You’ve likely heard the buzz around this new website or AI training opportunity since you’ve found your way here. I’ve heard it too, over and over. So much so, that I had to see what the buzz was about for myself. Is data annotation a scam or a great paying side hustle?!

I’m Holly, a stay at home mom to 2 from Canada. I’m trying out as many side hustles as I can for my fellow moms or stay at home parents out there! I am trying to help you decide what is and isn’t worth your time. Let’s dive into data annotation.

What is Data Annotation?

Data annotation is like adding labels or tags to data, making it understandable for computers. It helps machine learning systems by providing labeled examples, allowing them to learn and make predictions or classifications. For example, if you’re teaching a computer to recognize cats in pictures, data annotation involves tagging images with labels like “cat” to help the computer learn what a cat looks like.

Annotated data serves as a training set, allowing algorithms to learn patterns and make predictions or classifications. This is really important in our ever growing digital world.

Common types of data annotation include:

1. Image Annotation: Labeling objects or regions within images, such as bounding boxes around objects, semantic segmentation masks, or keypoint annotations.
2. Text Annotation: Labeling specific entities or sentiments within text data, commonly used for natural language processing (NLP) tasks like named entity recognition or sentiment analysis.
3. Video Annotation: Labeling objects or actions within video frames, often used for training models in video analysis or surveillance.
4. Audio Annotation: Labeling specific sound events or segments within audio data, applicable to tasks like speech recognition or sound event detection.
5. Geospatial Annotation: Labeling geographic data, such as annotating satellite images or maps for applications like autonomous vehicles or GIS (Geographic Information System).
6. Time Series Annotation: Labeling data points or segments in time-ordered sequences, useful for applications like predicting stock prices or analyzing sensor data.

DataAnnotation.Tech has exploded in popularity – why?

There are a few websites you can used to do data annotation. For now, we’ll focus on datannotation.tech. I first heard about this website on TikTok (surprise, surprise), where a mom was trying it out as part of her side hustles. She explained that the website was paying $20USD/hour and it was completely flexible around her schedule. As someone who was a complete beginner with side hustles, this one sounded like a dream! It was great pay, and could be done whenever I have time which is exactly what I was looking for.

Apparently MANY others were thinking along the same lines because it created a huge bottle neck on the website since so many people were applying at once. To be accepted on the platform takes weeks or months in some cases. Back in October, it was only about a two week wait.

What is the application process like on DataAnnotation.Tech?

I have to talk relatively vaguely about this because I did sign a non disclosure agreement when I signed on with the website. I can tell you that it was no joke. Initially, you create an account and complete a starter assessment. The starter assessment was definitely harder than I thought it was going to be.

The website is trying to assess whether or not you can read and follow instructions, if you are detail oriented, and if you have good grammar skills. After completing the initial assessment, I was immediately given the opportunity to complete another assessment test. This one had me SWEATING.

It was noted that it should have taken about 45 minutes to complete the assessment. One and a half hours later I was still working on it. I’m not sure if I was overthinking things too much, but I really took my time and read the instructions carefully on each question. It required a lot of concentration and a keen eye for detail. This is not an assessment you can complete while hanging out, watching TV.

It was fun to do at parts and it did require me to brush up on my writing skills that I hadn’t used in a while. I will confess: I did start to rush near the end because I was getting tired of being so hyper aware of every question. I felt like I was trying to be tricked and I was on high alert to ensure I wasn’t missing anything.

Even now, I go back and think about what I answered and if I would answer it any differently now. It’s driving me a little crazy to not know whether or not I passed, but I guess I’ll need to be more patient.

I’ve applied….now what?

Now, we wait. My husband and I both applied the week of January 8 (2024) and as of February 17 (2024) we still have yet to hear back on whether either of us have passed. I had heard stories online of people waiting a while to hear back but I really didn’t think it would ever take this long. I began to suspect that I hadn’t passed and they just don’t let you know, but that’s not the case. So, if you’re in the same boat, don’t stress! It is taking a looooong time to find out either way.

When I log into my account, I can see that my assessments are being reviewed and they will email me if I pass. So, I guess we wait!

Why Are There So Many Scam Allegations?

