The past week has been a reminder that income does not always stop at the same time effort does.
Since the 11th, Instacart and other delivery apps have been effectively paused for me due to a driver’s license renewal delay. No workaround. No temporary scan. No barcode. Just waiting on a physical card to arrive. That pause hit harder than expected, especially watching a weekly total sit at zero despite being ready to work.
But not everything stopped.
Instead of freezing, I redirected effort into Prolific and focused on volume and consistency. One study at a time. Small payouts individually, but disciplined repetition compounds. As of now, I have $84.11 USD in completed studies still waiting for approval, fully submitted and already in the pipeline.
At the same time, a large portion of that work has already cleared. Based on the approved table, I have $153.68 USD earned and approved, locked in and moving toward payout.
That puts total Prolific output for this window at $237.79 USD, split between approved earnings and pending reviews.
This is not flashy money. It is not fast money. But it is real, earned, and system resilient, produced without relying on a vehicle, a license scan, or physical logistics.
This experience exposed two things clearly. First, gig income is fragile when it depends on external systems you do not control. A single administrative delay can shut down multiple platforms instantly. Second, fallback income streams that are remote and compliance light are not optional. They are risk management.
I made a mistake by not renewing earlier. That part is on me. But even with the main pipeline paused, progress did not stop.
The path forward is simple. License arrives. Gig apps reopen. Pending clears. Approved lands. Systems get tighter. Fewer single points of failure.
Temporary setbacks only become permanent if momentum stops.
| Study name | Researcher / Institution | Date | Reward (incl bonuses/adjustments) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gig work experience simulation | pku.edu.cn | 20 Dec 2025 01:16 | £1.50 | Approved |
| Brief study about decision making | Yuval Rottenstreich | 19 Dec 2025 23:41 | $0.60 | Approved |
| Recruitment for a study of decisions | Marina Agranov | 19 Dec 2025 11:09 | £0.15 | Approved |
| Dog Shock Collar User Research and Free Test | Mux Allen | 19 Dec 2025 08:47 | $0.20 | Approved |
| A study about recent developments | unil.ch | 19 Dec 2025 08:33 | £0.54 | Approved |
| Preferences in Everyday Life | nus.edu.sg | 19 Dec 2025 08:30 | £0.24 | Approved |
| Quick study about learning instruments | ua.edu | 19 Dec 2025 08:26 | $0.20 | Approved |
| Personal Finance and Spending | Jessica Marquez | 18 Dec 2025 22:43 | $0.20 | Approved |
| Decision Making Task (2 minutes) | assumption.edu | 18 Dec 2025 16:51 | $0.35 | Approved |
| Writing task and person perception | uwinnipeg.ca | 18 Dec 2025 16:20 | £1.05 | Approved |
| Interpersonal Communication | rotman.utoronto.ca | 18 Dec 2025 16:11 | £0.60 | Approved |
| How Voters Rank Candidates | fiu.edu | 18 Dec 2025 16:09 | $0.50 | Approved |
| News Consumption and Reading Comprehension | ufl.edu | 17 Dec 2025 20:52 | $2.00 | Approved |
| Dining Experience and Consumer Reactions | Yu Shan Zhong | 17 Dec 2025 20:29 | $0.50 | Approved |
| Preferences for White Noise Machine Design | Johnson Van | 17 Dec 2025 20:23 | $0.15 | Approved |
| Sports Contracts on Prediction Markets | sdsu.edu | 17 Dec 2025 12:13 | $0.90 | Approved |
| Interpersonal Communication | rotman.utoronto.ca | 16 Dec 2025 13:58 | £0.13 | Approved |
| Evaluate Search Result Designs | SAGE User Surveys | 15 Dec 2025 18:14 | $0.60 | Approved |
| Stories and Attitudes | Richeson Lab | 15 Dec 2025 17:56 | $3.27 | Approved |
| Short judgement study | hbs.edu | 15 Dec 2025 17:11 | $0.94 | Approved |
| Research Study | Researcher Account | 15 Dec 2025 11:36 | $0.60 | Approved |
| Online Consumer Behavior Study | BU Consumer Lab | 15 Dec 2025 11:34 | £0.12 | Approved |
| Perception Study | Anya B | 15 Dec 2025 11:24 | $0.81 | Approved |
| $0.20 for 1 Minute Study | uconn.edu | 15 Dec 2025 08:56 | $0.20 | Approved |
