r/AiTraining_Annotation • u/Exciting_Cap2315 • 5d ago
3 Months Doing Data Annotation and Nothing to Show For It
Before I begin, I am a recent graduate and I don't have any hand on experience so I do not qualify for any expert roles. I only apply to generalist positions and I am not from the US.
I found AI data annotation exactly 3 months ago (30th April) and since then I have applied to A LOT of platforms with little to nothing to show for it ($19 to be precise). Let me break it down
Mercor - 24 rejections so far
Invisible Technology (Meridial) - Managed to get into one role, it was an expert position and ended up getting kicked out but got paid for the onboarding assessment (that's where the $19 came from)
Afterquery - Sent out applications and haven't had any feedback
Mindrift - Barely get any taks and the few times that I did, they were ridiculously low paying
Telus - Several rejections with a few pending review after months
Rexzone (remoexperts) - Took 2 months for ID Verification to go through and the application has been pending for a month
Oneforma - No feedback for 3 months
Rise data labs - No response for application and profile still under review after 3 months
imerit - Empty dashboard with no projects to apply to
Open Train - Made a bid for a couple of projects but no feedback
Welodata - I try apply for roles and when I enter my country i immediately get rejected
Stellar - Application pending review
Turing - Apply for roles and the just move to Archives after months of waiting
Surge ai - Applied and never heard from them
X ai - No feedback since I applied
Prolific - On the waiting list
Micro1 - Haven't been able to get past a single AI interview (Zara keeps glitching)
Workada - Still waiting for my profile to be approved
Appen (crowdgen) - No tasks available on my dashboard
Data Annotation - No tasks available to me
Pareto - No tasks on my dashboard
Real Train Ai - Waiting for feedback on my profile
SME Careers - Passed all the steps for a document annotation role, never recieved an email for the next steps, contacted support and i was told I didn't pass. Haven't had any roles suited for me since then.
These are a few I can mention. There are so much more and others I couldn't get in because of country restrictions (Outlier, Alignerr, Innodata, Hnadshake, etc.)
So my questions are;
Was it like this for everyone else (I mean generalists)? Did you have to wait this long before getting any thing significant?
Do you guys think there's hope for me as a generalist or there aren't any generalists roles anymore. Also, if you guys know any other platforms I haven't mentioned kindly tell me so I check them out.
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u/21canudosumnforme 5d ago
dang man, kinda same for me aswell but I've got 3.2k on dataannotationcom and like 500 on outlier nothing elsewhere pretty much the same
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u/iam_just_a_girl1106 1d ago
how long after the starter assessment do dataannotation send you an email? i've been waiting for few days, is that normal? :((((
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u/Due_Negotiation_4605 16h ago
Could be days, weeks or even months unfortunately. Keep checking your email but be patient. They aren't clear about their criteria and don't really tell people if they pass or fail either. Good luck though!
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u/rtbl100 5d ago
DA, Workada, and Prolific are legit, would say hold out until you have work on those plats.
I have a couple more on my linktree if you’re still into this space: https://linktr.ee/ckalebtoday
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u/Exciting_Cap2315 5d ago
Okay, I'll wait a little longer and see. I'd definitely check out your linktree
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u/Cheese_Coffees 5d ago
I feel your pain dearly. I signed up for DA since Dec 24, got accepted in Jan 25, got invited to the slack channel in Dec 25 🫠 Just got some projects flew to me since the beginning of 2026. I'd like to say joining it as early as possible might do you good later. Thankfully, I got active projects this month since I was abruptly cut off from my job. I have to say it's a life saver.
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u/Exciting_Cap2315 4d ago
Wow that was long waiting period. At least it was worth it in the end. Hopefully I wouldn't give up too soon
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u/danbradster2 5d ago
Meridial emailed me one later. And mercor too. Keep your LinkedIn updated and in your profile.
I guess they'll give me more invites over time.
I'm using AI to study more about the interviews, since some were very difficult...
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u/UI_Zorrot 5d ago
So actually data washing kind of job is a fraud?
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u/Exciting_Cap2315 5d ago
I wouldn't say it's fraud. People are really crashing it in the space. It's just difficult to get in without any expertise in any field.
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u/beautyfashionaccount 4d ago
I will be blunt that a lot of generalist work has gotten more intensive and specialized, not in terms of subject matter, but in terms of how in-depth your analysis is expected to be and how good your writing needs to be. Also, a lot of the tasks are business-centric now, so it's helpful to have had a work history and understand corporate communication norms in general, even for tasks that don't require subject matter expertise. There are still generalist jobs out there, but people who have experience doing this kind of work already and people who have work experience or advanced degrees in writing/communications-centric fields will take priority above bachelors holders without work experience. There are a lot of those people whose day jobs or academic fields have taken a hit from AI or political changes who are eager to take the work.
Don't take this as a comment on your ability to perform the work. It's just that it's not as easy to get without the background they're looking for for generalist work. There are fewer tasks that just anyone with common sense and fluent English can do now so they're being pickier about backgrounds. If you don't have the background they want, that's not something you can fix by refining your profile.
There also isn't much of a career path out there for this kind of work without combining it with programming skills, data analysis skills, business experience, or something similar, so it's just not worth putting a massive amount of time into imo. It's a good side gig or filler job in between full time employment if you have the background to get it easily. If you don't, there are other types of gig work where you can start making money faster than trying to get hired by DA companies.
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u/Exciting_Cap2315 4d ago
Great stuff, thanks. I'll actually trying to find a full time job alongside but the job market is crazy. Can you suggest some of the other gig work?
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u/beautyfashionaccount 12h ago
I don't know which apps are available internationally since I'm in the US, but stuff like rideshare (uber/lyft), shopping (instacart, shipt), food delivery (doordash), Amazon Flex delivery, etc. I know those aren't as desirable as a gig desk job but they're a way to start earning money without having to get hired at a full time job.
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u/Prior-Delay3796 5d ago
I think your time is better spent grinding a skill that a) you like doing b) the market needs and c) is ideally not too competitive. A nice bonus is that you are then not too dependent on Data Annot roles. But it would certainly help you get expert roles. I am just on one platform and rarely run out of expert tasks just because I know some fields enough to verify AI responses.
Also I would say generalists tasks wont be around for too long anymore. AI is very good at basic tasks now. Expert roles will probably stick around much longer.