What Mercor is
Mercor is a talent marketplace that places people into paid AI work for leading labs and enterprises (OpenAI and Meta are referenced clients). Work ranges from AI model training, evaluation, annotation, writing and translation to expert tracks in software engineering, AI/ML, law, biology, and sales. Crucially for Filipinos: the Philippines is on Mercor's official supported-countries list, so you can apply today.
What Mercor pays
| Track | Typical rate (USD) |
|---|---|
| AI training / data labeling | $12–25 / hour |
| Writing, translation, evaluation | $15–40 / hour |
| Software engineering | $70–200 / hour |
| AI / ML specialists | $80–158 / hour |
Hours are tracked with the Insightful tool and paid weekly via Stripe, or Wise where Stripe isn't available, and Wise now supports PHP payout accounts in the Philippines.
Who it's for
The AI-training track needs no degree and is the best entry point. Expert tracks expect a real portfolio and technical depth. All work is remote from your home country; there is no visa sponsorship.
Is Mercor legit?
Yes, it's venture-backed (Khosla Ventures, reported ~$10B valuation) and pays reliably. Be aware that in 2026 Mercor disclosed a third-party supply-chain data breach affecting contractor data; it doesn't affect payouts, but it's worth knowing before you share documents.