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Can You Earn Reasonable Money from Mechanical Turk?

by Jomvie
(Francis’ Full-time Virtual Assistant)

Some years ago, I signed-up for Amazon’s Mechanical Turk just trying it out to get some extra income while I am just browsing on the internet.

Mechanical Turk call their job/task HITs that mean “Human Intelligence Tasks”. These are tasks that computers are unable to do and that require human intelligence.
I was caught up with the promising shiny object called no attachment, no requirement and fast money. It sounds so cool and easy, right?

So, after I finished signing up, I have to wait for 48 hours of validation since there are too many people who had their way ahead of me. By the way, I am from the Philippines and this means they also need time to run some background check and some sort.

After 48 hours…

I am officially registered and can start working on some HITs. I noticed that most of the HITs that I am allowed to get are less than $0.05? Then I told myself “what the heck” this kind of job is? I scrolled down looking for some pot of gold…scrolling until my index finger got tired of clicking and never had I seen a pot of gold.

So, I decided to take my chances with $0.03 – $0.05. My first HIT was about geographical sites (sounds complicated). I was given a list of places and had to search for it on the Google map that is plain white and black.

Did I say “sounds complicated”? Indeed. Before Google Map became a super intelligent map, human had gone through many pain in search for the needle in a haystack just to make it the super intelligent as it is now today. And take note, its offer is $0.05 per place encoded and it takes 30 minutes to an hour to find the street or city.

After that HIT, I took some time off being a HIT maker. Weeks after I took some time, I came back to make some HITs again. I started with two surveys and finished them less than 5 minutes each and next was writing some random articles.

Assuming I got $0.26 from two surveys and two articles in an hour.. But, what’s the catch? I was denied of one article so I got $0.18.

  • How do I know that the requester will not use my article?
  • Is it worth an hour joggling my brains out and in the end denied of a $0.08?

I can’t complain any further since there is no employee and employer contract. They can deny anytime they want and the worker can’t do anything about it. So, I find this kind of service unfair. That’s why I decided to quit and never come back.

I would like to share some tips or you can also call it tricks to achieve your goals with MTurk venture, please read the following and follow them by heart:

  • Search for good paying HITs
  • Don’t bother yourself with 1 cent
  • Go for Survey HITs
  • Beware of scammers

These are the most interesting tips that I can share to all HITs maker and future HIT maker (watch out for scammers).

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Experiencing Eye Strain as a Virtual Assistant

by Jomvie
(Francis’ Full-time Virtual Assistant)

Prolonged exposure to your monitor may be harmful to your eyes

Prolonged exposure to your monitor may be harmful to your eyes

Recently, I had this very painful experience with a nauseous feeling and light-headedness. Aside from that annoying feeling, I am required to sit in-front of the computer all day as being a virtual assistant is my full time job. So, mainly, I do everything on the internet and nothing else.

The painful experience

Just another normal day in front of my computer, as I am starting my daily task—as it is my routine. Inside a couple of hours, I suddenly felt that my eyes seem to have been stabbed with something I can’t see and was followed by dizziness.

I lied down for a while and tried to relax a bit then after a few minutes, I went on to sit in front of the computer to continue working again. Unfortunately, there it goes the nausea again. I took some analgesics for the headache but still the unpleasant feeling persisted.

Things just went worst— the stabbing-like pain in my eyes kept persisting to the point that looking into the computer hurts so much that it takes only seconds for me to get a good look on the monitor then I have to close my eyes thereafter.

After a couple of times trying to sit and do my stuff, I decided to take a rest for the day. But, I did some lifehacks on my own—I tried not to look straight at the computer whenever I am typing just look by the sides of the monitor whenever I am checking out things.

Sometimes I still have that light-headedness and vomiting-like feeling and again I applied my own lifehacks to relieve me from pain and continue my online stuff.

The Decision

I decided that I need to consult an eye doctor as I am to be working for a much extended period of time in the future. In this kind of job, the tenure and the productivity strictly depends on the number of hours logged as well as the quantity and quality of the tasks done.

To all the virtual assistants out there, how would you like to let me know what your best tips are in case this occurs at some point in time during your working hours?

