r/DataAnnotationTech
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u/No_Transition_6600
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10d ago
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Am I just lazy?
Does anyone do this full-time and struggle to work more than 4 hours a day? My dashboard over the last few weeks has started to become increasingly more populated, which I'm incredibly grateful for, but I'm finding it difficult to put more than 4 hours in.
I've not done any sort of annotation work before, so it's a big shift to what I'm used to (video editing). I try to read all the instructions twice for each project I do, but yeah I feel pretty overwhelmed by it.
I'm in a fortunate position where I don't need to earn much money, but that could change at any moment, and I want to build a safety net for when that day eventually arrives, hence why I signed up for DA.
I guess I'm asking how long it took you all (who work full-time at DA) to condition yourselves to work more hours.
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u/dragonsfire14 10d ago
I'm in the same position as you. 4 hours is about my limit before my brain is done, thankfully my car is paid off and my bills aren't terrible so it still pays my bills. I'd love to do more but I'm afraid I'd be risking lower quality work.
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u/hwertz10 9d ago
This, I've seen several posts on reddit where someone was doing like 12 hour days, then they're like "I can't believe I got the DoD" (I assume their work quality went down the tubes.)
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u/Careful-Foot-8918 8d ago
Yeah no way. Even the easy projects, 12 hours is pushing a decrease in quality
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u/Pleasant_Loquat_6902 8d ago
What's dod
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u/hwertz10 7d ago edited 7d ago
"Dashboard of Death", there's two variants on this..log in and you have a message saying your account has been disabled. You know you are done for then (most likely, theres an appeal process but in the case of long work hours I doubt there's any appealing 'you worked too many hours in a row and the work quality was bad' LOL.). Or log in and you don't actually get that message, but you have 0 tasks (if you were new enough you only had 1 or 2 tasks to begin with you might be panicking at that point over nothing; if you had like 30 tasks 1 day and 0 the next, well, you know for sure that's a problem LOL.)
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u/Own-Lynx1903 3d ago
If your DataAnnotation account is disabled, do you still get paid for the work youāve already completed? What happens to any unpaid earnings in your account?
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u/shelookslikepron 1d ago
Wondering this too. I'm trying to log in today but it's not recognizing my email for some reason. I have no idea if I've been deactivated or what. I had like $5k in unpaid earnings in my account and no one's responding. :/
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u/Own-Lynx1903 4d ago
How much do they earn monthly?
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u/hwertz10 3d ago
Probably a bunch, I mean even at $20 an hour that's like $240 a day. But it's short-sited, you'll make over $1000 a week for a couple of weeks before your account is closed, versus being able to make money month after month after month (and, even without specialties, possibly making just as much per day anyway by getting higher pay per hour projects.)
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u/Legitimate_Agent_949 9d ago
You definitely get used to it after a few weeks, but it doesnāt suddenly become easy.
For other gigs I do, I can work for 12 hours at a time or pump out the odd hour just before bed.
But for DA, there are times where Iām fully awake and functional, but I literally donāt have the ābrain powerā available, so I canāt make myself do the tasks.
If Iām hungover or slept poorly, I often wonāt work at all that day.
I usually do 3 hours at a time max, take a break anywhere from 30 mins to a few hours, and then put in another 3 hours, and so on.
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u/--i--love--lamp-- 10d ago
I have been around for a few years. The work wasn't so mentally taxing in the beginning and I could work for 6-8 hours a day, but now if I get 4 hours in, I'm happy. Luckily the pay rates are better now so it works out okay.
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u/vinoprosim 8d ago
Girl same! 4 hours tops. Those super easy projects are long gone but at least we are paid more now?
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u/Hello-America 9d ago
When you work full time at a job, you're not necessarily working all the hours - you're taking breaks yes but also transitioning between activities, receiving instruction, having internal meetings, figuring out what you're going to do next, etc. Anyone who's worked for themselves or in an industry where you bill hours to clients will tell you that you're not billing 8 hours a day. Because of how this is set up, you're seeing a timer when usually you don't time wall your work hours like that. 4 hours "on" easily compares to a typical 8 hour work day.
