Signing Up for MTurk
If you think you want to give MTurk a try, it’s very easy to sign up.
It only takes a few minutes to get started, so if you’re ready to give it a go, head to their website and sign up.
If you already have an Amazon account, you can use that to sign in.
Then you’ll need to fill out some basic information, including social security number of tax purposes, but that’s about it.
With that said, it’s important to note that some people have reported not getting approved.
Those un-approved workers also report that they’ve been given no explanation as to why.
Why we can’t explain why some workers aren’t approved, we do know that Amazon MTurk has this requirement:
“There are no set schedules or minimum hours to work though you do need to complete at least one HIT per day during your first 10 days as a worker (there’s also a 100 HIT per day limit during your first 10 days).”
So if you sign up and get approved, make sure you complete at least one HIT per day, no matter how little the pay may be.
At the same time, make sure you don’t exceed the threshold of doing more than 100 HITS per day in your first 10 days as a worker.
Tips to Increase MTurk Earnings
If you’re interested in working with MTurk, it’s safe to say that you could benefit by knowing a few tips and tricks to increase your earnings.
To put more money in your pocket, check out these 7 ideas:
1. Be Selective with your HITS
Since most HITS pay very little, it’s important to find the ones that you can do quickly.
For up-to-date tips on what HITS are easy to perform in just a minute or two, check out this subreddit for MTurk workers.
2. Avoid Penny Tasks
If you see a task that only pays a penny, pass. It’s not worth it.
Even if it only takes you a minute to complete and you complete one every minute for an hour, you’ll make a whopping $0.60 that hour.
You would need to complete 1,000 in an hour to make $10 per hour.
Those HITS aren’t worth it.
Look for HITS that pay at least 40 cents – then think about how long they will take.
If a $0.40 HIT takes you 10 minutes to complete, forget it.
If it doesn’t take much time, like only takes 2 minutes to complete, then it might be worth your time.
3. Reach a High HIT Number
Some jobs (including some of the higher paying jobs) require that you have completed a minimum of HITS to apply.
In some cases, you’ll need to have 5,000 HITS under your belt.
For other HITS you’ll need to have completed 10,000.
The more HITS you complete and the more experience you have working with MTurk, the better access you’ll have to higher paying tasks.
New workers might be tempted to complete penny tasks to reach these minimums, but we still don’t think it is worth it.
4. Maintain a High Approval Rating
You won’t have any success on MTurk unless you have a high approval rating.
To be successful, you’ll need to maintain an approval rating above 98%.
That may sound high – and it is.
But the reason is this:
The tasks are simple, but they all have their own set of directions.
And those directions must be followed.
If you can’t follow simple directions, your approval rating will plummet.
5. Increase Qualifications
To apply for some HITS, you need to prove that you’re “qualified.”
So you may have to complete some qualifications to do that HIT.
Make sure that you complete all qualifications, as that will make it easier to find higher paying HITS in the future.
6. Filter Requesters
Do yourself a favor and avoid requesters (employers) with low ratings.
If their ratings are low, it may mean that they have a history of not releasing payment to their workers.
To filter out the bad requesters, use a tool like Turkopticon.
With Turkopticon you can report shady employers who don’t pay and see who other workers have reported so you can avoid them altogether.
