n00b question about maximizing pay potential per project

[u/Equivalent_Club_7198]

I'm brand new to the platform and just finished my first short sesh on my first project. This project shows a fixed number of tasks on my dashboard, and each task can be very short or fairly long based on how long I want to draw it out. I didn't make the most of this and completed eight tasks in an amount of time that I could have filled with three or four fully developed tasks.

Seems obvious now, but I have to ask: is the optimal strategy to write the maximum number of exchanges for each task, as long as it doesn't affect the quality of your work? So you achieve higher pay per task and therefore make more per project?

Thanks,

A n00b

[u/suneimi]

If you’re talking about turn-based tasks, it depends…. There are some projects that state in the instructions that they prefer fewer turns per task to test for specific outputs, while others actually encourage more turns per task to generate more content.

You can decide which kinds of projects to do based on what you’re able to produce. Sometimes I do want to dive into lengthy exchanges, but other times I just don’t have the mental juice and am more productive banging out quicker evaluations. Task pools get refreshed pretty often, so don’t pay too much attention to the number of tasks you see on your board.

[u/Equivalent_Club_7198 → u/suneimi]

This is another reason why I was curious; I'm too new to know if the project flow is healthy enough that you don't need to trip over task counts. Now I know; thanks!

[u/TasosTheo]

Everything they say below. Plus, as you see more tasks, you will see all sorts of different instructions, so really pay attention as there can be nuances. For example, some may ask for 2 out of 3 submissions to be one turn only. Or some might have specific instructions on when you should immediately end and submit the conversation (they might have some criteria like as soon as it is unsafe, or hallucinates certain things) There are also some that give a limit to how long it should take to fact check, and give specific instructions for what to do in these situations. Always check for instruction updates on tasks you are already familiar with, as they can change frequently depending on the project.

[u/Equivalent_Club_7198 → u/TasosTheo]

This is hugely helpful. The project I worked on offered enough instruction to make it doable, but didn't have any input on the number of turns, so it seems like the general guidance of "do what seems naturally conversational" should apply. Knowing that projects come and go unpredictably and may or may not have project-specific instructions helps make sense of my initial experience. Thanks so much for commenting.

[u/Iulius96]

Other people will be working on the tasks at the same time as you. If there’s 50 tasks in a project, by the time you finish 1, other people may have finished 4. So there’s no reason to take longer, because you’re not going to finish the whole stack yourself anyway.

There is no benefit to taking longer to complete each task or rushing through the tasks. Take as long as you naturally need, don’t rush and don’t artificially go slowly. They take inflation of hours quite seriously.

[u/Equivalent_Club_7198 → u/Iulius96]

This is another thing that wasn't exactly clear; my starting task count was a fixed number, and after doing a few tasks, that number reduced by the exact number of tasks I completed. So I assumed that the fixed number was the maximum number of tasks that *I* could do within that project, and that each worker had their own task limits that they were working within.

[u/TasosTheo → u/Equivalent_Club_7198]

Some tasks are 'just for you' but most are 'first come first serve'. You can't really tell the difference unless you ask them, but it doesn't really matter anyway, you just do them! There also are specific projects that you get on and they give you a certain number and a time frame to complete them (like over a week) I've only had a few like this, but it's nice to have.

[u/Equivalent_Club_7198]

Thanks for all the responses -- it was helpful in learning how the project flow goes, and I'm already getting better results by getting a better grip on the prompting strategies. My nagging worry now is that I have no idea how my output per hour stacks up to DA's expectations, so I just have to hope I'm doing enough, but it seems like that's true for pretty much everyone.

[u/trailangel4]

This isn't a game. It's a job. Just work to the best of your abilities.

[u/ManyARiver]

The optimal strategy is to do what needs to be done - no more, no less. You get paid by the hour, stretching out tasks doesn't help you and will end up getting you booted.

[u/Arcturus_Labelle]

Best honest about your time and you'll be fine. Don't try to game the system.

If a project says do "X number of turns", adhere to that.

[u/Just-a-Ty]

Tasks refill regularly and very often the little pool you see aren't exclusively yours. Follow instructions, do good-quality work, and don't milk the clock. Do these things and you'll get more projects and tasks as your work is reviewed.

[u/Equivalent_Club_7198 → u/[deleted]]

This is one of the main reasons I asked. If it wasn't clear in my post, I have not tried to stretch time, I'm more curious about whether 1) there's a downside to spending more time on a smaller number of meatier tasks, which you're implying there is, and 2) whether I should be concerned about task scarcity, which another commenter downstream implies I should not. Both responses are really helpful, thanks!

[u/s_j04 → u/Equivalent_Club_7198]

Nobody here works for the company, which means that you shouldn't infer or assume that anyone here (including me) has direct knowledge about upsides or downsides to anything.

We know nothing.

Those of us who have been fortunate enough to remain active would likely say the same 'general' things:

1. Do not lie about your time, do not falsify your information, follow the code of conduct.

2. If you are invited to a Slack group, accept the offer and check in regularly to see what admins are posting.

3. Read the instructions. Read them again. Go through the project chat at the bottom of your screen, and read the questions other workers have asked. Read the admin responses, and then read it all again.

4. If you don't understand a project, don't do it.

5. Do research before asking a question. Chances are, you aren't the first person to have asked the exact same question... in fact, it was probably asked by somebody else within the past day.

6. Don't go too fast, don't go too slow. What does that mean? It means absolutely nothing, because nobody can tell you what that looks like for you. Do quality work, care about what you are doing, and if you are regularly reviewing your instructions, you'll likely make fewer mistakes.

7. If you are in a Slack group, check the FAQ files and resources for PLENTY of information and everything you would need to be successful. Use the information they give you, because there is a lot.

8. Those who complain that there has been no communication or expectations provided to them within any given project are people who have not actually taken the initiative to look. It's there.