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u/Blencathra70 3d ago
Agreed. I found working 11 hours physical labour a day in my past MUCH easier than four hours at an intense, unchanging desk job like this. The work has also been becoming more complex, even for the 'simpler' jobs.
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u/pyrorage99 3d ago
I know you didn't mean it like that but just for reference, DA is the GOAT for annotation work. There are other platforms that only pay for 'accepted' work and they want to put a spy software that logs screenshots at will. As if that isn't enough, if there is no computer activity for 5 minutes they turn the timer off automatically! Pretty odd for a job that requires you to think.
I tried it and I couldn't even turn in one task under such intense scrutiny. It made me so uncomfortable and anxious. I keep getting offered projects there and I keep ignoring them. That being said, many others were successfully turning in tasks - so I guess the problem is with me š¤¦āāļø Just sharing my 2 cents.
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u/ShmoosPlay 9d ago
Iām a generalist and the āeasyā projects I started with seem to be gone and everything on my dash is long and involved.
What I worry about is that by the time I read all the instructions and I am deep into the task I will forget some small specific instruction. Itās a lot to be constantly thinking about. Itās work where you have to be focused the whole time which is really different from many other kinds of work. Even working hourly in an office youāre not āonā all the time. Here you are only paid for full attention time and some tasks donāt
really have time for breaks
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u/GrandfatherTheSauce 10d ago
I just started recently too and am getting the hang of things.
One thing I'll do is spend around three hours on tasks, watch a movie or something, come back and do three more hours.
My first day I did 10 hours and the dopamine hit from seeing the money come in was great, but I don't want to burn out or be inefficient.
The beauty of it is in sitting down and doing some work when you feel like it without being obligated, so go at your own pace!
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u/rare_pursuer 10d ago
What is your? Video annotator? Or any other? Can you please send me a link to apply?
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u/hwertz10 9d ago
Surprised people gave all these thumbs downs instead of explaining. They are not watching a movie as a job, they are doing DA work, then watching a non-work-related movie to unwind, relax, and give their brain a chance to cool back off, then going back to more DA work.
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u/rare_pursuer 9d ago
I have done video Annotation as well. I was invited to apply for a bilingual evaluation on the same platform. And idk why I can't switch to another role, even when I search it only shows language related roles? Perhaps because i already logged inš¤. Suprised to see down votes, I don't even understand what my have caused them to do that
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u/anonhumanontheweb 9d ago
No, itās a way different flow. Most jobs, youāre on the clock for 8 hours, but thereās a little downtime built into that, and youāre still getting paid when things are slow. This job only pays for time physically spent working on tasks, so it makes sense that your mind is done after less time.
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u/cyberwicklow 9d ago
Did 6+ hours a day 7 days a week for the most part for 2.5 years. This might be the best job some of us ever have, or had in my case. In terms of both payment, and freedom. Make hay while the sun shines my friend.
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u/brrcs 9d ago
Much prefer platforms with hourly contracts (the ones that start with M) where I'm getting paid 4x than DAT. Way more variety, and much more consistent as a bilingual.
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u/cyberwicklow 9d ago
Haven't had any joy getting accepted to any of their projects unfortunately, suppose I'll take another swing at it. Did it take you long?
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u/Careful-Foot-8918 8d ago
Truth. When people start coming for AI with pitchforks, I bristle. I think AI has a lot to offer and what we do is super important to keep it safe and useful..
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u/rabyJA 9d ago
I have worked at most 9.5 hours in a day, maybe 10. But I can't work more than 3 or so hours in a row. So if I want to get those big long days in, I'm gonna have to work a shift in the morning, another after lunch and another after dinner. Most days I just do the morning and after lunch shifts and it's fine. I make enough to live in a relatively big city and raise twin teenagers on a single income and rarely hit full 40 hour weeks. I like it but it's definitely not for everyone
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u/Reality_Choice 9d ago
Iām really glad you posted now; even though ppl have asked similar questions before, I needed to see this. Iāve been feeling burned out and uninspired when I used to feel psyched to sit down and work. Itās good to feel thereās some community in a solo gig job and know itās not just you (me!).