 

Comments for Experiencing Eye Strain as a Virtual Assistant

Jul 14, 2014 Taking care of your health = Priority 1+
by: FrancisJomvie, don’t overdo it even if it is your job to work online and at the computer. Try to come up with alternatives that can be acceptable – like printing out reading materials and reading them offline, tracking your time as you go.Also, start with the visit to your eye doctor soon, and then with the list of resources researched from the internet to reduce eye strain.How did that list help you?
Jul 15, 2014 Eye strain–care, tips and exercise
by: JomvieHi Francis, yes I tried taking off some alternative like after I spent 2 to 4 hours in the computer, I will go and rest for a while and then back again to my work or take some 5-minute break while my fingers are on the keyboard. It’s quite helpful but I still have that dizziness sometimes especially on the afternoon when the light of the sun is at its highest.I had a bunch of helpful eye care tips and exercise thanks for the links you spent time with—eye exercise is most helpful that allows my eyes to rest from looking straight for hours on the monitor.Will probably visit an eye doctor soon.. thanks!
Jul 15, 2014 Problem with sun glare
by: FrancisIt sounds to me as if you also have a problem with sun glare.Try closing the blinds and reducing the brightness of your room. Worst case, you can test pushing your working hours to when the sun is down and test if this helps.Also you can try wearing sunglasses. It’s not only cool, it also blocks excessive lighting. :)

Also, did you feel any difference after using F.lux?

The eye doctor will help most, however.
Jul 17, 2014 How to lessen sun glare
by: JomvieI guess it’s one of the main reasons for my eye strain. Actually, I covered my windows with drapes to lessen sun glare coming through the window.
Sunglasses will definitely be cool by the way 😀
And yes, I am feeling better now with that F.lux. But, I haven’t gone to an eye doctor yet. Most probably will visit an eye doctor over the weekend
Thanks big time.
Sep 24, 2014 Anti-Glare Spectacles
by: Virtual AssistantWell, I will strongly recommend to use an Anti-glare spectacles if you use computer screen for longer hours. (Often called anti-reflected coating or AR coating eyeglasses)

Anti-glare eye glasses

When living a virtual assistant life, you cannot avoid the computer screen at any case, but its very important to take care of those precious eyes.

I was also having an eyestrain for the last few days and luckily I visited an eye specialist last week who prescribed these anti-glare spectacles for me.

I am using these glasses for the past 5 days and I can already feel the difference. Now I have less eyestrain and my vision towards the computer screen has also been improved :)
Apr 14, 2015 True information is shared
by: Maria M. HartI feel really fortunate to have used your webpage and look forward to so many more fun moments reading here. Thanks a lot again for a lot of things.Great work

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My First Infographic

by Jomvie
(Philippines)

I made this infographics using only photoscape. How is this for a first try?
I made this infographics using only photoscape. How is this for a first try?

I am going to show you my first try with infographics!

Infographics are information or data that is represented visually. It gives a quick information in graphic form that helps improve every individual’s cognition by utilizing graphics to enhance its ability to see patterns, pointing arrows,trends, etc.

First time I discovered Infographics, I realized that I was a “visual” kind of person. I was amazed by the power it gives. Just try to imagine that it can slice and diced enormous information to an easy to understand one legal size page.

When I am tasked to create a just-for-fun Outsourcing Infographic to see what my capabilities are, I had a bit of hesitation since I am not your go-to-guy in times such as this. On the other hand, it is comforting because I find graphics visually entertaining.

And since I uphold the Virtual Assistant title, I must do this and learn from there.

As you can see from my infographic here, I need to learn more on how to keep the quality intact while maximizing/zooming in the picture. On the other hand, I am quite impressed with myself that I made it even without proper training and just utilizing the creativity inside me. 🙂

I am open for suggestions on what kind of tools can a newbie-graphic-designer like me can utilize with Infographics.

For the meantime, I am planning on integrating the tools Photoscape and Powerpoint. I’ve been experimenting on these tools recently to create an image with good quality and I find it very satisfactory.

Do watch out for my next Infographic invention!

Comments for My First Infographic

Jun 25, 2014 Great first try!
by: Francis I think Jomvie did a great job for his first Infographic! It was not easy for you because you had to improvise quite a bit.

But this showed me that you are a creative and inventive person – both are qualities very valuable in a virtual assistant.

Note that even if this first graphic is not “perfect”, it is much better to actually DO the first try and improve on it.

It’s easy to learn and read yourself to inactivity. It’s harder – but better – to do and to improve yourself each time!

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Supervising your Virtual Assistant with Screen Monitoring Software

by Francis

That's how I would be looking at you if you wanted to record *my* screen...! Just one of the perks of being the employer ;)
That’s how I would be looking at you if you wanted to record *my* screen…! Just one of the perks of being the employer 😉

My full time VA from the Philippines, Jomvie, is doing a good job actually filling these 40h a week. At least for the first week.

No idling off into Facebook land, no working for other employers, and definitively no cheating himself away from work in any way.

All in all, it looked like good work ethics from my point of view. How do I know that? I am monitoring my VA using Hubstaff, which records a screenshot of his desktop every 10 min or so.

