Appen Reviews

Cons

If you are going into Appen thinking that working from home is basically having a pc on and watching Netflix then this is NOT for you. Appen provides challenging work and it will keep you engaged. (This is not really a con but more of an FYI for future applicant's consideration)

Cons

Can be stringent with rules on hours per day

Cons

Very very very Little pay

Cons

I have worked here for four years now, and will be leaving soon-I didn't have unrealistic expectations but I think that I can provide a decent overview for people researching this kind of job, especially when there are better paying and much more stable part time jobs out there. So Cons: the website that you work on goes down very often, and depending on the project manager at the time, you may not get an estimated time of return for days. The pay is ok, for some of the projects it is barely over minimum wage. I just found out today that on this project I am not getting paid for having to wait for the que to load, which means I am sitting and waiting on the website for the work but not getting paid for the minutes it takes to load. The project managers are a toss-up. I have had great managers who answer questions and get back to you quickly, and who take the time to help you if you are struggling with a work issue. I have also had managers like I am under now, who take days or even over a week to get back to you about time sensitive issues. The work site has been malfunctioning for weeks and no one is getting the 20 hours. This is common throughout the different projects. I once went six weeks without work because they could not get their website to work correctly.
The hiring process took 3 or 4 weeks. They do not pay for training, even when they put you on different projects. At times, the training for these can go 5-10 hours. The pay is once a month, and on some projects your time is counted on a timer. In the years that I have worked here, the timer has never worked and we have had to input our own hours up until recently. Since they are now going by the timer, we are not getting paid for the total of our work. You can be terminated from a project for any reason. On some projects the managers will help you if you are struggling with a guideline, on other projects you will get an email letting you know you are terminated with no notice whatsoever. You are truly disposable to this company. There are a lot of work from home options these days, and they have stable work with good overall management. If you are looking for a stable position with good management and steady hours, this is not it.

Cons

Overall, the negatives will be relatively few if you into this work with the right mindset. Yes, there are plenty of negative reviews. Most complaining about termination.

First off, this is not a job you can live off of. You cannot be paying rent, buying your groceries, and paying your bills with the income from this alone. Understand that. Secondly, Appen is not here to do *you* any favors. You volunteered to work. Don't like it? Well, then, get off your butt and get a job!

I realize and empathize with those that cannot leave the house for reasons beyond their control. However, combine this job with Microworkers, Clickworker, etc. etc. and you could probably make a decent living!

But, I digress. Certain staff members are responsive, while others will literally never, ever respond to you. Keep that in mind.

The work can be tedious and boring- but it's work. Get over it.

Instructions can be contradictory, yes. But I've also found that as long you pay attention, you'll be able to figure out what the client wants. Finally, an intermediate level of understanding of English is required- *beyond* simple fluency.

People, if misspell every other word and can barely string a sentence together, you're going to have a rough time (and will probably have your contract terminated).

Cons

The work, depending on whatever project you're on, can be tedious at times.

Cons

application process is slow, and assignments are not given right away.

Cons

This company used to be good but right now it has become a ridiculous company to work for. The company's billing method is a total is not good. Raters' pay is no longer based on the Total Review Time (accurate time spent using external timer) but on Appen own timer. However, work hour their so called timer captures is ALWAYS far below that of external timer.
If you want to work as a SLAVE, then this is your ideal job.

Cons

Low payment rates. They were paying cents per utterances and when there is a steady flow the max will be around 6 AUD an hr. The steady flow jobs are really hard and exhausting. The training provided are lengthy documents they send with lots of info that are hard to follow. Really not worth it. I know they work for Google and Microsoft and I'm sure they get paid triple what they pay their transcribers, so stay away if you can.

Cons

Mine is messed up so instead of being able to work 4 hours a day I can only work 1