mTurk Job Description Writing HIT Instructions

Hi there, and thank you for taking the time to read these instructions! As a former heavy turker myself, I know how important your time is when completing HITs, so I'll try to make these instructions as brief as I can.

Most important thing first - the money:

• Each writing prompt is worth $5.00. That's the base price for the HIT. As long as you put forth an effort that looks like you tried to put a coherent article together, you'll get $5.00. But that's not even half of what you could potentially earn for a well written HIT!
• Bonuses: I'm offering up to an additional $7.00 for a well written HIT. The amount you can earn is based upon a sliding scale that is directly related to how much time I have to spend on your article in order to get it ready for print. If I need to take over an hour to rewrite it, then you won't receive a bonus, but if it's ready to go with very little or no changes, then you'll receive the whole $7.00. 
• Just to clarify, you can receive up to $12.00 for each well written HIT!
• In addition to your pay and bonuses, I'll also donate $0.25 to the /r/HITsWorthTurkingFor donations pool for each successful HIT completed.

Now the Hard Part - Rejections

Most people won't ever be rejected. As I said before, I'm a former turker. I've been there, and I hate rejections. I'll try to work with you as much as I can. That said, here are a few things that will get you rejected outright:

• HITs that are not written in coherent American English. I will be reading and reviewing every section.
• HITs that are obviously spam or written by a bot. 
• HITs with sections that are plagiarized. I use Plagium and one other plagiarism checker to verify. Every paragraph will be reviewed individually. Over 60% plagiarized will get the HIT rejected. If they're above 50 - 60% then I'll request a rewrite (which will reduce your bonus). You can and should check your own work before you submit so that there won't be risk of rejection.
• Do not post the work you do for me on another site. As per the mturk conditions - specifically section 3b - the requester commissions for the work to be done and vests ownership. If I discover the work on another site, you will be banned from doing any future work for me.

Rewrites

If your HIT necessitates a a rewrite, then I'll contact you through mturk with a link to a new HIT via the bonus system. (So make sure you receive those "You received a Bonus!" emails) You'll get the $5.00 for the original work, but no bonus. The rewrite offers you one chance to improve your work to my specifications and receive a portion of the bonus. You'll have 24 hours to accept and rework the original HIT. I'll try to include the available bonus amount, but it should be no less than $3.50. 

Rejected HITs will not get a rewrite opportunity.

How To Write the Articles

Research!

Research for these articles is mandatory. That is, you cannot just write these from memory or BS your way through. I have to have some hard data. We're not talking term paper here, just a few references to ensure that you and I know what we're talking about. 

You must have 2 to 3 unique references. Preferably, the reference should be from a .gov or .edu site. DO NOT USE WIKIPEDIA AS A REFERENCE! - Though you can use it to gain better understanding of the job and possibly use some of the references down at the bottom of the page.  There are a few primary sites that I use for my references and I'll include them in the relevant sections below. You are welcome to use your own as long as they are credible. While you may use the same site in a HIT (ex BLS.gov) more than once, I require at least 2 unique sites (this is why I often use both BLS.gov and CareerOneStop.org)

To record the references, simply provide the URL within the text. 

Example:

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of plumber jobs in the US will increase at a higher-than-average rate of 21% over the next 10 years. http://www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/plumbers-pipefitters-and-steamfitters.htm 

Job Description Section Specifications

Section 1 - Job Responsibilities

This section should be 5 to 7 sentences long or about 50 to 75 words long. This section should include the job's primary responsibilities (most important 3 -5 parts of the job). This section should also include what people/jobs this job is likely to interact with on a daily basis. Do they typically manage people? Do they work frequently with the public? Do they  frequently interact with business professionals, science professionals, IT, post docs, maybe all of the above?  

You can usually stick a reference in this section. Some of my favorites to pull responsibilities from are:

• The occupational outlook handbook of the BLS (use the search bar in the blue section near the top of the page)
• Career Onestop (use the keyword search)
• Duke University's Job Description Bank (Click on either "University" or Health System" Job Descriptions and then use the "Search Job Descriptions" box.

Section 2 - Work Environment

This section should be 5 to 7 sentences long and typically 50 to 75 words.

Here are some topics that you can cover - you don't need to put all of them in the section, in fact, that would probably be too much.

Does this job typically work an 8 hour shift? Are weekends/On Call typical? Is the job often salaried or hourly? Will there be overtime? Does this job typically work indoors or outdoors? At a desk/computer or frequently walking and interacting with people directly? How should this job dress? Is there travel associated with the job? Is this a dangerous or relatively safe position? If dangerous, what are some of the key hazards of the job?

A reference can go usually here as well:

BLS data on injuries, illnesses and fatalities (Specifically - "Industry by event or exposure")
The occupational outlook handbook of the BLS  (Specifically, the "Work Environment" Section of each occupation's page) 

Section 3 - Education and Certification

This section should be 5 to 7 sentences long and typically a little over 50 words.

Include any relevant certifications and education requirements that typically apply to the job here. Provide the credentialing agency if applicable. If applicable, also provide how and where you'll need to take the test (On the job, at a testing center, online, etc).

If there are no education or certification requirements, use skillsets instead. What skills should a person know in order to fulfill the job? Examples: Basic computer skills, customer service/interpersonal skills, programming, reading, math level, how to use basic construction equipment, driver's license etc. Additionally, what on the job training should they expect to receive?

References here are usually of the credentialing agencies, so they vary. Another good one is the "How to Become One" Section of each job on the Occupational Outlook Handbook of the BLS.

Section 4 - Salary Expectations, Employment Rates and Outlooks

This is typically an easy section to write and is about 3 to 5 sentences long (but no less than 50 words). 

Provide the average salary for the job in the US. If there is a State stipulation in my HIT instructions, try to find the average wage by state (usually available on CareerOneStop.org). Provide the expected growth rate of the job and how that compares to the national average of jobs. If there are niche markets/industries where wages are higher/lower, provide them here as well.

In Closing

I try to be very easy to work with and will gladly work with you where I can. If you have any questions/comments, you can always comment here or message me on Reddit. My username is "wildncrazyguy" and I am also a mod on the mturk related subreddit /r/HITsWorthTurkingFor. 

By the way, the verification password is "green m&m's". If you just came here for the passcode, I highly suggest that you read these instructions so that you earn the whole $12.00 that these HITs are worth.