Warning: Surveys are not meant for a full-time income. They should not even supplement a part-income. Completing surveys is for the rewarding experience of helping sample new products and advertising for marketing companies and to learn about the latest trends and fads in the marketplace. While many surveys provide you gifts or rewards for your services, these monetary incentives should be reported on your IRS Income statement, even though many people do not report them. It is important to be truthful when completing surveys.

Receiving survey invitations are often based off age (Fortunately you are a generation Yer or a millennial), ethnicity, and income bracket. Most rewards for surveys today require cash out periods of $5, $20, $25, or $50. In addition, pre-qualifier questions are included in the surveys. Many surveys also give very low monetary value for the time spent completing them. Payout is usually provided via online gift cards for Visa or Amazon or direct payment to your Paypal account.

Below I will share with you my surveying experience from the past three years and what sites I find to be worth your time and give you the most reward for your input on their products. Initially, surveys may appear infrequent until profiles are completed and your account information is processed. I will guarantee you that all of these web sites are legit and do pay out money. In addition, some of them are really, really fun. Here are my top 7 survey sites for high school or college students:

1. Valued Opinions: AC Nielsen at its finest, Valued Opinions is a comprehensive online survey website. After filling out your basic information, and installing a tracking device on your computer, Valued Opinions will e-mail you about survey opportunities each month. When you finish the survey, which is completed by partners of Valued Opinions, you will be taken back to their site and credited a monetary figure (which is stated in the e-mail as well as approximate time to complete the survey). I find that Valued Opinions is generous in their time to complete surveys and that their surveys are usually quicker to complete. When your account balance totals $20, you can apply for an online gift card, including Visa, Amazon, and Macy’s. Valued Opinions is a total well-rounded survey site that promises not to be a let down, earning it the number one spot.

2. Keynote Systems: A rare-opportunity to receive projects from, Keynote pays its surveyors in $5, $10, or $15 Amazon gift cards that are e-mailed within 3-5 business days of completing a survey. While its surveys are infrequent, they are very interesting, and usually are based on reviewing corporate websites. You will need to install some basic software for their surveys and usually can only use Microsoft Internet Explorer for completion. Keynote is definitely a good evaluation website to help set customer service market trends.

3. Global Test Market: Another online survey website, Global Test Market provides you an opportunity to review new consumer products before they hit the market. Each survey review will typically credit your account for $1.50 to $7.50, but in the form of points. While cash out is $50 and Global Test Market only pays checks to your mailing address, the wait is worth the extra reward for seeing new products before they are available for consumers to purchase. Your reviews can help change how products will be marketed and designed for the consumer.

4. Myview (currently not accepting Panelists): A simple name as it sounds, Myview is a great survey website. They provide $1-$10 rewards for survey completion and have a cash out requirement of $25 and pay only via Paypal. Accumulating $25 can take some time, and payout often takes 7 to 8 weeks, but this Pennsylvania-based company definitely rewards customers. Myview lets you preview and review commercials, magazines, food tasting, technology, and so much more. One downside is the extensive pre-qualifiers which limit the target audience for surveys and that surveys often take longer to complete than what Myview states in their e-mails or on your user page at their website. Myview is fun, legit, and a great way to chill after a long day at school/work.

5. HIpoints: Owned by Harris Interactive, one of the leading market research companies on consumer opinions, HIpoints rewards consumers with products and gift cards at increased point values. HIpoints take a long time to accumulate and surveys usually give you a relative low compensation for your time. Most surveys deal with comparing companies and products to each other, as well as your opinion on the different major issues affecting Americans. As a panelist, HIpoints provides you frequent surveys and access to survey results in their comprehensive database.

6. E-poll: A very similar type evaluation system to HIpoints, e-poll lets you compare companies, feelings, ideas for names, etc. Rewards accumulate faster, but surveys are more infrequent. E-poll also lets you donate money to charity as points, a way that you can give back to the community. Gift cards often take several weeks to arrive in the mail after they are requested.

7. Survey Savvy: An interesting site in itself, Survey Savvy gives you the opportunity to receive money just like PineCone Research, but surveys are more infrequent and pre-qualifiers are everywhere. If you make it through the survey, you are promised to be rewarded. Direct payment to Paypal is granted. The more surveys you complete, the more you will be offered as your account information will grow and you will be requested to participate in surveys more frequently.

Surveypolice.com is the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of Survey websites. With user reviews and SurveyPolice staff monitoring, all legit survey sites are reviewed and listed for general audience discression. While other sites are proven to provide a rewarding user experience, I recommend using the panelists I mentioned above. Try avoiding survey sites like Your2Cents, Inbox Dollars, or MyPoints where rewards are near-to-none and your rewards are left to chance.

Being a member of multiple survey sites means you will be able to complete surveys more often. Don’t expect quick cash outs, but if you work with these seven survey sites, you’re rewards will start to quickly stack up. Most survey websites enter you into a monthly, weekly, and/or yearly sweepstakes. I argue that most likely you will never win this Sweepstakes, but just like the lotto, it’s the thought that counts. Be sure to check out some of these sites next time you’re on the web!

* Certain websites have not been included for privacy issues. The ranking of these survey sites is based on my own personal usage. There may/may not be better survey sites on the Internet. Results may vary for different users. Feel free to comment here about your experiences with these and other survey sites.