| Medical Decision Making Scenarios | stanford.edu | 14 Dec 2025 21:18 | $0.67 | Approved |
| Consumer Psychology Study | bu.edu | 14 Dec 2025 17:43 | $0.15 | Approved |
| Quick and Easy Academic Study | pdx.edu | 14 Dec 2025 16:17 | $0.45 | Approved |
| Attorney at Law | stanford.edu | 14 Dec 2025 16:00 | $1.00 | Approved |
| Investors view tech and energy management | Julien Clorec | 14 Dec 2025 15:53 | £1.37 | Approved |
| Test web app for nasal discomfort | Edward Lee | 14 Dec 2025 13:44 | £1.20 | Approved |
| Parents Perspectives on K12 Education | David Kidd | 14 Dec 2025 12:54 | $10.00 | Approved |
| Logo testing USA | Rogelio Muhlia | 14 Dec 2025 12:51 | £0.75 | Approved |
| Social emotional skills schools should teach | illinois.edu | 14 Dec 2025 00:07 | $4.00 | Approved |
| Survey | umanitoba.ca | 13 Dec 2025 16:36 | $1.20 | Approved |
| Learning and remembering health information | unc.edu | 13 Dec 2025 16:22 | $4.00 | Approved |
| Study about consumer behavior | Clark Cao | 13 Dec 2025 16:15 | £1.00 | Approved |
| Joint Effects of Personal Goals Study | u.rochester.edu | 13 Dec 2025 15:43 | $1.10 | Approved |
| Police Civilian Relations | stanford.edu | 13 Dec 2025 15:26 | $2.40 | Approved |
| How Voters Rank Candidates | fiu.edu | 13 Dec 2025 15:16 | $0.50 | Approved |
| AI Model Comparison Task | Research Team | 13 Dec 2025 11:31 | £1.50 | Approved |
| Memory Assessment Study | Archer Li | 12 Dec 2025 16:56 | $10.00 | Approved |
| Close relationships and gender attitudes | Michelle Ryan | 12 Dec 2025 07:03 | £0.22 | Approved |
| Social media videos and attitudes | ipz.uzh.ch | 12 Dec 2025 06:57 | £0.75 | Approved |
| Business Idea Evaluation | gwu.edu | 12 Dec 2025 06:15 | $1.00 | Approved |
| Writing and decision making study | Sebastian Tonke | 11 Dec 2025 23:05 | £4.39 | Approved |
| Micro entrepreneurs and AI perceptions | ua.edu | 11 Dec 2025 22:37 | $1.30 | Approved |
| Political opinions and attitudes | Crowd Power | 11 Dec 2025 21:30 | $3.00 | Approved |
| Accommodation advertising | griffith.edu.au | 11 Dec 2025 21:05 | £0.20 | Approved |
| Drawing experiment | Nori Jacoby | 11 Dec 2025 21:02 | £0.30 | Approved |
| Message Evaluation Study | uoregon.edu | 11 Dec 2025 20:06 | $3.50 | Approved |
| Families seeking youth mental health support | Lindsay Holly | 11 Dec 2025 14:42 | $10.00 | Approved |
| Image Labeling | umass.edu | 11 Dec 2025 14:15 | $0.51 | Approved |
| New Session Opportunity | Session Assistant | 11 Dec 2025 14:10 | $0.67 | Approved |
| Parent Reports of Personality | ua.edu | 11 Dec 2025 13:43 | $13.00 | Approved |
| Testing AI agent | Accounts Joule | 11 Dec 2025 13:10 | $2.50 | Approved |
| Small Business Outlook 2026 | Kyle Beierlein | 11 Dec 2025 12:14 | $0.72 | Approved |
| Academic Engagement | winstonprep.edu | 11 Dec 2025 12:12 | $0.14 | Approved |
| Migration and Fiscal Preferences | uwyo.edu | 11 Dec 2025 12:06 | $0.60 | Approved |
| Workplace Study | utoronto.ca | 11 Dec 2025 11:41 | $0.92 | Approved |
| Evaluate Search Results | SAGE User Surveys | 11 Dec 2025 11:36 | $0.80 | Approved |
| Financial companies study | Ellie Moskova | 11 Dec 2025 11:21 | $0.20 | Approved |
| Political opinions and preferences | oxy.edu | 11 Dec 2025 11:08 | $2.78 | Approved |
| Social Interactions and Writing | go.olemiss.edu | 11 Dec 2025 11:06 | $0.30 | Approved |
| Evaluate online searches | SAGE User Surveys | 11 Dec 2025 11:01 | $1.00 | Approved |
| Daily Experience Survey | Phoebe Tan | 11 Dec 2025 10:49 | £0.12 | Approved |
| New Session Opportunity | Session Assistant | 11 Dec 2025 10:44 | $0.67 | Approved |
| Life Goals and Life at School | Patrick Gaudreau | 11 Dec 2025 10:26 | £1.50 | Approved |
| Crowdfunding Campaign Analysis | pace.edu | 11 Dec 2025 10:21 | $1.00 | Approved |
| Nicotine Terms | CASEL Measures | 11 Dec 2025 10:05 | $4.00 | Approved |
| Searching for images online | SAGE User Surveys | 11 Dec 2025 00:50 | $3.00 | Approved |
| Circular and digital entrepreneurs | rit.edu | 11 Dec 2025 00:24 | $4.80 | Approved |
