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Research report ยท September 2026 edition

The Market for Math & STEM Work

On 30 Sep 2026, 219 roles in Math & STEM were open on 9 platforms (Invisible listed 34.2%); their median advertised rate was $65/hr, 12% above the $58/hr of all AI training work; each open role drew 0.87x the apply clicks of the average role.

Read the month's story: The AI Training Job Market in September 2026

Data window
1 Sep 2026 to 30 Sep 2026
30 days, UTC
Frozen
10 Oct 2026, 14:58 UTC
These figures will not change
Source
The public job boards of the AI training platforms this site tracks, read every day. Apply clicks are made on AITraining.jobs; full descriptions come from the platforms whose boards publish them.
Method
Version 1. Definitions
CC BY 4.0, how to cite

Every figure on this page as CSV and JSON, sent to your work email.

Key findings

  1. 1

    Between the week of 7 Sep 2026 and the week of 21 Sep 2026, open roles in Math & STEM on the platforms tracked since 1 Sep 2026 went up 8.4%, from about 145 to 157, against -2.1% for all AI training work on the same platforms; platforms first tracked later, left out of this panel, listed about 55 more in the week of 21 Sep 2026.

    Figure 1
  2. 2

    9 platforms listed the 219 open roles in Math & STEM; Invisible held 34.2% and the three largest 83.6% (HHI 2,497, moderately concentrated, against 1,680 for all AI training work).

    Figure 3
  3. 3

    165 of the 219 open roles in Math & STEM (75.3%) stated an hourly rate, with a median of $65/hr (middle half $65 to $95), 12% above the $58/hr of all AI training work.

    Figure 4
  4. 4

    Each open role in Math & STEM drew 0.18 apply clicks a week on AITraining.jobs, 0.87x the average AI training role: the 3rd lowest of 10 kinds of work with enough clicks to rank.

    Figure 6
  5. 5

    43.8% of the 219 open roles in Math & STEM accepted applicants from any country, against 37.7% of all AI training roles; of the 20 countries compared, residents of the United States (164), India (144) and the Philippines (132) could apply to the most, and residents of Cambodia and South Korea to the fewest (98 each).

    Figure 9
  6. 6

    52.1% of the 219 open roles in Math & STEM name an expert field in their title, 14 expert fields in all; Mathematics & statistics (38), Physics & astronomy (35) and Biology & life sciences (12) were named most.

    Figure 10
  7. 7

    Of the 80 open roles in Math & STEM with a full description, 45.0% mention a PhD or master's degree, 16.3% a professional credential and 40.0% an assessment or test; the 14 stating years of experience ask for a median of 2 years.

    Figure 11
  8. 8

    Over the 30 days from 1 Sep 2026 to 30 Sep 2026, open roles in Math & STEM on the platforms tracked at its start went up 2.5% (158 to 162): platforms listed 110 new roles and removed 107, and a removed role had been listed for a median of 44 days (32 across all AI training work).

    Figure 2

Figure 1

Open roles, week by week

Is the number of open roles in Math & STEM rising or falling?

WeekOpen roles (fixed panel)Index
1 to 6 SepPartial week
152
105.1
7 to 13 Sep
145
100.0
14 to 20 Sep
152
105.3
21 to 27 Sep
157
108.4
28 to 30 SepPartial week
165
114.0

Sample. Average open roles in Math & STEM over each week's days, on the 15 platforms tracked since 1 Sep 2026 (the fixed panel; 9 of them list this work), 1 Sep 2026 to 30 Sep 2026.

The index is the panel's open roles against the week of 7 Sep 2026 (100), beside the same index for all AI training work on the same platforms.

OpenTrain AI (first tracked 5 Sep 2026) lists this work but was added to the dataset later, so it is left out of the panel and counted only in the last column: a platform's arrival never reads as growth.

Weeks with fewer than 10 open roles on the panel, or cut by the span, are marked.

Source. AITraining.jobs Research, The Market for Math & STEM Work, September 2026 edition.

Figure 2

Listings added and removed

How fast do roles in Math & STEM turn over, and is the stock growing on the same platforms?

WorkOpen on 1 Sep 2026Open on 30 Sep 2026, same platformsChangeNew listings
Math & STEM158162
+2.5%
110
All AI training work1,5911,656
+4.1%
1,585

Sample. Roles listed from 1 Sep 2026 to 30 Sep 2026: 326 in Math & STEM, 4,472 across all AI training work.

Change compares the roles open on the first and the last day of the window on the platforms tracked when it opened, so a platform added during the window does not read as growth.

