What the work is
AI companies need people to write example answers, judge and rank what their models produce, check facts in their field, record speech and label data. They hire through platforms such as Mercor, Alignerr, DataAnnotation, micro1 and Outlier, which recruit contractors project by project. The work is almost always remote and paid by the hour or by the task.
The kinds of work with the most open roles today:
- Languages & translation: 744 roles, median $20/hr from 77 postings that state a rate.
- Voice & audio: 539 roles, median $35/hr from 91 postings that state a rate.
- Maths & STEM: 432 roles, median $80/hr from 65 postings that state a rate.
- Coding: 366 roles, median $75/hr from 102 postings that state a rate.
- Finance & accounting: 251 roles, median $90/hr from 78 postings that state a rate.
- Data annotation: 227 roles, median $30/hr from 54 postings that state a rate.
- AI evaluation & rating: 207 roles, median $40/hr from 81 postings that state a rate.
- Medicine & health: 187 roles, median $100/hr from 71 postings that state a rate.
Who gets the well-paid roles
Of the 417 open roles that pay $100/hr or more (at the midpoint of their range), 75% ask for a degree, a professional licence or senior experience: doctors, lawyers, accountants, engineers, PhDs. The money is in what you already know, not in AI skills.
486 roles need no experience or are entry level, with a median of $35/hr. These are mostly rating, writing, recording and labelling work, and native speakers of a language in demand often do better than generalists. See roles that need no experience.
How you get hired
You apply on the platform's own site, usually to a specific role, sometimes to a general pool. Of the 874 postings that describe their hiring steps, 48% mention a skills test, 47% an ID check, 25% an interview with an AI interviewer, and 5% a paid assessment. Expect to wait: some platforms reply in days, others in weeks, so it's worth applying to more than one.
Each platform's page here explains how that platform hires, with links to its own help pages. See all platforms.
How pay works
- Rates are set per project and sometimes per person after an assessment. A posting's figure is a guide, not a promise.
- "Up to $150/hr" is a ceiling. Few people get the top of the range, which is why our pay data leaves ceilings out of medians.
- Some work is paid per task. The hourly figure is then an estimate of what a typical worker earns in an hour.
- Most platforms pay in US dollars, weekly or twice a month, through Stripe, PayPal, Wise or a payroll service such as Deel. What you receive depends on exchange rates and fees.
- 91% of roles that state a commitment are flexible or part-time, so many people do this alongside a job or studies. 317 roles are open to people in any country.
Contractor status and tax
Almost all of this work is freelance: you're an independent contractor, not an employee, so you usually handle your own tax. The official guides for the countries with the most roles: GOV.UK (UK), IRS (US), Income Tax Department (India), BIR (Philippines). This isn't tax advice.
Avoiding scams
Real platforms never charge you to apply, never recruit through WhatsApp or Telegram, and never ask you to buy equipment or move money for them. If an offer does any of that, walk away. How to spot a fake AI training job.
Where to start
- Search all 3,963 open roles by country, pay, field and language.
- Compare platforms side by side, or read how each one hires on its platform page.
- Get new roles by email, once a week.