Demand Media – TQA Titling Position
As of 11-11-2011, Demand is NOT hiring TQA workers. Sorry! I will update if/when they are again.
I’ve been doing some other titling work for Demand Media in addition to duplicate checking. The other position that I now have is called “TQA” or Title Quality Assurance. In the past, Demand did not allow titlers to have dual roles within the titling department, but they recently lifted this restriction to allow duplicate checkers to also do TQA. This has been really helpful for me seeing as how for the past month, the titles in duplicate checking have been running out regularly, leaving me and many others with no work to do. I decided to write a quick overview of how the Title Quality Assurance role works since I’ve been doing it for a little while now. I really like it a lot, but I can also see how it’s not necessarily the ideal role for everyone.
What does a TQA titler do?
If you do TQA, you’re given one title at a time. You have to decide whether or not to “Accept,” “Edit,” or “Reject” each title you’re given. Titles that makes sense and have no grammatical or spelling errors that could easily be made into titles for Demand Media are to be accepted. Titles that make sense but have some spelling or grammatical errors are sent to edit so that the Title Editors (another job role within the Demand titling department) can fix them. Many titles also must be rejected because they either make no sense at all, contain profanity, are too adult in nature, or are asking how to do something illegal. Titles that would infringe on copyright rules like song lyrics and “gossipy” celebrity titles are also to be rejected. I could probably fill up this entire page telling you what needs to be rejected, edited, and accepted, but I won’t. If you test for the role, you’ll be given guidelines to look over that will explain it all much better than I can. I’ve also found that searching the Demand Media Title TQA forum for things I’m not sure about while I’m working is additionally very helpful. The more you do it, the more you can easily remember all the little rules, which means you can get faster at the job and make more money.
How much does the TQA titling position pay?
People who do TQA are paid two cents per title — the same as duplicate checkers. However, I believe that ultimately some people who do TQA could make more per hour than they can with duplicate checking because once you have a good general understanding of the rules, you’re only looking at one title at a time. This means less reading than what you do with duplicate checking because you’re not looking at five titles at once. But this may not always hold true because I know that some people actually find TQA much more difficult the dupe checking and are not able to make as much money doing it.
When and how do TQA titlers get paid?
This is the same with all positions at Demand. Pay is twice weekly on Tuesdays and Fridays through Paypal. The cutoff for Tuesday pay is Sunday night at midnight, Pacific time, and the cutoff for pay on Friday is Wednesday night, midnight, Pacific time. I LOVE the twice weekly pay at Demand. So far, they’ve always paid on time. I usually get my money in the evening on Tuesday and Friday.
Can people from outside the US do titling work?
Currently, no. Only people living in the United States can do titling.
How likely are you to get accepted for the TQA role?
If you applied right now as of the date of this blog post, I am unsure how likely you would be to get contacted right away. Their staffing needs change all the time, and if you sent them an email now, it could be months before you hear back because they just finished hiring in a round of people for this position and may not need anymore at the moment. But keep in mind that their staffing needs change regularly. Many of the people who were hired may not stick with the work, which means they might need more people. I think that if you really want to do TQA, you should go ahead and email them inquiring about the position. They do keep emails on file and there’s a good chance they will contact you if they need people again. I emailed them months ago about the duplicate checking position and gave up on hearing back, but they did contact me in late February saying I could test. This makes me think that they don’t just disregard all the application emails they get.
How do you apply for TQA?
Send an email to titlingteam@demandstudios.com and let them know you’re interested in doing TQA. If they need help in that department, they will probably send you an invitation to test for the role at some point (not necessarily right away, so be patient). The test is multiple choice and you can look at the guidelines they send you while you test, so it’s basically open book. Demand does not have to inform you of your test results, unfortunately. If you fail it, you probably won’t hear anything back, but then you also might not hear anything back for a long time even if you pass. It took them two or three weeks to get back in touch with me after I tested to let me know I had the job. If you get the job, there’s a chance you’ll be put on probation for a period of time. I’m not sure if this is something that Demand is planning to do with everyone who gets hired in to do TQA, but they’ve done it with the latest round of people. Everyone who tested and got accepted were advised not to do more than $4 worth of work per day until they were reviewed to be sure they were doing the job correctly. Again, I don’t know if this is something they’ll do every time with every person, but it happened this time around.
