White-collar professionals train AI on their own jobs but find the pay is not easy money

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โดย Moneywise.com under the title·Read original
Summary · why it matters

Tens of thousands of white-collar professionals are being paid to train AI systems on their own expertise, but many are finding the work is not the easy money it appears. A July 10 New York Times report revealed that Mercor, a San Francisco-based startup selling training data to AI labs, pays its network of 30,000 contractors upward of $4 million every day. While some listings offer up to $350 an hour for psychiatry experts or $300 to $500 an hour for management consultants, most roles average about $105 an hour, and contractors face tight deadlines, flat-rate gigs that consume far more hours than they pay for, and the risk of non-payment if a supervisor rejects their output. Once a group of experts teaches a model a skill, projects in that specialty often dry up, and some contractors have sued firms like Handshake, Scale AI, and Surge AI over alleged misclassification and underpayment. Despite the challenges, applications continue to pour in as only 19% of college-educated workers say now is a good time to find a quality job, according to a Gallup survey of more than 22,000 U.S. workers conducted in late 2025.

Impact on stocks 0

Theme Impact 1

Off-coverage companies 4

MercorPrivate± Mixed
Demandrelevance

Mercor pays contractors $4M daily for AI training data, indicating strong demand, but faces contractor dissatisfaction and legal risks.

Scale AI, Inc.Private▼ Negative
Regulationrelevance

Contractors have sued Scale AI over alleged misclassification and underpayment, posing legal and reputational risk.

HandshakePrivate▼ Negative
Regulationrelevance

Contractors have sued Handshake over alleged misclassification and underpayment, posing legal and reputational risk.

Surge AIPrivate▼ Negative
Regulationrelevance

Contractors have sued Surge AI over alleged misclassification and underpayment, posing legal and reputational risk.

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