Key findings
- 1
The most common title words were Expert or SME (25.3% of open roles), Trainer (18.7% of open roles) and Specialist (17.0% of open roles).
- 2
Roles titled "Voice actor or speaker" advertised the highest median ($100/hr); roles titled "Rater" the lowest ($9/hr).
- 3
Only 2.0% of open roles carry a senior, staff or principal title; they advertised a median of $69/hr against $65/hr for roles with no level in the title.
- 4
13.8% of open roles say "freelance" in the title itself.
Figure 1
What AI training roles are called
Is the work posted as trainer, tutor, rater, annotator or expert?
| Title word | Open roles | Share of open roles |
|---|---|---|
| Expert or SME | 1,096 | 25.3% |
| Trainer | 809 | 18.7% |
| Specialist | 736 | 17.0% |
| Voice actor or speaker | 453 | 10.5% |
| Engineer or developer | 350 | 8.1% |
| Evaluator or reviewer | 293 | 6.8% |
| Annotator or labeler | 285 | 6.6% |
| Analyst or researcher | 254 | 5.9% |
| Contributor or participant | 206 | 4.8% |
| Quality assurance | 191 | 4.4% |
| Lead or manager | 164 | 3.8% |
| Writer or editor | 77 | 1.8% |
| Rater | 76 | 1.8% |
| Linguist or translator | 41 | 0.9% |
| Red teamer or tester | 27 | 0.6% |
| Tutor | 16 | 0.4% |
Sample. 4,330 roles open at the end of 19 Oct 2026, by the words in their titles; 84.1% use at least one of these words.
A title can use several words ('Expert AI Trainer') and counts for each.
Source. AITraining.jobs Research, AI Training Job Titles, live data.
Figure 2
Advertised pay by title word
Does it pay more to be called an expert than a rater?
| Title word | Median per hour | Middle half |
|---|---|---|
| Voice actor or speaker | $100 | $36 to $100 |
| Red teamer or tester | $75 | $43 to $90 |
| Engineer or developer | $65 | $50 to $85 |
| Expert or SME | $65 | $40 to $90 |
| Analyst or researcher | $60 | $28 to $89 |
| Lead or manager | $56 | $30 to $80 |
| Trainer | $50 | $36 to $65 |
| Specialist | $48 | $33 to $65 |
| Evaluator or reviewer | $46 | $25 to $80 |
| Contributor or participant | $45 | $30 to $100 |
| Tutor | $40 | $40 to $40 |
| Linguist or translator | $36 | $30 to $55 |
| Writer or editor | $35 | $23 to $98 |
| Annotator or labeler | $23 | $15 to $30 |
| Quality assurance | $22 | $15 to $60 |
| Rater | $9 | $5 to $21 |
Sample. Roles open on 19 Oct 2026 that state an hourly rate; title words with at least 8 of them.
Source. AITraining.jobs Research, AI Training Job Titles, live data.
Figure 3
Each platform's word for the work
Which title does each platform use most?
Sample. 4,330 roles open at the end of 19 Oct 2026, by the words in their titles.
Source. AITraining.jobs Research, AI Training Job Titles, live data.
Figure 4
Seniority words in titles
How many AI training roles are senior, and how much more do they pay?
| Level | Open roles | Share of open roles | Median per hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior, staff or principal | 85 | 2.0% | $69 |
| Lead or manager | 174 | 4.0% | $56 |
| Junior, entry or associate | 48 | 1.1% | $34 |
| Intern or studentSmall sample | 2 | 0.0% | n/a |
| None of these words | 4,024 | 92.9% | $65 |
Sample. 4,330 roles open at the end of 19 Oct 2026, by the words in their titles.
Median pay needs at least 8 roles stating a rate.
Source. AITraining.jobs Research, AI Training Job Titles, live data.
Figure 5
Engagement words in titles
How many roles say freelance, contract, part-time or remote in the title?
| Word | Open roles | Share of open roles | Median per hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freelance | 598 | 13.8% | $65 |
| Contract | 17 | 0.4% | $69 |
| Part-timeSmall sample | 9 | 0.2% | $98 |
| Full-timeSmall sample | 0 | 0.0% | n/a |
| Remote | 166 | 3.8% | $23 |
| On-site or hybrid | 38 | 0.9% | n/a |
| None of these words | 3,512 | 81.1% | $63 |
Sample. 4,330 roles open at the end of 19 Oct 2026, by the words in their titles.
Median pay needs at least 8 roles stating a rate.
Source. AITraining.jobs Research, AI Training Job Titles, live data.
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- Title word
- A role counts for a word when its title contains it (whole words, case-insensitive), with its plural and close variants; a title can count for several.
- Advertised pay
- The hourly figure a posting states (the middle of a stated range). Medians need at least 8 roles stating a rate; the middle half runs from the 25th to the 75th percentile.
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Citation
AITraining.jobs (2026). AI Training Job Titles (live data, 22 Sep 2026 to 19 Oct 2026). https://aitraining.run/research/ai-training-job-titles (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
BibTeX
@misc{aitrainingjobs_ai_training_job_titles_live,
author = {{AITraining.jobs}},
title = {AI Training Job Titles (live data, 22 Sep 2026 to 19 Oct 2026)},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://aitraining.run/research/ai-training-job-titles}},
note = {Accessed 20 Oct 2026},
}More research
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