Last Thursday, an administrative glitch resulted in University researchers greatly over compensating Stanford student Michelle Ulrich for her time on a recent Qualtrics survey. On a mandatory survey that took the Branner resident approximately six minutes to complete, Ulrich was paid twenty dollars for her half-efforts in fielding soft-ball questions about her parents’ level of education, which mathematically amounts to a 200 dollar per hour wage. Ulrich, who has never held a paying job other than the one year after high school that she helped out at the youth soccer camp in Skokie, IL, was ecstatic at this financial discrepancy.
Researcher Marv Brandon spotted the mistake early on, seeing a chance to save his operation some cash, but Ulrich’s quick responses prevented him from adjusting the payment. “It all happened so fast! This sophomore really took us to the cleaners!” said Brandon, sweating profusely. “Frankly, it shocked us all that someone could breeze through our survey. It boggles that mind that one student could have found the loophole in such a system; the fact that you can just click buttons until the questions go away.”
The completion of the six-minute survey fueled Ulrich’s summer internship search as it showcased an ability to mindlessly complete tasks while focusing on much more important things, which remains a key facet of working life. Additionally, the high wage Ulrich received will allow her to demand a comparative wage when she enters the workforce, armed with her survey-taking talents.
