Research
The market for human robot training work, measured: 47 reports built from the job boards of the robot labs, fleet operators and data-collection programs and the apply clicks of the people who use RobotTraining.jobs, read every day, and from the industry's own filings, announcements, regulators, court records and studies.
Is the market for human robot training work growing, week by week?
From 14 Sep 2026 to 4 Oct 2026, open robot training roles on the employers tracked throughout went down 0.8% (index 99.2); employers listed 30 new roles in the last week and the advertised median stood at $28/hr.
14 Sep 2026 to 4 Oct 2026
How many robot training roles are open, who lists them, how fast do they turn over and who can apply?
On 9 Oct 2026, 745 robot training roles were open across the job boards of 60 employers. On the employers tracked since 12 Sep 2026, open roles held at 0; Stack AV, Allen Control Systems, Waymo, Serve Robotics, May Mobility, Bot Auto, Nuro, Generalist AI, Gatik, Torc Robotics, Physical Intelligence, Dyna Robotics, RobCo, Neros, Dexterity, TSMG, Motional, Apptronik, Agility Robotics, Wing, Vay, Pronto, Reliable Robotics, Monumental, FS Studio, Cota Robotics, Claru, RoboForce, Perle, Avride, ISEE, Skild AI, Figure AI, Saronic, Havoc AI, Humanoid, 1X Technologies, Mind Robotics, micro1, Sama, Appen, The Global Talent Co., Sereact, Noble Machines, Shield AI, Genesis AI, Tutor Intelligence, Skydio, Zipline, Welo Data, Maven Robotics, Keywords Studios, Sunday Robotics, Rhoda AI, Kodiak AI, Waabi, Wayve, Adexis, Dexmate, Collaborative Robotics, Dexory, Nimble Robotics, Anduril Industries, Skyways, Aurora Innovation and Pyka, first tracked during the window, added 745. 103 roles were newly listed and 109 removed in between.
12 Sep 2026 to 9 Oct 2026
How do the robot training employers and programs compare on listings, pay, reach and turnover?
On 9 Oct 2026, 745 robot training roles were open across the job boards of 60 employers; TSMG listed the most (63.6%) and Aurora Innovation advertised the highest median pay ($35/hr).
12 Sep 2026 to 9 Oct 2026
How many employers compete for each kind of robot training work, and how much of it does the leader hold?
On 9 Oct 2026, robot training listings were highly concentrated overall (HHI 4,114 across 60 employers); Egocentric & Wearable Capture was the most concentrated kind of work, led by TSMG with 76.8% of its open roles.
12 Sep 2026 to 9 Oct 2026
How long do robot training roles stay listed, and which kinds of work turn over fastest?
More than half of the robot training roles listed from 14 Sep 2026 to 9 Oct 2026 were still listed at the end of the observation.
14 Sep 2026 to 9 Oct 2026
When are robot training roles posted, and when do people apply?
From 12 Sep 2026 to 9 Oct 2026, 93.2% of dated robot training postings fell on a weekday (Tuesday the busiest day), while people applied most on Friday and in the 21:00 UTC hour.
12 Sep 2026 to 9 Oct 2026
How many robot-training jobs are open right now, who posts them, where, and how many are remote or state pay?
Open postings and distinct jobs by kind of work, employer and country, with the remote and pay-stated shares, from the same daily read as the job board.
Where do people who want robot training work apply, and which roles are short of applicants?
From 12 Sep 2026 to 9 Oct 2026, people on RobotTraining.jobs made 335 apply clicks; per open role, interest was highest in Embodied-AI Data Annotation (11.36x the average role) and lowest in Egocentric & Wearable Capture (1.81x).
12 Sep 2026 to 9 Oct 2026
Which traits of a robot training role draw more applicants, compared within the same kind of work?
Compared within the same kind of work from 12 Sep 2026 to 9 Oct 2026, stating an hourly rate went with 13.1 times the clicks per open role: associations among the people who use RobotTraining.jobs, partly the site's own ranking of roles.
12 Sep 2026 to 9 Oct 2026
How much robot training work is open to people without a degree or experience, and what does it pay?
On 9 Oct 2026, 97.4% of open robot training roles (726) had an entry-level title and advertised a median $26/hr.
12 Sep 2026 to 9 Oct 2026
What do robot training application forms ask, and how long are they?
Across 700 application forms of robot training roles open on 9 Oct 2026, 26.4% require a resume, 90.4% ask for a LinkedIn profile and a typical form has 15 fields.
12 Sep 2026 to 9 Oct 2026
What tasks does robot training work involve: teleoperating, demonstrating, recording, labelling, monitoring, intervening?
No full role descriptions were available on 9 Oct 2026.
12 Sep 2026 to 9 Oct 2026
How is the work of operating autonomous cars, trucks, drones and vessels split, what does each pay and what licences does it require?
