By Dr. Rikki Racela, WCI Columnist

Yes, you read that headline right. I made a five-figure sum last year doing online surveys for medical professionals. How did I accomplish such a feat? How did I make an extra $30,000 in a year? Well, there are a few principles that allowed me to attain such a sum from paid surveys. Let's explore how I did it.

If you have ever done a paid survey, you will notice that the initial screening questions that they ask address many of the principles above. That is because they want to know solid information from doctors who actually prescribe the drugs or services that the survey is asking about. Let’s break down these principles one by one.

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The majority of, if not all, online surveys will ask how many patients you see per month or per year. This is by design, as doctors who see a ton of patients have likely prescribed the drug they are being asked about. And I see a lot of patients. I typically see 14-16 patients a day and work five days a week; that’s 75 patients a week, totaling 300 patients a month. With the many varied neurological ailments I encounter, I prescribe an immense array of pharmaceuticals. This is exactly what survey companies want to see in the doctors who take their surveys. Whatever product they want to learn about will most likely be utilized by a busy physician.

Another screening question asked is the number of different types of patients you see. Companies will list various pathologies, but there is usually one disease on which surveyors are focused. Many of the drugs the surveyors are asking about are geared toward a specific disease state. In order not to telegraph exactly which disease state they are interested in—lest you are dishonest just to qualify for the survey—many diseases are listed. As a general neurologist, I see all types of neurological patients, and as mentioned above, I see a lot of them. That sets me up in a perfect position to answer questions in-depth about any type of disease/drug the surveyors wish to discuss.

My patients and I have been blessed with a plethora of novel drugs that have been developed for various neurological diseases. Numerous surveys I have taken throughout my career have involved multiple sclerosis drugs. Up until I started residency training 15 years ago, there were only two classes of immunomodulatory medications that an MS patient could choose from. Now, there are over 15 FDA-approved MS medications. This is not just limited to multiple sclerosis. There have been countless new drugs for various neurological diseases, including migraine, myasthenia gravis, and narcolepsy . . . The list goes on and on.

Because I see a lot of patients with varying ailments, I have experience using all of these new medications. And survey companies pay me for my experience, trying to delve into why I choose one medication over another and the advantages and disadvantages for different types of patients. Going back to my MS example, the MS marketplace has become very crowded, which is why surveyors pay me good money for my opinion on how I differentiate prescribing one MS drug over another. This is not just limited to multiple sclerosis. I have experience prescribing plenty of other new drugs and I can provide insights into why I chose one drug over another for all types of neurological diseases. Survey companies want my opinion.

Many of the medical surveys also ask about the promotional material and my opinions on the pharmaceutical company salesforce that advertises to me. Since I am open to seeing pharmaceutical reps, I can furnish this information and qualify for surveys that ask for salesforce information. Whether it’s the free food they bring, the colorful promotional material they give me and my patients, or even the utilization of an iPad, many of the paid surveys I have taken ask for this information. My colleagues who have ethical qualms about talking to pharma reps will undoubtedly screen out of these types of surveys. But companies value information on how their salesforce is doing, and they pay for feedback, positive or negative, through paid surveys.

Also, realize that I am OK with having the monetary value of any accepted food being reported on the Open Payments website. This is a government-run website where all payments in the form of money, food, educational materials, and basically anything given to a doctor are archived for public disclosure. It's a good thing that patients have the opportunity to see any pharmaceutical bias I might have from free food or speaker engagements. I like to think I stay objective when exposed to promotional programs, but patients may not feel so comfortable. They can utilize Open Payments to steer clear of potentially biased physicians.

Which brings me to my next point: If you are recognized in any of these potential surveys, there is a disclaimer that your honoraria will be reported to Open Payments. I'm unclear how there could be a possibility of being identified by the sponsoring drug company of a survey when the survey is being administered by a third party that anonymizes its data, but the disclaimer is there. I would assume the chances of being identified are close to nil, but if you want to feel secure when filling out these online surveys, you will have to accept this possibility. Surveys generally will give you the option that if you are personally identified, you can forfeit your honoraria and not be reported to Open Payments.

