What the work involves

You author scenarios that start where geology actually starts: an outcrop description, a well log, a seismic section, a set of isotope ratios, a hydrograph, a proxy record. The scenario has to be realistic enough that a model can't shortcut it with textbook recall, and constrained enough that a defensible interpretation exists. Alongside each scenario you write a reference answer that shows the reasoning chain — why these grain-size trends imply a prograding delta rather than a turbidite fan, why this drawdown curve fits a leaky aquifer, what the data genuinely cannot resolve.

The second half of the work is grading. You read model output on geoscience and climate questions and judge it on physical accuracy: mass balance, timescales, stratigraphic order, thermodynamic plausibility, the difference between correlation in a proxy record and forcing. The failure mode that matters most is fluent wrongness — an answer that uses the vocabulary correctly, cites the right frameworks, and still gets the earth science backwards. Flagging those with a clear written explanation of what broke is the core deliverable.

What the platform screens for

  • Verifiable depth in a named subfield — sedimentology, hydrogeology, geophysics, geochemistry, glaciology, climate dynamics. Generalist familiarity screens poorly; the screen follows up inside whatever you claim.
  • Interpretation under uncertainty — whether you can say what the data supports, what it rules out, and what remains ambiguous, rather than asserting a single answer.
  • Written scientific reasoning — grading notes are read by people who weren't at your outcrop. Clarity is graded.
  • Honest availability — 10 hours a week is a real floor, not an aspiration.

Logistics

Fully remote and asynchronous. You pick up batches when you have time; there are no standing meetings and no fixed shift. Pay is weekly via Stripe at a rate set from your background and demonstrated calibration — the $60–110/hr band reflects observed rates on this platform, not a guarantee. Volume fluctuates by specialty, so treat it as substantial supplementary work rather than a fixed salary.