Appen Summary

What Is Appen?

Appen is a company based in Sydney, Australia. It collects texts, audio, images, and videos which are then annotated by Appen's independent contractors. The data are then used to develop and improve artificial intelligence systems. The information gathered and annotated by the contractors are primarily used in eCommerce, social media, search engines, and voice-to-text software to name a few.

According to its website, Appen has expertise in hundreds of languages. It also owns some of the world's cutting-edge "AI-assisted data annotation platform." Its services are used by sectors such as financial services, manufacturing, retail, automotive, and more. Governments all over the world are also among Appen's clients.

Appen was established in 1996. Its current CEO is Mark Brayan, while Kevin Levine serves as its CFO. Wilson Pang serves as Appen chief technology officer.

Its US headquarters is located in Kirkland, Washington. It also has offices in Detroit, as well as Pleasanton, San Francisco, and Sunnyvale, CA. Appen's has offices in Australia, the UK, the Philippines, and China.

Some of the services Appen offers include consultation, content moderation, data annotation, data collection, field testing, and linguistics. Personalization, search relevance, transcription, speech data transcription, and translation and localization.

Solutions Appen offers include app development, automatic speech recognition, computer vision, CEM/CRM, data analytics, eCommerce, and fraud detection. It also develops in-car infotainment and navigation, machine translation, medical imaging, and more.

Appen acquired its rival, Leapforce, in 2017. It has over 1 million independent contractors worldwide.

Different Ways You Can Make Money with Appen

Here are three ways you can earn with Appen as an independent contractor.

* Raters

This is a home-based work for independent contractors. It is a flexible job which offers the option to work on a part-time or full-time basis. Independent contractors must have a computer at home or a mobile device to work as a rater.

* Language jobs

If you have experience in transcription, translation, or any linguistic job, then you can check out this section and apply. You must be available for full-time or part-time work.

* Micro Tasks

These are simple tasks that you can complete in an hour or less. You can do these tasks using your desktop computer or mobile device.

Some of the tasks you're going to work on include translation, transcription, survey and data collection, lexicon annotation, and speech evaluation. This is the right opportunity for you if you want to become a search media and social media evaluator. You can also work on text-to-speech, phonetics, annotation, and phonetics offered by Appen.

How Much to Join Appen and How to Sign Up?

Joining Appen as an independent contractor is 100% free.

Simply go to the Appen website, and register as an applicant. You must first select your country of residence before you can go on to the next stage.

Then you need to choose your primary language and your dialect (if any). Plus points if you are fluent in other languages other than English. After completing the information, you will be diverted to the official registration page. You'll see a Data Privacy Disclosure agreement which you will need to read and confirm before you can proceed.

Choose the independent contractor contract type, and fill out the personal information form. You need to submit a resume or CV by uploading the file on the site. You can choose your weekly working hours, as well as the 3rd party website which referred you to Appen.

Independent contractors should have lived in their country of residence for at least five consecutive years. They must be fluent in the language required for the task and have used the internet for more than 3 years. Lastly, they are required to have a broadband internet connection, and should be 18 years old at the time of application.

How Does it Work and How Much Money Can You Make?

You need to be qualified for at least one of the projects matched to you before your account becomes active and you can become an official Appen independent contractor. The projects matched to you will depend on your qualification.

You'll see multiple projects on your member dashboard. You can check the projects you are qualified for to begin earning with Appen. You can also check the projects you are not yet qualified for to learn more about them.

The amount you're going to earn depends on the type of project you're qualified for. Some projects (such as the project listed below) has a rate of $0.015 per task to $1.00 per task.

The rate of other projects ranges from $2.00 per hour to $4.00 per hour.

For these examples, keep in mind that you need to have an active Facebook account and that you have been using the account for some time (you have at least 25 friends on the social media platform, etc.). You will be assigned other projects depending on your qualification.

After completing the tasks, you need to issue Appen an invoice for every hour you work. Once the invoice is received, you'll be paid once every 30 days via direct deposit. Keep in mind that you will need to have your computer and pay for your internet connection to perform your work as Appen will not reimburse you for such expenses.

What I Like About Appen

Appen is a legit company

Good news! Appen is a legitimate company with an official headquarters and a real CEO. This is not your typical fly-by-night business. Its owner does not rent a virtual office or worse, doesn't have an office at all. Appen's offices are located in some of the technology hubs in the US and other parts of the world.

You can work as a full-time employee, but the majority of the people who work for Appen are independent contractors. Note that Appen is not BBB-accredited, and reviews about it have been generally mixed.

Allows you to work from home and set your hours

One of the main appeals of this type of opportunity is that it allows you to work right in the comfort of your own home and set your work hours. You don't have to deal with traffic, long commute, or office politics when you work from home.

No more micromanaging bosses or rude coworkers. You get to spend more time with your family (until they get sick of seeing you always at home).

Plus, you get to set your hours. You don't have to wake up at 4 or 5 AM just so you can drive to the office without being caught in a gridlock. This setup is favorable for people who keep unconventional work hours or even stay-at-home parents who want to earn money while taking care of their kids.

Interesting projects

Appen offers some of the most interesting projects for independent contractors. The most common are regular social media surveys. But you can also check out other projects like speech recognition and translation, as well as categorizing groups for a social media platform. It can be easy to qualify for some projects, but only if you are comfortable giving Appen access to some of the data associated with your social media account.

Worldwide presence

Some websites that offer projects similar to what Appen is offering are sometimes limited to US and Canada residents only. The goods news is Appen is available to independent contractors worldwide. Some of the projects are also tailored to your region or country.

What I Don't Like About Appen

Low pay

We have to be honest here. You don't work for Appen to achieve financial independence. The pay is pitifully low, and the projects are few and far between that you can only use it as a source of side income. It's best not to rely wholly on Appen projects and to have a full-time job or another part-time job to supplement your income during downtimes.

Tasks are easy but repetitive

Appen projects are surprisingly easy, and it is also easy to qualify for them (if you don't mind giving the company information linked to your social media account). But the downside is that they are repetitive and can be boring in the long run. These projects are not for you if you are the type of person who likes variety and is easily bored with repetitive tasks.

It can get lonely sometimes

Working for work-from-home sites such as Appen can be lonely sometimes. Sure, you don't have to deal with rude and entitled colleagues and bosses, but you don't meet a lot of people and make any friends either.

But if working while wearing your pajamas and setting your work hours far outweigh the downsides, then go for it.

Is Appen a Scam?

Good news! Appen is not a scam. It is a legitimate company with headquarters in Australia, the United States, and other countries in the world. Although it hired employees who work in the company's offices around the world, the bulk of its workers are independent contractors located in different countries all over the globe. According to Appen, it has hired over 1 million independent contractors worldwide.

It is a good work-from-home opportunity for certain people. One of the top complaints about Appen is that the pay is so low you can't depend on it as a main source of income. The complaint is not unfounded, but you should know before you sign up that Appen projects are few and far between. It is not meant to be your main source of income. It is only a way to earn some extra cash to cover the phone bill or any small expenses you might have now and then.

So, is Appen worth your time? Yes, if you already have a full-time job but want to earn a few dollars a month or you have a part-time job and want to earn more. 

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