Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the fastest-growing fields right now, with tech companies pumping billions into designing and training models for applications from personal healthcare to professional business purposes to entertainment. Getting all those models ready for rollout takes countless hours of human-powered training, which is why AI training jobs are one of the fastest-growing work from home opportunities right now.
Unlike many other remote work opportunities, AI training is a field that can be easy to break into if you know how to get started. To help you get started as an AI trainer, we’re breaking down what you need to know to get into this exciting and potentially high-paying remote work field.
Types of Work AI Trainers Do
One of the great things about AI systems training is that it’s a line of work just about anyone can get into if they have a strong sense of grammar and an eye for detail. In the world of conversational AI, large language models (LLMs) use algorithms to learn to “think” by developing patterns based on human conversations. This adaptive process called machine learning helps generative AI models continually improve, giving the world a range of handy products like helpful chatbots, virtual therapists, and Facebook apps that transform users into royalty.
While the goal for each bot is different, most projects aim to produce natural-sounding, well-reasoned responses and need workers who can help make that happen. Depending on their assessment performance, workers on some of the top AI training sites advertising on Glassdoor and Linkedin, like DataAnnotation Tech, Outlier, and Remotasks, can get access to a wide range of tasks.
These are just a few examples of the types of AI training jobs and projects users might work on:
Data Labeling
In data labeling projects, workers help AI to better identify the content in images. Projects might include looking at pictures to determine how many people are in them or editing a machine-produced caption to help it better identify text or numbers in an image.
Coding
Coding tasks involve working with models that produce content containing code like Python, JavaScript, and PHP to debug answers. Coding-related tasks are some of the higher-paying opportunities on most data training sites.
Role-Playing Chatbots
Workers might help create a role or character and then test the model or even try to trick it into breaking character. They might even find themselves chatting with a ready-made chatbot based on a famous real or fictional figure.
Writing Tasks
For some projects, workers will be asked to create an entire conversation, developing both the user’s prompts and a model’s responses. Or they may be asked to develop complicated prompts for a chatbot to test its ability to brainstorm, summarize, or produce quality professional or creative writing.
Harmless and Helpful Content
Many projects focus on refining a model’s ability to produce helpful content without hallucinating (coming up with answers that don’t make sense — a common problem for AI). Other projects may test a bot’s ability to safely and respectfully answer questions that could result in potentially harmful or sensitive material.
There are Many Types of AI Training Jobs Available
Since tech companies are constantly developing AI for new applications, this list is by no means comprehensive. What’s important to know is that if you perform well on your qualifications and continue to produce quality work, there’s a good chance you’ll have a wide range of AI training jobs to choose from on any given day, which can make the work much more interesting. Depending on where you work, it’s even possible to set up your workflow so that you can spend time working on a few different types of projects on any given day.
Benefits of AI Training Jobs
If you can prove you’ve got what it takes, AI training jobs are a great way to supplement your income or even pay the rent altogether. New jobs are becoming available constantly, and because of the sheer volume of work that’s available, many AI sites will let you work as long as you’d like. This can easily add up to more than 40 hours per week if you’re a strong worker. Many of these sites also pay out more frequently than traditional work salaries, which can be a huge help between paychecks.
Although data training pay can vary depending on the task and site you’re working for, many AI training jobs can range from $18 to $45 per hour. In the United States, this is considered contract work, which means your tax burden doesn’t get auto-deducted from your paycheck. But the good news is that working from home opens you up to a wide range of tax deduction opportunities on things like computer supplies and internet service.
For many workers, the best part of AI training work is the flexibility. Most tasks let workers log in and work whenever they want, whether that means clocking in for a few hours after your 9 to 5 is over for the day or logging a little work time after the kids have gone to sleep for the night.
Landing AI Work Without Experience
Although many AI training jobs will ask about your education and experience in relevant roles, they tend to care more about your ability to perform than what’s on your resume. Depending on your digital literacy and command of the English language, it’s possible to break into AI training with no experience, no degree, and without shelling out for any special courses or certifications.
