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Dude just sits down and gets right to the point with no long introduction and no yelling?? RU-vid creators are legally allowed to do that? Thank you. Finance RU-vid is very insightful but with such high CPM creators pad their videos out with so much utter garbage. Keep it up!
As someone from Eastern Europe where the minimum wage is like 4-5 EUR/hr, working on Upwork has been my savior for the past few years. Lost my job due to covid (airport staff cuts) and started freelancing. Man... Not that I'm making millions but with all my good reviews and top-rated badge, I get more job offers than I can actually even work on. Plus, I get to care for my elderly dad a lot better than while having to work away from home. It's not for everyone, but Upwork has its plusses.
The key to Upwork is to start doing some projects almost for free. The reason is that while you start with Upwork, you need to chase the reviews first not the money. If you don't have reviews from other clients, nobody will trust you. Just think of it. When you order something online, how many times did you order something with bad reviews or not having reviews at all?
@@harikishore2514 thats why he said almost for free, meaning at a very low fee which I get. If you are starting off and want to get your foot inside the door i can understand why doing this may help you
Agreed - you have to get a few 5-star reviews under your belt first before you can start rolling on Upwork. If that means you have to take jobs at a rate below your market value in the beginning, then so be it. Consider the money you're not making at that lower rate to be marketing costs for the new platform, and then it will all make sense. The worst thing about Upwork is the 20% cut they take out of your earnings on a new project. OUCH! The percentage goes down (way down) every few weeks as you do more work for the same client, but almost all projects on Upwork are one-offs. It's a "one-and-done" client base, mostly. That 20% hurts, man. The second worst thing is that many of the clients are 1) demanding, and 2) cheap, and 3) not communicative. But the best thing about Upwork is that they do have the work on the platform, and lots of it. Lots of job postings, all day, every day.
Well, Upwork really worths it for me. As a student, I started freelancing to support myself. I got the first job on 5th December and it's been 3 months to complete. Now I'm a top-rated freelancer and make 1000$+ every month. It's good as a part-time job.
How many rejected proposal did you have before this? As a software development freelancer (began last month) I have had one client serious enough to answer me and accept and two serious enough to reject (as they wanted someone with more time on upwork) out of 10-15 proposals in total. I never heard from the rest.
For people in the third world like myself, this is an amazing option. I am able to support my family by working on upwork when I am not at my day job and all I do is write blog posts. They do charge a bit too much but they have to cover costs some how.
@@kennygunderman Please how do you set up your profile when you have just learnt a skill and really don't have past experience... REALLY need this to work 😫
@@upsidedownwithkris6754 unfortunately you have to keep grinding away and applying. I still only land about 1 out of 10 jobs that I apply for, and I'm top rated with 100% success's rate. The right client will come along you need to just keep at it.
@@obiajuluchibuzorjoseph7779 Ditto. I also set up a new profile and do not have the experience as yet. I really need this to work too. Kenny Gunderman, how do we promote ourselves please?
I got on upwork as a pet project at the start of lockdown last year. And through that, did some work with a company that has since hired me full time as part of their team. So it was DEFINITELY worth it for me.
As someone who needs part-time flex and fully remote jobs, Upwork has worked really well for me. I get paid a decent amount, usually around $17.50 an hour doing administrative assistance and data entry. Better pay than retail, much less stressful.
@@otterbeans hi I'm new to upwork and looking to take on data entry roles. Any tips? How long did it take for u to land ur first job and how much was the pay?
I live in a country with a small economy and I'm an 18-year-old self-taught software engineer/architect. The minimum wage here is around $300 per month and senior engineers make around $900 per month. I started working full-time on Upwork around six months ago and I am a top rated freelancer. I play a leadership role in projects I take on and I manage PhDs from first-world countries. Freelancing on Upwork is a very unique experience. Your engineering skills don't matter nearly as much as your sales/negotiation skills. I started working for $9/hr and now I am able to charge well above $60/hr. My income varies but I make over $10,000 per month after taxes, placing me way above the upper-class of my country.
