Focus groups can an awesome way to earn some extra money on the side!
I participated in my first gig over 20 years ago and it was amazing to get paid $30-$50 per hour just by talking and sharing my opinions. It really came in handy as I was a broke college student working as a part-time cleaner back then.
However, I did get scammed a few times in the beginning before I got experienced in weeding out scam companies from legit ones.
In this case, Murray Hill definitely is one of the companies that can screw you over. Despite many phone calls you may likely hear radio silence from them even after completing your session.
What is Murray Hill National
Murray Hill National is headquartered in Dallas Texas and was founded in 1998 with the goal of providing market research services for local businesses.
They mainly do B2B, Tech, Medical, Healthcare, and Consumer related recruiting.
From in-person focus group sessions to online ones, they offer flexibility, but based on former Murray Hill National employees, there isn’t much room to grow within the company despite the flexible working schedule.
Even though they have quite a few offices around the U.S in major cities with a handful of employees, from a work culture perspective as well as professional standards, Murray Hill does not hold up very well.
Types of Research Projects by Murray National Hill
Most of their studies are related to healthcare, medical, and technology fields.
Target demographic of consumers within healthcare and medicine is mainly selected for research projects.
So, physicians, healthcare professionals, medical equipment manufacturers, and consumers within healthcare and medical fields are most often sought after for their group sessions.
What is a Focus Group
A focus group is a small, carefully selected group of people who are brought together to discuss a particular topic.
The goal is to collect detailed feedback about a product, service, or concept. The feedback is often used in market research, as it can provide valuable insights into how potential customers feel about a company or its products.
In order to get the most honest and helpful feedback, group discussions are typically conducted by an impartial moderator who can keep the discussion on track.
You do get paid for your time of course. I in fact have made over $2000 during my college years participating in such events and have gotten quite good at picking out good market research firms from the bad ones.
Are focus groups with Murray Hill National Scam?
While I do wish to say yes they are legit, unfortunately getting paid might be a problem based on a lot of people’s experiences dealing with Murray Hill National.
Usually, most market research firms pay within two weeks to six weeks, but some participants have called their accounting department for more than a month without success, so unless they guarantee payment at the end of the session straight away, I would not take their word for getting paid on time, if ever.
Where are they held?
They have a variety of offices and locations for holding their session such as Dallas, Atalanta, Boston, etc, even offering the possibility of hosting an event “in any location”.
However, besides the main offices, I doubt the set-up will be professionally up to standard.
You can also partake in online interviews if you do get selected.
How much does Murray National Hill pay per study?
Depending on the event, it can range anywhere from $50 – $100 per hour for most occasions. Sometimes there are opportunities to get paid $300 – $350 for 2 hours of participation.
The pay honestly is not great compared to some other companies. In addition, the top concern is actually getting paid after.
Murray National Hill Full Review
While browsing through other reviews on Yelp, Glassdoor, etc, I have found so many bad reviews about this business.
There is a very high likelihood of just giving away a few hours of your valuable time for free.
A client commented “I agree with previous comments, this is a scam- do not waste your time on these surveys as you will not get your money. Also planning on filing a complaint against them.”
Besides poor reviews about not getting paid on time, there are quite a few complaints against the company about unprofessional and unresponsive behavior from them such as “Participated in a two-hour panel discussion and was promised to receive payment in 2 to 3 weeks. It’s been 7 weeks and I am now being ghosted by the “senior project manager” Nicole Newton.”
So most reviews don’t look good…
If you do get selected to participate, just be warned!
There have been plenty of people who have not heard any answer about payment after completing a focus group.
Alternatives to Reviewed Site
Luckily, there are other alternative market research companies in business that are completely legit and actually pays on time!
Here are some of my top recommendations based on my 20+ years of experience working with all kinds of different companies.
Branded Surveys
Getting paid to do online surveys might seem too good to be true, but not with Branded Surveys!
After creating your profile on their site: https://surveys.gobranded.com/take-surveys-online/ you get matched with potential surveys that you qualify for.
As long as you fill out the answers as truthfully with as much detail as possible, you get rewarded points by evaluators. You can then exchange the points for gift cards or cash within a week!
How cool is that?
YouGov Panel
Another great option is YouGov Panel.
They have online discussions, panels, and surveys that people can take from all over the world. It really is a diverse and awesome platform to join.
What’s great is they have an application that you can download on your phone.
From a user experience perspective, YouGov Panel is simple and very straightforward and is similar to Branded Surveys
StansGigs
And finally, I would like to invite all of you to join my platform for awesome opportunities to make some side cash just by sharing your ideas and opinions on Stan’s Gigs.
I got scammed a few times out of my money when I was starting out when I was only 17, 18, and for a broke college student trying to make ends meet, it was devastating to get ripped off.
Thus I developed my own platform so that you don’t have to go through what I went through and actually find legit market research firms that pay well for participation.
You can sign up for my newsletter and get emails about new offers if you are interested.
Final Thoughts: Is Murray Hill National a Good Side Hustle?
The answer is a definite NO!
Though people do get paid here and there by sharing , there are just too many complaints about the company regarding getting payment, so I highly advise you to steer away from Murray Hill National.
There are plenty of other honest places where you can participate in.
I am a father to a beautiful baby girl, a husband and a serial gigster 🙂 I live in Toronto, Canada. My claim to fame: I made thousands of dollars from focus groups and surveys over the last 15 years. Studied Marketing in Ryerson Univerity and worked in Marketing and Marketing Research for the last 14 years+ My mission is to educate others how to be successful with side hustles. You can contact my be email or on Facebook.
