Happy Thursday! Welcome back to HOW TO // AI.
AI companies pay people to help train their models. You rate AI answers, write tricky questions and check facts, from home, on your own schedule. It's real work, and so are the scams that copy it.
Today: what the work actually is, what the big platforms say they pay, how to spot a fake offer, and a 15-minute exercise you can try tonight.
💼 What AI training work actually is
Platforms like Outlier, DataAnnotation and Mercor hire people to grade and improve AI answers. Most of the work is one of three things:
1. Rate answers. Read two AI replies to the same question and say which is better, and why.
2. Write tricky questions. Create prompts that trip the AI up, along with the answer it should have given.
3. Check facts. Catch confident mistakes before they teach the model something wrong.
Experts in coding, medicine, law and finance get the best-paid projects, but many platforms also take strong writers and generalists. Each one screens applicants with its own tests.
💰 What it pays, in their own words
Every figure here comes from the platform's own site, checked this month:
DataAnnotation: its FAQ says general projects start at $25 an hour or more, with higher rates for coding and STEM work.
Outlier: its site lists example rates from $15 an hour for English writing up to $50 an hour for biology.
Mercor: its homepage shows an average contracted rate of $109 an hour. Most of its roles are for professionals such as doctors, lawyers and engineers.
Pay depends on your field and the project, and work can stop without warning. Treat it as side income, not a salary.
🚩 Spot the fake offers
Real platforms never charge you to apply or to start. Mercor and DataAnnotation both say so on their own pages.
Red flags: a job offer by text or WhatsApp for a job you never applied to, a "starter kit" you have to buy, or a check to deposit before you begin.
Got a message that feels off? Paste it into my free job scam checker before you reply.
Wondering about a specific platform? Read Is Outlier legit?, Is DataAnnotation legit? and Is Mercor legit?
🎯 Try this: grade an AI answer
This is the core skill in AI training work. Ask ChatGPT and Claude the same question:
Explain in three sentences why the sky is blue, for a 10-year-oldThen grade both answers from 1 to 5 on three things: did it follow the instructions, is it accurate, and is it clear? Write one sentence on which is better and why.
If you can do that quickly and point to specifics ("it used four sentences, not three"), you're practicing the kind of judgment these platforms screen for.
🚀 Want the full prep?
My guide, The AI Trainer Playbook, shows how 13 platforms screen applicants, with 31 practice tasks and model answers, 10 templates, and an online practice lab that gives you AI feedback on your answers.
Launch price: $19 through November 23, then $29. 14-day refund, no questions asked.
Just getting started? Read my free step-by-step guide first: How to become an AI trainer.
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Forward this to the friend who's been looking for remote side work. 1 referral gets you the Complete Kit Vault, and 10 get you my book, Amplified, free.
📬 In case you missed it
Entry-level AI jobs, matched to your background
Roles you can apply for without an AI degree, and how to spot a real posting.
Remote AI jobs, updated every day
Open roles at AI companies you can do from home, coding and no-coding.
🤔 Got questions?
Have you tried AI training work, or are you thinking about it? Hit reply and tell me how it went, and you might see your answer in an upcoming issue!
Stay curious, stick with it, and watch your skills grow week by week!
Until next time :)
-David
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