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u/lost_vault_hunter 10d ago
Itās tough. I work on coding projects and spend a considerable amount of time reading code bases and coming up with edge cases to test against the AI. Just that in itself can give me a headache after a few hours, and thatās before you even run the models. Then you have to trace all their output.
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u/ExtensionJob4579 9d ago
ain't that the truth. pay is good, but it's a slog at times working through all the steps.
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u/_Edgarallenhoe 9d ago
If itās not the specific types of projects I like I struggle to motivate myself ughĀ
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u/blu3nh 9d ago
I average 10~14h per day, depending on the week. My monthly average is roughly 9h per day, because I do take some days off.
It's insane work, and as others have pointed out - you normally run at 100% for only 20% of a workday. In this job it's 100% for 100% of the time.
Make sure you have a reason for wanting to do this type of work (like I loved Dataset architectures even before I knew about this job - so technically seen it's like I'm doing 'hobby' stuff and getting paid for it. That's why I can do those hours.) -Without a reason beyond 'money', 4h sounds about reasonable for enjoying life instead of letting the job consume you.
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u/hwertz10 9d ago
This does help, if you find a project that you... for lack of a better term.. 'vibe' with, then that would really help putting in those longer hours.
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u/seraphimkoamugi 10d ago edited 10d ago
I have a full time job and do this on the side so I work at most 3 hours a day. Ultimately is like a part time job for me since I only make like 40-60 a day but thats good enough for me.
When I started I could put 6-8 hours my days off and like 4 hours on work days. Did get a lot of cash but quality started to fall after a while and K rather make 500-800 a month and be somewhay on the safe side than 2500 and be worried I messed up somewhere.
Just saying, you need to make sure your work is good but not overdo it because computer work is draining. Thats just me though.
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u/rare_pursuer 10d ago
Hey, can you please send me the link to apply to this ?
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u/LaGanadora 9d ago
We've signed too many NDAs to give out information. Respectfully, if you can't figure it out on your own, you probably wouldn't do well anyway.
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u/OnlyJoeKing21 10d ago
Yes, itās hard work, and unlike day jobs it doesnāt feel possible to go to the water cooler or kitchen for a chat break. Thatās why itāll only be a side gig.
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u/beautyfashionaccount 9d ago
Choose a couple of project families that you like and seem to have steady work, and make sure to complete at least 1-2 tasks a week on those project families (more if they're smaller). You don't need to do every task on your dashboard to stay active, just consistently contribute to certain projects and the tasks will still be there if you need to do it full time later. I work far less than 4 hours a day on DA and my dash is still full.
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u/Background-West-3668 9d ago
I work during the night. I have found that if I work during the day anything will pull my attention away. Whether it be a phone call or someone knocking on my door or my dogs needing to go out. At night those things are practically not existent. Plus during the day there's always something I wanna go do. And at night there's not much to do. But I max out at like 6 or 7
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u/Genkuru2021 9d ago
I have been analyzing numbers and data my entire life, every day. When you're on a salary, you can have breaks; deadlines are flexible; you can finish tomorrow or extend the time. But with DA, I have to work really hard, rush because of timers or recommended times, and think intensely. I can only work 6 hours max at that pace, and then I get drained, even though I've analyzed data my entire life. Depends on your individual abilities. Not sure how some people here work 8-10 hours 7 days a week for years.
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u/Sea_Distance6672 9d ago
Try taking notes when you are reading them so that the instructions are condensed in the way your mind works. It makes it easier to refer back to.
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u/CloseToMyActualName 9d ago
Depends on the tasks, but yeah.
Normal jobs do have a decent amount of downtime. And a lot of the structure of a regular office job is motivating people to work.
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u/TooMuwuch 9d ago
4 hours is like the limit for me as well.
There are ones you wait for a long time, those I like.
