The world of online surveys can be very appealing.  It offers the chance to influence products and companies.  If you already own or have access to a computer, there's no investment needed.  You can take them in your pajamas if you like, no one knows or cares. Because many companies offer cash or items in return for your time, it can be an excellent way to make a little extra money.  Some surveys lead to product tests or more indepth studies with larger cash rewards.

Along the way you have to watch out for survey companies who offer very little in return for your time and effort.  When evaluating a survey company, remember that they are paid for the research they're doing.  Your time, experience, and opinions are making them money.  How much of that are they sharing with you?

First rule of survey taking:  Never pay THEM.  They pay YOU.  This may seem obvious but there are companies out there that want to charge you for advice and access to their database, which is, basically, what I am giving you here for free.  They make this look very enticing by hyping their databases making big claims about how much money you can earn.  But the hype is just that - hype to get your money; they're the ones making the real $$, not the people paying them.  

Let's deal with the inflated claims now.  You're rarely going to be offered a survey worth over $5 to take it.  It'll happen, but not as often as the sites selling their databases would like us to believe.  Occasionally you'll even get into an interactive or focus group that pays you a nice, big, fat check.  Those are wonderful.  But they don't happen every day.  They don't even happen every month.

Second rule:  Do surveys that only offer sweepstakes entries as their reward when you have nothing else to do.  These generally aren't worth the time they take, but many of them are legitimate meaning somebody does win and it might be you.  Some will lead to something bigger, but most won't.

Not all survey companies are created equal.  Some are notorious for not paying their panelists.  Oh, they promise to, and when you contact them about payment you haven't received, they'll ask you to prove you took the survey.  And then the worst ones still won't pay you, even if you can prove it.  Some routinely put out very sloppy and difficult or impossible to complete surveys.  Others are very professional, very nice to work with, payment always comes, and their surveys almost always very clear and easy to complete.  I offer you, linked below, the ones I've had the best success with.  They have always paid me, and never given me any trouble about it.  Others may have different experiences, but all I am offering you are my own, honest, insights and list, and links to help you in your search to find more when you're ready.

Be wary of sites that want you to do a bunch of free trial offers - with a charge if you don't cancel - and call those surveys. They're not.  They're a sloppily disguised affiliate cash cow.  Pages and pages of opt in advertising when trying to sign up for a survey site is a very good indication the site is nothing more than spam and trial offers.  Whether or not any of these pay, I don't know personally, I have a problem with sites that lie to me and quickly deleted my account with the ones mislabeling trial offers as surveys.  Not before they repeatedly sold my email address, though.  You might consider using a back up email address rather than your primary for signing up with surveys, to avoid having your main account massively spammed if you happen across an unethical one. 

When you sign up with a company, fill out all profile questions and profile surveys as soon as you can.  These are used to determine who is offered what type of survey.  Keeping them up-to-date as best you can will maximize your survey offerings and eliminate time wasted otherwise by trying to qualify for ones that don't match your demographic.