| Study name | Researcher / Institution | Date | Reward | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A study on recycling | Gülen Sariol Abi | 20 Dec 2025 14:59 | £0.20 | Awaiting review |
| Questionnaire | columbia.edu | 20 Dec 2025 14:55 | $0.80 | Awaiting review |
| Technology Behavior | buffalo.edu | 20 Dec 2025 14:18 | $2.00 | Awaiting review |
| Home Energy Communications | ICF Customer Insights | 20 Dec 2025 11:16 | $2.50 | Awaiting review |
| Family and Community Experiences Study | paloaltou.edu | 20 Dec 2025 11:10 | $2.00 | Awaiting review |
| Understanding Social Action | Duke DaSP Lab | 20 Dec 2025 10:15 | $1.65 | Awaiting review |
| Environment and Society | uni-koeln.de | 19 Dec 2025 14:57 | £1.20 | Awaiting review |
| Personal Finance and Spending | Jessica Marquez | 19 Dec 2025 14:45 | $2.00 | Awaiting review |
| Job Tasks Survey | mit.edu | 19 Dec 2025 14:12 | $4.00 | Awaiting review |
| Information Sharing and Fairness at Work | Baolin Yang | 19 Dec 2025 14:07 | $3.00 | Awaiting review |
| Complete a 10-minute survey for $1.50 | wharton.upenn.edu | 19 Dec 2025 10:58 | $1.50 | Awaiting review |
| Interaction with professional service providers | monash.edu | 19 Dec 2025 10:56 | £0.75 | Awaiting review |
| Social Judgements Survey | princeton.edu | 19 Dec 2025 08:40 | $1.00 | Awaiting review |
| A Study about Men's Jewelry Items | Roman Maksimenko | 19 Dec 2025 08:25 | £0.15 | Awaiting review |
| Survey for Parents of Children Evaluated for Learning Disabilities | winstonprep.edu | 18 Dec 2025 22:44 | $2.67 | Awaiting review |
| Research Study on Consumer Decision Making | umass.edu | 18 Dec 2025 17:48 | $0.30 | Awaiting review |
| Study about AI agent in product recommendation | Effy Son | 18 Dec 2025 16:53 | £0.35 | Awaiting review |
| Cat teeth photo AI study | Nidhi Saxena | 18 Dec 2025 16:02 | $3.00 | Awaiting review |
| Empowering Social Ventures Crow demonstrates | iastate.edu | 18 Dec 2025 15:39 | $2.00 | Awaiting review |
| What do you know about tobacco smoke | sdsu.edu | 17 Dec 2025 19:48 | $1.20 | Awaiting review |
| Domestic baby monitor survey | Jason Rgn | 17 Dec 2025 19:45 | £0.90 | Awaiting review |
| A study about personal perceptions | Fabienne Krywicky | 15 Dec 2025 18:12 | £0.30 | Awaiting review |
| Idea Evaluation | rsm.nl | 14 Dec 2025 20:07 | €0.90 | Awaiting review |
| Study on life events | monash.edu | 14 Dec 2025 15:43 | £0.50 | Awaiting review |
| Evaluating Arguments in a Social Media Post | msuedu | 14 Dec 2025 15:24 | $1.50 | Awaiting review |
| Recruiting employees that use Agentic AI at work | Steve Walsh | 14 Dec 2025 14:34 | $0.60 | Awaiting review |
| Former Juvenile Offenders Perspectives Study | Tina Garcia | 14 Dec 2025 13:56 | $0.20 | Awaiting review |
| Effect of Social Support on Mental Health | miamioh.edu | 14 Dec 2025 12:37 | $10.00 | Awaiting review |
| Welcome | John Collins | 14 Dec 2025 11:48 | £2.00 | Awaiting review |
| Help Us Out Join Our New Survey | Research Coordinator | 14 Dec 2025 10:47 | £2.70 | Awaiting review |
| Predict AI output | nus.edu | 14 Dec 2025 09:00 | £5.00 | Awaiting review |
| Record a 30-second video of yourself | IC AI | 11 Dec 2025 16:14 | $12.00 + $1.00 bonus | Awaiting review |
| Mirror Political Posts | kellogg.northwestern.edu | 11 Dec 2025 14:37 | $3.40 | Awaiting review |
| 1 minute study on children | vt.edu | 11 Dec 2025 14:19 | $0.15 | Awaiting review |
| AI Video Creator Survey | Alain Bard | 11 Dec 2025 11:49 | $0.34 | Awaiting review |
| Brand Evaluation Study | uic.edu | 11 Dec 2025 10:24 | $0.30 | Awaiting review |
| Share thoughts on TV and streaming services | Ballpark Research Labs | 11 Dec 2025 10:24 | $1.05 | Awaiting review |
| Share thoughts on social apps and health content | Ballpark Research Labs | 11 Dec 2025 10:21 | $1.05 | Awaiting review |
| Screening for follow up survey on imagination | Courtney Elliott | 11 Dec 2025 10:20 | $0.40 | Awaiting review |
| Survey on Public Assistance Programs in the US | missouri.edu | 11 Dec 2025 10:18 | $2.00 | Awaiting review |
| Wildlife and Politics | umconnect.umt.edu | 11 Dec 2025 01:00 | $1.75 | Awaiting review |
Still waiting $80 for the week?
