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You will have most likely noticed all of the advertisements on Google claiming that you can make up to $30 per hour completing surveys.  This sounds like a dream and, for the most part, it is.  There are ways that you can make some decent cash on the side with surveys, but you will never be guaranteed an hourly rate or enough surveys to make a living out of it.

The people making these advertisements are generally paid based on your performance on the survey site.  What this means is that many times the affiliates for these sites will get a percentage commission based on what you earn for your commissions.  The idea is to get as many people to join under you as possible so that you can make a ton on your referrals.

As far as taking surveys go, it is a good way to make a few extra bucks on the side but it is nothing to write home about.  Where do they get the $30 per hour number from?  Well if you complete one ten dollar survey within 20 minutes, then in essence, you are making $30 per hour.  This is just a statistical trick to make the reader think that they can have an eight hour day making $30 per hour, just for their opinion.

You may be wondering why it isn’t possible to make this a career.  Well, simply put, there just isn’t enough work to go around.  Many times the survey sites will send you opportunities for surveys but you just don’t fit the requirements.  If you are trying to take a survey about breast pumps but you don’t have any kids, or you are a man, once you get to the family or gender question it will kick you out.  The trick with the survey companies is that you have to complete the survey.  If the survey doesn’t allow you to complete it then you won’t get paid.

Are survey sites a scam?  In my experience, survey sites are not scams for the most part.  Of course you will have a seldom few that are scams just to get your information but that is why you do research first.  In order for a website or company to be legit, it has to have a purpose.  The purpose of survey sites is to perform demographic research for marketing purposes.  This is highly valuable information.  How many times to you ignore the survey people in the mall?  They are being paid by the hour no matter how many surveys they complete.  So it is wise for a survey company to target individuals that actually want to participate in surveys. 

So now you know that most survey sites are legit, but you probably won’t get rich off of them.  There are so many different ways to make money on the web right now that it is ignorant to put all of your eggs in one basket.  The best idea is to diversify, and utilize all of your talents to create a residual income stream.