A new listing first appeared in the window on a platform already tracked before that week; a platform's first week (its back catalogue) is not counted.

Median days listed runs from a removed role's listing date to its last sighting, for removed roles with a known listing date (at least 10; 101 here).

Source. AITraining.jobs Research, The Market for Math & STEM Work, September 2026 edition.

Figure 3

Who lists it

Which platforms list roles in Math & STEM, and what does each advertise?

PlatformOpen rolesShare of open rolesMedian per hour
Invisible75
34.2%
$65
OpenTrain AI57
26.0%
$95
Mercor51
23.3%
$95
AfterQuery21
9.6%
$100
Alignerr5
2.3%
n/a
micro15
2.3%
n/a
Braintrust3
1.4%
n/a
Terac1
0.5%
n/a
TransPerfect DataForce1
0.5%
n/a

Sample. 219 roles in Math & STEM open at the end of 30 Sep 2026, by the platform that lists them: HHI 2,497 (moderately concentrated), against 1,680 for all AI training work.

HHI: the sum of every platform's squared percentage share of the open roles, 0 to 10,000; under 1,500 is unconcentrated, 1,500 to 2,500 moderately and above 2,500 highly concentrated (US merger-guideline thresholds).

Shares are of listings, not of people hired or money paid: a platform posting one role per language or country weighs more here than its hiring may.

A median needs at least 8 roles stating an hourly rate.

Source. AITraining.jobs Research, The Market for Math & STEM Work, September 2026 edition.

Figure 4

What it pays

What do roles in Math & STEM advertise per hour, against AI training work as a whole?

WorkMedian per hour25th percentile75th percentileStating an hourly rate
Math & STEM
$65
$65$9575.3%
All AI training work
$58
$30$7572.2%

Sample. Roles open on 30 Sep 2026: 219 in Math & STEM, 165 of them stating an hourly rate; 2,726 across all AI training work.

Pay is the hourly figure the posting advertises (the middle of a stated range). The middle half runs from the 25th to the 75th percentile.

Roles paid per task or per project, or that state no figure, do not state an hourly rate. A median needs at least 8 roles stating one.

Source. AITraining.jobs Research, The Market for Math & STEM Work, September 2026 edition.

Figure 5

How its rates are distributed

What share of roles in Math & STEM pay $50 an hour or more?

Advertised rateOpen rolesShare of priced rolesAll AI training work
Under $15/hr0
0.0%
7.3%
$15 to $25/hr0
0.0%
10.1%
$25 to $35/hr2
1.2%
10.8%
$35 to $50/hr29
17.6%
17.8%
$50 to $75/hr66
40.0%
28.2%
$75 to $100/hr31
18.8%
10.8%
$100 to $150/hr21
12.7%
8.0%
$150/hr or more16
9.7%
6.9%

Sample. 165 roles in Math & STEM open on 30 Sep 2026 that state an hourly rate, against 1,967 across all AI training work.

Each role counts once, at the middle of its advertised range. The bands are those of the pay-transparency report.

Source. AITraining.jobs Research, The Market for Math & STEM Work, September 2026 edition.

Figure 6

Applicant demand per open role

Do roles in Math & STEM draw more or fewer applicants per opening than the average AI training role?

RolesClicks per role a weekIndex
Math & STEM
0.18
0.87x
All AI training work
0.21
1.00x
Its roles stating an hourly rate
0.18
0.85x
Its roles stating no hourly rateSmall sample
0.20
0.96x
Its roles open worldwide
0.30
1.40x
Its roles limited by country
0.10
0.47x

Sample. Apply clicks on a specific role on AITraining.jobs, from 1 Sep 2026 to 30 Sep 2026: 157 on roles in Math & STEM, against the days those roles were open.

Clicks per role a week = apply clicks / (open role-days / 7). Index 1.00 is the rate of every role on the site.

Rows with fewer than 30 clicks or 3 roles open on an average day are marked as a small sample.

Apply clicks measure interest among visitors to AITraining.jobs, who see roles open in their country and recent, priced roles first. Clicks are never split by platform.

Source. AITraining.jobs Research, The Market for Math & STEM Work, September 2026 edition.

Figure 7

Applicant demand by listing age

Do newer roles in Math & STEM draw more applicants than older ones?

Listing ageClicks per role a weekIndex (this work = 1)
Listed during the window
0.33
1.77x
Listed up to 4 weeks before itSmall sample
0.13
0.72x
Listed 4 to 12 weeks before itSmall sample
0.17
0.94x
Listed more than 12 weeks before it
0.16
0.89x
Listing date unknownSmall sample
0.15
0.81x

Sample. Apply clicks on roles in Math & STEM, from 1 Sep 2026 to 30 Sep 2026, by when each role was listed relative to the window's first day (1 Sep 2026).

