My Experience
Hi, I wanted to share my experience since I had many people ask similar questions.
I saw AI training ads on Reddit and Linkedin for months but I didn't seriously try to land one until August.
I was tight on money and so I spent my August really just signing up to every platform and applying to all the roles I maybe qualified for.
I signed up to Micro1, Ethos, Mercor, Outlier, DataAnnotation, Alignerr and Turing.
| Platform | Applications and interviews | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Micro1 | 14 applications and interviews | 1 role $200/hr ✅ |
| Ethos | 7 applications and interviews | 1 role $100/hr ✅ |
| Mercor | did 2 skills tests and applied to 30 roles | (nothing yet) |
| Outlier | did the skills test | 1 role $28.5 ✅ |
| DataAnnotation | did the skills test | (nothing yet) |
| Alignerr | 7 applications, 1 interview | (nothing yet) |
| Turing | applied to 4 specialist roles | (nothing yet) |
After 2-3 weeks of applying I finally got my first role at Ethos for $100/hr and then a week later got one at Micro1 for $200/hr. Both roles were technically specialist roles but the work just involved reviewing text and images. Both jobs had 4-6 hours of training that was paid, this tells you what they expect you to do and how to do it. Then I spent my September working as much as the work was available.
From my experience I'd recommend just signing up to every platform and apply as much as you can for the following reasons:
1. To increase the chances you land one opportunity
I applied to ~50 to get only 3 offers.
2. To land a job with a higher payrate
I got three roles that paid $28.5/hr, $100/hr and $200/hr. Obviously you know which two I focus on.
3. To ensure you have work available
Even after getting a job the work isn't always available. Having multiple jobs at the same time lets me work on one when the other has no work.
4. To practice and gain experience with AI interviews or tests
For every job on Micro1 you have to do a video interview with their AI "Zara". I can say I gained a lot of experience just doing a few of these video interviews that now it feels straightforward. I'd recommend applying to old Micro1 jobs or to jobs you're less interested in just so you get a sense of what it's like and perform well on the interview you actually care about.