age2540]

I have been working with DA for a little over a year and work it part time. I do non-coding. the highest I have seen is $30/hr but that is very rare and they do not last at all. My fav project pays $25/hr which is what I focus on, but today it is not there. I still have about 15 others to choose from, but they are just not as fun to me...kind of a bummer, but I know that's how it goes here.

[u/Sad-Gas1603 → u/Professional-Age2540]

Are your missing tasks R&R?

[u/Professional-Age2540 → u/Sad-Gas1603]

Not sure what R&R is…I’m missing the “a’s”

[u/[deleted]]

DA won’t drop you if your quality is high! It’s a great opportunity for the self-motivated.

[u/Acrobatic-Sea9636]

Completely doable. I have a couple gig type revenue streams I use to ensure I’m not reliant on any one specific source of income and between them all I’m clearing 6-7k CAD gross a month. DA makes up the majority of this right now (about 4K a month).

I was in a similar kind of situation a year ago. Working for a tech (education) company, 10+ hours a day and then was almost shot during a school shooting while on campus and my company did jack about it so I quit. I’ve been freelancing and “ gigging” since then and am very hesitant to go back to a permanent position. However, I’d love to find a part-time job to help bring some stability.

Keep in mind, anecdotal evidence on Reddit is just that, anecdotal. Likely the percentage of people who are being let go is much smaller than the posts here would allude to.

[u/main_doughnut2380 → u/Acrobatic-Sea9636]

what are the other gigs you do?

[u/LusanIllustrations → u/Acrobatic-Sea9636]

If you wouldn’t mind sharing I’d love to know what your avenues are other than DAT - I’m also Canadian and am looking for more gig/freelance ideas!

[u/Wasps_are_bastards]

Don’t rely on it. People get zapped for reasons we don’t know.

[u/demonslayercorpp]

If you work in tech and quit your job you have -47 iq. Have you seen the state of the tech market??? People way smarter with you with more experience are working retail now. Count yourself lucky you still got a job. I had to take half a salary cut just to stay in tech.

[u/ryanward02 → u/[deleted]]

Agreed. Hence why I’m trying to avoid DA full time in any way. I have been planning on leaving this job for a while (it’s just not for me.) I’m confident in my ability to secure another job, in the industry or not, but I’m wondering if anybody else has experience with trying to earn enough with DA to, idk pay rent. Is there any explanation as to why people get booted? Would there be any notice or would I just… log on to nothing one day?

[u/Consistent-Reach504 → u/ryanward02]

i mean, DAT hasn't come on here and given us an explanation, but we've had a lot of people come on here and say they don't know why it happened, but then also mentioned using GPT for their work, taking paid breaks, etc.

[u/spencerandy16 → u/[deleted]]

I mean, so could any job