Working for ChaCha-Love or Hate it?
By drknlvly6781
@drknlvly6781 (6246)
United States
January 22, 2011 2:50pm CST
Yeah, I ended up getting missing again here, but with good reason. A couple of weeks ago I found that the Service ChaCha, a place that you can get questions answered by text or by phone, was accepting applications for their Expeditor position. This person is the first contact for text questions, either sending a quick answer back to the user, or sending the question up to higher level support if the answer isn't readily available.
Even though I know this service had been around for a few years now, I did some independent research to see what experiences people had been having with ChaCha. I found many reviews saying that people had quit because the pay was too low and they were worth more than $2/hr when minimum wage is $7.40/hr. While it is true that ChaCha pays expeditors two per question answered, where else can you get an extra $50-60 a week for just answering questions? You may be worth more, but $2/hr is good money when nothing else is coming in.
Right now my account is sitting at $52.54, and I've only been working a few hours a day for a week! That is more than I have earned in any one month here on Mylot. Plus in a few days I will get my debit card, which will allow for instant payments at any time.
So, who here has worked for ChaCha? Did you love it, or hate it? Did you think that the pay was ok, or way too low?
3 responses
@saigonwarrior (1331)
• United States
23 Jan 11
I have been working at ChaCha for 2 1/2 years. (or had) I still have my account. I am pretty sure that I sent you a PM a year ago about this site, maybe not.
I used to make $600 a month there until they cut wages last year, so I cut my time there drastically and have found a better paying online job since.
My role is specialist, and it can be VERY stressful at times. Also, the review system can be harsh, plus keeping up with the constant changes was a chore. I made over $3000 at ChaCha my first year working part-time. I was lucky to make a hundred a month after the pay cut.
It gets old.
1 person likes this
@saigonwarrior (1331)
• United States
23 Jan 11
Our pay was cut to almost half and it takes a lot longer to answer one question than for an expediter to do many. Then we had a long time when traffic was really bad. You would have to sit and wait for a question. When I first started questions were 20ยข each and traffic was great. I made that $3000 from August - the end of December in my first year. Then in January and the next few months traffic was non existent for specialist. Many changed to expediter at that time. I just grew weary of waiting around. I also worked at KGB (doing the same thing) for a year and a half and recently stopped working there. Searching for answers did pay well, but is very stressful when you are slammed with college calculus, physics, chemistry, etc...I did well on literate, medical things, etc..when you don't know something it is hard to figure it out. You will have to pay taxes on your earnings, and that is not fun, either. I am working elsewhere now. I did love the money in the beginning. I have thought of going back to ChaCha but things have changed a lot since I last worked there months ago.
I do wish you luck!
1 person likes this
@drknlvly6781 (6246)
• United States
23 Jan 11
Wow, if I were making that much and got cut, I probably would have gotten tired of it too. I'm sorry I missed that PM too. But it was the right time for me to go in right now. Finding this will help me out a lot. I have been looking for regular work for almost two years now, and it seems that no one will hire me. I have an idea for an online business, but that will take money as well, more money than I get for SSI for my son every month. Doing ChaCha for a few hours each day doesn't bring much granted, but it gives me enough to start funding development for my business, at least the preliminary stages. I am still looking for both regular and virtual call center work, but in the meantime, this will help a lot.
@drknlvly6781 (6246)
• United States
23 Jan 11
I just thought about something, You say that it was hard for you to make $100 a month as a Specialist after the change. I have only been a full-fledged member since the 12th of this month, and have only worked at most 3 hours in a day, and I have accumulated $53.52. I thought that Specialists got paid more per question than Expeditors. Was it that you couldn't dedicate that much time over the course of a day that contributed to your earnings as well?
@drknlvly6781 (6246)
• United States
22 Jan 11
I would be happy to give my experiences for a review if you like.
Don't get me wrong, this isn't something I would want to make a career out of, but at the same time this is the easiest and most entertaining position that I have ever had! I'm getting paid for answering questions, some are silly and make me laugh, others are deep and when I research the answer, I end up learning myself! Yes, its only $2/hr if you can keep up with the questions, but basically its $2/hr for nothing!
@kevin90az (143)
• United States
22 Jan 11
I don't think that's a bad deal at all. I would gladly work for 2$ an hour. It certainly isn't minimum wage but it's also work that is completely flexible and you can work as many hours as you want. That's worth it to a lot of people. If you can't fit a job into your schedule or can't find a job then it makes perfect sense to find a job that lets you work whenever you want for less than minimum wage.
1 person likes this
@drknlvly6781 (6246)
• United States
22 Jan 11
They are still taking applications for US based Expeditors if you are interested. I love what you said though. I mean, I sit here, listen to music, watch TV, and make money on the side right from my couch. Who could complain about that?
