Taking surveys online is an easy way to make money. Well, at least that is what a lot of surveys for money companies would like you to believe. While there are many legitimate companies that do pay you to take surveys, most people hardly earn enough to quit their day job.
There are surveys for money that pay $50 or $100 for completing a single survey, but they are usually very hard to qualify for and may require you to fit a very select demographic group. As an example, there might be a study being conducted for medical research that will pay $75 to a man over 50 who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Other well-paying surveys require you to keep a diary and record your activity over a month before answering the questions on the survey.
Most of these surveys pay $1.00-$5.00 to individuals who fulfill the requirements of the survey and submit a complete questionnaire. Each job can take anywhere from a few minutes to up to an hour to complete. Theoretically, you could take 10 or even 20 online surveys every day and make about $50. In reality, only a very small percentage of people can attain such a high rate of participation and completion.
Qualifying can be quite frustrating. Every time you are invited to fill out a questionnaire, you must spend about 5 minutes filling out demographic information before getting to the actual questions. One can try 10 different surveys and be rejected for every one of them. That adds up to a lot of wasted time.
Not only is it hard to qualify, but the amount of pay you earn per hour works out to far less than the minimum wage. People may not be motivated by the money and choose to participate because they want to voice their opinion. It is not bad for anyone that has free time such as seniors and people who are home-bound. As long as you look at it as a fun way to pass the time and earn a few bucks, surveys for money are a worthwhile pursuit.