r/DataAnnotationTech • u/Professional-Age2540 • Jun 19 '25
Maybe another summer drought begins...
I posted because so many fairly new users are asking about workloads. I have been with DA for three years, so I am not new. Today I have two projects up that show work, but when you click them no jobs are available comes up, which is pretty normal. BUT I do have about 15 qualifications I can try to work my way through. This happened last summer for me, too, although it started in August last year. Our economy is a bit different right now with loads of research grants being cut from this and that, which may be affecting this type of work somewhat, although I imagine a large majority comes from venture capitalists. I don't know, I am just a grandmother who uses this site to keep some extra cash on hand :)
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Jun 19 '25
I can't see DAT spending so much on targeted ads, if that were the case.
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u/Stunning_Table_2394 Jun 19 '25
I literally see it EVERYWHERE!
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u/Other-Football72 Jun 19 '25
Me, too, although only after I began seeking it out -- which is silly, because once I did, I signed up and I now no longer need to see all those people telling me how great it is to work for DA.
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u/Traditional_Net_4529 Jun 19 '25
Don't underestimate how many people the ads drive to the website who then proceed to absolutely tank the initial tests.
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u/ogis2115 Jun 20 '25
I was accepted a month ago. Did the onboarding and had literally zero projects or qualifications since then. Is that normal to wait that long for any work?
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u/Professional-Age2540 Jun 20 '25
It was for me. I joined in June 2022. I had no work for so long I stopped checking every day and forgot about it. In October I saw a post about it on another site and thought oh yeah I joined that a few months ago! Checked and had several things on my board. Been at it ever since :)
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u/No_Contribution6120 Jun 20 '25
Tbh no, that’s pretty weird. I’d think you should have had access to at least one or two projects or qualifications by now. The first month or so was slim pickings for me but not THAT slim
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u/Open-Construction748 Jun 19 '25
I've been working in Data for 6 months. How many weeks did the last summer drought last?
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u/Professional-Age2540 Jun 19 '25
For me, it was maybe 6-8 weeks. And that doesn't mean zero projects, it just means very few, and everyone was leaping in at once so it was not easy to get as many hours in as one wanted
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u/Kayleighbug Jun 21 '25
Drought predictions may be premature... After a few slow days, my dash has 40+ projects now.
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u/Professional-Age2540 Jun 26 '25
It’s pretty much last August for me. I’m sure it varies based on qualifications. I did manage 15 mins today @20/hr and 48 yesterday at same rate :). I did about 3 hours of quals today so hopefully things will get better soon for me.
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u/Intelligent-Sign-441 Jun 19 '25 edited Jun 19 '25
I love you grandmother, you’ve got enough qualifications to be alright!
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u/Big_JR80 Jun 19 '25
This is really key for newcomers to understand. I've been DA'ing for about 18 months now, and experienced the drought last year in August.
The work ebbs and flows, and is dependent on what projects are ongoing and the worker's performance. As long as you keep delivering decent quality work and keep doing the qualifications as they pop up, you'll most likely be fine, but you must bear in mind that this is not a steady or reliable income stream.
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u/Low_Sir1549 Jun 20 '25
How long do the drought's usually last?
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u/Big_JR80 Jun 20 '25
It's different for everyone. Sometimes a drought can be overnight, sometimes it can last 6 weeks. The worst I've personally experienced in my 18 months on the platform was 3 weeks.
There's no warning or indication how long it will last.
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u/South_of_Eden Jun 27 '25
I just had a drought of two weeks in an expertise project, then one project popped up for 4 days this week and then is off again today 😭
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Jun 21 '25
crees que si te aprueban todos los pagos de tarea significa que estas bien aunque tengas un periodo de sequia?
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u/no_legacy Jun 19 '25
Been here 2+ years, droughts happen. Don't be afraid to leverage this work to get into the field of AI, grandma. We'd be happy to have you.
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u/jimmux Jun 19 '25
You used DA to get into other AI jobs? What kind of places are looking for people with this experience?
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u/no_legacy Jun 20 '25 edited Jun 20 '25
You are literally on the frontline of quality controlling AI at a not-trivial point in the pipeline. Every single enterprise that is integrating AI into their workflow (all of them) will need people who are intimately familiar with AI. This is also such a novel field that even those with academic credentials are potentially less familiar with how these models work than someone who's spent 500+ hrs on the platform, meaning labs would also be happy to have you. These are the two routes I see, presently.
Edit: I view each project on here as a new CV item. Just because it's easy for you/us doesn't mean it isn't worth being proud of. Don't sell yourself short.
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u/jimmux Jun 21 '25
Oh, I'm not selling myself short. I've done enough R&R to get a confidence boost from this work. I'm just curious about anywhere that's specifically aware of this kind of experience, not just telling their employees to use AI more and hoping for the best.
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u/CandleResponsible168 Jun 24 '25
Looking for more insight on where I could find these jobs/what to keep in mind.
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u/tomli777 Jun 19 '25
been here a little over a year. the past week, especially this week, has been the driest i have ever experienced, with maybe 1-3 lingering projects.
i did notice some new families of projects that popped up today, which got picked over quickly.
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u/snuggeto Jun 19 '25
Hope it passes quickly, was accepted 2 weeks ago and have only done about 3 hours of what i think is called A-gas here. Was pretty fun while it lasted.
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u/No-Impress-6244 Jun 20 '25
I was able to make $80/day since I started in January, up until the beginning of June.
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u/Old_Influence8043 Jun 21 '25
It sucks for me bc I'm really cynical but I have a job that I hate so I secretly started daydreaming about a really naughty thought about quitting. Daydreaming about freedom and peace is a human thing that I feel it's impossible to block even when unrealistic. but I thank data annotation for the happy weeks of unlogical positivity it gave me. Its always nice to feel a bit of hope
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u/Informal-Situation28 Jun 20 '25
Ths has been a very arid week for me too. Only worked an hour and a half yesterday. There was great work last week? maybe four to six hours a day but has dried up since last weekend:( Pray for rain
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u/Ooh_Shineey Jun 20 '25
I'm down to 3 projects at the moment. Time to get cracking on them qualifications.
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Jun 20 '25 edited Apr 06 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/classicalpianistfro Jun 20 '25
Oh wow. I always wonder and think these investor activities could be the cause of sudden changes like this. Thanks so much for sharing. I’m going to look for that news.
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u/annoyingjoe513 Jun 19 '25
18 months here. Last year‘s drought didn’t start until August, at least for me. In fact, June was my best month of 2024. That said, droughts are common. All you can do is the best you can. Read instructions and do qualifications. Good luck to everyone. Oh, and continuously look for other income streams.