Initially, when I was checking out DataAnnotation.tech, I was worried it was a scam. If you check into any Reddit group, you’ll hear shouts and allegations of the sort. Many from folks who have completed the assessment but haven’t heard back. I think this either means they were not accepted into the program or it is taking a very long time to review their file (as in my case).

The other scam allegations you’re sure to run into is from folks who were onboarded and accepted, but who don’t have any or many tasks to complete. While I can’t comment on how true that may be, I can say that it appears to depend on your skill set and abilities.

According to their website, “high-quality performance will result in more projects being opened to you”. If you have what they consider solid work abilities, you’ll get more work than others who are deemed less proficient.

 

Based on these few issues some folks are having, I would say that DataAnnotation.Tech is definitely not a scam. I’ve heard from many people who have had good success on the platform. One of which is Tessa, the Canadian TikTok mama of “letsseewhaticanmake” who got me started on DataAnnotation.tech. I had no idea what it was before she talked about it. She has been on the platform for a few months now and from December 2nd – December 28th she made $616.90USD! Not bad for a few hours of work each week!

What sorts of projects are available?

While I can’t comment on what projects are available on the platform yet, (I hope to be able to update you soon), Tessa notes that she mainly looks for two types of projects:

1. Writing a prompt/question. She receives 2 AI responses back, then she answers a few evaluating questions about each response and choose which response she thinks is best and why.
2. Reading a prompt/questions that somebody else has written. She reads 2 AI responses, then answers the questions about each and chooses which is best and why.

You help train AI chatbots and DataAnnotation.Tech notes that they have a few types of work available in this field. “There are a variety of projects on the platform: some will require you to interact with a chatbot, others will involve writing and editing, and still others are coding-based tasks” – DataAnnotation.Tech.

How much can I make doing data annotation?

It differs between websites and projects. Talking specifically about dataannotation.tech, there are plenty of people making between $400-$500/ week. It does depend on the projects available, though. Also, it would depend on how much time you are willing to trade to make some cash. 

Is Dataannotation.tech my only option for data annotation?

Absolutely not, they are just the best paying website I’ve found so far.

Remotasks

Remotasks also offers data annotation opportunities. I did try Remotasks for a while and absolutely did not have results like Tessa. You can read about my in depth experience with Remotasks here. Their website offers lots of opportunities for training, but I unfortunately did not have much luck in striking it rich.

I did just go back and notice something jarring on their website. The FAQ page was there but was non existent when clicked on. Also, the math is not mathing for me. On their homepage, they claim they have a community of over 240,000 taskers and so far they have earned 15million. So…. if we divide that out, we are looking at on average, $62.50 per person. Some make more, some make way less (like in my case). This makes my .14 PayPal deposit make sense. Again, if you have no idea what I’m referencing, read here.

Because of those things, I feel compelled not to recommend Remotasks. I’d love for someone to prove me wrong on that, but I don’t want you wasting precious time like I did. I did feel I needed to mention it because it will pop up when you search for data annotation jobs and I see people recommending it all the time.

Telus International

Another option that I’d really like to try in the future is with Telus International. They offer a lot of opportunities in training AI. Their main categories are:

• data annotation
• data enrichment
• online rating jobs
• online maps & data analysis

The money range is quite wide here. The lowest I’ve seen while checking through the job postings start at 12.50 USD/hour (that’s $16.87/hour for us Canadian folk!). The roles are mostly freelance with a super flexible schedule and ability to set your own hours whenever you want. This is not applicable for all positions, but most of the jobs I checked out. Check out the Telus International job list here.

Are you considering data annotation as a side hustle?

If so, I would definitely recommend signing up for DataAnnotation.Tech first and working your way from there. Be sure to set aside a fair chunk of time for the assessments. You’ll need to focus and be clear and concise with your answers. It could be a few months to hear whether or not you are accepted.

While you wait you could try some other data annotation websites like Remotasks and Telus International. I would recommend trying Telus over Remotasks initially, but if anyone has had a more positive experience with Remotasks, I’d love to hear it! I might be willing to try again if there was hope at the end of the onboarding tunnel.

There is definite money to be made with data annotation! You just need to trade a bit of your time to make it.

I’d love to hear if you’ve had any luck with data annotation and what your experiences have been. Are you killing it or are you feeling like it’s a waste of your time?