Mechanical Turk is better than any part-time job

by David Clark
(Dry Ridge, Kentucky)

I am motivated to perform work on Amazon Mechanical Turk strictly for financial reasons. I use the money earned from completing HITs to help amortize some long standing credit card debt that my family has accrued.

I also am the primary caretaker of a one-year old child, so having a typical part-time job does not make sense, as the increased child care costs would offset any time spent working. Amazon Mechanical Turk is a way I can earn money throughout the days I am taking care of my son while not diverting too much attention away from him.

I have stayed in touch with one requestor after receiving a $25 bonus for locating an obscure video regarding an engineering company. My “regular” job involves researching and data mining in the industrial and manufacturing sectors for a private company.

The requestor’s main company also utilizes this data, so I contacted the requestor in the hopes that our mutual interests would lead to further engagement. I have not heard back from the requestor yet, but the exchange of contact information was pleasant.

I stick to using Amazon Mechanical Turk rather than seeking work with a regular outsourcing firm due to the fact that I enjoy the freedom of choosing when and how much to work without fear of being dropped from a service if I choose to decline work.

As I mentioned previously, I primarily perform HITs on days when I am also caring for my one year old son. I may perform a good number of HITs on those days, but then go a week without even logging in to Mechanical Turk due to time constraints from my primary job and other responsibilities and commitments.

Regular outsourcing firms often do not appreciate periods of inactivity, and I would run the risk of being dropped or removed from a provider’s list of available workers.

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