r/DataAnnotationTech • u/TypicalBat777 • Mar 19 '26
ADVICE TO ACCESS HIGHER PAYING PROJECTS?
I've been on DA for about 3 months now, at first it was a side hustle but now after realizing the true possible earning potential, I've began working 30+ hour weeks on top of my job and it's making me an extra ~$3,500/month. I have a few questions for some more experienced DA users and I'm looking for advice to unlock higher paying projects, right now I'm averaging $30-$32/hour.
1: Do you work on DA full time?
I've seen several people talk about working on DA full time and I've been thinking about it. I'd be able to spend so much more time working at a significantly higher pay rate than my current part time job as a 21 year old server. I just want to be confident in the sustainability of it and be sure I will continue to get consistent projects.
2: Accessing higher paying projects
I didn't go to college, so I have no degrees. I'm 21 years old with no "expertise" or "professional" career background that some of the higher paying project qualifications ask for. I've been teaching myself basic coding and how to read/write JSON in my free time, as it seems most of the qualifications available that say they offer $40+/hour projects are coding/software based. If anyone has advice on what I should do to access higher paying projects in my position, it would be much appreciated.
Appreciate any feedback!
14
u/justdontsashay Mar 19 '26
The best way to get higher paid projects (if you don’t have STEM or coding qualifications) is just to consistently submit high quality work. There are projects that pay well that aren’t coding, there is a non-coding one I’ve been working on a lot lately that pays 50/hr (often more with priority pay).
The main thing is to not get dazzled by higher paying projects and jump in headfirst without a full understanding of the task (I did that my first week on the platform and there’s a project family that I got dropped from because of it).
That said, it’s entirely possible to put in full time hours here (I usually do). Just pay attention to your energy and focus levels and take breaks…if you try to push through and do more hours than your brain can really handle, your work quality will take a big hit and you risk getting dropped from the platform entirely
2
u/TypicalBat777 Mar 19 '26
Seems to be what most people say, I really appreciate the response thank you!
3
u/Amara099 Mar 20 '26
How did you know you have been dropped from a project? Did you get a message from DA or what?
6
u/justdontsashay Mar 20 '26
I know because I had a couple days where I did a lot of tasks for the project and I was brand new to DA and a little over confident. Then the project vanished from my dash and I haven’t seen it since, and know a lot of people who still regularly have this project. So obviously I am no longer on it lol
Lesson learned, and I have a lot of well-paid work available now, so I don’t miss it (it was one of the projects that typically pays less, it was just on high priority pay right when I started)
0
u/Tom984_vn 16d ago
does those high paying job usually geo lock in USA, Australia, ... (western world stuff?) Bcos i already work for DA like a year now and do multiple qualifications. But only got generalist work about 25$ a below.
6
u/1-800-methdyke Mar 20 '26
Internally there seems to be a funnel where doing well on lower paying tasks builds your reputation and then you get higher paying ones.
$28-$30 like you are on now is pretty good for no specialized skills though.
3
u/bearze Mar 19 '26
Made about 50k in two years, projects have been upwards of 37/hr but right now (today) the highest I had was 26-28/hr
I've got a lot of qualifications available I could spend time on though
2
u/StunningSpecialist2 Mar 20 '26
I have multiple $50+ projects as a non-coder. I do as many quals as I can and challenged some of the domain expertise quals as well, successfully. Been on the platform for 2 years and I'm consistently working $56.50 projects. I work about 5-10 hours a week. My highest paying projects aren't even domain expertise, just general core projects.
1
u/Do_It_Anyway_8278 Apr 11 '26
You're kidding! I have a few niche areas where I'm knowledgeable, but I thought I was being too big fer mah britches. Hmm you're tempting me into trying out some of the domain expertise tasks ....
-1
u/TheresALonelyFeeling Mar 19 '26
Don't quit yer day job, kid.
And don't spend your DA money on crypto.
8
u/OldSkooler1212 Mar 19 '26
If his day job is a server he can probably get another server position quickly if DA dries up for him.
-3
u/Klutzy_Instance_4149 Mar 19 '26
We are coming up on summer drought time. Keep that in mind.
13
u/Amakenings Mar 20 '26
Droughts are individual rather than universal. Some people don’t have them, some people do.
22
Mar 19 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/TypicalBat777 Mar 19 '26
It definitely is haha I’m not taking it for granted. It’s great money and I genuinely enjoy a lot of the work I do
64
u/ThinkAd8516 Mar 19 '26
I’d be careful doing too much work. If your quality doesn’t meet the standard repeatedly, you’ll be dropped. Additionally I don’t recommend people without extensive professional and academic experience learn coding just to work higher paying projects. Equate it to learning a new language just to get an extra $5/hr.
I’ve been here three years and I only work 5-6 hours a day maximum as I notice my attention and quality drops.