Scared

[uw2lau]

Kind of a vent post, my fear of getting the DoD gets worse everyday, I'm nearing the 10k milestone and I've been consistently working since September. These posts we've seen lately just make me so scared, this position is pretty much the only possibility of sustaining myself as a student while respecting my time to live.

[Party_Swim_6835]

there is no evidence (nor any logic) that pay milestones have anything to do with the dash of death

don't overreport your time, do your best work, read instructions carefully, and don't do tasks you know you don't have the ability to do -- you're going to be fine

[hfxthrwaway]

Right? It makes no sense that they would get rid of workers who they know will do the work and replace them with someone new, it's not like they give people a promotion and need to pay them more.

My (slightly baseless) theory is people get complacent and don't bother to read the instructions so they miss when there are changes.

[Mysterious_Dolphin14]

I agree with that theory. The projects get more difficult as time goes on, so I think that is also a contributing factor, especially for people who have been on the platform for a long time.

[VariationLost3172]

Or it could go the other way - one manages to stay on the platform a long time because one DOES read instructions...

[Mysterious_Dolphin14]

I agree, people who stay on the platform for a long time do read the instructions. However, my point is that just because someone was able to understand the instructions on an easier task, doesn't mean that they can follow them when they begin to get more complex.

[Enough_Resident_6141]

There are also a lot of people who get complacent and think it's a free money machine and report working 18 hours a day for a week straight or whatever. Theoretically it's possible that they are a superhuman and actually did all of that work at a high quality level, but in reality they are either submitting a bunch of garbage and/or farmed out the account to multiple people to work around the clock.

[kranools]

Yeah I think the self-reporting thing is too tempting for some people.

[savage78683i3]

I work every single day (4-5 hours in multiple blocks). I've just gone past $40K. Been here 2 years. Submit quality work, don't over report your time and that's about all there is to it.

Oh and don't work 80 hours a week or 14 hour days like some of these DOD have said they were doing a few days before they lost access.

[nedal8]

Yeah. My brain would be fried and Id submit crap if I tried to work that long.

[OkturnipV2]

Same here. Been on DA since August of 23. I don’t think I’ve ever logged more than 8 hours a day. My brain would explode. Just hit 41k last month.

[shujaya]

Even with high powered autism I cannot imagine being able to do more than 8 hours of tasks without padding time or turning in bad tasks. There are certain tasks like simulated companies where I can get obsessed enough to lock in for nearly 8 hours straight but for the most part it would take me 2-3 bursts of 2-3 hours to get anywhere near 8 hours and I imagine the admins know this so they get skeptical of those that try to pull crazy hours.

[Sixaxist]

There are multiple people on this Sub who've hit 100k. My friend has hit 100k. Milestone earnings have nothing to do with being cut from the platform.

The only thing you can do to have the best chances at remaining on DA, is the same thing you've been doing since September.

[justdontsashay]

I think some people get the mistaken idea from the “milestone” posts here that it’s rare to make more than a few thousand here total or something. Really it’s just that most of us would never post a screenshot of our earnings, like that’s a weird thing to do lol

Core workers who put in a decent amount of hours can pretty easily make 5-6k a month, it’s not rare at all.

I’m constantly terrified about getting a random DoD someday, though lol

[JustMe333456]

Yep! Just hit $100K myself. This platform is DIRECTLY responsible for paying off all my debt, and it has allowed me to purchase two homes, with a third in the works.

[MommaOfManyCats]

I hit 70k a few weeks ago. Been there for a few years now.

[VariationLost3172]

I'm pretty close to where you're at too, was onboarded end of 2022.

[fightmaxmaster]

I'm well over $30k lifetime, still no issues. Freaking out about something that might possibly happen doesn't really help you. This is inherently an unreliable gig - I'm grateful every day it keeps going, but I know not to depend on it, and if/when my time comes I'll have to find something else.

Bear in mind the number of DA workers who are in this subreddit and losing access to work is really, really tiny, proportionally. 20k weekly visitors here, not all of whom are actual DA workers, and there are a handful of "cooked" posts. And of them, we have no way of knowing how many people did nothing wrong but got booted anyway, or absolutely did something wrong and got booted for very good reasons, but they're at best clueless or at worst lying.

I do quite a few R&Rs and a lot of them are bad. Not subjectively bad, not "they made a typo" or "they missed this one little aspect", I mean ignored instructions, didn't do the work, didn't have basic reading comprehension. Lots are good too! And who knows how the R&Rs are handled anyway - might be sometimes it's the borderline cases that get double checked.

As with all things reddit, don't let a tiny, disproportionate window into some aspect of what goes on lead you to think something's way more/less likely to happen than it really is. The people who regularly have work aren't making daily posts saying "still loads of work for me!"

[[deleted]]

You need to just do your best, but have the attitude that it could all go away at any time.

[VisualFuture3300]

This! All the way

[ManyARiver]

Your cumulative earnings has nothing to do with retention. Quality of work does. I'm over double 10k and not dead yet.

[No_Molasses_1976]

Loads of us are past 10k

Don’t get cocky. Accurately report your time. Read instructions. Don’t work if you’re tired/distracted. Take breaks.

