Prolific Academic is an online research company offering payment for the completion of surveys. When I was on the path to mortgage-freedom and looking for ways to make some extra money, this was one of the best paying sites I used. I’m so impressed with it that I still recommended it to friends and family.
What is Prolific Academic?
Prolific Academic or Prolific, as it’s now know, is a site that matches researchers with participants. The researchers come from a wide range of backgrounds including universities and charities. As a result, the surveys are a bit different to those offered by other sites. For example, I’ve been asked to look at photos and identify the primary emotion, test teambuilding software and play word association games. Because they’re diverse and interesting, I don’t mind completing a survey or two on an evening.
How much will I get paid?
Prolific’s pay rate is much higher than some other survey sites. On their landing page they state clearly that they believe in fair rewards and ask researchers to pay participants at least $6.50 per hour. I’m in the UK and have found that the majority of the surveys I’ve been invited to complete offer between £5.50-£8.00 an hour.
Bear in mind that the surveys don’t take this long, but it does give you an indication of the hourly rate to help you decide if it’s is a fair exchange for your time. For example, a survey with an hourly rate of £8.00 may only be 15 minutes long, so the payment offered is £2.00. Personally, I find that the surveys rarely take as long as the estimated timescales, which is great and this doesn’t affect what you’ll get paid.
It is worth remembering that surveys aren’t always available. They do email me when a new survey is out but if I’m busy then I miss out. I’ve found that it’s best to make Prolific fit in with my life, rather than the other way around. So if I’m online and have some spare time, I’ll check to see if there’s a survey available.
How do I sign up?
Signing up for Prolific is easy, just follow the steps below:
- Go to the website – www.prolific.co click on the ‘sign up’ tab.
- Enter your details.
- Complete a few screening questions.
And that’s it, you’re ready to go! All you need to do now is wait for your first survey to come through.
Hopefully you’ve found this post helpful and I’ve given you enough information to decide whether Prolific is something you would consider. As with all survey sites, payouts are never guaranteed, but in the years I’ve been with them I’ve only had a couple of submissions declined. It’s also worth noting that Prolific doesn’t seem to have the annoying mid-survey screenouts.
So far, I’ve earnt nearly £300 with them and I’ve not been consistent in completing surveys. And whilst it wont replace the day job, I do feel that it has potential to earn a bit of extra pocket money. So sign up, decide how frequently you’ll check for surveys and see how much you could earn. (Hmmm…I’m now thinking this could be a new challenge on Twitter…The Prolific Profits challenge)…Watch this space!
Don’t forget to leave a comment to let me know how you get on… And if you want to supercharge your bank balance, consider pairing your money making endeavours with these money saving tips.