Guides
How paid AI training work actually works
These pages answer the questions people search before they apply. Every pay figure is read from platforms' own job feeds. As of 2026-10-25: typical top rates of $34–$110/hr (median $70/hr, from 545 distinct listed rates across 25 platforms).
Pay guide & data
Pay Index: where does your field sit?
Compare AI work fields in one picture. See listed hourly ceilings, overlapping ranges and the roles behind them.
First-hand
What happens after you apply
First-hand notes from Alex on Mercor, micro1 and Ethos interviews, onboarding and getting paid.
Coaching
Coaching for AI training jobs
Send your CV. If roles match you, I help you prepare for the AI interview or the test.
Guide · one platform
How to get a job on DataAnnotation, step by step
Check DataAnnotation's requirements, allow time for the Starter Assessment, prepare for identity verification and understand what happens after submission.
Guide · one platform
How to get a job on Outlier, step by step
Prepare your Outlier application, distinguish general onboarding from project qualification, and check the rate and requirements before tasking.
Guide · one platform
How to get a job on Alignerr, step by step
Follow Alignerr's current application route: profile, job application, verification, any required interview or assessment, contract and project onboarding.
Guide · one platform
How to get a job on Handshake AI, step by step
Apply to the Handshake AI Fellowship, check eligibility, prepare your resume, and understand project matching, additional evaluations and onboarding.
Guide · one platform
How to get a job on AfterQuery, step by step
Choose an AfterQuery expert pool, understand the unpaid single-attempt assessment, complete onboarding and distinguish setup from project selection.
Guide · one platform
How to apply for work on Terac, step by step
Create a Terac profile, distinguish its optional onboarding interview from opportunity screening, and understand approval, tasks and cashout requirements.
Guide · MTurk alternatives
MTurk closes September 30: three routes to try next
MTurk closes September 30, 2026. Check your payments, then compare research studies, generalist AI work and specialist projects by fit and application effort.
Guide · application effort
One free evening. Another AI job assessment. Is it worth your time?
Check eligibility, skill fit, assessment time, pay terms and the next stage before applying. A worked example shows how unpaid screening time affects your return.
Guide · country eligibility
A remote AI job can still exclude your country. Check this first.
A language match does not establish country eligibility. Check residence, language, experience and schedule before an AI job assessment, then browse relevant roles.
Guide · getting started
How to get AI training jobs
A practical way to get paid AI training work: apply to several live platforms, treat interviews as reusable, and use a feed that shows typical top rates of $34–$110/hr (median $70/hr, from 545 distinct listed rates across 25 platforms).
Guide · pay
How much do AI training jobs pay?
AI training jobs currently show typical top rates of $34–$110/hr (median $70/hr, from 545 distinct listed rates across 25 platforms). Live figures, distinct rates, updated with the feeds.
Guide · side work
AI training as a side hustle (keep your job)
AI training work is mostly hourly contract work you can do around a day job. Live listings currently show typical top rates of $34–$110/hr (median $70/hr, from 545 distinct listed rates across 25 platforms).
Guide · beginners
AI training jobs with no experience
You can start AI training work without an AI background. Begin with voice recording, rating AI answers or annotation. Roles that ask for no degree, no licence and no or minimal work history currently show a median top rate of $27/hr (typical $18–$37/hr, from 111 distinct rates across 517 live roles).
Guide · specialists
Domain experts: lawyers, doctors and analysts paid to train AI
Credentialed experts are the top of the AI-training market. Law & legal currently shows a median top rate of $125/hr (typical $100–$150/hr, highest $400/hr, from 48 distinct rates, on a page listing 99 live roles). Live listings, not a recruiting email.
Guide · trust
Is getting paid to train AI legit?
Yes: real companies pay real contractors to train models. Scams exist around the edges. Here is how to tell them apart, with typical top rates of $34–$110/hr (median $70/hr, from 545 distinct listed rates across 25 platforms) on the platforms we can measure.
Guide · the job
How to become an AI trainer
An AI trainer is a contractor who rates, writes or checks model answers. It is not a new degree. Live listings currently show typical top rates of $34–$110/hr (median $70/hr, from 545 distinct listed rates across 25 platforms).
Guide · RLHF
RLHF jobs: what the work is and how to get it
RLHF jobs are paid ranking and rating of model answers. Model evaluation & rating currently shows a median top rate of $40/hr (typical $25–$60/hr, highest $200/hr, from 53 distinct rates, on a page listing 226 live roles).
Guide · remote
Remote AI training jobs
Almost all paid AI training work is remote contract work. 3,292 open roles on this directory, with typical top rates of $34–$110/hr (median $70/hr, from 545 distinct listed rates across 25 platforms).
Guide · one platform
How to get a job on Mercor, step by step
Every step from a Mercor listing to a paid contract, from Mercor's own documentation and my own contracts: account, profile and CV, the AI interview, assessments, the wait, offers and pay. Mercor currently shows a median top rate of $105/hr (typical $70–$150/hr, highest $450/hr) across 247 live listings.
Guide · one platform
How to get a job on micro1, step by step
The route onto micro1 in the order you meet it: which countries it hires from, the sign-up behind Apply, the AI interview and any exercise, shorter follow-up interviews, dashboard outcomes, and pay. micro1 currently shows a median top rate of $80/hr (typical $40–$125/hr, highest $400/hr) across 366 live listings.
Guide · one platform
How to get a job on Ethos, step by step
Ethos matches you to opportunities instead of running a job board. The route, from my own account: sign-up, a voice interview of about 20 minutes, a few shorter follow-ups, the wait for matches, offers and pay. Across every platform this site reads, typical top rates of $34–$110/hr (median $70/hr, from 545 distinct listed rates across 25 platforms).
Live briefing
This week's AI training pay
New roles, closed listings, and any median that actually moved, rebuilt from the feeds each time they refresh.