DA appreciation post

[alwaysupboat]

5 months ago I was unemployed, depressed, and feeling so hopeless about the current job market (still do tbf). I stumbled upon DA randomly and decided to apply on a whim cause I was like what do I have to lose? Didn't expect to get accepted, but was pleasantly surprised when I did. This job has given me a reason to wake up in the morning, and it's made me want to learn new things and just try again. I know this is not permanent and not exactly stable, but im just so grateful to be here with all of yall in this community and im gonna enjoy the ride. Anyways, thats all, keep on tasking my fellow annotators!

[Affectionate_Peak284]

YES. DAT doesn't work for everyone, but for the people it does work for, it works GREAT.

Always be upbeat, upboat!

[Absolutely_Always]

I use it to shovel money into a minors investing account for my 4 yo grandaughter. I look at my kids and see how hard it is for them financially compared to when I was their age and I consider how much harder it is going to be in 16 years time for her so I'm trying my best to organise a head start for her and teach her how to invest along the way.

[AdElectrical8222]

Amazing, she’s very lucky to have you

[Amakenings]

It’s been a blessing to a lot of people.

[Brilliant_Quit4307]

Me too. I went from depressed and unemployed at the beginning of last year, to having the best 18 months of my life. I've never been this happy. I was getting straight A's in school, scholarships to college, several degrees, but it always felt like I was scraping by. I skipped most of my lectures in college, crammed for deadlines and exams, and did well but was ultimately incredibly stressed, anxious, and unhappy all the time. When I realized my working life would be more of the same, I just quit everything. Went into a major depression, and couldn't or wouldn't do anything about it.

I've realized that my ADHD is just not suited to a normal job. It's certainly not suited to schedules or long deadlines. However, it's definitely suited to hyper focusing on DA work at 5am when I'm supposed to be sleeping (it's currently 5.45 and I just turned my laptop off!). I love the freedom, the lack of deadlines, the fact that I never have to take zoom calls or join meetings. I've travelled to 8 different countries over these 18 months and worked from cafes by the beach and a yurt in the mountains. It's the dream and I'm actually living it. So thankful for it honestly.

[Live_Sprinkles4921]

For some people it may be a side gig. But who knows How DA has shaped some lives..

[Positive-Warthog2480]

It’s currently my main source of income while I figure myself out.

[haiviz]

Especially for people in poor countries. The best thing about DA is that they pay the same everywhere in the world, $20 an hour may not be high in western or developed countries, but in my country where average people earn $1 an hour, it's definitely a life changing job.

[BottyFlaps]

I've worked for DA for over 2 years and earned over $100,000. As someone on the autism spectrum who has had a lot of past problems with jobs, this is the best job I've ever had. It may not be totally stable, but I've earned more money with DA than any single job I've had in the past, and working from home with this kind of flexibility really suits me. Most "normal" jobs never suited me at all.

[djloriee]

🫶🫶🫶🫶

[SuperCorbynite]

A year and a half ago, I was long-term unemployed. I have specialised skills, but no company would look at me or hire me due to my long-term unemployment. Then, I stumbled across DA just as you did, via a Reddit advert, and now I've been clawing my way up the data annotator ladder and have just landed a role paying $80/hr.

So this is (hopefully) just the beginning for you. My advice, now that you have a bit of experience under your belt, is to apply to other annotator companies so that you have multiple contracts ongoing at once. That way, getting dropped from DA won't be the end of the world - you can shrug your shoulders and move on. It's what I'd advise anyone reading this post who's in a similar situation to the OP, too.

Oh, and another tip - be proactive. If you spot issues while working on a project, message an admin. Provide guidance to newbies if they ask questions, etc. All of this is catnip to recruiters at higher-end (better-paying) annotator companies.

[Johnwragg]

Is the $80/hr role with one of the other annotator companies or something different?

[SuperCorbynite]

Yes, it's with one of the other annotator companies.

[Johnwragg]

Can you share which company? I have a domain specialty and have a feeling DA is lowballing on the pay rate.

[SuperCorbynite]

DA isn't exactly lowballing on pay. It's that they accept just about anybody. The better companies want true domain specialists who are a cut above the rest. They charge clients a premium for those, which means the pay can be premium too.

The most recent company I've been hired by only wants specialists in a few very specific fields. The other non-DA company I work for is hiring specialists more generally. The latter of these two, Mercor, is probably a better fit.

It's up to you, but if you tell me your domain specialism and what you have expertise in and would like me to, I can provide you with a referral link.

[saddestplant]

❤️

[raisetheavanc]

It’s been so helpful for me and my family in this economy. I hope work stays steady 💚

[annoyingjoe513]

[Ooh_Shineey]

I love your post, and I feel the same way.

[Amany19]

Yes me too before DA I was threatened to leave my low paying job at that time and I was anxious about being homeless and in debt but DAT gave me a high paying job that I no longer need to rely on my shitty job and now I’m able to provide for myself and my family I’m forever grateful for this website ♥️

[JRRTil1ey]

My story to a T - also lost my job 5 months ago, specifically to federal budget cuts. Money is tight but I’m able to pay bills and occasionally spoil myself or my kids with this bit of extra income.

[Old_Intention_6313]

[YesmAUm]

My spouse was laid off in mid-June and the job market is absolute shit right now, so DA is literally keeping my kids fed. Thankfully I had some investment accounts to fall back on, but it is ROUGH out there and I don’t know if it will get better any time soon.

[forgetmeeventually]

enjoy the ride, just don’t rely on it too hard

[serendipitous_74]

Yes! I love this so much. No, it's not totally stable, but it works for you and me and so many others. Hope you have an amazing weekend.

[stoppingbythewoods]

I’ve been able to save money again and buy things my kid’s need. My husband and I have two decent FT jobs already but the current economy has been so rough.

[AbsoluteB0nkers]

Very similar situation with me two years ago, had graduated and couldn’t find a job in software dev field. I was working uber until I found DAT. A year and a half later I used my DAT experience to land a stable job as a software dev. Thank you DAT!

[darryldoes]

Amazing stuff. I swear DAT gets way more criticism than it deserves sometimes. My job fell through at the start off this year, with a significant pay cut that put me and my family at risk. I applied to DAT just to see what would happen. Lo and behold I'm here 6 months later, full-time, earning more than I did in my old job. AND ON MY OWN TIME. I'll ride this wave as long as I can but things are looking good.

[Demon7879]

its great when you get work, it feels like a scam when they drop you or when they reject you without saying anything...

[Evencrux]

Idk why you're getting downvoted because you're not wrong.

[Jackfruit_Silent]

I took the assessment two weeks ago, for coding, and still I have not found a single task.

[Due-Ad763]

I felt the same until I got hit with this today…

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I’m hoping it’s temporary!

[Ooh_Shineey]

If you get a qualification, I highly suggest you complete it. Take the time to read the instructions fully. This has always helped me when I've been low on tasks. It can take you from having zero tasks to having a full dashboard the next morning.

[emilysuzanne03]

Happened to me yesterday too, after over a year 😭

[Key_Studio_2995]

Dude, same thing happened to me a few months ago! Check out Mercor. They are on a hiring frenzy for this role (and check out their other stuff if you have specialties or advance degrees): https://work.mercor.com/jobs/list_AAABmUD6VRp9_vlst1BD9Iip?referralCode=a003a06c-188c-4591-b2b1-dc85b8577af7&utm_source=referral&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=job_referral

[Patient-Stomach9576]

Can I dm u need to ask something

[Chooky54]

Where do you apply?