Could you be an AI data trainer? How to prepare and what it pays
More organizations are seeking domain experts to train AI datasets. Here's what you need to know.
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ZDNET's key takeaways
- Organizations seek domain experts to train AI datasets.
- AI data training is becoming high-level, cognitive work.
- Pay rates for these specialists range very broadly.
AI data trainers who ensure the accuracy and viability of training data going into AI models are well-compensated, in-demand professionals. Two new studies projected potential annual incomes ranging from $65,000 to $180,000, with greater rewards for subject matter experts.
"What was once considered simple data labeling has become a highly specialized form of cognitive work," said the authors of the latest compensation data on AI trainers released by HireArt. "This work currently involves nuanced reasoning, deep subject-matter knowledge, and, increasingly, multilingual fluency."
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Or as a Coursera overview suggested, the AI data trainer "ensures that AI responses are intelligent."
Potential income ranges broadly
The role of AI trainer has taken on cachet in recent years with the rise of generative AI tools across the business and consumer sectors. The HireArt study also highlighted a notable shift from gig workers to subject matter experts. "Unlike generalists, who can theoretically be hired globally, subject matter experts are more difficult to find," the survey's authors observed.
Potential income may range from $125,000 annually for subject matter experts to $180,000 for managers and higher, according to HireArt.
A similar survey from ZipRecruiter placed the overall average across all categories at $64,984, with an annual salary range between $28,000 and $132,500. "The average pay range for an AI data trainer varies greatly, by as much as $32,500, which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location, and years of experience," the ZipRecruiter team concluded.
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A computer science or AI-related degree is not required, but experience in data annotation and content moderation is helpful.
What AI trainers do
AI trainers will oversee tasks such as curating, cleaning, and organizing datasets, accurately labeling data, and performing quality checks on annotated data, according to a primer provided by the University of San Diego. Additional roles include providing feedback or fine-tuning data to improve model accuracy, providing feedback to reinforce learning systems, writing and refining prompts or instructions, and evaluating model responses for clarity, correctness, and usefulness.
Specialty areas are emerging, as documented by HireArt, which finds that subject matter experts now earn $70 to $180 per hour in fields like medicine, law, and finance, rivaling engineers and analysts.
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"The pay rate ranges are very broad, as they vary significantly depending on factors like skill set, education level, and experience," said the HireArt authors. "For example, a Ph.D domain specialist with 10 years of experience is paid much more than a domain specialist with a bachelor's degree and no experience."
Compensation breakdown
Here is a breakdown of hourly compensation:
- Legal: Expert: $50-$70 | Highly skilled: $80-$150+
- Economics: Expert: $50-$65 | Highly skilled: $65-$100+
- Gaming: Expert: $50-$65 | Highly skilled: $65-$100+
- Engineering: Expert: $40-$70 | Highly skilled: $80-$150+
- Finance: Expert: $35-$65 | Highly skilled: $70-$130+
- Computer science: Expert: $35-$60 | Highly skilled: $70-$110+
The HireArt team also calculated hourly compensation for AI trainers by job roles:
- AI Red Teamer: Expert: $54-$68 | Highly skilled: $70-$82+
- Data Annotation Project Manager: Expert: $47-$60 | Highly skilled: $70-$97+
- Prompt Engineer: Expert: $43-$63 | Highly skilled: $72-$115+
- Data Annotation Team Lead: Expert: $38-$55 | Highly skilled: $71-$91+
- AI Data QA Expert: $32-$40 | Highly skilled: $38-$60+
How to prepare for AI training jobs
The University of San Diego primer, meanwhile, provided some tips on preparing and moving into AI data trainer opportunities:
- Build foundational skills: These skills include data analysis, algorithm development, and proficiency in programming languages such as Python, JavaScript, and SQL. Skills such as data visualization, quality assurance, and prompt tuning are also important.
- Practice on a real dataset: Check out publicly available datasets, such as those from government agencies, which can serve as a sandbox to "practice data cleaning, labeling, and modeling skills," the university advised.
- Build a portfolio: You need to be able to highlight the skills you can offer -- document your work, both practice and practical. Highlighting "your ability to clean, annotate, and preprocess data, as well as any results or improvements you were able to achieve."
- Apply for entry-level or gig positions: Entry-level and gig AI data trainer roles provide the gateway to pursue a career in this space. Such positions "might be labeled as chatbot trainers, AI rates, AI annotators, LLM trainers or similar."
Some recent employment postings illustrated the diverse nature of AI data training jobs:
- Mathematics domain AI data trainer: "Looking for people with advanced math skills to help train and evaluate cutting-edge AI models from some of the world's biggest AI labs." Complete AI training tasks, such as analyzing, editing, and writing math. Judge the performance of AI in performing math-related prompts.
- Financial AI data trainer: "Measure the progress of AI chatbots, evaluate their logic, and solve problems to improve the quality of each model." Need to hold an expert level of financial reasoning. Give AI chatbots diverse and complex problems and evaluate their outputs. Evaluate the quality produced by AI models for correctness and performance.
- UI/UX and visual design AI data trainer: "Help train and improve cutting-edge AI models. Assess and enhance how AI systems understand, generate, and evaluate design work -- including interfaces, layouts, visuals, and user experiences." Review and critique AI-generated UI/UX designs, mockups, and visuals. Evaluate the quality produced by AI models for correctness and performance. Help train models to understand aesthetic quality and user-centered design.