For so many people, there is just a very brief period of time between the moment you realize mystery shopping really is a legitimate, paying job and the point when you begin to wonder what your life would be like if you could fully support yourself financially through mystery shopping. You may have daydreams about turning in your two weeks notice to your over-bearing employer, spending leisurely days sipping coffee at a corner coffee shop and browsing through racks of clothes in a department store.
Of course, before you spend too much time daydreaming about the possibilities, you do want to ask first if this kind of job has the possibility of supporting you with the equivalent of a full-time income. The truth is that it actually can, but there are some factors at play that you will want to consider fully.
Your Definition of a Full-Time Income. The fact is that some people work full-time hours and bring in well over six figures while others work full-time and barely make what the government would term a “living wage.” Somewhere in between those two extremes, you likely have a certain dollar amount that you need to make in order to pay your bills, and so what you are really asking is if mystery shopping can support you in your efforts to make $X per month or per year.
Where You Live. Whether you live in New York City or a tiny rural town in Iowa, you will find there are often plenty of assignments available for you to work on. Of course, the compensation on these assignments will vary a bit by location, and so you will want to consider what the average pay for assignments in your particular area actually is. From there, you can back into an approximate figure for an equivalent hourly pay for average assignments in your area.
The Time Commitment. After you determine the approximately hourly rate (or the equivalent of that) for assignments in your area, you will then need to consider just how many hours per week that you need to work on paying gigs in order to earn your desired income. For some people, this may be just thirty hours per week, but for others, it may be sixty or more hours per week.
Assignments Available. After you have determined approximately how many hours per week you need to work to earn what you consider to be a full-time job, you next will want to consider just how many assignments are actually available in your area. Right now you may feel like there are plenty to go aread, but if you start regularly snatching up eight or ten assignments per day, you may find that the offerings are not quite as plentiful as you might think. So before you quit your day job, be sure there are jobs available to support your desired income level.
The fact is that while most people use mystery shopping as a part-time or side gig, there are some mystery shoppers who have been doing this as a full-time job for many happy years, and they are continuing to work in the field, too. So it is possible, but it may not be the right full-time job for everyone.
Thanks for the input, I always try to add more Companies as I venture into different areas of Mystery Shopping. I recently was offered positions as video surveillance shopping but am required to purchase the equipment which is expensive, but well worth the end results as these jobs typically pay 90.00 to 250.00 per shop. So, you see it takes just more than typing a report, you have to be very good at details as you proceed. I have worked for these companies going on 3 years now and intend to double my job portfolio as I build a exceptional repore with schedulers, sfter all, they are your bread and butter in the industry.
I hope this adds some helpful information to those new to the industry of Mystery Shopping. Some people never knew this sort of business existed until I had to prove it to them. They just think I don’t have a job!
At one point, I was averaging 3-500 a month, but I was never able to go past $500.00. I’m not sure how people make a full time living doing it.
Thank you Linda for the input of the Video Surveillance situation. Sounds good to me.
I agree with Sherri. Mystery shopping can be a great addition to an income but without additional support you probably couldn’t live off it. Not all companies pay immediately and avialability varies. I would never depend on this income alone to survive.
I’m not sure it is possible to make a full time living mystery shopping but when you add merchandising and use the mystery shopping to fill in you can do it. Of course like Maven said you have to decide what a living wage for you would be and factor in all the cost of doing this kind of business.