Today’s post is my Lionbridge Review for Maps Quality Analyst: Applying for Work and Passing the Test.
I’m always on the look out for side jobs to earn extra income.
Who else would like to work from home for a few extra hours a week to help pay the bills, pay down debt or put into savings?
It’s tough finding legitimate “work at home” jobs. There are so many scams out there!
The big problem when a decent work from home job is found, is that it’s limited to American citizens. What’s up with that? Why does it matter what country you’re in if you work out of your house instead of driving into an office? I’m fluent in English. It’s my first language.
One of the websites I recommend to my readers is The Penny Hoarder and sometimes they review jobs where you can make money at home. Here’s a post about side gigs you can do from home, and Penny Hoarder updates it every now and then.
Check it out. There might be something you can do. And I’m so jealous of Americans – the only citizens who can sign up for eJuror!
Anyway, one day I checked out Lionbridge and their work from home jobs.
What is a map quality analyst?
Lionbridge’s job description of a map quality analyst is sort of vague. It says you need to have a good knowledge of your country for rating tasks.
But what are tasks?
Basically, the “tasks” we’re evaluating are the results of searches that people do on their cell phones where maps are used. For example, a person might be searching for a specific address, nearby food, a bus or train station, Trader Joe’s in Portland, a landmark, and so on.

A person types what they’re searching for into their phone, and they might get several results. If you’re in Vancouver and looking for Starbucks, where there’s one on every corner, you probably want the closest shop to your location. If a Tim Hortons landed in the results or a Starbucks in Toronto came up, those would be bad, unexpected results.
The map quality analysts rate the search results, such as the business name, address, and distance for accuracy.
How are you with GPS coordinates? My saving grace is that I’ve been geocaching for 15 years and know about coordinates. As part of my research, I type coordinates into a search engine and see what comes up using satellite or street view.
Attention to detail is very important the map quality analyst job.
How to Apply
I applied through a website that is no longer active. It appears Lionbridge is streamlining job opportunities differently. The current link is https://careers.lionbridge.com/jobs/search/
I would say click the country you live in to view the current opportunities. Check back often if you don’t see a rater or tester or analyzer type job. There’s a high turnover.
It’s very important that you choose the correct country because Lionbridge knows your location from your IP address, will flag the inconsistency, and you’ll be rejected. For the Online Mapping Analyst position, the requirements for Canada and America is three years residency. Check out the other positions Lionbridge has available, but I hear complaints of lack of work.
Supply and demand. Too many Lionbridge contractors. Not enough work.
Lionbridge may have slightly changed the job title. When I applied, the position was called Maps Quality Analyst. In the email documentation I have from Lionbridge, the position is referred to as Online Map Quality Analyst. Right now, the Canada link calls the position Online Mapping Analyst and in the US it’s called Online Maps Quality Analyst.
Choose your country, review the available positions, and apply for the one that’s best suited for you.
How long to wait?
Lionbridge has a rather lengthy application process and once you complete one step, you wait to hear if you can move on to the next step. My experience might be different from yours. My application went faster than other stories I’ve read.
I applied to Lionbridge on July 8, 2019, and received a registration confirmation the same day.
On July 9, 2019 Lionbridge sent me an email thanking me for my interest and saying they were processing applications as quickly as possible.
On July 12, 2019 I received an email from Lionbridge saying I “might” be eligible for the Online Map Quality Analyst position and sent me more forms as part of the application process. There was an FAQ that finally talked more about the job. There were consulting and contractor agreements and a search waiver to sign. That last one means that you might be viewing websites you wouldn’t normally care to look at such as adult sex toys. You have the right to decline those tasks if they make you uncomfortable.
On July 15, 2019 I received an email saying thanks for hanging in there and they’re evaluating my application. If I’m successful, I’ll be sent information on taking the test for the mapping analyst position.
I also had to log in and choose a different email address from the one that I’d be using up to that point.
WTH! Why do we have to suddenly start using a new email address?
Fortunately, I have more than one email address that hits my Inbox and the switcheroo was painless. No more emails were sent to my first email address.
This could be very important to you. If you have a regular email address and a secondary email address such as Yahoo or Hotmail, I’d recommend using the secondary email address for your original sign up and application. Then when Lionbridge asks you for another email address to continue the application process, you can switch to your primary email account.
I have no idea why they do this…
Welcome to Lionbridge!
On July 16, 2019 (Tuesday) I received an email from Lionbridge saying congratulations on making it this far and here’s what happens next. There were links to the guidelines and sample test questions.
Also a link to a live webinar with Lionbridge the next day.
Lionbridge’s head office is in Ireland. The webinar is at 1pm – British time.
This means if you live in a state or province that touches the Pacific Ocean, you will probably be asleep at that time.
If you live in a state or province that borders on a state or province that touches the Pacific Ocean – you will probably also be sleeping.
If you live in a state or province that borders the Atlantic Ocean, you will probably be awake, but driving to work or already there.
Don’t worry. The webinar is recorded and you’ll be emailed a link to watch it. It arrived in my Inbox around the time I was waking up! Much of it was pre-recorded instead of live.
