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About a year ago, a friend referred me to some online survey websites, and claimed that I could make tons of money doing surveys. I'll try just about anything once, so I joined three websites, and set out to determine if my friend was on the right track. After about two months of doing surveys each day for about thirty minutes, I determined that my friend needed to keep her regular job.

Survey sites depend on the users to fill out online surveys, and they pay minimal return for your time. Many times, the surveys are not credited to the user's account, and the survey sites will tell you that they are not responsible for uncredited earnings. Also, you can only do surveys for each company once, so it is easy to quickly exhaust the amount of surveys available to you. Some less-than-scrupulous users of these sites will recommend that you clear your browser's cache each month and change your email address so that you can do surveys over and over. I believe that this is dishonest. It is also way more time-consuming that it's worth. For completing a 20-minute survey, you can expect to make about fifty cents to one dollar. That equates to three dollars per hour, which is less than minimum wage.

While survey sites are mostly scams, there are other online gigs that can be very lucrative, and can enable you to support your family while working from home. I currently write for about six online websites, including Helium. I am able to pay for my college classes and necessary books, and pay my monthly bills with what I earn from writing online. Just yesterday, I was able to pay off my 2004 Ford a year early, thanks to the money I have made writing online. You just need to be very wary of what kinds of online work you accept. Many new writers will give their work away free. Don't let this happen to you.

There are also other types of online jobs that can be worth your while. Medical and legal transcription pay very well, and the number of online transcription companies is on the rise. I did legal transcription for about two months, and made quite a bit of money, but writing has always been my passion, so I went back to writing. I have so many online and off-line writing assignments, I can barely keep up. Once my college classes end for the summer, I will probably go back to transcription.

There are many legitimate ways to make money by working online. Completing online surveys is not one of them. Do your research and find jobs that you enjoy. If you can't find work that you enjoy online, you can also set up your own virtual assisting business and do the kind of work that you wish to do for others. Everyone should be able to work at something they enjoy, and the internet can be your vehicle to reaching your goals.

Learn more about this author, Maggie O'Leary.
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