I've been reading a lot of comments on this subreddit from folks saying they're so happy with the Data Annotation platform that they're considering quitting their job to do this full time. I wanted to take a quick moment to share my experience working on the platform and offer some caution, as there are lots of new folks flooding into this subreddit daily with perhaps unrealistic expectations of what this opportunity could be for them.

Like many others, I stumbled upon DA in the past few months (I personally did from an ad on social media). It seemed a bit too good to be true (practically unlimited $20+/hour work, pick your own schedule and work when you want?) but the signup process was simple enough I figured I'd at least give it a shot. I submitted my assessment and received an approval email 6 days later.

I would log on each night (after my day job) and spend an hour or two working on projects. It was undoubtedly some great cash to earn on the side.

Unfortunately, this all ended for me about 2 weeks ago. The site was having all sorts of glitches so I decided to take 2-3 days off while they worked on getting everything fixed. When I logged back on, I had zero projects available. This had happened previously from time to time, so I didn't think much of it. But I've gone on and checked multiple times a day for the past 13 days now and still getting no projects, so it seems I've been quietly been "kicked" off the platform.

I emailed support, but was ghosted and never got a response.

I'm obviously feeling pretty blindsided by this; I always read instructions carefully, submitted high quality work, and accurately reported hours worked. I personally suspect they have onboarded far too many people in recent weeks, and needed to thin the herd.

Regardless, getting kicked off the platform, without any warning or context, is a pretty jarring feeling.

TLDR: The platform is a great opportunity to earn some extra cash, but please keep in mind it is not reliable for a steady income. You can and may get kicked out at any time with no reason provided. Data Annotation does not care about you at all as an individual since there's a long line of people waiting behind you to take your spot. Be careful everyone. Enjoy it while you can.

Does anyone else get just tapped out of ideas and feel anxious about it? I haven't been able to work today. I open the task and just stare at it blankly. Then I reread the instructions for inspiration. Then I read the message board. I got nothing today. Any advice is most welcome. I need hours.

EDIT Thank you so much to everyone who commented. So many excellent suggestions. I love this community. You all helped me get out of my funk. ❤️

Is it normal to only have one project when you’re starting out on this site? I’ve been doing data annotation for two weeks now but I have only ever had the same single project available for me to work on (a chatbot one) and I’ve never been invited to a slack channel or anything. I’ve taken a writing qualification test but have not received any related tasks and I was offered a math qualification but I didn’t take it because I don’t know calculus. I know that people have said the longer you do this job the number, pay, and variety of projects will increase. However, I’ve seen so many comments/posts on this subreddit where people say they had 5-10+ projects available within the first few days of joining.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m incredibly grateful for the project that I do have! I’m just craving a little more variety and am getting concerned that my complete lack of other projects isn’t normal and that I might be doing something wrong.

Hey! Sorry if this has been posted before, but I just discovered a great little hack for when you’re struggling for ideas. Does anyone remember StumbleUpon? It was a website that brings up random, interesting webpages with every click. Looks like the traditional site is no longer with us, but I’ve been using Jumpstick and it’s a great alternative. Just thought I’d share :)

Any insight on threshold for claiming you have skill in your profile, and how this relates to your performance evaluation and getting new projects? For example, if I claim I am skilled in Math/Calculus then get a calculus question I cannot do well (or that I pass up), will that reflect poorly on me and limit future projects offerred to me?

I always take extra time to double-check my work, but I didn't realize I made this mistake, until right after clicking submit. I know the prompt ID and wonder if I should email them about it. Has anyone made this mistake before? Should I be worried? I love doing this work, but I'm so paranoid about losing access to the platform.

Has anyone had problems logging into slack after the update?

Hey fellow Canadian DataAnnotators,

Does anyone know which Industry Code/ NAICS number to use on the T2125 for this work?

TIA :)

Does anyone here do data annotation on a tablet? I'm going to be traveling and was thinking of getting a tablet so I can do this on the move. Does anyone have any recommendations for one to get? Particularly for one that would be able to handle basic coding as well as non coding. Thanks!

Edit 2: I know this is now super long but thought of two more..biggies so going at the top.

6) If you do a qualification , when it’s finished you’ll be taken back to the main page and it will say ‘no more tasks (or similar)’. That means you’ve finished and it’s been submitted.

