Generalist (Macbook User)
Listing checked October 13, 2026 · pay as published by Mercor
Overview
Work with Mercor on a research project for a leading AI lab, where your writing and research feed into benchmarking and model improvement. The role centers on building research questions, model answers, and evaluation materials that train and test large language models. You set your own hours across a part-time schedule of about 10 to 20 hours each week. A MacBook with an M-series chip is mandatory, since tasks run on that hardware. Detail-oriented people with graduate study or 2 to 3 years of relevant experience will fit best.
What You'll Do7
- 1Create original research questions that probe reasoning, knowledge, and writing ability in advanced language models.
- 2Draft accurate answers and reference responses that give models a clear target.
- 3Build evaluation materials that let researchers compare model outputs against defined criteria.
- 4Gather information from varied online sources and condense it into structured summaries.
- 5Review model responses for factual gaps, weak logic, and unclear phrasing, then document findings.
- 6Run all assigned tasks on a MacBook with an Apple Silicon M-series chip.
- 7Track time and submit completed work on the schedule set by the project.
Requirements7
- 1Own a MacBook with an M-series chip: Apple Silicon (ARM) Mac, M-series MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air running macOS 15 or later.
- 2Enrolled in a Masters program, or completed Masters studies within the past few years, or hold a Bachelors from a prestigious institution plus 2 to 3 years of relevant experience.
- 3Show strong online research skills and the ability to find reliable sources.
- 4Turn complex material into clear, concise summaries for different audiences.
- 5Write with precision and structure, since evaluation materials must stand up to review.
- 6An interdisciplinary degree adds value but is not required.
- 7Start within a short window, as the project prefers an immediate start.
Who Should Apply
An ideal candidate pairs graduate-level study or 2 to 3 years of research work with a knack for writing precise questions and summaries. You own a MacBook with an M-series chip and can commit about 10 to 20 hours each week. The role suits people who enjoy digging through sources, comparing model outputs, and documenting what they find. Candidates without the required Mac hardware or with no bandwidth for the part-time schedule will struggle here. Applications often score low when they skip the MacBook details, leave out writing samples, or show weak research reasoning during the AI interview.
Salary Insight
Pay runs from $50.00 to $60.00 per hour for this part-time, hourly engagement. That range sits in line with AI training and evaluation work that asks for graduate study or comparable experience, plus a specific hardware setup. The project does not list benefits or a fixed weekly cap beyond the 10 to 20 hour estimate. Expect the final rate to depend on your background and the assessment results.
Pay and demand for AI Training roles
AggregatedTypical pay
$70/hour
This role
$50–$60/hr
Most AI Training roles pay $40–$98 per hour. This role's pay falls inside that range.
Based on 1,035 similar roles that publish pay · 302 publish only a top rate; those count at the rate they gave
Rates shown per hour. Yearly and monthly pay converted; one-time fees and non-USD pay are not included.
- Live similar roles
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- Listed in last 30 days
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Hiring most right now: micro1 (342) · SME Careers (253) · Mercor (144)
Most requested skills · share of roles
- ai training14%
- llm evaluation12%
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- data annotation9%
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Compensation
$50–60/hr
Required Skills
Application Tip
Name your exact Mac model and chip in your application, for example M2 MacBook Air running macOS 15, and pair that with a short writing sample that shows how you turn messy sources into a clear research question and answer. The AI interview and paid assessment focus on research and reasoning, so practice explaining your process out loud before you record.
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