As a MOVE Fellow, you’ll get paid for both your onboarding and your project work. Below is everything you need to know to make sure your payments go smoothly—and what to expect when it comes to quality and eligibility.
Things to know:
- Rates are fixed by project, based on your experience and the task type. We’ll always share rate and bonus details before you begin.
- Compensation is provided on a gross basis, meaning taxes are not withheld. You are responsible for reporting and paying any applicable taxes in your country or legal jurisdiction.
What You Need to Do to Get Paid
Before we can send any payments your way, there are a few required steps you’ll need to have completed from your onboarding checklist:
- Sign your Terms of Service contract in Deel
- Complete your identity and background check
- Upload your valid U.S. work authorization documents
- If you're on a visa (like F-1 CPT/OPT or J-1), you’ll also need a signed letter from your DSO confirming this fellowship fits your visa rules
- Fill out your W-9 tax form and enter your bank info in Deel
- List yourself as an Independent Contractor
- Sign your project-specific contract to officially join a project
We are legally required to have these documents before issuing any payment.
Getting Your Onboarding Bonus
You’ll receive a one-time onboarding bonus after being invited to a project and completing your first task. The bonus amount and all the details will be included in your project invitation.
To be eligible for payment, make sure you’ve completed the full onboarding checklist—which includes your application, AI interview, and Deel paperwork. Once that’s done, If a project aligns with your skills, we’ll reach out and invite you to join!
Getting Paid for Project Work
Once you're matched to a project and start working on tasks, you’ll be paid hourly for your time spent completing tasks. Payments occur weekly on Wednesdays.
A few key things to keep in mind:
- Only time spent working on prompts should be recorded
- Meetings, Office Hours, and time spent watching recorded courses is not tracked
- Focus on quality. Low-effort or off-target work may not be accepted or approved
If tasks are done using Handshake’s annotation platform, only start the timer when you're working on real tasks. To learn more about tracking your time, check out Time Tracking for MOVE Projects.
If tasks are done on the AI lab’s annotation, you’ll be required to track your time on either Hubstaff or a Google doc for our team to process. Instructions on where to track your time are provided during your training.
Tasks may vary depending on the partnering AI lab. Some tasks will be timed, while others may have flexible durations. Regardless, there will always be weekly deadlines or progress targets to meet. We understand that life can be unpredictable—once you're on a project, we'll collaborate with Fellows to create a schedule that works for everyone.
Stipends are determined based on your education level, area of expertise, and the specific AI lab you're working with. In most cases, you'll be collaborating with other PhD-level experts, which typically results in a higher stipend than for current students.
Quality & Conduct: How It Affects Payment
We take quality and professionalism seriously. Here’s how different situations are handled:
Inappropriate Behavior (e.g., copy/paste, AI-generated responses, academic dishonesty)
- If we find an infraction, all work submitted within that Invoice period will not be paid, regardless of whether it was submitted before or after the issue was identified.
- Fellows found violating these policies may be removed from the program.
Not Meeting the Quality Bar
If your work consistently doesn’t meet expectations and you’re removed from a project.
- Tasks submitted before removal → Paid
- Tasks submitted after removal → Not paid
Still have questions about payment? Contact the Handshake AI Support team—we’re here to help!