What Are Rating Jobs? (+ How to Become a Rater)

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

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

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 two most popular of these companies are Appen and TELUS International AI (formerly Lionbridge AI).

How to apply at Appen

There are two ways to apply for rating jobs at Appen, depending on the type of rater job you are interested in.

1. Search Engine & Social Media Evaluation

To apply for rating jobs known as search engine evaluation and social media evaluation at Appen, first, you need to register as an Internet Analyst on Appen Connect. To go directly to the application page, click here.

Once your registration is approved, look for one of the search engine evaluation or social media evaluation projects/jobs on the ‘All Projects’ tab of the Appen Connect dashboard. Examples of search engine evaluator jobs at Appen include Project Yukon (Google Web Search), Project Shasta (Apple Maps), and Project Arrow (Google Ads). Examples of social media evaluator jobs at Appen include Project Amur, Project Uolo, and Project Nile.

If you don’t see any of these projects listed on that page, it means that they are not available for you at this time. This may be due to the projects being full in your country, so make sure to regularly check the project page for when new vacancies become available. For more information on how to work from home with Appen, make sure to read this post.

2. Micro Taks

To apply for rating jobs known as micro-tasks at Appen, you need to simply create an account on the Appen Contributor Portal. To go directly to the registration page, click here.

How to apply at TELUS International's AI Community

At TELUS International, all rating jobs are listed on the AI Community job search page. To apply, you must first check if there is an open position available in the country where you live. If so, simply click on the job and you will be taken to a page with more details about that specific role.

At the top or bottom of that page, there is a button that says Apply Now. By clicking on it, you will be redirected to the TELUS International Recruitment Application Wizard portal, where you will be prompted to create a new user account if you don’t have one yet.

The application wizard will guide you to the pages in which you can enter the information for your application, such as your personal data, work experience and education. You must also attach your resume/CV in English and Proof of English Language competency.

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 called Novorésumé. They have beautiful templates and you can build an incredible resume in just a few minutes. Get started for free with your affiliate link.

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 Project Yukon at Appen, which is usually called 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.