Listing date: the date the job board gives for the posting, or else the first day the role appeared in the feed. A role that arrived with a platform's back catalogue and gives no date has none.

The index divides each row's rate by the rate of all roles in this kind of work, so it reads within the kind.

Rows with fewer than 30 clicks or 3 roles open on an average day are marked as a small sample.

Source. AITraining.jobs Research, The Market for Math & STEM Work, September 2026 edition.

Figure 8

Who may apply: location rules

Can people apply to roles in Math & STEM from anywhere?

Location ruleOpen rolesShare of its open rolesAll AI training work
Open worldwide96
43.8%
37.7%
Worldwide except listed countries21
9.6%
7.3%
Only listed countries102
46.6%
55.0%
No rule stated0
0.0%
0.0%

Sample. 219 roles in Math & STEM open at the end of 30 Sep 2026, against 2,726 across all AI training work.

The rule is read from each posting's location text and, where the posting is silent, from what the platform states about where it hires.

Source. AITraining.jobs Research, The Market for Math & STEM Work, September 2026 edition.

Figure 9

Who may apply: roles open to each country

How many roles in Math & STEM can a resident of each country apply to?

CountryOpen rolesShare of its open roles
Any country (worldwide roles only)
96
43.8%
United States
164
74.9%
India
144
65.8%
Philippines
132
60.3%
Indonesia
131
59.8%
United Kingdom
129
58.9%
Germany
128
58.4%
Pakistan
126
57.5%
Brazil
110
50.2%
Egypt
107
48.9%
Argentina
106
48.4%
Bangladesh
106
48.4%
Colombia
106
48.4%
Japan
106
48.4%
Ghana
104
47.5%
Nigeria
104
47.5%
Chile
103
47.0%
Palestine
103
47.0%
Saudi Arabia
103
47.0%
Cambodia
98
44.7%
South Korea
98
44.7%

Sample. 219 roles in Math & STEM open at the end of 30 Sep 2026, for residents of a fixed set of 20 countries.

A country's count is the roles open worldwide, plus roles whose list names it, plus roles whose exclusion list does not. Roles with no rule stated count for no country.

The 20 countries are the same in every report of this series: those named most often by the location rules of open AI training roles on 9 Oct 2026, either as the only countries accepted or as excluded.

Median pay is over the roles open to that country that state an hourly rate (at least 8).

Source. AITraining.jobs Research, The Market for Math & STEM Work, September 2026 edition.

Figure 10

Expert fields asked for

Which professions and disciplines do roles in Math & STEM ask for?

Expert fieldOpen rolesShare of its open roles
Mathematics & statistics
38
17.4%
Physics & astronomy
35
16.0%
Biology & life sciences
12
5.5%
Chemistry
12
5.5%
Engineering (non-software)
10
4.6%
Software & computer science
7
3.2%
Design & visual arts
4
1.8%
Finance, accounting & economics
4
1.8%
Business, sales & consulting
2
0.9%
Education & teaching
2
0.9%
Humanities & social sciences
2
0.9%
Writing, editing & journalism
2
0.9%
Medicine & nursing
1
0.5%
Psychology & mental health
1
0.5%

Sample. 114 of the 219 roles in Math & STEM open on 30 Sep 2026 name an expert field in their title (52.1%); 14 expert fields are named.

A role counts for a field when its title names the profession or discipline; generic titles ('Expert', 'AI Tutor') name none. A role naming two fields counts for both.

Median pay needs at least 8 roles stating an hourly rate.

Source. AITraining.jobs Research, The Market for Math & STEM Work, September 2026 edition.

Figure 11

What the descriptions ask for

Do roles in Math & STEM ask for degrees, credentials, experience or tests?

RequirementRolesShare of described roles
Mentions a PhD35
43.8%
Mentions a PhD or master's36
45.0%
Mentions any degree37
46.3%
Mentions a professional credential13
16.3%
States years of experience14
17.5%
Asks for 5 years or more3
3.8%
States weekly hours43
53.8%
Mentions an assessment or test32
40.0%
Mentions an AI-led or video interview2
2.5%
Mentions a background check1
1.3%

Sample. 80 roles in Math & STEM open on 30 Sep 2026 whose job board publishes a full description (AfterQuery, Braintrust, Mercor and micro1), 36.5% of its open roles; 850 described roles across all AI training work.

A mention can be a requirement or a preference ('a PhD is a plus'): the figure counts both. The patterns are those of the requirements report.

