If you want to earn extra money, gone are the days that you have to apply for a part-time job. All you have to do now is log in the internet and you are moments away to earning additional income. This is through the help of online paid surveys. There are companies that are more than willing to pay for your opinions on products that are in the market or will come out in the market. Companies spend a lot of money doing research and development for their products and that includes knowing what consumers want and need. As a survey-taker, you will just give a minimum of 2 minutes to answer a few questions while some can last as long as an hour or two. Practically anyone can take advantage of this privilege as long as you have a computer, internet connection, and spare time.

Let us look at the advantages and disadvantages of answering online surveys. Some advantages would be:

- You easily earn money at the comfort of your own home. You will just have to commit to a few minutes of your time depending on how many surveys you want to answer.

- Another advantage is you handle your own time. It is up to you when you want to work.

- Having this type of extra work does not involve you to be tied up in a contract. You decide which surveys you want to answer.

- Lastly, you are your own boss.

As for the disadvantages:

- There are instances when instead of cash, you will be given vouchers or gift cards as payment. Looking at the bright side, this is good as cash because you can use these gift cards without shelling out money.

- Most survey companies only cater to US and Canada residents. There might be some survey websites in your country but you will have to research really hard.

The question now is: How do you get started?

- Look for the legitimate survey providers online. It is very simple to distinguish the scam from the not, if the offer seems to be too good to be true, it probably is.

- Think twice if some websites ask for your credit card number. They should be the one to pay you, not the other way around.

- You might want to enroll for a PayPal account since most companies send payments via PayPal.

- Create a separate email account for online surveys. If you use your personal email, you might have a hard time checking emails related to online surveys. Make sure to check your mail regularly!

- Sign up to as many survey websites as you can. This increases your chances to earn more.

- Just like any other job, take online surveys seriously. Make sure to answer questions truthfully. This builds your reputation as a survey taker and you will be given more projects.

- Most importantly, be interested in almost everything. Do not limit yourself to just one topic or product. This lessens the potential income you might earn.

Some survey companies will ask you to fill out a profile, accomplish this so the companies will have a look at what you are interested in and will give you more projects.