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Aside from the promotional methods and tactics of their salesforce, survey companies also would like my opinion on their paid speakers and the effectiveness of pharmaceutical dinners. This makes logical sense, as many of these expensive dinners—usually held at fancy restaurants—feature an expert physician speaker, who also gets paid, who explains the product and tries to convince fellow physicians of the merits of a particular drug. If pharmaceutical companies discover through paid surveys that this type of promotion is not effective, this would be valuable information to save the company thousands, if not millions, of dollars on continuing this type of advertising. Because I attend a lot of these functions (thank goodness for my nanny!), I can attend many of these dinners and subsequently provide my opinion through paid surveys.

After a long day of work and trying to get the kids to bed, I am exhausted and I have minimal mental energy to do anything productive. To unwind, I usually like listening to old-school 80s music, but just listening to music would make me feel unproductive. I do many of these surveys at the same time I’m blasting Roxette or Corey Hart (corny, I know). As I am listening to music, I am actually being incredibly productive by making survey money. On average, a 30-minute survey will pay me anywhere from $45-$80 depending on how rare the neurological disease that is being surveyed. Also, I am expanding my knowledge, as these surveys often focus on current drugs and new drugs on the horizon. I tend to learn a little something from every survey while getting my 80s pop rock fix.

Another aspect of paid surveys that I celebrate is whenever there is downtime, I can always grab my phone and turn a potential waste of time into monetary productivity. Just last week, I was dropping off my daughter at preschool just as teachers had reported the smell of gas in the building. We had to wait nearly 45 minutes for the fire department to give the all-clear. Since my 5-year-old daughter hates talking to me (perhaps it's because I'm the one who wakes her up for school), I did two surveys while waiting.

And this is just one example of where downtime is no longer downtime when you have your phone handy. Got a new consult on the other side of the hospital where you have to walk a mile or more? Do a survey. On hold while talking to an insurance company on the phone? Do a survey. The office staff falling behind checking in patients, and you are waiting for them to be roomed? Do a survey. LP tray nowhere to be found, and nurses have to go down to the ER to get one? Do a survey. Your spouse annoyed that you are taking too many surveys? Well, you likely should not do a survey in that instance. Realize that many of the frustrating instances of having to wait now disappear because taking paid surveys actually allows me to be productive.

But wait, there’s more! The more surveys that you perform, the more surveys will come your way. In fact, many of the surveys will ask if you want to receive more surveys in the future. The more you enjoy doing surveys, the more that you can do, and the more that will come your way. In the end, it is my enjoyment of completing surveys that is the main driver of why I make so much dough. These surveys help me to decompress from a long day and transform unproductive time into a huge monetary benefit.

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This might seem sort of random, but it is actually illegal for a doctor licensed in Vermont to partake in paid surveys because it violates the gift ban law instituted in that state. As a result, all surveys will ask specifically if you are licensed in Vermont. If so, you will not qualify for the survey. Other violations include working for the government or Kaiser Permanente, which also is specifically asked in all surveys. Finally, to eliminate bias, you can’t work for or have anyone in your immediate family work for a pharmaceutical or advertising company. If any of the above applies to you, you cannot participate in market research.

Physician surveys taken on the telephone or over Zoom can also make you money. I usually get paid about $300 per hour when doing these telephone or Zoom interviews. They are much more lucrative because these interviews are at a scheduled time and are less flexible to do at your leisure. However, I love doing these interviews as I get paid more and I can usually multitask while the interview is being conducted. I try to schedule these telephone calls when I am cleaning the house, doing dishes, or even commuting. For example, in my last telephone interview, I was loading the dishwasher and picking up Cheerios off the floor while discussing a potential new mechanism of action for the treatment of myasthenia gravis. Sometimes, though, these interviews are over a webcam to ensure the interviewer has my full attention and so they can screen-share information. If I physically have to be on camera, I select a pleasant environment where I do not mind sitting down and taking a break for an hour. Last summer, I did a video interview while sitting outside on my comfy patio sipping on a Sam Adams Summer Ale. That means that when I do these more lucrative paid telephone and webcam interviews, it doesn't feel like work. And I am still getting paid!

I fulfill all the principles one needs to create a lucrative paid survey side gig. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I encouraged my wife to get into paid survey-taking. But it's probably not possible for her to generate such high income from paid surveys because the aforementioned principles do not apply to her as an anesthesiologist.

