Welcome to my Appen review.Are you looking for a good work-from-home business opportunity? It's cool to make money online but not all online job opportunities are created equally. Some of these online platforms demand so much of your time and in the end, offer very little compensation for your effort.

Is Appen a scam or is it one of those remote job sites that you should consider signing up to? I signed up to see for myself what Appen is all about.

If you are one who values your time, then work-home-job opportunities should pass your first test of being 'time-worthy.' 

I too value my time, and that's also why I believe that one of the best ways to making your time count and your efforts being rewarded is by investing in yourself. Learn the skills to build your own online business.

Let me share my experience of using the Appen website so that it can help you to make an informed decision.

WHAT IS APPEN ALL ABOUT?

Appen is a technology service company with over 2 decades of experience working with various industries to improve its products using human- annotated data(in other words using human resources to improve upon AI products or services).

Their corporate headquarters are based in Chatswood, Australia. The company is based in 130 countries and after the acquisition of Leapforce, it now supports nearly a million contractors working across the globe. They operate in 180 different languages.

WHY THE NEED FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE?

As times are a changing, the way businesses operates changes as well. These day companies want to serve their clients more efficiently, more quickly and make things user-friendly.

Hence, the executives of the companies turn to AI or artificial intelligence. Not only to make business practice more sound,but to increase their revenues.

According to the IDC Worldwide Artificial Intelligence Systems Spending Guide, September 2019, they forecasted the spending on AI to reach $97.9 billion in 2023.

You probably may see some of these developments already. Like when you visit certain websites they have those automated chat-bots or digital assistants. 

As far as how Appen serves the industry- they provide services such as collecting and labelling images, speech, text, video all in an effort to improve the world’s most innovative artificial intelligence systems.

In fact, Appen check out the various industries that Appen serves in the next section.

WHO DOES APPEN SERVE? THE VARIOUS INDUSTRIES

These are the various industries Appen serves :

• Technology
• Automative
• Financial Services
• HealthCare
• Retail, and
• Government

For instance,with regards to the technology industries, the application can be using or implementing an app. For the automotive industries, it could be cars equipped with voice and speech recognition.With healthcare, it could be the training of virtual assistants.

And the list goes on regarding the various AI technologies that each of these industries demands. This also means it's a good thing for you, the human being.

You see we are still at the point, where we are needed to fine-tune these AI technologies. At the end of the day a robot will act like a robot, and to make it more 'human-friendly,' it needs our help.

Let me show you next, the potential business opportunity that lies ahead for you, as an independent Appen contractor.

HOW DOES APPEN WORK?THINKING OF BECOMING A CONTRACTOR?

They have vacancies open for various positions across their different branches. Such positions include pilot project specialist, senior customer success manager, business analyst, or finance director.

If you are interested, then simply click on the "Jobs" tab to learn more.

Then, of course, they offer one the opportunity to work from home on a part-time basis.

You can do projects, micro-tasks, or surveys, and data collection. You have to apply though for these kinds of jobs. 

I will take you through the process of what they require for each job.

Check out my reviews of other freelance websites such as Babbletype and Crowdsurf.

HOW TO APPLY TO APPEN FOR WORK?

They have three different registration portals. 

To apply for the survey and data collection tasks, you would need to fulfill the following requirements :

• Computer OS should be Microsoft Vista, Microsoft Windows 7 and above,
• 3 to 5 years of residency in the country, and
• Windows Live ID (WLID)
  
  

In addition, you would have to fill in their standard application form. Most importantly you need to agree to their terms of data privacy disclosure.

You have to provide them with personal data information. Should you choose not to, then you will not be able to enter into a contract with the company.

As for applying for the projects, the form to fill in is the same as for the surveys and data collection. The only additional information is that you would need to provide them with an updated resume as well.

And finally,  if you are thinking of applying for the MicroTasks, then you need to fill out a form to become an independent Appen Contributor.

This part is the simplest in my experience. And once you tell them what country you residing in, you get jobs that are tailored to you.

Take a look below and check out the MicroTasks that were assigned to me.

There was only 1 task with a potential payout of 1 cents. However, they do tell you to keep checking your account from time to time to see if any other jobs show up.

Oh and by the way, at the moment they will only pay you if you have a Paypal account. I could not determine though what their minimum payment threshold is.

WHAT OUT FOR APPEN CON ARTISTS

Recently I have noticed that folks who attempted to sign-up with Appen turned out to be victims to scammers. 

And these scammers try to solicit personal info from you. They pose as representatives from the company. The information they want from you, is info. that the official Appen website will never ask you.

Appen will not use a chat app to extract your personal information. One member reported that the scammers try to deposit fraudulent checks into your bank account. They claim that you will need money to buy the laptop and software materials for the job.(all of this took place from FaceBook, where the job post was originally posted)

Just remember in the back of you mind when applying for the job, that the only way in which the company will communicate with you is via e-mail.

APPEN REVIEWS - IS IT GOOD OR BAD?

Unfortunately, the site does not have any testimonials or proof of payments of previous users.

So, I checked out other 3rd party review sites.

Appen scored a very poor rating on Trustpilot.com with an average of 1.9 stars out of 5.

There were a number of complaints against the company.

Some of the complaints included :

• too many documents and procedures to follow to finally get an application accepted,
• No feedback or further correspondence from the company,
• Waste of time filling out applications,
• No proper guidelines and constant changing of job policies,
• Not enough job opportunities,
• Have to wait for long periods of time to get tasks.

In all fairness, a few amounts of the users were happy with Appen. One reviewer, in particular, stated that he made £6.62 for an hour's work doing a speech. However, this review was done back in 2017.

So, if most of these reviews are negative, does this mean that Appen is a scam?

Let's quickly take a look at the pros and cons of this opportunity.

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT APPEN

It's free to join.

They have owner transparency.

They have a long-standing in the industry.

WHAT I DO NOT LIKE ABOUT APPEN

No member testimonials.

No proof of payments.

Lots of documents, and procedures in the sign-up process.

This is not a passive income opportunity.

IS APPEN A SCAM? MY PERSONAL OPINION

PUT YOUR TIME AND ENERGY INTO GOOD USE- START MAKING REAL MONEY ONLINE