On 9 Oct 2026, 347 open AV & Drone Operators roles named a vehicle in their title: 281 for cars and robotaxis, 35 for autonomous trucks and 31 for drones and aircraft; autonomous trucks advertised the highest median pay ($35/hr).
12 Sep 2026 to 9 Oct 2026
Which robots and vehicles do robot training roles work on, which control and capture equipment do they name, and what does each pay?
Of 745 robot training roles open on 9 Oct 2026, 72.5% name a robot or vehicle, cars and robotaxis most often (39.1%).
12 Sep 2026 to 9 Oct 2026
What do robot training roles require: a degree, a driver's license, a CDL, a drone certificate, a minimum age, lifting, a background check?
No full role descriptions were available on 9 Oct 2026.
12 Sep 2026 to 9 Oct 2026
What is robot training work called, and does the title say anything about the pay?
On 9 Oct 2026, robot training roles were most often titled "Operator", "Driver" and "Data collector or contributor"; roles titled "Specialist" advertised the highest median pay ($35/hr).
12 Sep 2026 to 9 Oct 2026
How often do robot training roles state their pay, how are the rates distributed and how wide are the ranges?
On 9 Oct 2026, 14.6% of 745 open robot training roles stated an hourly rate, with a median of $26/hr and 1.8% at $50/hr or more.
12 Sep 2026 to 9 Oct 2026
Is the advertised rate for each kind of robot training work rising or falling?
From the week of 14 Sep 2026 to the week of 28 Sep 2026, on the same employers, 4 kinds of robot training work had a market rate at both ends; AV & Drone Operators moved most (0%), and AV & Drone Operators paid the highest median ($35/hr).
14 Sep 2026 to 4 Oct 2026
Which traits of a robot training role come with higher advertised pay, compared within the same kind of work?
Not enough priced roles on 9 Oct 2026 to compare pay within kinds of work.
12 Sep 2026 to 9 Oct 2026
How is robot training work paid: by the hour, by the task or video, or by salary, on what contract, and how often?
On 9 Oct 2026, 88.0% of the 125 open robot training roles quoting pay quoted it by the hour, 70.5% of roles stating an engagement type were contract or freelance.
12 Sep 2026 to 9 Oct 2026
Who may apply to robot training roles, country by country?
On 9 Oct 2026, 0.8% of open robot training roles accepted applicants from any country; residents of the United States could apply to the most (366 of 745).
12 Sep 2026 to 9 Oct 2026
How much robot training work is on-site rather than at home, where is it, and what is it?
On 9 Oct 2026, 78.0% of 745 open robot training roles had to be done on-site or hybrid, 5.6% were remote and 16.4% did not say; the largest group of on-site roles was autonomous vehicle and truck operation, and most were in the United States, Japan and Germany.
12 Sep 2026 to 9 Oct 2026
What does robot training work pay, by kind of work and by employer?
Advertised hourly pay across the live roles, by kind of work and employer, updated daily.
Open roles today
How much money has gone into the companies that hire people to train and operate robots, and at what valuations?
From 1 Jan 2024 to 10 Oct 2026, the companies that hire people to train and operate robots disclosed $25.1B in 44 funding rounds, and Anduril Industries carries the highest valuation at $61B.
Sourced dataset, reviewed 10 Oct 2026
How much revenue do the companies that hire people to train and operate robots make, and how large are their fleets and workforces?
The listed robot-training employers report their revenue in filings and the private ones through statements and press reports; the largest private figure recorded is Mercor's $2 billion in gross annualized revenue (run-rate Jun 2026), and Appen's revenue changed -1.5% in FY2025.
Sourced dataset, reviewed 10 Oct 2026
Which laws, permits, investigations, lawsuits and labour actions concern the people who train and operate robots, and where do they stand?
From 1 Jan 2023 to 10 Oct 2026, 17 lawsuits, rulings, investigations, laws and labour actions concerned the people who train and operate robots; Cruise is named in the most.
Sourced dataset, reviewed 10 Oct 2026
What have researchers and reporters measured about the pay and conditions of robot data collectors, teleoperators, safety drivers and drone pilots, and how does it compare with today's advertised rates?
Studies and investigations of robot data and operator work have recorded hourly earnings as low as $15 an hour (The gig workers who are training humanoid robots at home), while the robot training roles open today advertise a median of $26 an hour.
Sourced dataset, reviewed 10 Oct 2026
One report per kind of robot training work: who lists it, what it pays, how much applicant demand each opening draws and what it requires. Live figures to 9 Oct 2026.
One report per employer or program with the most open roles: what it lists, what it pays, who may apply, how fast its roles turn over and how it compares with the market. Live figures to 9 Oct 2026.
How fresh, complete and consistent is the data behind these reports?
6 of 7 independent cross-checks match exactly; the 60 job boards behind these reports were last read by 10 Oct 2026, 19:50 UTC, and 15% of open roles state an hourly rate.
12 Sep 2026 to 9 Oct 2026
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