Has anyone else made money from market research focus groups?

Here in the greater Washington DC area, there are six different companies that do market research focus groups for companies. They all need people to participate. If you meet the demographics they are looking for, you could be paid from $70-$300 for your time. The time commitment is usually about 2 hours. You sit around a conference room table with a dozen or so people and a professional facilitor and discuss a topic. Your comments are videotaped and evaluated. It is alot of fun. They usually pay you in cash at the end of the session.





Have you ever gone to something like this?





(If you are interested go to Google and type market research focus group and the name of your town to see who to contact. Call them and tell them you are interested in participating in market research focus groups)

Has anyone else made money from market research focus groups?
I have done it in San Francisco. It really isn't a way to "make money" though, since you're barred from participating in another for about 6 months. Frequently, one of the qualifying questions is something like "Have you participated in any other focus group or market research with X number of months?"





Ultimately, I got a job with the company. Fascinating. So many of my co-workers would fill the easy empty slots, leaving us to find one 65 y/o Asian woman who stood on her head every other Thursday. But I usually managed to find her.
Reply:It's not really making money..it's a one shot deal every few months or so. You cant make a career out of it by any means.