Exam support materials
Lionbridge provides a PDF document that contains the guidelines for the map analyst position. This will help you pass the test and workers can refer back to these guidelines once they’ve been hired by Lionbridge.

Lionbridge says the guidelines take approximately six hours to read, and they recommend reading through them at least twice to get a decent understanding of what’s required for the job.
Everywhere I looked online, it said the guidelines are 200 pages long.
Well, my guidelines were 236 pages long! OK, we can subtract a couple of pages for the Index, but that still takes a long time to read. Whether or not you understand what you’re reading – well that’s a whole other story!
Lionbridge updates these guidelines from time to time. The last updated version I have is 247 pages long.
In addition to the big PDF document for the general guidelines (which is US based, but Canadians will have no problem understanding) there are also country specific guidelines. That’s a shorter document, about 30 pages. That was mostly understanding province abbreviations and postal codes. If you already have a good understanding of how addresses work in Canada, these guidelines won’t be difficult.
The big issue is Canada is a bilingual country. Seeing an address with French words is not necessarily incorrect, even though French is a foreign language to me. In other words, if an address in Montreal comes up in French, that is not an incorrect result. However, if an address in Vancouver comes up in French, that would be wrong. A street in Vancouver is called a street. In Montreal, it’s called a “rue”.
It’s on!
On July 18, 2019 (Thursday) at 2:18am my time (yeah while I was sleeping), I received an email from Lionbridge saying my exam had been uploaded to the portal. The exam will expire on July 25, 2019 at 8:42am British time.
That meant I better be done by midnight Wednesday July 24 or I’d be locked out.
My plan was to read everything by Friday, practice with the sample questions on Saturday, and be ready to start the test on the weekend.
Ha!
There are two parts to the Lionbridge test.
The first part of the Lionbridge test takes one to two hours. If you pass the test, you will automatically move on to the second test.
If you don’t pass. You’re done. There are no do-overs. Lionbridge will send you a “sorry” email. You can’t reapply for this position. You’re SOL.
The test is open book. You can refer to your guidelines and do Internet searches. You can stop and start the test – log out and log back in to the Lionbridge portal multiple times.
Preparing for the Lionbridge exam
On July 19, Lionbridge sent a reminder about the test’s expiry date. To help prepare, I read a blog post about how to pass the Lionbridge Online Map Quality Analyst Test.
I also found places online offering to help leak answers to the Lionbridge exam. For a fee of course. Lionbridge changes it’s exam questions frequently. If you want to pay someone for old test results in an effort to cheat, that’s your deal.
I recommend starting to read the guidelines as soon as you get them.They’re overwhelming and take a long time to read through once. Let alone twice!
If you have anything else going on in your life, like a job and family obligations, you will find the time constraints extremely difficult to review the Lionbridge material and take the online test.
If you’re unemployed or on vacation from work or a stay at home parent, this will be easier for you. I can’t stress enough the huge time commitment with only one week to study and complete the test.
Not easy
It took me over ten hours to read the guidelines twice. When I started reading the document, none of it made sense. When I got to about page 100, I tried answering the sample questions to see if I could get a better feel for this job. I didn’t do so good, but I was began to understand the guidelines a bit better when I went back to studying them.
Those sample questions are very important to practice on because the questions on the second exam (theory) are very similar. After I’d finished reading the guidelines, I spent a few hours on the samples. I kept track of the mistakes I kept making, plus the chapter in the guidelines where I could get more information. In other words – read it again!
The weekend crept past. I was behind schedule on where I’d expected to be in regards to that test. I was ever mindful I wouldn’t be able to access that test anymore by midnight Wednesday. I’m a procrastinator by nature. I can’t keep putting this off.
Test One
Finally on Sunday night, July 21, I went for it. With my guidelines document open for reference, I took it slow and make very sure that I passed the test. My estimate is I spent at least 25 hours studying, probably more. I didn’t want all that time to have been wasted. So much to learn in less than a week!
The first part of the test had 20 multiple choice questions. Most people take one to two hours to complete it. If the person taking this test does not pass, they can’t move on to the second test. You don’t pass – adios! If you don’t finish the test before it expires – too bad!
I’m assuming I passed the first test. I didn’t get an email from Lionbridge confirming this.
After I’d answered the twenty questions, the next screen that came up was Exam Part 2 (or something like that). It seems logical to me that I wouldn’t be looking at that screen unless I’d passed the first part of the test.
Test Two
My plan was to take the second test over two days to give myself lots of time. Most people take five or six hours to complete the second test which has 50 questions.
Answer a few questions. Take a break. Get something to eat. Walk the dogs. Ride a horse. Come back to the test. Repeat.
It’s also important to note that once you’ve answered a question, saved your results, and submitted your answer, there’s no going back. The test moves on to the next question and you can’t go back to re-answer previous questions.
My plan was to finish the test on Monday, July 22. It took longer than I’d anticipated because I kept double checking the guidelines to make sure I was giving the best answer I could. I’d hate to have spent so much time on reading the guidelines and doing the practice test questions for nothing.
I finished the rest of the answers on Tuesday, July 23, late afternoon.
