Mercor has 18 open roles for life scientists on this site today, at $60–125 an hour. SME Careers has 6 open roles, at up to $90 an hour. Both figures come from the live postings, checked each morning. How each platform screens and pays comes from its own pages.
Mercor and SME Careers for life scientists
| Mercor | SME Careers | |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles | 18 | 6 |
| Openings the postings state | 6,957 | 6 |
| Hourly pay as stated | $60–125 | up to $90 |
| Median hourly ceiling | $100 | $75 |
| Paid per task or session | 6 | 0 |
| Screening | Assessments and an AI interview of about 20 minutes | A CV-based application, a recorded AI video interview of about 15 minutes, then a review by SME's team |
| Paid | Weekly, on Wednesdays, via Stripe | Weekly, through Deel, for approved work |
A listed rate tells you what a role pays, not how many hours of work reach you. Neither platform's pages promise a set number of hours.
Open roles for life scientists on each
Best-paid Mercor roles for life scientists open now
The 5 highest-paid of 18 open Mercor roles for life scientists this site lists today, with the pay each posting states.
Best-paid SME Careers roles for life scientists open now
The 5 highest-paid of 6 open SME Careers roles for life scientists this site lists today, with the pay each posting states.
Which one to apply to
Apply to Mercor if:
- The role title names your background.
- Your country is on the role’s list and on Mercor’s supported list.
Apply to SME Careers if:
- You hold a degree or work in the field.
- Deel can pay people in your country.
You can apply to both.
Read more
- The full comparison: Mercor vs SME Careers: stated rates or country maximums
- Every open role for life scientists, on every platform
- AI training roles for biologists, chemists and bioinformaticians
- The Mercor and SME Careers platform pages
If you're hired through a link here and start paid work, Mercor pays this site a referral fee. Your pay is unaffected. If you're hired through a link here and start paid work, SME Careers pays this site a share of what you earn. Your pay is unaffected.
Red Pen Jobs is independent. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting for Mercor or SME Careers in any way, and we do not recruit on its behalf.