Apply Here
Closes July 17th. Start Now.
As I'm writing this, that's a full month away. That sounds like a lot of time. It isn't, not for what you actually need to do to stand out. Only the first 100 spots are open, and the button below is the official program page straight from Anthropic.
Apply for Claude CorpsThe Deal
What you actually get
For one year you get paid to become an AI expert, while doing real work at real nonprofits, food banks, veteran organizations, marine conservation, education programs, your local YMCA. Your job is just to help them use Claude to do more of what they already do.
$85,000 a year, plus benefits
Five hours of paid AI training every single week
A dedicated mentor from CodePath
Office hours with Anthropic for any technical question
A massive Claude usage budget
Relocation support if you need it
The Hard Truth
Why most applications won't make it
Thousands of people are going to see "$85K to learn AI, no degree" and fire off an application that says some version of "I'm a fast learner and I'm really passionate about AI."
That's everyone. That's noise.
The people who get in are the ones who can prove they already think this way, before the program even starts. You don't need to be a genius. You don't need to code. You need receipts. Here's how to build them in the next month.
Start automating your own life this week
You don't need permission and you don't need the program to start. The single best thing you can do is show that you already reach for AI to solve real problems.
Pick one annoying thing you do every week (your inbox, your to-do list, your job search, planning your meals, whatever) and have Claude take it over. The task itself doesn't matter. What matters is you proving you already live like this.
You don't have to be technical. I'm not. That's the whole point of this program, and it's the whole point of what I do. The credential is that you built something practical with AI, not that you have a CS degree.
Run the AOA framework to find what to automate
If you don't know where to start, use this. It's how I find the stuff worth handing to AI. Audit, Optimize, Automate.
Audit
For three days, write down every task you do that's boring and repetitive, personal or work. The stuff that eats your time and your brain hates doing. Don't filter. Just list it.
Optimize
Look at the list and ask: what's the dumbest, most monotonous task here? Can the process itself be simpler before I throw AI at it? Cut the steps that shouldn't exist.
Automate
Take the most monotonous time-waster left and hand it to Claude. One task. Get it working. Then do the next one.
That's it. You now have a real, specific story: "I noticed I was wasting X hours a week on Y, so I used Claude to automate it, and here's what happened." That beats "I'm passionate about AI" every single time.
The cherry on top: go help a nonprofit for free
This is the one almost nobody will do, which is exactly why it works.
Go to a local nonprofit (a food bank, a veteran org, your YMCA, anything you actually care about) and offer to help them use AI for free. Literally walk in and say "I'll help you do more of what you already do, for free."
I know that sounds backwards. Doing work for free is the shortcut. It feels counterintuitive, but it's the fastest way to get real reps on a real problem with real stakes.
And here's why it matters for this application specifically: Claude Corps is literally about placing you at nonprofits to use AI for good. If you show up already having done exactly that, on your own, for free, you're not pitching them on potential. You're showing them the exact thing they're hiring for, already done.
That gives you a real use case to talk about in your written application and in the interview. Most people will have nothing concrete to point to. You'll have a story with a name, a cause, and a result.
The Recap
Do these three and you're ahead of almost everyone
Most applicants will send words. You'll send proof.
- Automate something in your own life this week.
- Use Audit → Optimize → Automate to find the right thing.
- Go do it for free at a nonprofit you care about.
You have a month. That's enough time to make a real impact and walk into that interview with receipts instead of promises.
Work with Me
Want me on your problem for an hour?
Book a 1:1 call and we build the fix live — the workflow you want automated, the tool you can’t crack, whatever’s stuck. Direct, hands-on, no pitch waiting at the end.