Today it is common knowledge that anybody can make money taking surveys online, but I'm just not sure people are truly aware of how much they can actually make. Personally I came across this program by accident because I wanted a better life. I was burnt out from frequent flights across the country to meet clients and the daily commute to the city; not to mention the ongoing corporate rat race. Even on the occasion I wasn't traveling, I'd get home from a long days work, eat, be too exhausted to fully enjoy my energetic kids, go to bed, and start the same cycle over again the next day. I admit the corporate money was good, but if you're too burnt out and don't have any leisure time to enjoy it, so what! I knew I had to find a better way before life slipped away.

Companies need product feedback in order to provide a higher quality product for consumers, and employees at these companies don't have time or budget to be setting up booths and running around with a clipboard. The fact of the matter is that the internet is the cheapest way for these companies to achieve this.

Having said that I'm not referring to money surveys websites that allow you to sign up for free. On the surface this offer sounds tempting, however, these survey sites offer surveys from fly-by-night often marketing focused companies, rather then companies doing legitimate research that will pay for accurate customer data. What you will often find with free survey sites is that the represented company's mandate is to retrieve your personal data for their marketing purposes rather then providing legitimate surveys.

Most legitimate paid survey websites will feature:

- Membership Fees: There is no way around it. Any legitimate money survey program is going to have some kind of membership fee or sign up fee. They use this to maintain the program, training, support provided and to keep the high number of companies providing surveys updated. Most membership sites also do what they can to weed out marketing based companies, SPAMers and scamers so that you won't have to worry about receiving too much SPAM or identity theft.

- Large Companies: If your money for surveys company is legitimate, they are going to have a number of large name clients. Many of these companies have names such as Coca Cola, Taco Bell, Verizon, and Burger King on their client list. You won't see any of these large names on any of the free paid survey websites. That is because none of these large companies would trust their data to a survey company with a less than trustworthy screening process.

Like any job, it does take some effort to make a lot of money for surveys online. But, I will say this, any effort you put into it will be well worth your while, as you'll be paid back in more ways then you would expect. When combined with a data entry program I currently use (info in links sites below), it has allowed me to make more than a decent living from home and ski side condo, while allowing me the freedom to work when and where I choose.