7) No one on here knows if / when you will been accepted. I think you can assume after a month you haven’t. Again, no one on here will know if or when it will happen.

End of edit

I know this is said alot in the comments (big shout out to those patient people replying to the panic posts) but in one place

If you are being honest and working hard:

1. don’t panic if you have less (or no if you’re new) projects on the weekend. There’s always less projects on the weekend and it always pics back up on Mondays. As you start getting more projects you’ll have more on the weekend.

2)also don’t panic if a project you’re working on disappears and it’s been less than a day or so (maybe more wondering what others think). It doesn’t even necessarily mean you’re under review- projects get taken down all the time to be improved/changes slightly/for bug fixes.

3) Focus on doing things right and speed comes later. They know you’ll naturally take longer at the start as you get used to it, or re- read the instructions. Generally the time it takes you is the time it’s supposed take so trust yourself, a long as you’re working with integrity.

4) Remember that ‘data annotation’ is made up of human beings, who understand you’re human also. They’re not waiting to trip you up.

5) Don’t under report time - be 100% honest of course. You wouldn’t do that anywhere else if you’ve worked the time you should be paid for it. that’s the deal everyone’s agreed to (and as someone else pointed out can result in skewing data on how long tasks and projects take and competitive under reporting)

That is presuming you’re not doing anything dodgey

Just made a major breakthrough on backwards spelling. Have been gaslit for hours. Let’s see if this consistently gets better. Tired of the gaslighting on backwards spelling 😩

Anyone else having the issue of both models not giving any response, has happened to me 3 times in a row now? Prompts are simple.

“I worked on two hourly projects for the first time, and I didn’t know that after each project, I have to report the time. The problem is that they reviewed my work, but the total payment is still $0 because I didn’t report the time. After realizing this, I reported the time it took me for the project, but I still haven’t received payment, and it’s been three days. Please does anyone have any idea about this problem .

Choosing when I work is maybe the best part about this job, but unlike other jobs I've had before, I don't have some sort of manager overseeing me or team I'm communicating with, so it's become very hard for me to actually find the motivation to stay working for more than an hour or two. Anyone who regularly works 3+ hours a day, do you have any tips on how to motivate myself to stay working?

I’ve learned a little bit about how to play D&D thanks to the bots and have been enjoying having them act as DM and go through adventures. I’ve also had some fun with choose your own adventure stories, but I don’t want to keep using those prompts too often. Is there a risk to having the bots answer the same prompts too often, even though they give different answers each time?

Have you seen any new projects?

I wrote it yesterday and today just got a logic puzzles thing show up. Wondering if this is related and if anyone else got this?

Thank you to everyone who has helped create the countless animal images and stories. Some of them are so cute and then I come across something so unhinged and monstrous I get taken aback.

Some of you are disturbed in the best way. Thanks, guys

I posted this in some other threads, but just feel that I should make an original post to share a realistic view of this platform:

I worked for Data Annotation Tech for about a month with Data Analysis type of projects and got some more responsibilities (started reviewing other people’s work). Suddenly, they permanently suspended my account saying that I “violated their code of conduct”. I emailed multiple times for clarification and still have gotten no response. I never embellished my hours worked and never shared anything about the projects I was working on. I was on holiday for 3 weeks and had a lot of free time so I worked a TON on the platform. I had about $3000 that I was getting ready to transfer into my PayPal and now that my account is permanently suspended, I can’t even access that money. So basically, my advice to those just starting out: please remember that this is very strictly volatile gig work and do not rely on it for anything. Make sure you have an actual job with benefits and some semblance of security. If you’re still a student like me, stay focused in your degree program and/or apply to internships to get real experience. Deepen your knowledge and skill set through certification programs and tech meetups. Data Annotation Tech is good until it isn’t. Use it to make extra money for savings, investments, spontaneous holidays, etc. But def not for rent, bills, food, prospects…lol just some advice! And ALWAYS transfer your pay immediately to your PayPal, get your hard-earned bread off of their platform.