As my wife exemplifies, she is not the right physician to make any significant money with surveys, given her chosen specialty, the nature of her practice, and how she values her time.

In the end, the ability and temperament to get paid well from surveys are nuanced. Fortunately, I chose a specialty and have a practice that is set up where surveyors would love to pay for my opinion. And given how I integrate paid survey work into my life, I don’t see it as work at all. Instead, it's a fun, educational, and time-optimized side gig. This is why I’m killing it to the tune of $30,000 a year.

Are you doing paid surveys? Have you made it as lucrative as I have? Any other insights into how to make online surveys more lucrative? Comment below!

Really? It’s no surprise that your wife doesn’t have time to do surveys or go to pharma dinners. Somebody has to pay attention to the kids and keep the home fires burning. Why? You’re in a two-doctor household with kids. There are enough stresses and demands on your time. Do you really need the money?

Hi Bev, yes, actually the extra money does come in handy. We are not the most frugal docs in the world and are currently saving money for a quarter million dollar backyard project. And as I mentioned above, I don’t actually find it stressful to complete these. In fact, before responding to this I just did a survey listening to Peter Cetera (did a little singing too, not too loud giving the fam is asleep 🙂 Reward as follows:

Thank you for participating in the Understanding your Parkinson’s Disease patient management AlphaSession. Your answers have been successfully submitted.

In recognition for your time and feedback, you will receive a $145 honorarium in the mail in 2 to 4 weeks.

Please verify your mailing address below:

“Since my 5-year-old daughter hates talking to me (perhaps it’s because I’m the one who wakes her up for school), I did two surveys while waiting.”

None of my business. If that was me, I would keep working on that and not dive into the phone. The time invested at every opportunity in your kids in my opinion is a duty and an investment. Who knows, she might blurt out she has a boyfriend! No conversation needed. Don’t take it as a criticism, not the intent. I just value “together time”. Priceless.

hey Tim so true. I do find my kids busting my chops kind of priceless, but I only push my kids so far into talking to me and then will do a survey if our conversation really gets nowhere.

I’m taking a break from surveys to write this response haha….

Good summary of what is out there. I am a pharmacist working at a health plan and able to bring in the same $ per survey or more than what you are describing. Perhaps even more important to the drug companies than what goes into prescribing is what goes into insurance coverage decisions. I actually do surveys in any and all drug areas, which has an even wider reach than being in a specialty like neurology. I have been doing these for the past 6 years or so, and made right around $70k in 2021 and on pace for a similar year this year. The survey $ have enabled me to be on a fast-track to FIRE. I am easily at $300/hour in blinded surveys, sometimes more depending on what I am doing. Pharmacists are also not subject to open source, which eases those concerns. If there are opportunities to work directly with a pharma company on an advisory board, those will pay several thousand dollars for a one-day meeting, I have only done a couple of those throughout the years as I have found they are more difficult to obtain and a higher commitment with possible travel required.

You make an important point that once you get started in the field, the opportunities begin to grow, probably exponentially. When initially starting out, you will likely be limited in opportunity and your name will start to get passed around and the companies will start contacting you. I am at a point now where if I take a promotion to a different position where I don’t meet with pharma companies I will almost certainly be taking a large pay cut overall due to loss of survey $. I also have a lot of the opportunity come through my work email, so it may be difficult to maintain the volume if I choose to quit my job. Some/most survey opportunity is dependent on currently being employed in the position.

One point where I differ from you though is that I don’t think they are fun – they are work! I definitely wouldn’t be doing them for free in my spare time. Staying on top of them and continually providing good feedback is a job, but it can be very lucrative. I try to complete most during working hours, potentially doing some work after the kids go to bed or early mornings on the weekend. I do advise looking at the trade-offs for your time as others have mentioned in the comments and making a decision that works for you.

omg!!! you should be writing this article rather than me!!! dominating job that $70,000/yr will definitely accelerate your track to financial freedom.

How much does this complicate your tax filing? Does every survey generate a W-2?

Not by much. You get a 1099 from every survey company you work with at the end of the year. Fairly easy to do

It’s actually a great bonus, you get 1099 income which means you have a business – I have started an individual 401k based on this income and contributed extra beyond the maximum from my W2 employer. You can also drastically lower your tax burden of this income with business expenses.