This week he is experiencing disconnects with his internet. That’s a common problem in the Philippines, especially during bad weather.

But how can I monitor his progress if he is offline…?

By the way, it’s much easier trusting your VA that he actually has internet problems if he proved his ability to work continuously before (like my VA did).

On the other hand, if a candidate fails to deliver the very first days, chances are you have a candidate that is more interested in excuses than in (hard) work. That comes from my experience with previous candidates before Jomvie.

Now, that wouldn’t be so interesting to you if I could not follow up with some alternative tips for monitoring the work output of your VA if he goes offline.

One of these tools is rescuetime.

This software at least tracks if your VA is working on Word files or goofing around on Facebook.

Granted, it is not optimal or does not replace screen monitoring software. For example, it does not give you as the employer the ability to look at a screenshot and immediately record a screen video to let him know about something he could do better.

But it does help. It also gives your VA a sense of accountability.

I will keep updating this post, both in the comments as well as in this post itself to reflect lessons learned about the subject of managing your VA when he goes offline.

Feel free to join the discussion in the comments!

Comments for Supervising your Virtual Assistant with Screen Monitoring Software

Jun 03, 2014 One possibility: hours not logged with screenshots are not paid.
by: Francis One solution which is actually the hardest of them all on your VA – but one of the biggest advantages from my favorite outsourcing service:Set the terms with your VA that hours not logged are not paid.

Be aware that this strategy can intimidate your candidates or break rapport. That’s especially important for VAs from the Philippines, in general.
Jun 04, 2014 Internet downtime
by: Jomvie It is certainly a bad event if your VA from the Philippines goes offline for whatever reason it may be.I can see this situation as an opportunity to solidify the relationship of both parties by going back to the very first pact that have been agreed upon in the interview process.

This may be a lesson on how to establish better contractual relationships between employers and VAs from other countries, esp. from the Philippines.

Here are some tips to avoid problems in monitoring & productivity when your VA goes offline:

-Establish an Alternative Method: ex. Rescuetime–as mentioned by the author (though I think RT doesn’t have the ability to work offline or whenever there’s no internet connection). I heard there may be other software that can monitor/record offline–just not sure w/c software it is.

-Maintain Productivity:In case of internet downtime & there are no available back-up software–make sure that every task assigned to him/her shall/still be completed–since the utmost concern of every employer is the productivity of their VA. Also, the VA should record its activities/updates he/she accomplished during the downtime, including the hours consumed.

-Offline Tasks: Continuous work even during non-monitored times ensures productivity.

I would like to end this by saying, this situation is all about trust, confidence and most importantly–productivity.

In this kind of employment, time and work output are always essential to the employer–making sure that every single cent that he gives is worth the job that is done.

I agree that having a monitoring software will be the best method to make sure the VA’s working capacity is maximized.

On the other hand, I believe having a time monitoring software is not the only solution for problems arising from this kind of situation.
Jun 04, 2014 Great insights – agree on the productivity
by: Francis Jomvie, thanks for writing down so many good ideas from your perspective as a VA.All in all, I agree. But some aspects are more complicated from an employer’s perspective. Especially for newly hired VAs, the employer doesn’t know if the VA is unproductive or a victim of bad circumstances.

Everyone can have a bad day. Everyone can be hit by external circumstances.

But for virtual assistants, since they are far away in general, there is no way to know for sure.

So all there is is trust. But trust must be earned. Can be deepened. Can be lost.

At the beginning, a VA should always be given the benefit of the doubt. Especially in the Philippines, you should know that the weather situations are tricky on a regular basis.

But some VA candidates misuse these starting points to have some bad excuses. That’s nothing against you, this is just an experience that I have made myself, unfortunately.

If the trust is not there from e.g. long standing solid work, where can it come from?

I think a list of offline tracking software or alternatives would add value to this discussion. Perhaps we can come up with one together in these comments!

But I agree to your bottom line. It’s not the “supervision” software that creates the trust. It’s the work and the work quality (and from the VAs side the working relationship with his boss and honest payments) that creates the trust.

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Grabbing that Coveted VA Spot

by Jomvie
(The Philippines)

We hired a new member as a full time virtual assistant into our team! His name is Jomvie, and these are his thoughts on grabbing that spot as a VA.

Writing has always been my passion. The idea of conveying your thoughts into words is an activity that demands practice and repetition–until the flow becomes natural. This is the reason why I applied for the job to be a Virtual Assistant (VA for short). I want to hone my skills and knowledge in writing as well as widen my understanding regarding this kind of online business.

It may sound easy but grabbing this kind of job is similar to trying to push a piece of string through the eye of a needle.