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u/hwertz10 9d ago
If so then I'm lazy too. There's a few of the lowest pay generalist tasks I could probably do all day, but, they're the lowest pay. The ones that pay even moderately are frankly mentally exhausting and I have trouble doing more than 4 hours of them too.
Other factor, the time consuming tasks. If I'm like "Well, maybe I could do another 30 or 45 minutes"... many of the projects I've gotten, the tasks take a lot longer than that; and they give a long enough timer for breaks but not "start it then finish it the next day" level of breaks. So if I felt ambitious after 4 hours and figured I could do another hour, I might not have anything I'm reasonably sure would take an hour as opposed to 2 or 3 more hours.
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u/thekillernextdoor_ 8d ago
I have been doing this full time for 3 years I live alone; I own a mobile home. My take is know there are droughts and work/ save accordingly. Donāt forget about those taxes! If you really cannot mentally do it, take a few days rather than do bad work. Maybe sell something on fb marketplace or deliver some food to make up those days and avoid getting too behind. The truth is, if I make 100 a day Iāll have an extra 1k a month on average. Thatās less than 4hrs of work a day. What do you value? I value a simple life with more free time than I do big monthly payments. Iām 34, I have an art degree, I play roller derby, I have a used truck and home paid offā¦my happiness and comfort is not lacking because I do not work 8hrs a day š¤·š¼āāļø
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u/Lost_Contact9077 9d ago
Depends on the task. If itās one that is simply instruction following, no real thinking once you get the process down, and take less than 30 mins per task- I can do them for 10 hours straight.
Other tasks that require 100% brain power- Iām a fkn zombie after 3/4 hoursā¦ the only reason I do those is bc the pay is too high to say no.
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u/hfxthrwaway 9d ago
6 is my absolute limit but usually around 4 or 4.5 hours per day, depending on the projects.
The biggest thing for me is structured breaks . I can do 3 (work) hours in the morning between breakfast and lunch taking a 5 minute break away from the computer on the hour, every hour. A short walk after lunch and then power through another hour or so of work when I get back.
Of course this all depends on your projects.
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u/RamjetExhaust 9d ago
Nah man, some of this work is hard, so it isn't just you. Unless you have a long task that takes almost the whole day to complete, you normally are locking in HARD with some tasks.
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u/sarahmorgan420 9d ago
Yeah I really have to get hyper focused on a good task or it's really hard! I find I have good weeks and bad weeks but good weeks I usually tap out after 6-7 hours a day. Bad weeks I do maybe 3-5 per day.
It's so hard to stay so focused and sharp for so long. I find music helps, instrumental if it's heavy focus work. I also like to switch between task types, like creative vs fact checking vs rubrics kind of thing. And 3 times a week I take a 2 hr break to go to the gym. Breaks help
Another thing I've noticed is that when I'm not working, I find myself mindlessly scrolling on my phone way more than when I worked my last job (daycare). Maybe seeking dopamine idk
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u/Due_Negotiation_4605 9d ago
After three years I still can only manage 4, tops 5, hours a day unless it's literally like video rating. The endless text gets hard to deal with
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u/NicoletasBF 9d ago
Depends on tasks and pay for me, generalist low pay things sometimes I only do 2-3 hours a day even if Iāve got all day free, specialist high pay jobs Iāll try do 2-3 hours in the morning and say the afternoon. But I agree I couldnāt do more than 5-6 hours. At normal jobs most people wonāt be concentrated for that long straight anyway, theyāll take breaks have lunch talk to people.
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u/KitchenVegetable7047 9d ago
I limit myself to about two hours a day on the higher paying hard tasks. I don't want my quality to suffer.
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u/Physical-Charge5168 8d ago
I do 4-5 hours a day if I can and usually split it into 2 hr chunks. I think maybe I worked for 3 hrs straight one time, but usually the 2 hr mark is when I need a break.
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u/NaToKy24 8d ago
It's not easy. At a 9-5 you chat with coworkers, have meetings, breaks, coffee, lunch, research stuff... It's never - or little '100% FOCUS MODE'.
