By Dr. James M. Dahle, WCI Founder

This is the first in a series about making money online as a doctor. I've always been interested in relatively passive income, and after reading about taking simple surveys online for cash, I thought I'd look into it a bit. There are tons of different survey companies out there, some of which are better than others. One which I'm pretty sure ISN'T better than any others is called SurveySavvy. Why do they suck? I'll show you.

 

SurveySavvy Askes for Too Much Information

People worry about Google and Facebook knowing too much about their personal information. That's nothing compared to the hundreds of questions that SurveySavvy will ask about you in order to “personalize the surveys they send to you.” After a while I just got uncomfortable with the invasiveness of the questions and figured they had enough to personalize the surveys adequately.

 

Too Many Screen-Outs

I signed up for SurveySavvy about 6 weeks before I wrote this post. Since that time I've been invited to take 29 surveys. I was screened out of 27 of them. That means I wasted at least a couple of minutes on each of those surveys. You'd think with all the personal information I provided up front, they wouldn't send me any surveys that I wasn't already pre-selected for. But no, that's not the business model. The business model seems to be send the survey to everyone, screen most people out after they start the survey, and then don't pay them.

 

Ridiculously Low Pay-Outs

Guess how much I've accumulated in my account after starting 29 surveys? $2. That's right, a dollar a piece for the completed surveys. In fact, most of their surveys (which they estimate will take 10-15 minutes) are for $1. I'm pretty cheap, but I'm not that cheap. Even their really good surveys are only $5 or so. Sorry, my time is worth more than that.

In conclusion, if you're interested in doing online surveys for cash, you need to look for something that is physician-specific. SurveySavvy is a joke. I've signed up for a couple of others, but surveys are pretty rare from them. Have you tried any of these? Any of them you can actually recommend? Leave a comment below.

 

Recommended Physician Survey Companies

So, which companies should you try out? Here are the five we recommend. Note that we have an affiliate relationship with each of these companies. If you sign up with them, we get paid a few bucks. Thank you for going through these links to support the mission of The White Coat Investor. You also sometimes get a special deal by going through these links that you can't get by going directly to the company.

 

#1 All Global Circle

The All Global Circle community is set up to provide a clear, easy, and efficient means of communication between the pharmaceutical industry, the research industry, and those professionals who are using new developments and end products on an ongoing daily basis. If All Global Circle can't get you a survey to take within 90 days, they'll pay you a loyalty bonus just for logging in and checking a couple of times per month. By signing up through these links, you'll get an extra $50 just for being a member of the WCI community. It generally pays within two weeks of survey completion.

Sign-up for All Global Circle today!

 

#2 Curizon

Curizon, like most of these companies, primarily works with pharmaceutical companies to find the new “CUres” on the “hoRIZON.” Get it? It will work with all kinds of professionals including:

  • Physicians
  • Pharmacists
  • Managed Care Professionals
  • Nurses
  • Dentists
  • Nutritionists
  • Eye Care Professionals
  • Veterinarians

If you sign-up through these links, you will be entered into a drawing for $250. Curizon generally pays within 2-6 weeks of survey completion.

Sign-up for Curizon today!

 

#3 Incrowd

Incrowd boasts a community of more than 50,000 expert healthcare professionals and an average survey time of just 3.2 minutes. That's less than the screening time of many surveys with other companies. Incrowd will take people from all of these fields:

  • Active Physician
  • Nurse Practitioner (NP)
  • Nurse (BSN, LPN, RN, CNA)
  • Physician Assistant
  • Hospital Administrator
  • Psychology
  • Optometry
  • Pharmacists and Staff
  • Managed Care
  • Dentistry
  • Practice Managers
  • Dental Hygienists
  • Medical Resident or Fellow
  • Veterinarian
  • Genetic Counselor

Incrowd has a fun feature that lets you compare your responses to those of your peers. You can also arrange to get survey invitations on your phone, perfect for a quick survey during downtime during the day or when you're on-call. Incrowd pays via Paypal or Tango (gift cards). It pays for surveys every time your balance reaches $25 and for interviews within 24 hours. If you sign up through these links between now and December 10, you will be entered into a drawing for a $250 Amazon gift card.

Sign-up for Incrowd today!

 

#4 MD for Lives

This one is for docs only, and the company also sends you CME material. It's all on an app for both Android and iPhone, making it super convenient to do surveys on your phone during downtime. MD for Lives pays via Paypal, Amazon vouchers, or through edX or Coursera, and it pays monthly. Surveys pay $50-$500. If you sign up via these WCI links, you'll get a $20 sign-up bonus.

Sign-up for MD for Lives today!

 


#5 Opinion Site

Join OpinionSite to share your expert feedback on new products, patient treatment trends and issues impacting the everyday lives of healthcare professionals. Participate in a wide array of engaging surveys and interviews. Your personal information and privacy are fully protected at all times. Digital payment tools provide a quick and easy way to redeem the rewards you earn for participating in research. It takes less than 5 minutes to join and once your membership is approved they will begin matching you with the meaningful medical research that fits your interests, with invites being sent to your inbox whenever a new research opportunity matches your profile.

OpinionSite accepts:

Active Physician
Nurse Practitioner (NP)
Nurse (BSN, LPN, RN, CNA)
Physician Assistant
Hospital Administrator
Psychology
Optometry
Pharmacists and Staff
Managed Care
Dentistry
Practice Managers
Dental Hygienists
Medical Resident or Fellow
Veterinarian
Genetic Counselor
Technician, Technologist, and Imaging

OpinionSite accepts healthcare professionals in the US, Canada, UK, and EU.

Sign Up for Opinion Site Today!

 

If you are already doing surveys, share your experience. Which companies do you like best and why? Which do you not like so much? What other companies should we add to the list? Which ones pay the most and the quickest? Which are least likely to screen you out? Comment below!