Remote home based job: Appen

If you are looking for a remote work from home opportunity, working as an independent contractor for Appen might be just right for you. It is an entry-level, serious and fair paid remote job which you do from home.

What is Appen Butler Hill?

Appen Butler Hill is a global company that provides training data to improve machine learning. They are contracting thousands of people to help them train algorithms to provide more accurate results on the internet.

The company has been doing this kind of work for about 20 years already. Being one of the world leaders in this field, they employ over 1000000 workers from around the world.

There are tasks for nearly every country in the world and for around 180 languages.

The great thing is: you don’t need any previous experience! You only need a stable internet connection, a computer and a smartphone.

Another good thing (for introverts like me): You don’t have to make any calls, talk to customers, no sales or any other thing. This means you can work at any hour, any time, from your bed and even in your pyjamas.

Who owns Appen?

Appen was founded 1996 by Dr. Julie Vonwiller, a linguist and merged with Butler Hill Group in 2011. In 2017 Appen acquired Leapforce.

Where is Appen located?

Appen’s headquarters are in Australia, in Chatswood, New South Wales. Most of the raters work remotely from all over the world.

How can I apply for Appen?

The Appen application process is straight forward. After the initial submission of your information on their website, you usually have to wait for somewhat around a few days up to several months. After that, you might get invited to do a test for a project.

Availability depends mostly on your location and the current projects available.

Here you can see the current job offers and start the qualification process.

If you have previous work experience in IT, Engineering or Sales then maybe their full-time positions might be of interest to you.

If you are looking for other remote work opportunities, see this article.

Is Appen legit?

This question seems to appear quite often and people always ask this when it comes to Appen’s work from home positions. But yes, Appen is 100% legit and not a scam.

What are the requirements to work for Appen:

• fluent English skills
• experienced in using computers and the internet
• fluent in a second language if you are outside an English speaking country

What project opportunities does Appen offer?

There are many different projects you can apply to. Those projects range from social media to search engine evaluation, to audio or transcription tasks.

You will have to invest several hours in studying their training material. Tasks vary in length and difficulty as well as minimum availability during the week.

Expect 1-4 hours daily for some projects, while some projects even allow for full-time work.

Amount of tasks depends on the project. Therefore a constant amount of work can’t be guaranteed.

What is Appen crowdsourcing?

Appen crowdsourcing is the general term for all projects where users are feeding the algorithms  information in order to make search engine results, social media ads and other AI powered results more accurate. Appen crowdsourcing has many different types of projects, which rate from audio, to transcription, to Social Media, to different search engines.

What is Appen Social Media Evaluator position?

In Appen’s Social Media Evaluator projects you are helping to improve user experience when it comes to Social Media.

What is Appen Search Engine Evaluator position?

In Appen’s Search Engine Evaluator project you are evaluating search results to improve the overall web experience. You will lookout for quality, content and other important factors following provided guidelines. It’s a fun project which allows you to learn many things.

How much does Appen pay?

As the payment is depending on your country of residence and based on the standard pay rate, nothing concrete can be said. Usually, payment ranges from 10 USD to 18 USD per hour. If you want to be more precise, you can find some examples on Glassdoor.

Your salary is being paid monthly. You have to make your own invoice using the online tool provided, submitting the hours you worked. Therefore a time tracker is a good option.

Due to restrictions, you are not allowed to work outside of your country of residence and can only use private internet at your home.

What is Appen’s payment method?

Payment is issued through Payoneer or Paypal. In some cases, you can receive a direct bank transfer.

What alternatives are there to Appen?

Appen’s biggest competitor is Lionbridge, which offers similar services as Appen.

Can I work for Appen from my phone/tablet?

There are indeed projects which you have to do from your phone or tablet. Those usually involve Social Media or other Apps.

Pros:

• flexible
• work from home
• remote
• work your own times
• no previous experience needed

Cons:

• project-based, which means they can end with little to no prior notice
• you are responsible for your taxes
• need to work in the country of residence
• little growth

Overall, I think Appen is a great employer to start your remote work journey.

If you are looking to build a long term business, or are looking for reliable, long term employment, this is likely not for you.

Yet if you want to be close to your family, or live in a remote area, Appen might be a great fit as you have a fully flexible, quiet remote job.

What do you think of this article? Do you work remotely? What are your struggles?

I would love to hear! Leave me a message or comment and let’s chat!