Handshake AI vs micro1
Side by side from today's live listings and each platform's own documentation. Plenty of people work on both.
| Handshake AI | micro1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Live roles | 242 | 24 |
| Median hourly | $80 | $90 |
| Top rate | $300 | $240 |
| How it pays | Weekly payouts through Stripe, according to the fellowship page as quoted by third-party guides. Handshake does not publish a rate per project. | Semi-monthly. Work from the 1st to the 15th is paid around the 20th, and work from the 16th to month-end around the 5th of the next month (Pacific time). |
| Hiring | Apply through the Handshake AI site with a Handshake account. Expert tracks ask for a degree in the field. | Sign up, take the AI interview (20-40 minutes), and some roles add a short skills assessment. Certified experts are matched to projects as they open. |
| Run by | Handshake, the college careers network, which started an AI training business (the Handshake AI Fellowship) in 2025. | micro1, an AI recruiting and human-data company. It certifies experts with an AI interview, then matches them to lab projects. |
Median hourly by field
| Field | Handshake AI | micro1 |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine & health | $125 (17) | $90 (3) |
| Mental health | $75 (5) | $150 (1) |
| Law | $130 (2) | n/a |
| Finance & accounting | $85 (31) | $135 (1) |
| Chemistry | $58 (6) | $68 (2) |
| Biology & life sciences | $68 (6) | $68 (2) |
| Physics | $63 (6) | $100 (1) |
| Math & statistics | $75 (6) | n/a |
| General STEM | $39 (2) | $90 (1) |
| Energy & earth sciences | $85 (21) | n/a |
| Business & operations | $80 (29) | n/a |
| Engineering | $85 (45) | $90 (3) |
| Software & coding | $105 (7) | $92 (3) |
| Machine learning | $75 (6) | $90 (1) |
| Data & analytics | $105 (2) | n/a |
| Cybersecurity | $140 (2) | $60 (1) |
| Design & media | $125 (6) | n/a |
| Languages & translation | $30 (12) | $82 (2) |
| Voice & audio | $94 (6) | $45 (1) |
| Teaching | $75 (4) | n/a |
| Humanities & policy | $98 (4) | n/a |
| Generalist | $55 (16) | $87 (2) |
Number of hourly listings in brackets.