Only some platforms publish full descriptions, so this figure describes their roles, not every platform's.

Source. AITraining.jobs Research, The Market for Math & STEM Work, September 2026 edition.

For labs, data vendors and researchers

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The figures above are a summary. Behind them are records we collect ourselves, every day:

  • 9,572 roles tracked, each with its history

    Every role on 29 job boards, read daily since 13 Jul 2026: its pay and place, and the first and last day it was open.

  • 6,200 apply clicks in 28 days

    Which roles people actually apply to, by field, pay and kind of work. It happens on this site, so nobody else can count it.

  • 39 lab and vendor hiring boards

    The job boards of 25 AI labs and 14 human-data vendors, read every day: who is hiring for human data, and who is hiring to buy it.

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    Your countries, languages or fields, or your own platform against the market.

Method and definitions

The public job boards of the AI training platforms this site tracks, read every day. Apply clicks are made on AITraining.jobs; full descriptions come from the platforms whose boards publish them. Every figure is computed by one database query over the window shown, the same query for the live report and for every edition. Each figure states its sample beneath it.

Kind of work
Each role is classified from its title and description into one of the twelve kinds of AI training work this site tracks; this report counts the roles classified as Math & STEM.
Fixed panel
The platforms already tracked when the weekly series opens. The index follows their open roles, so a platform added later (such as OpenTrain AI and Welo Data in September 2026) never reads as growth.
Index
The panel's average open roles in a week, divided by the same in the base week, times 100; shown beside the same index for all AI training work on the same platforms.
Open role
A role listed by a given day and still in its platform's feed that day.
New listing
A role that first appeared during the window on a platform already tracked before that week. A platform's first week in this dataset is its back catalogue and is not counted as new.
Removed listing
A role that left its platform's feed during the window.
Days listed
From a removed role's listing date to the last day it was seen in its feed. A median needs at least 10 removed roles.
HHI
Herfindahl-Hirschman Index: the sum of every platform's squared percentage share of open roles, 0 to 10,000. Under 1,500 unconcentrated, 1,500 to 2,500 moderately, above 2,500 highly concentrated.
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.
Clicks per open role a week
Apply clicks on AITraining.jobs on a specific role, divided by the days the roles were open, times 7.
Demand index
Clicks per open role a week divided by the same rate across every role on the site. Above 1, the roles draw more applicants than the average role.
Listing age
When a role was listed relative to the window's first day: during the window, up to 4 weeks before it, 4 to 12 weeks before or longer. The listing date is the job board's posting date, or else the first day the role appeared in the feed.
Location rule
Read from each posting's location text and, where that names no country, from what the posting's own description states: open worldwide, worldwide except listed countries, only listed countries, or no rule stated.
Open to a country
A role is open to residents of a country if it is open worldwide, its list names the country, or its exclusion list does not. The 20 countries compared are the same in every report of the series.
Window
Live: the last 28 complete days, in UTC, and the last twelve complete ISO weeks (from the week of 3 Aug 2026 at the earliest) for the weekly series. Edition: one calendar month, in UTC, and its weeks.

What this data cannot tell you

  • Platforms that recruit without a public job board are not counted. Several large ones invite workers to projects directly.
  • A listing is not a hire. Some platforms keep evergreen roles open for months, and some post one listing per language or country.
  • Apply clicks measure interest among the people who use AITraining.jobs, and what is shown first gets clicked more. Clicks are never published by platform.
  • Full descriptions are published by a few platforms only, so the requirements figure describes their roles and appears only when at least 10 roles of this kind are described.
  • A kind of work with few open roles gives figures that move with a handful of postings: rows on too little data are marked as a small sample.

How the job feeds are read and roles are classified: site methodology. How fresh, complete and consistent the data is, checked every day: data quality and coverage.

Editions

The live report covers the last 28 complete days and changes every day. Each complete month is also published as an edition, frozen two days after the month ends, so a figure you cite from an edition never moves.

Cite and reuse

Free to quote, chart and republish under CC BY 4.0 with a link to this page. This edition is frozen, so its figures will read the same later.

Citation

AITraining.jobs (2026). The Market for Math & STEM Work, September 2026 edition. https://www.aitraining.team/research/math-stem-ai-training-market/2026-09

BibTeX

@misc{aitrainingjobs_math_stem_ai_training_market_2026_09,
  author = {{AITraining.jobs}},
  title = {The Market for Math & STEM Work, September 2026 edition},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {\url{https://www.aitraining.team/research/math-stem-ai-training-market/2026-09}},
}
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