It’s actually a great bonus, you get 1099 income which means you have a business – I have started an individual 401k based on this income and contributed extra beyond the maximum from my W2 employer. You can also drastically lower your tax burden of this income with business expenses.

This does not complicate it that much- that’s why I have an accountant! also it came in handy when I got screwed by my financial “advisor” and had a rollover IRA from my residency 401k that prevented me from doing the backdoor Roth. Because of the 1099 income, I was able to open a solo401k, liquidate the VA that was in my rollover IRA (yes, I buddy/”advisor” was screwing me royally) and rollover that IRA into the solo401k to do the backdoor Roth. I could have also just rolled over into my work 403b, though would not get as many investment options as the solo401k.

I also do have the added pleasure of having to do Form 5500 since my solo 401k has balloned to over $250k. My accountant was going to charge $750 to do it, but it’s so easy I do it myself. again, no too much of a tax hassle.

Reading Dr. Racela’s posts always makes me think that this is a great example of the doctor might be valuing money over quality time with family. Sure, you can make an extra 30k doing busy work all day long, but it’s all about what is important to you at the end of the day. There gets to be a point where you have to say “I have enough”.

Alex, great point man. I try to value the time I spend with the fam/kids, but I can’t be the only one who thinks the time with kids is draining and makes work like doing surveys, well, not feel like work at all. My son has ADHD, and just before he finally fell asleep, he had let the dog out, hit his sister, and dropped multiple F-bombs because we took away his iPad. In this context, the survey I did after he finally fell asleep while listening to 80’s music is remarkably therapeutic.

good point Alex. I try to value time with the fam and kids, but it is incredibly difficult! Maybe it is because me and the wife work too much, but I do have an ADHD son that makes our family time incredibly draining. Just earlier as we are putting him to bed he let the dog out, banged his nose on furniture causing a bloody nose, hit his sister and then dropped multiple F-bombs because we took away his iPad. When put in this context, doing a survey afterwards when he was finally asleep while listening to 80’s music is remarkably therapeutic!

Might as well make some money while you’re relaxing!

Great summary about doing surveys. I do it frequently and enjoy some of them.

Another good company is KQ health.

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thanks Ed! I just signed up now 🙂

This is an excellent post about what is out there in terms of surveys. I dont’ really understand the naysayers. You can quantify the value of time and determine if it’s worth it.

I mean to all the critics of this post do you mow your own lawn or cook your own food or do your own taxes? Every minute of your time outside work that isn’t spent with kids and family is a tradeoff. With those you can pay people to do chores/errands for you. Similarly you can you can decide if it’s worth it to use some of your free time for a side hustle if it pays enough. Doctor surveys happen to be one of the more lucrative ones per hour so it’s reasonable to consider it. And Dr. Racela wrote a great post describing how to do it.

I’d rather spend an hour doing a doctor survey than an hour mowing my lawn. Also, I both do doctor surveys and play with my kids. (I pay someone to mow my lawn, though.)

thanks tom yes I definitely agree with you it is worth my time, especially its so flexible to do anytime, anywhere.

Nice post . I have been earning good amount of money as well. m3global is another good one for surveys .If anyone interested sharing the referral link.

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thanks MK. Yes I love M3 great company and have done a lot of surveys for them

I tried doing surveys with several companies. Made a pretty concerted effort. But, as an interventional / diagnostic radiologist, I don’t think my opinion is that valuable… I gave up.

yeah unfortunately you are likely like my anesthesiologist wife. there is not too many upcoming products/drugs in your field that survey companies would like your opinion on.

However, as an interventional radiologist your time is more valuable then mine, so given your field might not be worth doing surveys.

So much judgment in these responses! I thank you for sharing your experience.

Agree. There are a lot of tradeoffs with career and family. The critics should ask themselves if they are willing to leave the last $30k they made on the table.

I agree, I think people are piling on based on previous articles this author has written. This article is fine. It’s a good option for some side money, I’ve used it as well. Not quite to the tune of the money youre making, but it’s still a nice supplement. I also agree that it’s not stressful and depending on the specialty can be fairly high value in terms of dollars to minutes spent

thanks S. Yup, still working on getting better on this blog post writing thing. I enjoy it, but yes, I am definitely better at my day job 🙂

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