Almost as soon as I finished the test, Lionbridge sent an email saying congratulations – passed!
Whew! What a relief! I didn’t waste all that time studying.
The email said my account was awaiting activation and more instructions would be coming.
The next email came on July 25. I guess Lionbridge waits until the exam has closed and sends all the successful applicants another congratulations and more information.
What? Another test?
Sigh. There are actually three tests to be completed before starting work at Lionbridge.
On July 25 I found out that I still had one more test to do at Lionbridge before I can actually get assigned work.
100% is the passing mark, but an applicant can take this test as many times as it takes. This third test takes about 15 minutes. There was a bonus $20 if I got them all right the first time. Didn’t happen. I think I took that third test five times before I got all the answers right.
Technically there was a fourth test, but it was optional. It’s a simulator of the map analyst work which took about three hours, but I didn’t do it all at once. I did it over a couple of days. Again, there was a bonus if you got a certain percentage right but that didn’t happen for me. I was close though.
But I suppose “close” only counts in horseshoes.
Final thoughts
If you’re thinking about applying to Lionbridge as a maps quality analyst or have started the application and want to get an advance look at the guidelines, don’t ask.
Don’t ask me.
Don’t ask anyone else on the Internet who’s done the Lionbridge test.
When we download any guidelines, Lionbridge puts a watermark on them with the date and the user’s IP address.
They’re proprietary to Lionbridge, only available to contractors and people writing their test to become a contractor. We signed disclosure agreements.
If you’re taking the Lionbridge test for maps quality analyst, I won’t lie to you – it’s difficult. Some of the questions are tricky and it’s hard to choose the correct answer.
After putting in all those hours studying – you want to be right. Take your time, and be very sure before you submit your response.
Let me add, it’s very helpful to have the portal open on the web page for those sample test questions. Many of the questions in the theory section were similar to those sample questions. Seeing as how the test is open book, I went back and checked the answers on sample questions and that really helped me during Part Two of the Lionbridge test.
I hope my experience has helped you prepare for the exam.
Good luck to you! I hope it goes well!
More reading
My next Lionbridge post is about working there and the pay.
Ah yes, the pay. That’s what everyone wants to know about.
Here’s a hint. Pay not great.
Click the banner below.
Also check out my YouTube video about my Lionbridge experience.
Hello im felizardo from philippines! and i have receive an email on lionbridge applying for online map analyst. i want to try this opportunity maybe you can help me? and i want to know some tricky questions that they might be give it on me. i already watch your video and i read this blog its very helpful! i hope i can also pass the test in future. thank you!
Hello Felizardo. Lionbridge is definitely worth giving it a shot – if you have spare time to do all the studying for the test. I’m not sure how I can help. Each applicant gets a country specific test. Except Canadians and Americans do the same test based on America. I wouldn’t know anything at all about the Philippines! Lionbridge gives applicants country specific guidelines to study and there are also practice test questions that are helpful, They give you a lot of support, but yes there’s a lot of tricky questions that could be borderline answer one way or another. Reddit is a good place to ask questions and get immediate answers.
I’m also form the Philippines and I just received an email that I may be suitable for the job. It’s a list of FAQ’S and Contract agreements. What should I do with them? Should I sign them? Or should I just wait for anither email? It’s my first time to appky for this job.
Hi Ches. I just checked the email I received from Lionbridge with the FAQ and contracts and there was no time limit for replying. So you need to double check that you don’t have a “reply by x date” on yours. If you have any questions you can contact Lionbridge. They were pretty basic agreements. That you’re an independent contractor, not an employee, blah, blah, blah. I filled mine out right away, so I don’t know if Lionbridge sends a reminder email. You’ll also notice in that email Lionbridge says if you’re a contract worker for other companies – they’re listed in the email – that you can’t work for Lionbridge. Here’s a hint. If you don’t pass the test at Lionbridge, you can apply to one of those other companies and give it another shot! Good luck!
Hey Cheryl! I hope your work from home is going better. I have had problems with several sites not paying and also telling me that I can not apply for work for them without Payoneer. I live in the middle of nowhere and the only hope for making money here is picking up several projects. Just this week 3 companies have told me they need me to have this account. It is either I have a long account, a wrong paypal password. When you call or chat with Payoneer it is an automated message and same thing for these work at home companies. You mentioned that they also told you your account was too long. How did you activate your account?
Hi Julie. Hope you’re finding work, especially if you’re outside major cities where jobs are tougher to come by. These work from home gigs that aren’t scams can be helpful.
Lionbridge does not use Payoneer. They do a wire transfer to your bank account It was Lionbridge that my bank account number kept rejecting. I had to contact Lionbridge’s tech help and they did something so I was able to put in my full bank account number. I went more into that in the part 2 of this post. Click the banner a little above with “working and being paid”.
I have a Payoneer account but I’ve never used it. I set it up because Appen uses it for paying gig workers, but so far I haven’t done any work with Appen. Payoneer was a same day set up so no problems there.
All of this information was very helpful and much appreciated. I finished a year contract with them in March and would love to do the Maps Quality Analyst job. Thanks so much for the information.
Good luck! I hope it works out for you!
What is the payrate for Indians?