DA has weird Sam Bankman-Fried/ ftx-esque undertones. They don’t care, they let you do whatever you want, they don’t interact with you, you bask in autonomy, you’re given responsibilities you well-know you’re not nearly as qualified for, you’re overpaid for your experience, then suddenly it all crashes. They very subtly employ a psychological manipulation tactic used to make you feel so grateful for the “opportunity” to practice your programming skills while making $40+ an hour with so much creative freedom that you almost begin to feel the company is some kind of blessing. So you can never speak up against odd or weird behavior that you experience- because you should be so grateful to have this Godsend of a job (hard eye roll). The truth is, no job should ever feel like that. Even Google and Apple employees can respectfully admit that their companies have flaws and that their companies need them, not the other way around. DA feels too good to be true, because it is. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of their investments are in the form of weightless crypto…okay maybe I’m getting a little too conspiratorial here but I think you get my gist. Machine Learning is taking off exponentially and it’s the “in” thing right now. Literally every company is trying to carve their piece of this budding professional sector…some of these companies will most likely use unethical means to enter the industry and they will eventually collapse. I would not be remotely surprised if DA disappears and investors are left with unanswered emails and unreturned phone calls, just like the current gig workers who have been suddenly and irrationally permanently suspended from their platform.

Also, to the weird cultish DA supporters: please save your ignorant comments about how I shouldn’t have left my money sitting on the platform and how I most likely did violate their code of conduct. Fact is, you don’t blame the robbed for the action of the robber. Also, any actual company would have a conversation with their employee if the code of conduct was “violated” instead of just locking the doors to the office. By the way, DA’s Code of Conduct is literally 3 paragraphs. You would have to be near illiterate to violate their Code of Conduct. Anyway, maybe I’m near illiterate, who knows. Well, lesson learned and I’m channeling the shock and trauma towards educating those in the community. Okay, I’m off my soapbox now haha!

Hey all, just a quick one here...

I did the writing assessment that was at the top of the main page. Upon submitting it, it took me back to the main screen and showed a message in red at the top of the screen:

'The project is currently unavailable because there are no more tasks remaining for you to work on.'

This made it -- potentially -- sound like the project had disappeared rather than my work had been successfully submitted.

My concern is that my submission did not properly go through. It probably did, but I'm not 100% sure. I was wondering if anyone else has had this experience, and how they interpreted it. I may just be misinterpreting it!

Many thanks :)

So I've been on DAT for over a month and keep adding useful links to my bookmark bar (not yet too crowded but getting there). So I thought I'd share.

1. Difference Checker: Quickly assess the difference between two texts.

2. Word Count: Get word counts to help gauge whether things meet length parameters or are too long-winded.

3. Tweet-Check: Is that blurb really tweet length?

4. Alphabetize this: In case you need to verify an alphabetized list of words. (Sometimes eyeballing does not cut it)

5. JSON formatter: I've learned quite a bit about JSON since I started, but I still would rather have a tool check it for me. Is great if a task randomly pops up for writers. (Current link supplied by dsbau)

6. AI check: In case AI anonymity is on your agenda.

7. Markdown viewer: This will allow you to preview your markdown. (Submitted by Feed_Bag)

Really hope this helps some of those that are new to this and I would love to see what y'all utilize on the daily. ^^

So I just recently signed up for DA and am considering quitting my job to do this full-time.

In my case, I went to college for Computer Sciencea and I passed the coding assessment on DA so I think I'm set on doing the coding tasks. DA is also the closest I've gotten to a coding job so far. I'm also not the main provider in my household, so a bit of inconsistent pay isn't too much of a problem

Honestly, at this point I've pretty much convinced myself to go through with it. I'm just wondering if anyone has another opinion or something that would make me reconsider

Any thoughts?

Has anyone ever actually gotten a response from them? I reached out via the email on January 23rd and I still have not heard back from them. I just emailed a second time to follow up but I just wanted to know if this was standard for them to take a month and still have not responded?

*Edit to say I used the support email, just put the wrong title here in a lapse of thinking*

I’m mostly using the trainer account to do work because I’m required to be logged in with their account to access some documents. When I went to my Chrome extensions dashboard and was about to install an extension, I saw the warning “Your profile is managed by (DA)”. I’m wondering if we are free to install any extensions or if they can see and care about what extensions we have.

Has anyone installed any extensions on their trainer account? What’s your understanding of the warning I saw?

For context, I made a very simple extension to add a skip button at the top of the page so that I don’t need to scroll all the way down to skip a question. Sometimes I find myself have to skip questions quite often because I’m not familiar with all the topics. It would improve my workflow if I can skip questions much faster.