Anyone work for AQA?

Drunk_Tinkerbell

I was just wondering whether there was anyone here who works for AQA?
If so, how long have you worked for them? I'm wondering whether you could potentially work with them for a long time or do they turnover their staff regularly?
I just got accepted and I can't wait to start, but I'd like to think of this as a long term thing that I can carry on doing once my kids go to school. If anyone has been working for them for a few years I'd love to hear from you!
Thanks
DT x

littleange

I worked for them for about a year, and always thought of it as an unsecure job as their standards are very high and you can fail reviews over minor little things - lost my contract. It is hard work for the money and its best in the evenings, especially at weekends.

Drunk_Tinkerbell

Sorry to hear you lost your contract. I'd be gutted if that happened as it's so handy for me being stuck at home with kids!

littleange

I was pretty gutted! Hope it works out for you, I strongly recommend you brush up on your punctuation and grammer as they are very strict on that.

lookoutapiano_2

Congratulations tink- have been hoping youd get in!

Drunk_Tinkerbell

littleange_com wrote: »

I was pretty gutted! Hope it works out for you, I strongly recommend you brush up on your punctuation and grammer as they are very strict on that.

Do they get rid of you as soon as you make one mistake then? Sounds pretty harsh!! What did you do!?

littleange

Drunk_Tinkerbell wrote: »

Do they get rid of you as soon as you make one mistake then? Sounds pretty harsh!! What did you do!?

I think I was out on my third bad review, but they were all really minor mistakes in my opinion.

bexifer

I've worked for AQA for 2 years now and I love it. I wouldn't want to work in an office again after getting used to working the hours and days I want in my own home, and doing it full time you can actually make a decent enough living.

The reviews are strict because they need to be. If someone's paid £1 for a service, it's not good value if the answer sent out contains poor grammar and/or spelling mistakes. I understand if some people think it's too tough, but to get a really bad review you'd need to have quite a few errors over quite a few questions answered. Obviously no-one is 100% accurate all of the time, and you are allowed some mistakes in any review. If I could offer you 1 piece of advice it would be to check your answers thoroughly before you send them out. In time, this becomes second nature, and as you become used to it, so your question rate will increase and your earnings will improve more and more.

I've always found everyone to be extremely helpful and friendly and they do treat us very well. We get socials at least 3 times a year where all the food and drink is free, and of course the added bonus of not having to commute to work every day.

Anyway, I don't want to sound like an advert for AQA so I'll shut up now, but I can honestly say I've only had positive experiences so far working for them.

Best of luck with the new job, and I'm sure you'll love it

C_J

I've worked for AQA for just over a year, and absolutely love it. I don't rely on it as my main income as I already have a full time job but as an income-supplementer, it's fabulous.

I agree with everyone who has said that it's hard work - it can be utterly draining at times. Not only are you trying to provide the best, most interesting, factually-correct and amusing answer to each customer's query, you are also constrained by fitting it into 153 characters with impeccable grammar and punctuation while having one eye on your skip rates and hard question percentages. I always try and ensure I hit those targets every single time I am logged in, so they don't slip.

People shouldn't make the mistake of thinking that AQA is a passport to making big money (though I do quite nicely out of it). If that's your sole motivation, you might need to shift your perspective somewhat - it's not about *you* making ££ out of *them*, it's about being part of the team and providing the very best customer service possible.

When I first started, I remember being quite surprised that other researchers would add comments to questions which were sitting in the hard question queue, to make it easier for their fellow researchers to answer them. They would have gone to a lot of time and trouble to dig around and find the information, yet they'd left it for someone else to answer more fully and earn the 30p. But *that* is what working for AQA is all about .... team work, and being the very best.

Blimey, I sound like a propaganda advert!

I heart AQA though

Soubrette

I worked for them for a year and they are picky picky picky when it comes to punctuation.

I left (handed in my immediate notice rather than let go) after a very poor review where the reviewer had obviously just copied my questions into word and used that as her basis for review. I was picked up on using commas instead of semi-colons (I have been on a proof reading course and the first lesson we learned it is that punctuation is not set in stone) and for using commas to break up a sentence when I had been told to that previously by a different reviewer. Oh yes, she also went off on one on an answer that I had given where I had actually asked for instructions online and typed that word for word.

It was a thin time on the ground for them and I had been answering the minimum questions required in order that those that relied on the income could still manage and so it no longer seemed worth the time and effort for it.

I loved answering the questions though - oh to find a job like that and be on a guaranteed hourly rate

Sou

littleange

I understand that they need to be strict and that the customer expects quality, but some of the mistakes would not have been obvious to the customer as they were very minor.

Not trying to put you off Tinkerbell, but I would not rely on it to be a long term job and just make the most of it while it lasts, unless you have amazing puncuation and grammer that is!

It can be very hard work, you need lots of concentration so you don't make silly mistakes and some days I was stuggling to make £3 an hour during the day. I was still happy though as I was at home and was gutted when I lost it.

Hope it works out for you.