Patrick Ciriello, a 60-year-old with a master’s degree in information management, lost his job at the start of 2023 and spent nearly a year unable to find work. Despite sending hundreds of applications for IT support, customer service, and even a deli counter job, he received no offers. For four months, he, his wife, and son slept in their car, using libraries and McDonald’s for Wi-Fi to submit applications.
In March 2024, Ciriello received a cryptic LinkedIn message about a content writer role. It turned out to be training artificial intelligence models, a growing field known as data annotation. This involves labeling and evaluating information used to train AI systems like ChatGPT or Gemini, helping them generate more accurate responses. Ciriello is one of several skilled workers over 50 who have turned to this work after struggling to find traditional jobs.
AI training companies such as Mercor, GlobalLogic, and TEKsystems operate large contractor networks. Their clients include tech giants like OpenAI, Google, and Meta. For experienced professionals, contracts can pay over $180 an hour, but for older workers like Ciriello, it represents a last refuge in a job market that becomes harder to re-enter with age.
US workers over 60 take about 50% longer to find new jobs than those in their 20s and 30s, and few regain their previous earnings, according to Richard Johnson of the AARP Public Policy Institute. He noted that employers may view older workers as more expensive and harder to train. The Urban Institute reports that about half of workers aged 50 to 54 are involuntarily pushed out of long-term jobs before they expect to retire.
Roughly 5.7 million workers over 55 lost their jobs in early 2020, and many have not returned to stable work, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Johnson said, “There’s just a lot of desperation out there.” For some older professionals, training AI models that may eventually replace human workers is a necessary livelihood.
