What Are Rating Jobs? (+ How to Become a Rater)
With AI and machine learning models playing an increasingly important role in the services provided by technology companies, new types of online jobs are constantly emerging. This is good news for the growing number of people looking for opportunities to make money from home.
In this article, you will learn about rating jobs, one of these remote work opportunities that are in high demand.
What are rating jobs?
Rating jobs refer to work involving the evaluation of products, services or experiences online. These jobs are usually offered by crowdsourcing companies that bridge the gap between clients and workers, who are typically hired as independent contractors.
The most popular types of rater jobs are search engine evaluation, social media evaluation, and microtasks.
Most popular types of rater jobs explained
Search engine evaluation
A search engine evaluator is a rater who provides feedback and critical insights for search engine companies like Google and Bing. The core of the job is to rate the quality of webpages and relevance of search results and their feedback is used to test improvements on the search engine’s algorithms.
Besides rating the quality of webpages and the relevance of search results, there are hundreds of other different types of tasks that can be performed by search evaluators, such as:
- rate the helpfulness of autocompletion, related searches and other Google suggestions
- evaluate if an automated voice sounds natural or not
- give an opinion on which set of search results is more relevant
- classify topics that represent the content of a web page
- classify search queries by different types of predefined search intents
- evaluate whether a business belongs to a certain category
- etc.
Social media evaluation
A social media evaluator is a rater who provides feedback on news feeds, advertisements and search results for social media websites like Facebook and Instagram.
There is a wide range of tasks that can be performed by social media evaluators. For example:
- Rate the quality and relevance of ads
- Assign posts to a predefined category of topics
- Answer questions about the intent behind searches on social media platforms
- Evaluate claims stated in pieces of content such as images and videos
- Evaluate the realness of events and whether they are duplicates
- Etc.
Micro tasks
Micro tasks, as the name suggests, are jobs that you can finish in a very short amount of time. Some examples of micro-tasks include rating an app, transcribing small amounts of data, or speaking phrases into a microphone.
These jobs are usually paid per task rather than per project and need to be done in bulk to prove profitable.
How to Become a Rater
If you want to work from home as a rater, there are basically 4 steps you need to follow to improve your chances of being successful.
Step 1. Understand the job requirements
There are some basic requirements that apply to most of the rating jobs online. They are as follows:
- Have access to a computer with high-speed internet
- Be internet-savvy and have basic computer literacy skills
- Feel comfortable working from home with little supervision
- Be detailed-oriented and capable of grasping and applying concepts from project guidelines
- Possess excellent communication skills in English and in your local language if you are from a non-English speaking country
- Hold a university degree or equivalent qualification is desired, but not mandatory
Besides meeting these basic requirements, you will also want to make sure that you comply with the requisites that are specific to each type of rating job. They are as follows:
Search engine rater
- Have excellent analytical abilities and web research skills
- Possess in-depth and contemporary knowledge of the local culture
Social media rater
- Be an active, daily user of social media (usually Facebook and/or Instagram for most projects)
Micro tasker
- Feel comfortable doing repetitive small tasks that require speed and accuracy
Step 2. Apply to one of the companies that offer rater jobs
Rating jobs are usually offered by crowdsourcing companies. These companies act as an intermediary between the client, which are the businesses that provide the rating tasks, and the workers.
The most popular of these companies are DataForce by TransPerfect, OneForma by Centific, Welocalize, RWS, Appen and TELUS International AI
Step 3. Make your resume stand out
The requirements of rating jobs are very basic and the companies that offer these jobs receive literally thousands of applications every week. Therefore, one of the only ways for your application to stand out is to put some effort into submitting a professional, well-designed resume. This can totally be a deal-breaker when the recruiter is screening through hundreds of applications.
The easiest and most cost-effective way to create a professional-looking resume is using a resume builder. The one that we recommend is Wahojobs Resume Builder. We have beautiful templates and you can build an incredible resume in just a few minutes. Get started for free now
Step 4. Prepare for the qualification exam
Not every rating job requires that you pass a test. The set of instructions for microtasks, for example, are much simpler than those of social media or search engine evaluation projects.
For the rating jobs that do require a qualification exam, the #1 preparation tip is to read their guidelines slowly and thoroughly, ideally twice before taking the test.
At the Search Evaluator Academy, we have courses that will help you prepare for the rating job known as Personalized Internet Assessor at TELUS International. This rating job refers to the search evaluation program for Google’s web search service, and it’s the only one for which Google publicly discloses the rating guidelines.
Frequently Asked Questions about Rating Jobs
What is an online rater?
In the context of crowdsourcing and crowd working, rater is the name by which search engine evaluators, social media evaluators and certain types of microworkers are commonly referred to. Most of the time, raters are home-based workers hired as independent contractors to complete online tasks.
What does a rater do?
The duties of an online rater vary depending on the type of rating job. A rater who works as a search engine evaluator, for example, provides feedback and critical insights for search engine companies. A social media evaluator, on the other hand, provides feedback on news feeds, advertisements and search results for social media websites. To complete the rating tasks, raters need to follow the instructions provided on rating guidelines that are specific to the projects in which they are participating.
What are some common types of rating tasks?
There are hundreds of different rating tasks that can be performed by online raters. Some common examples include: rate the quality of web pages, rate the relevance of search results, rate the quality and relevance of ads, evaluate how natural an automated voice sounds, evaluate whether a business belongs to a certain category, assign posts to a predefined category of topics, answer questions about the intent behind searches, etc.
How much do rating jobs pay?
Typically, online rating jobs pay in the range of $3 to $20 per hour. The rate varies considerably depending on factors such as the type of project, company, and the country where the rater is located. Considering that the weekly workload usually ranges from 5 to 35 hours, a rater can expect to earn a monthly income of between 60 and 2800 US Dollars.
Are rating jobs a type of AI training job?
Yes, rating jobs such as search engine evaluation, social media evaluation, and micro tasks can be considered a type of AI training job. These jobs typically involve human workers evaluating, rating, or categorizing content, data, or user behavior to improve the performance and accuracy of algorithms and AI systems.
This process of using human input to train and refine AI systems is called human-in-the-loop machine learning. As AI models improve, the need for human evaluation may decrease, but in many cases, human evaluators still play a crucial role in ensuring the quality and relevance of AI-driven systems.