Odd jobs are everywhere around us and the numbers are increasing by the day. In today’s AirTasker review, we will be looking into this money-making opportunity in the local scene. What can you gain from it and most importantly, is it worth your time? Let’s get into the fine details.
What Is AirTasker?
Founded in Sydney, Australia in 2012 by Tim Fung and Jonathan Lui, AirTasker is an online marketplace that connects people/businesses who are looking to outsource everyday tasks (aka Posters) with those who are ready to fulfill them for a certain budget (aka Taskers). Other countries where this platform also operates in are the UK and Ireland.
As a Tasker, you can either make a job offer or search for tasks based on your skillset. Since most jobs have a specific duration for completion, it’s common to see bidding among Taskers before the time runs out. There is a huge variety of jobs in the marketplace; some demand skills and some are just simple tasks. Some are home-based while some require you to travel or be on site.
They are all divided into specific categories that can be easily searched according to interest.
In terms of earning, you are looking anywhere between $5 to $10K per task. Just to show some examples, here’s a random task that pays $5 for sourcing concert tickets…
And a professional landscaping job that will hire for $10K. Interesting, right?
As you can see, pricing is quoted per task – not hourly or partially. In a way, it’s like a combination of Fiverr gigs and freelancing work, all in one platform.
How to Get Job on AirTasker
In order to qualify as a Tasker, you need to be at least 18 years old and have legal rights to work in that particular country. A bank account is also required to receive payments.
To get started, you need to set up a profile detailing your skills, qualifications (if any) and job experience. As time goes by, other information will also be added to the portfolio such as ratings, completion rate, and commitment badges to increase the level of trustworthiness.
When you accept a task, payment will be made by the Poster and kept in an escrow first. After completing the job, AirTasker will deduct a service fee between 10-20% before releasing the fund. If everything goes well, you should be able to receive your earnings within 3-5 days. The more money you make as a result of completing more jobs, the service fee technically reduces.
The Pros
Nowadays, the number of odd jobs is increasing in urban areas and they are popular for many reasons. Some of the following key points may entice you to apply
- It’s free to create a profile on AirTasker and no special documents are needed. As long as you adhere to their community guidelines and are honest about your portfolio, you are pretty much listed and ready for hire.
- Don’t know if you are paying according to the standard market values? No worries because there are task-specific price guides available to help you navigate through the matter. In fact, AirTasker has got a huge knowledge base to help you in comprehending the ins and outs of task-oriented jobs if you are clueless.
- As an independent contractor, time is flexible so it’s something you can work as a side hustle or go full-time if you like. Some who actually took the job seriously and work as a Tasker for a year went on to earn a whopping total of $171 thousand according to this article.
- As shown earlier, the categories of work are very broad. Nothing is ever considered too big or too small. Even if you don’t have a specific skill set, there’s always something an ordinary person can accomplish as long as you have good work ethics. Plus, you might even get 100% tips for that commitment.
- Task details are somewhat negotiable after assignment and that means there’s room for private discussion to take place between you and the Poster before actually delivering the job. This, in my opinion, can help prevent any misunderstanding and unnecessary cancellation taking place.
The Cons
Despite the popularity and all, there are certain grey areas that you need to be aware of when becoming a Tasker on this platform.
- The first is regarding third party insurance that claims to protect workers. You would be surprised that there are many exclusions for tasks like mechanical repair and electrical works where personal injuries are likely to happen. So do check on the fine print if you are planning to carry out these tasks.
- The quoted pricing doesn’t reflect 100% earning due to the deduction of service fees and in some cases, you may find the tasks to be undervalued if you are skillful and possess a ton of experience. This can be somewhat challenging to negotiate.
- As a public platform, there’s only so much filtration the company can do when it comes to distinguishing legit versus suspicious tasks. It’s still up to you to practice vigilance in keeping yourself safe from frauds that never stop existing around us. So, always proceed with caution.
- Interestingly, AirTasker has actually got a referral program (ext). That means, whenever a new member (a Tasker) signs up with the platform using your unique referral code, they will receive $25 towards their first task and you’ll get $10 credit yourself. Unfortunately, the referral is capped at 15 people – any number more than that, you’ll not be credited. Honestly, I find such an opportunity to be quite limiting.
Is AirTasker Worth It?
Overall, AirTasker is a good platform to try if you are thinking about making good use of your skills, time or simply looking for odd jobs to earn some extra money. Like any service-based marketplace, communication is key and it’s rewarding when you are proactive in every aspect.