First of all, most employers will require you to undergo a rigid screening process. Necessary details like previous experiences, fields of expertise, topics that may be comfortable or otherwise, usage of monitoring tools, and expected wage will be asked from you. If both parties would come into an agreement with all the stipulations considered, then you are half-way of grabbing the job. Yes, half-way. It is because there are also other applicants who are scrambling to get that spot.

There may be a lot of job openings out there but its ratio to the number of applicants for a sole position would be twenty-fold. This is something everyone applying for an online job must remember. If you want to have an edge in the hiring process, develop yourself to be skilled, flexible, and precise in your writing style. Learn then master your current niche and eventually make your employer pleased with your productivity.

And finally, after days or even a week of waiting fastidiously, you will receive the good news — you are hired! But this celebration is short-lived. This is the start of the many challenges you need to hurdle to get to the top and be among the best of the business. Once hired, both parties must now lay down their cards and be explicit with their expectations. This would be beneficial for both the employer and the employee in the long run.

Grabbing a VA job is dependent on several factors. This is what I have learned in almost a year of working online. Although this job is generally labelled “Virtual Assistant”, the job descriptions of a particular VA are not exactly the same as that of another. Before applying for a job, be sure to be equipped with the expected skills, knowledge, and attitude that would be required from you.

As for me, this particular niche may be new to me; but nevertheless, I will delve into this new challenge with excitement and exuberance.

Comments for Grabbing that Coveted VA Spot

May 29, 2014 Welcome to my team 🙂
by: FrancisJomvie, I am happy to have you on board. During our first 4 weeks together, we will have a “trial period” where we both get to know each other.During your first week in my team, I already can see your strengths. If I had to point out any “weakness”, it would be that you write “too well”.

Think of writing on my sites as talking with your friends. The more open, familiar and simple your writing style becomes, the better actually people “listen” to what you write.

But you’ll get there, guaranteed. 🙂

I am also excited, because I have tons of ideas where I can get more done with your help. Let me know when I am overrunning you with too many ideas 😉

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My Experiences and Expectations as a Full Time Virtual Assistant

by Honey
(May 19, 2014)

This blog post was written by Honey, a virtual assistant from the Philippines I have hired as full-time.

In this blog post, she shared her experiences and thoughts about the interview process and job position.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t work for me for a long time due to some unavoidable circumstances.

I am new to this virtual assistance service. However, I am challenged by the new skills I am about to learn and hone here.

I have been teaching English online for almost 10 years and for 14 years as an English teacher as a general.

Writing is also my passion. I always regard it as my first love. I started writing articles and editing too in a school paper where I became an Editor-in-Chief and received some awards. At the university, I did not focus on writing nor editing.

However, after I graduated, I gained the same position in a local newsletter for years. When I became the editor-in-chief, the newsletter profited three times more than before.

Nevertheless, aside from writing, working online became my new and most fervent passion. I decided to work online and I have been for 10 years now.

Though I was more exposed to teaching English online, I was also blogging, posting ads to sell my jewelry designs, and other things I can sell online! I did tasks that interest me, not knowing they were already some tasks a virtual assistant does.

Yet, I am not so familiar with office tools and other software used but I am determined to pursue this career.

I have this dream of one day starting my own virtual assistance company and what would be a better stepping stone than being one! I want to help my friends and other Filipinos by providing them extra income or more a job as a virtual assistant.

I love the thought of dealing and negotiating with clients looking for virtual assistants and at the same time, screening, interviewing and hiring people to work for them.

When I applied for this job, as for most jobs I applied to, I was crossing my fingers that soonest one of the employers would see my potential and would give me the opportunity to provide me room for improvements.

I must admit I applied to several job openings for home-based virtual assistance.

However, when I had the first chat with Francis’ main VA in Skype, I had the impression that these people were cordial. I must admit chatting with him gave me the sense that I would be keen about working with them. The further discussions provided me brighter attitude about this job.

He was warm, accommodating but still very professional in dealing with an applicant like me.

Awkwardly, we had to reschedule the interview twice because of some circumstances on my end.

The reschedules even presented me with the certainty that I will be working with sensible, patient, very professional, level-headed and reasonable people.
I made it a point that I would be available for the rescheduled interview and I was glad I made it.

Talking to Francis provided me an even more positive outlook on my dreams to build my own virtual assistance someday.

I am not only working for a boss, but I am encouraged that I am going to work with someone who will be a remarkable mentor.

I was anxious after the interview that they may not pick me over the other qualified candidates. I know I have my limits and I have rescheduled twice. I actually made myself ready to receive the news that I would be rejected.

Truthfully, the email I received was some of the best news I received this year.
I have been aspiring to this kind of job for a long time.

I am happy. This may be an understatement.