The key is understanding what they’re looking for and putting in the time, effort, and focus needed to sail through their qualifications. Whether you’re taking an initial assessment or working on a starter task, here’s what it takes to get higher-paying AI work:
1. Take your time
It might seem counterintuitive to anyone who has worked with a clock-watching manager lurking around them, but when it comes to AI software development, quality is generally prioritized over speed. AI systems administrators understand that it takes time to produce quality work, and they’re usually far more interested in creating a better AI model than getting a job done quickly.
Taking your time when you’re performing onboarding qualifications is essential to show that you fully comprehend the type of work you’re being asked to do. Before getting started on any qualifications, ensure you have a couple of hours set aside to give it your best shot.
2. Read the instructions carefully
Many AI training jobs can come with pages upon pages of instructions. To produce the type of work that produces the content a company is looking for, workers need to fully understand the finer details of these instructions. That’s why it’s important to read the instructions closely when completing qualifications on AI training sites.
Even if a task seems relatively simple and straightforward, read through it closely at least once and then skim through it again a couple of times while you’re working to make sure you’re working in accordance with the instructions.
3. Research everything you can
Some of the qualification questions you come across may include information about real-world events, historical figures, or other types of data. Don’t make the mistake of skimming through it or taking it for granted that this information is accurate; AI models are notorious for producing hallucinations, and they’re often pretty subtle.
Some of the top companies working in AI tend to value workers with an eagle eye for catching these types of errors. Show you’ve got what it takes by looking up everything you come across in a qualification that isn’t common knowledge and highlighting these errors whenever possible.
4. Use proofreading aids
Since most AI training jobs are writing-based, strong grammar, punctuation, and spelling abilities in Standard American English (SAE) are some of the best credentials you can bring to the table. But as long as you can write fairly competently and have the right tools at your disposal, you don’t have to be perfect.
If you don’t already have access, sign up for a punctuation and grammar app like Grammarly to run your answers through before hitting the submit button. Alternatively, you can copy and paste your work into a Google doc and then run a spelling and grammar check. And remember, no matter how many years of experience you have as a writer, it never hurts to double-check your work for accuracy.
5. Write in complete sentences
Unless explicitly stated otherwise, most AI training jobs prefer to see complete sentences in their chatbot responses and user feedback. Anytime you’re asked to explain your reasoning, it’s also better to err on the side of completeness.
6. Be creative
If you’re given a task involving creativity, try to think outside the box. Even if you feel like you don’t have a creative bone in your body, try to push yourself a little harder on these tasks. And remember — following instructions closely is every bit as important on creative writing tasks as it is on drier, more data-focused material.
7. Read your work aloud
Remember, the point of most AI training jobs is to aid natural language processing and create natural-sounding, conversational responses rather than text that sounds like it was written by a robot. One of the best ways to check your work for this quality is simply reading it out loud. You may be surprised at what looks fine in print but sounds a bit “off” when spoken.
8. Learn markdown and JSON
Markdown and JSON are two easy-to-learn text formatting concepts that come up from time to time in AI training tasks and qualifications. You don’t have to learn everything about them to perform well on these tasks. Just spend some time reading up on how they work, and you should be good to go.
Improving Your AI Training Skillset
If you’d love to get into a higher-paid AI training job but you’re having trouble getting through the qualifications, here are a few things you can do to boost your qualifications:
- Brush up on your SAE grammar, spelling, and punctuation skills.
- Download an app to learn coding.
- Watch videos on AI data training to familiarize yourself with how many of the tasks work.
Once you’ve made it through a data training site’s basic qualifications, there are a few things you can do to improve your job offerings. On sites like DataAnnotation.Tech, performing well on certain tasks can lead to higher-paying work, so it pays to always bring your A-game to the job. Keep checking your qualification opportunities; new AI training jobs occasionally become available for specific areas of expertise, with subjects ranging from real estate to math tutoring.
AI Training Jobs Wrapup
With all of the opportunities available in this ever-evolving sector, now is a great time to hone your qualifications and get started in an AI training job. Whether you’re looking for a part-time AI side hustle or hoping to make AI your full-time future career, the potential for growth is wide open.