Amazon Mechanical Turk
Amazon's microtask marketplace where workers complete small online tasks for requesters worldwide.
Amazon Mechanical Turk is one of the oldest crowdsourcing platforms. Requesters post Human Intelligence Tasks (HITs) such as surveys, image tagging, transcription and data validation. Workers, called Turkers, complete these tasks for small payments, typically ranging from a few cents to a few dollars per HIT.
How MTurk works for workers
Workers register with an Amazon account and, in most countries, provide tax information. HITs are listed in a dashboard with reward amount, estimated time and requester rating. Workers accept a HIT, complete the task and submit for review. Requesters can approve or reject the work; approved HITs pay to your Amazon Payments account.
Realistic earnings and strategy
Most HITs pay under $1 and take 5–15 minutes. Efficient Turkers use browser scripts and qualifications to access higher-paying batches. Realistic earnings are $3–$8 per hour for casual work, with experienced workers reaching $10–$15 during high-volume survey periods. MTurk is best treated as supplemental income, not a primary wage.
Tips for getting hired on Amazon Mechanical Turk
- Install a HIT catcher script to grab high-paying batches before they disappear
- Check requester ratings on Turkopticon before accepting a HIT
- Focus on qualification tests to unlock better-paying restricted HITs
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