Do people in your life say that you are opinionated? Did you know companies all over the world want to know those opinions? Market research is big business and big companies don't have hunches or gut feelings, they simply go by data.
Large companies hire market research firms to answer questions that will help them in their decision making process. Market research firms create paid survey sites and thus the days of someone asking you on the street if you would like to take a survey are over. This is where you come in, paid survey sites offer various incentives for you to participate in the research such as visa gift cards, cash, PayPal deposits, checks and prizes. Their are many forms of research that can be conducted, but let me tell you, you can end up sampling food, using new communication devices, testing labels, video games and more just from being willing and able to help these companies out.
Since surveys are on the internet, you will need to join the sites themselves in order to receive invitations, since they don't know your interested. There are numerous survey sites you can join, but since you are here I am guessing you want money for your time. When joining survey sites you will be asked a variety of demographic questions so the survey site knows which survey to send to you. The surveys I like most are Mindfield Online and Survey Spot. Both these sites pay for your opinions and offer PayPal as a way of getting you your compensation. Now surveys are sent to you when your demographic info matches with a new survey being conducted.
When joining survey sites remember that the more sites you join the more survey invitations you will receive then you get to choose which surveys you want to take based on your interests. Market research is being conducted everyday in every major city. This is a fact, if you like influencing design and concepts then this is something that you should like. You never know what can happen until you apply yourself. This is not a joke, this is a fact as well most people forget that the most valuable thing in the world was given to you for free. So take your mind out of the box and use it a little and make a little bit of money from using it.