Expose

I was first exposed to paid surveys and focus groups back in the 50s, when I was just a child.  My mother and aunts were participating in surveys and opinion polls for cash.  In fact, many women of that era were participating in "paid for opinion" work and contributing to their family's income. But it wasn't until the early 70s that I personally got involved. I had a couple of good friends who were getting paid for their opinions, and they convinced me to give it a try.  They were both young stay-at-home moms.  I saw that they were having quite a lot of fun and earning significant money too. At that time, I was more interested in making a difference with my opinion than I was about the money to be earned.  I continued to take part in surveys well into the 1980s.

Nothing was accessible online as it is today.  Surveys were sent by mail or you met at a specific location by appointment.  All surveys, focus groups, and polls required completion by hand and submission by return mail if you can believe that. Getting the surveys, completing them, sending them back, and receiving the checks in the mail took more work and more time.  But it was fun, rewarding, and the income was a wonderful bonus. As my life and career evolved over the next few years, I gradually phased out participating in surveys.  But then, suddenly in 1999 I was presented with a new challenge.  I'd become disabled and unable to work a regular job outside the home.