Gig workers with advanced degrees command high rates in AI training

The AI training gig used to mean tagging photos of stop signs for pocket change. That job still exists, but it now has a far more expensive cousin. Gig workers holding medical, law and engineering degrees are now training AI models and billing hundreds of dollars an hour for it, according to a Bloomberg report published October 16, 2026. The report describes AI training shifting away from low-wage, generalist data labeling and toward specialists in fields like medicine, law and engineering. These experts check AI outputs for accuracy, give detailed feedback, and evaluate complex reasoning within their own disciplines. The going rate for a professional opinion Experts with advanced degrees are earning between $80 and $450 per hour on specialized AI tasks as of October 2026, depending on their qualifications. For comparison, generalist data workers earn between $10 and $65 per hour. At the very top of the market, the best specialists can earn up to $1,000 per hour. Mercor is one of the platforms leading this trend. The company has approximately 30,000 active contractors and pays out between $1.5 million and $4 million daily to those contractors. The average contracted rate for expert...