Is TQA worth it?
I really think so! I have been able to make around $15+ per hour doing TQA, which is slightly better than what I earn with duplicate checking (generally between $12 to $14 per hour, give or take). As I get more comfortable with the rules, I may even be able to increase my hourly rate in TQA. However, some people much prefer dupe checking and feel that the rules for it are a little more straightforward and less confusing. I personally enjoy both roles.
Can you count on TQA to pay your bills?
Even though the hourly rate is certainly up to par, I’m hesitant to tell you that you can because of the recent title shortage in duplicate checking. Dupe checkers went from having seemingly endless work to do to very little practically overnight. There’s been some work for them every day, but then the titles also run out almost every day, and not everyone can plan their schedule around when there will and won’t be titles. I believe that title shortages within the TQA department are much more rare, but I’m not convinced that it can’t or won’t happen. If you’re lucky enough to get in on the TQA titling role, definitely enjoy it and make as much as you can, but you should also have something else to fall back on if something happens and there are suddenly no titles. Demand even advises all their titlers NOT to depend on any titling role for their sole income, and to instead look at it as supplemental income because they cannot guarantee the continuous availability of work.
As far as titling roles go, there are a few others apart from just TQA and dupe checking. My friend Miranda over at WAH Adventures has written a very informative post covering the titling department at Demand in general if you want to find out more!
If you want to go ahead and apply, send an email to titlingteam@demandstudios.com letting them know what role you’re interested in.
Filed under: Miscellaneous
Glad to hear you got in… I also do dupe checking and am still waiting to hear if I passed the TQA test….
I really hope you hear something soon, Erica! I have a few friends that tested right around the same time I did (maybe a day or two later) who still have not heard back. I know it’s incredibly frustrating — it took them a while to contact me too after I first took the test.
Can you apply for more than one role at a time, like Editor and TQA? Will they send you information for both if they are hiring?
If you haven’t already been hired, you can apply for any role you want at any time. You may get info for both roles, but they usually aren’t hiring for more than one role at one time from what I’ve noticed. Right now I think they are still taking applicants for the Title Editing position. I know that once you start, they don’t always let people have more than one titling position. But if you’re not happy with position you get, you can request to switch roles and test for something else once they open up hiring for something else.
Thank you Anna, this is very helpful! Yes, I got info for Editor. If I can request a change later I think I will go ahead and give it a try. Sounds like a nice little egg.
Does any one know if On Demand is currently hiring for any positions in the titling department and if so which ones? I sent an email about TQA last week, but I am also interested in working in other positions with in the titling department like dupe check or title categorizing. I was hoping some one could point me in the right direction as to which position they might need or if I should just mention all the positions I am interested in.
About using different e mails like some have mentioned, wouldn’t that be pointless since you would be telling them your full name anyways?
I think title editing is the one Demand has been hiring for most recently, and I am not entirely sure if they still need title editors. I would just apply by sending them the email expressing your interest in title editing. You may or may not hear back right away depending on whether or not they need title editors. I know that when I applied for dupe checking, it took them five months to get back to me!
But yes, by all means go ahead and get your email in. I would just send the one email for now and if you don’t hear back after a while, maybe send another under a different email.
I’ve been in TQA for two years and I love it! Not only can you pay your bills with it, but you can put a bunch in savings too. I’ve bought a New Beetle Sport with my TQA earnings and now I’m saving to build a small log cabin.
Victoria – Ozarks Crescent Mural recently posted..Saint Charles
That’s awesome, Victoria. I love my TQA job as well. Haven’t been at it as long as you, but the money I’ve been able to earn has really made a difference for my family financially. It is by far my favorite work at home “egg.”