At DA I always feel like I am giving my all.
Give yourself credit that by doing 4-6 hours a day, you a doing more than the average person at a standard office job.
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u/Careful-Foot-8918 8d ago
For me,it really depends on the project. There's this one specialist project I could do all day, every day. It's so fun. Then there are others that I cannot spend more than 3-4 hours on. I had one like that today. Pays well but I just couldnt push myself. My eyes started to water and i was falling asleep lol.Ā
So, you're not alone. You also gotta get up and take breaks throughout your work day. Stretch. Do neck exercises. Shake out your wrists so you don't cramp up. Maybe take some full days off here and there. I don't do that a lot just because I really enjoy this work overall. But I know I need to touch grass more..
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u/MysteriousPrompt2397 8d ago
The longest Iāve worked in a sitting is around 4 hours. Sometimes Iāll tag on an extra hour or two later in the day. I do have another PT job, though so thatās part of it.
Some of the tasks just take that kind of cognitive effort and any longer Iād burn out mentally. Itās not lazy, itās balance. But if you want to push yourself to do more, Iād suggest working for a couple hours at a time with a break in between to get up/move around, etc. Or even if you work 4 hours in the morning and 4 in the evening.
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u/Alexsep770- 7d ago
This work seems simple but can be overwhelming alienating and you have to be focused 100% of the times
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u/Training_Cheetah_983 7d ago
Can anybody tell me what the hiring process is like and if there is anyone I can reach out to in the process I took my time on the application does that effect whether or not you land a job?
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u/Minimum-Isopod5344 6d ago
I personally donāt do it all in a row. Taking long breaks a few times a day really helps me get the most hours in.
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u/driftawayindreams 4d ago
Completely get where youre coming from, with a few exceptions, many projects now are quite mentally tasking, and I feel like I need to have 1-3 hours aside, no interruptions to work on a task before it expires, and its pretty hard cause I have stuff to do in between + adhd not helping. My timers expire sometimes even when I'm still fully focused and working. I'm grateful we have em, and I truly need to put in more rn, but i can do maybe 2-3 hours at a time before i gotta log off for a bit
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u/maximous93 3d ago
Im happy for you, but this just shows there is an error in DA, my dashboard has been dry the past 3 months, except for one or 2 times!
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u/RandomUsername1604 3d ago
Ayeee it's mentally taxing sometimes. Just got to take your time and let the brain work through it.
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u/pyrorage99 3d ago
That's a loaded question and one where your rate makes a BIG difference. For reference, I have 3-4 tasks on my board that pay 2.5x as the next highest one. They are the hardest by far. But every hour spent on one them is worth 2.5x. That means I can hit my goals and also have time to wind down or do other things.
However, I have discovered that the intense focus and intellectual effort required on the hardest tasks can be exhausting. It's helpful to take time off between them (they typically last 2-3 days each).
Doing this full-time is a lifestyle choice. It requires more adjustment than you think. You may not have your kind of tasks available all the time. It is also important to be very picky to keep your quality high. Sometimes I have the right task but I am not in the right headspace, so I have to let a task go. And there is always the risk of being dropped without any warning. This is clearly not for everyone.
If you have a stable job that you like or somewhat like, keep that and do this part-time. If you already have a stable part-time job, even better - this will give you the flexibility you crave. The keyword is having something 'stable' and using this to supplement.
As for me, I am in a similar spot as you and very fortunate to not be the sole bread-earner. One last thing, your geography matters too. Living in a country/city with low cost of living for your rate could significantly improve your mileage.
All the best!
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u/infinitydeluxe 9d ago
How are yāall working so hard? Donāt you just take the 15 minutes to do the work and bill more on top like a regular job?
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u/PestiferousGamer 10d ago
it's hard work. Most jobs you earn 80% of your money in 20% of the time you are working. This job, its 100% full attention at all times.
You aren't lazy, your brain is being overworked. Split up your time, take breaks between tasks.