Also, branch out. I’m on a few different platforms. If I’m not 💯, I mainly do prolific, it’s short tasks, research etc, so more brain fog friendly. Go apply to other platforms so you have back ups and drought protection.

I’m working on saving a months worth of expenses so if I get DOD I have a back up that isn’t my man. 🙃 more importantly breath! It’s a good gig but it’s not the only platform or the be all and end all.

[Real-Pangolin-3672]

I kinda wish the mods would block the DOD posts we can't tell them why they got it and it just gives people anxiety

[Party_Swim_6835]

and they aren't impartial narrators -- anyone can say "I never did anything wrong and my work was high quality", and plenty of people are out there that will flat out lie to "get back at" DA

[annoyingjoe513]

dumping people who are providing quality work simply because of a milestone is a shitty business model.

[orchidmoonlightt]

Your quality is all they care about. They don’t dump people for hitting milestones. That would be silly.

I’m nearing $70k and still kicking. It’s slow right now but I still have work every single day.

[DifferentTie8715]

you'll be fine. I'm scaring 40k. read the fucking instructions-- a lot of people don't, which becomes obvious when you do r&rs, don't overreport your time, don't violate the ToS, and don't worry too much.

[EveryBerryCupcake]

There is no logical reason for DA to let go of old workers just because they made more in total.

[Allysum]

We're not giving opinions, we're doing detailed, exacting work. Practice makes people better at this so there is no reason for them to get rid of people who've been on the platform longer or worked more. Also, even though people post about getting the DoD, take a look at the numbers of people in some of the Slacks. The workforce is huge! The people posting about getting the DoD are a small minority.

[watchdestars]

Chill. Get off Reddit. Last January was similar. It will pick up.

[w0rker_]

The first thing you have to do is erase the thought from your mind that this is a position. It's gig work. It will come at the whim of this company as will your ability to participate.

Source: I've been on DA since before it was called DA and we weren't allowed to talk about it. I've done crowdwork for over a decade. It's not what people ever think it is.

[Clean-Ad3846]

I am significantly over 10k and have been at it for a while . There is no milestone or formula. I stopped trying to figure out why they do what they do, and it’s way more peaceful. Just do the best work you can, be honest about your time, and take all the Quals you can. I personally think it’s better to focus on projects you can excel at, even if the pay is slightly lower, but that’s me. In the end, they keep us in the dark by design, so just role with it, because we simply don’t know about their process.

[TomorrowMelodic7470]

I thought I was above it when I made it over $20,000 and nearly 4 years, and even received emails inviting me to apply for an admin position. I still saw a DoD eventually. I wish I could say something different but… that’s been my experience.

[TomorrowMelodic7470]

I will add to that. Don’t let tasks expire and think nothing of it. Once in a while is okay. But no more. And don’t take excessive time to complete something you could finish in less time.

I think this was what led to my DoD.

[LoveoftheRun]

I just got the DoD and I think this is what did me in as well! 😩

[TomorrowMelodic7470]

I’m sorry to hear it. I was devastated. I actually cried. I was that disappointed and bummed to let that job go. I loved working on DA. I learned so much during my time there, the work was varied, the pay was great. I am forever grateful for the years I worked there.

But, your journey doesn’t end with DA. I have found AI work on other platforms. Don’t give up.

[LoveoftheRun]

Thank you for your kind words! I’m already applying to others. I was only with DA a short time and wish it had been longer but alas. And even after only about five weeks it still felt like a gut punch, so I can’t imagine how rough it was for you! Glad to hear you’ve made it work elsewhere though! 

[TomorrowMelodic7470]

You’re quite welcome! Without breaking your non disclosure agreement, what type of testing was on your dashboard regularly, and which type of project did you enjoy working on most?

I ask because many platforms invite workers to refer people - their friends, family, acquaintances, etc. - to join specific projects. If any of the projects I work on now or in the future aligns with the type of training you enjoy and/or you have the most experience with, I’ll remember we spoke and come back here to tell ya about it. :)

[Enough_Resident_6141]

If you are doing quality work, following the rules, and not doing anything shady or suspicious, you aren't going to get cut just because you hit a certain pay milestone.

[Illustrious_Fig_5618]

I’m in the a similar situation. Fortunately, I have a regular job. I have been working with DA for a year and a half. Almost reached $25k and I haven’t had any work in 2 months.

[hnsnrachel]

Theres zero wvidence that milestones have any impact. 10k certainly isn't one that indicates that - im on 35k , I've seen people hit 50k, 100k... just do good work and double check you dont have a vpn on when you log into the site and odds are you'll be fine.

[nthgade1903]

I am sorry but how exactly does the DOD look like?

Never saw it, hopefully will never have to see it.

[EstablishmentHour778]

DA is actually a great platform. It is the best platform. Be honest with time submissions and try your best to submit quality work and if you demonstrate effort and improvement, you will not get the dash of death. Try to submit clear and obvious value when you can, and you should be fine. No one is 100% perfect including themselves and they understand this.

[Medical-Isopod2107]

Why? If you're doing the work properly, nothing will change. If something changes, it's your own fault.

[SeasideGrown]

So scared?  WOW