AfterQuery

Who can join

• Be 18 or older and able to form a binding contract with AfterQuery (its Terms of Service).
• Real domain expertise. AfterQuery says it welcomes 'experts with advanced degrees, significant industry experience, or demonstrated expertise in their field,' and that every expert goes through a verification process that includes credential checks and expertise validation. No prior AI experience is required.
• A bank account in a country AfterQuery can pay through Stripe. On 30 October 2026 its Payment Countries page listed 95 supported countries (including the US, UK, Canada, India, the Philippines, Kenya, Pakistan, Mexico and most of Europe) and 48 unsupported countries and regions, including Brazil, Nigeria, Egypt, Japan, South Korea, Argentina, Bangladesh, Colombia and China.
• A Google account. You sign in with Google (there is no separate password), and each person, email address and identity may hold only one AfterQuery Experts account.
• For verification and payouts: a government-issued photo ID, a device with a camera for a selfie, a phone that can receive a text code, a bank account in your own legal name in the same country you select in Stripe, and your SSN if you are in the US.
• Whatever the specific role requires. Each listing sets its own bar: for example, Medical MD Expert ($160/hr) requires an enrolled or completed MD degree from an accredited institution with current licensure in a recognized jurisdiction.

Step by step

1. 1

   Check your payout country first

   AfterQuery pays through Stripe to a bank account in one of the countries on its Payment Countries page. If your country is on the unsupported list (it includes Brazil, Nigeria, Egypt, Japan and South Korea), AfterQuery asks you not to start work: some of those countries may be added as Stripe expands, others are restricted for legal and compliance reasons.

2. 2

   Create your account with Google

   Sign in at experts.afterquery.com with Continue with Google; there is no separate password. Always use the same Google account: signing in with a different one starts a second account, which is not allowed (one account per person, per email address and per identity).

3. 3

   Apply to a role with your resume, or take a pool assessment

   Every opening on the board at experts.afterquery.com/apply states an hourly rate; the open roles and what they pay today are on this page. Most are specific roles where 'What you'll need' is your resume and you click Apply Now. Nine are open expert pools (for example General AfterQuery Expert (Data Annotator) at $42.50/hr, plus Legal, Math, Medical and Advanced Coding pools) where you click 'Take the assessment' instead: one assessment, ongoing matches.

4. 4

   Do the interview if you are asked

   AfterQuery's How It Works lists an interview after you create an account: you either meet with its team or take an asynchronous video interview to discuss your experience and goals. AfterQuery does not say which roles require it.

5. 5

   Pass the skills assessment (one attempt)

   Each expert pool has one assessment, built to resemble real project work rather than an abstract multiple-choice test. You see a time estimate before you start, it is unpaid, and it cannot be retaken. There is no pass or fail notice: your fit is one of the factors used to match you to projects in that pool.

6. 6

   Finish onboarding: agreements, phone, ID and Stripe

   At experts.afterquery.com/onboarding, complete four required steps in order: sign the Non-Disclosure Agreement and the Data Submission Form, verify your phone with a 4-digit text code through Persona, verify your identity with a government ID and a selfie through Persona, and set up Stripe (business type, country, then Stripe's own ID, bank and tax details). Connecting LinkedIn is optional but improves your chances of being picked for projects. AfterQuery says to set aside 10 to 15 minutes, and you cannot be paid until all four required steps are done.

7. 7

   Get invited to a project

   If you are selected, a welcome email from notifications@afterquery.com lists your next steps, which can include joining a Slack workspace or a project channel in the Chat tab and sending a short message to your project admin so the team can confirm your account and share the project guidelines. Official email only comes from that address or a person's @afterquery.com address.

8. 8

   Do approved work and get paid on Friday

   Pay covers approved work in each Monday-to-Sunday period: after the week closes the work is reviewed and approved, then paid through Stripe on the following Friday by 11:59 p.m. PT. Stripe holds your first-ever payout for 7 days, and your bank usually takes a few business days after Stripe sends it.

Tips to get accepted

• Check the Payment Countries list before you spend hours on applications or assessments. AfterQuery asks people in unsupported countries not to start work, because it cannot pay them.
• Use one Google account and one legal name everywhere. Signing in with a different Google account creates a forbidden second account, and a name that differs between your AfterQuery account, your ID, Stripe and your bank causes payout holds.
• For the Persona ID check, photograph the physical ID flat, in even light without flash, with its whole page in the frame, including the two lines of letters and <<< marks along the bottom of a passport's photo page (on the back of a residence card). Persona refuses the photo when that bottom text is cut off, covered or glared, and AfterQuery's support handles a check that keeps failing.
• Read each role's requirements literally before applying. Some are hard gates: Advanced Coding Expert ($85/hr), for example, requires hands-on Docker experience and access to a large, complex, private codebase you own and can author tasks against.
• Expect uneven review speeds across tracks. One reviewer who applied to six AfterQuery tracks between 11 May and 23 June 2026 had one (Software Engineering) accepted within days while the rest sat 'Under Review' for weeks, one for more than a month.
• Lead with your specialty. In worker reports summarized by Annotation Academy, contributors with domain expertise describe far more work than those in the open generalist pool. Because per-task work earns nothing until it is approved, the review advises preferring hourly projects, or starting a per-task project with one or two tasks and waiting for approval before doing more.
• Only trust email from notifications@afterquery.com or a person's @afterquery.com address. If a message about AfterQuery work comes from anywhere else, do not reply or share details; write to support@afterquery.com instead (and never attach photos of your ID).