However, not all jobs are created equal and for some, it can be challenging to gauge the outcome until you actually do it. Likewise, do expect competition among Taskers and obviously, for those living in the US, you may need to look at other platforms such as Doordash, UberEats, Instacart and TaskRabbit for side jobs.
But here’s the thing – a job is always a job. You are constantly working for someone else and even though it pays, it will come to a point where you just want to do your own thing or probably want to create a better source of income. If that’s the case, you should look into starting an online business and affiliate marketing is a good stepping stone for this.
Here is how it works.
Find out if the products you frequently use have affiliate programs or not. If they do, you can partner with them and recommend those items online. When someone purchases through your referral link, you’ll earn a percentage of sales commission from the sale. This monetizing method can work for any type of hobby and any form of profession.
Take the Amazon Associate program for example, there are a plethora of items you can promote from the marketplace. Browse their huge range of product categories and you are bound to find something relevant and interesting to share with your audience.
Besides Amazon, there are also other brands/companies out there with programs you can join. Use the following affiliate networks to search and see if there’s anything interesting within your country. What I like about the affiliate marketing model is that;
- It’s all about referring people to use products or services that are established. You don’t need to produce anything or deliver services yourself.
- It’s a convenient side hustle and caters to a lot of business ideas. Whatever your interest or skills may be, chances are there’s a niche to match that in the online space.
- The start-up fee is minimal. For beginners, you just need a domain and a website to create the foundation for an online presence.
- If you commit consistent time and effort, the side hustle can potentially turn into a passive income generating online business.
There are certainly more ways to leverage your skills than just a job. So if this affiliate business idea is intriguing, find out how you can get started for free through my recommended training platform here.
Have some comments or questions? Just leave them in the space down below.
Abayomi says
This review has opened my eyes to jobs that may exist in my neighborhood. Some of them seem like you don’t need a lot of skills to perform.
Can I ask some questions – What are the criteria for signing up as a freelancer and what is the method of earnings withdrawals? Thank you for the input.
Cathy says
Hi Abayomi, the criteria very much depend on the requirement of the job. The poster will outline what is needed of you. As for withdrawals, it will be banked into your account through their secured channel called AirTasker Pay. Hope this helps.
SeunJeremiah says
There are many odd jobs opportunities here that can make use of my skills. I like the idea of working off hours to earn some extra cash and the freedom to choose whatever jobs I want. Wonder what took me so long to discover this site. Thanks for sharing.
Chris says
Hi Cathy,
I am so happy that I found this review because I am a UK resident searching for tasks online that I can do to make some extra cash. I much prefer doing this than micro tasking because those pay in pennies and I don’t have such patience. This seems to be up my alley as I would rather work with humans and contribute something valuable to the workforce.
Willy says
AirTasker sounds like an opportunity for me to maximize my skills to earn money some money on the side. I was aware of the platform but never really look into it. I am surprised to see so many job opportunities here. Thanks for the review. I will check out what’s there in the Victoria area.
John says
AirTasker looks like a good platform where I can make some extra money during my free time. I have tried out some freelancing sites before where I actually had to pay to join but this one is free which is a good thing. I will give it a try and see how well I can perform doing random jobs. Thank you for reviewing this.
Bonnie says
This looks really interesting! I’m in the USA, but I’m not sure we have anything close to this level. We have Craigslist and Task Rabbit, but this looks more diverse and reliable. Do you think they will be expanding to the US anytime soon?
I could really use some extra cash and this looks like the perfect platform to get it. Thanks for the info!
Cathy says
Hi Bonnie, Indeed dot com may have some task-oriented jobs that suit you. Look up there. If not, Task Rabbit is probably the closest you could find in this category.
Rodarrick says
Wow! It wouldn’t hurt to try my luck with this Air Tasker. It seems everything needed is just my skillset and off I am to making worthy amount of income with every task completed. Thumbs up for the review and I really fancy it a lot. Since I live in the UK, that means I can try it out too. I’d check out the site right away.
Dane says
There are lots of people all around who are very skillful and but don’t have a means of making money with what they know. Some are even losing their skills because they aren’t using them frequently enough. This Air Tasker platform presents them with the opportunities which otherwise would not have been available using the conventional method.
C says
Thank you for this review of Air Tasker. I live in the US, and it kind of reminds me of Craigslist. Only more regulated. That is definitely a good thing. It’s pretty amazing that someone can make a six-figure income in a year doing this. It probably varies depending on the person’s skills, but it’s good to know that it’s possible.