Great job! Don't forget your taxes on that sort of money and don't tell anyone about your income in your social circles. Take care and goodluck my friend :)
I agree, if you're in the US I think it's a good place to replace student work with client work, and to teach yourself how to freelance so you can increase your side-income if you plan to go solo in the future.
Hi Kenny, thank you for this video! It would be great if you could make a follow up with the freelance platforms or strategies that you actually think are more efficient than Upwork :) Have a great day!
I've been working at Upwork for months and all I've gotten is a contract for $5, working as a translator, transcriber, or making subtitles for RU-vid is really hard on there because there's already SO MUCH COMPETITION, same goes for blog content writer, I keep trying because I really need money but I honestly don't think I'll make too much money on there.
Keep Trying even while you do other things, with upwork its slow at the start (it was for me too) but once it get's kicking it's amazing. Don't give up you just need to get noticed.
Learn other skills and please take testimonials also don't charge less tha 10$ per hour Do anything you are good at and Most important know the whole process of your service from start till end
@@mrrohitjadhav470 Y not less than 10$ per hour....I thought the cheaper is the better because people look for getting jobs done at lowest possible cost....Am I wrong ?
Upwork is great if you have - reviews, reviews, reviews! - a solid niche - a good rate But I've seen after 5 solid reviews you get into the "hidden Upwork economy" of client invites, this is when the "Upwork grind" isn't soo bad. Definitely agree that The connects system is a killer though. getting charged to apply and get charged when you "win a contract". Is an unnecessary double charge! Great vid btw!
@@GinoZambe Man, there is something called as Webhost. Webhost is like a home where you put your website. It connects your website to the Internet. When you make a website, you necessarily have to buy webhost anyway. There are four types of webhosts. 1. Shared Host 2. VPS Host 3. Cloud Host 4. Dedicated Host There are like more than 50+ webhosts in each of these category. That's where I come in. I have a consultation-based service on Fiverr. It costs just 5 bucks. I can help you choose the perfect webhost for your website by asking you several questions regarding your preferences and website qualifications and needs. I have extensively learned about hosting companies for like 2 years. I know each of their upsides and downsides, ranging from their RAM power, their customer support and many more things. I'm just trying to get my first sale on Fiverr. It will definitely boost my ranking. Let me know if you are interested.
Started freelancing on Upwork when I began working from home last year (because of covid). Since then, I have made an extra 15k just working part time! Overall it's been such a great experience but the 10-20% Upwork fee is pretty painful.
Same, I live in Algeria and minimum wage here is 18000 DA which is 90 dollar/month. If you live in third world country like me these websites are like heaven.
Kenny, I love your honest feedback. And I could not agree more. Upwork is a competitive marketplace, but it could be a great opportunity for people to get started freelancing.
I think freelance work in general is something that becomes more rewarding over time. As you keep working on projects and build a strong portfolio, it makes you more valuable, which also means more money. Experience and credentials is everything.
I do agree with all that you've said about Upwork. I lost my job about a month ago and, luckily, had a good amount of savings. I had tried Upwork MONTHS ago so I picked it back up. As far as it being a 'grind'...Absolutely! So far, I've made a little over $200 (before the fees taken out), but I do have about 6 open jobs right now. HOWEVER, I think the biggest difference between the prices for jobs between you and me is the niches we're in. It looks like you're in coding I think (new here sorry!) and I'm in writing/editing. The amounts people are trying to pay is so much lower with the jobs I've seen in the writing/editing niche. There are of course better-paying jobs but I don't have a lot of experience. Things are only just now starting to pick up in terms of money to time ratio, though it's still not enough to be able to support myself financially - nor do I think it will be. I think Upwork is best used for getting your feet wet in whatever niche you want to have a career in or just extra money. I don't think many people can really support themselves solely through Upwork. That's my take anyway!
I totally agree. I am into writing and editing niche as well and there are not many clients who are willing to pay that much also there is a very high competition
I said the same thing in my comment..........in my case, I have been a full-time writer for 16 years with 5-star ratings on Upwork and its predecessor Elance. I don't even bother bidding anymore because the rates buyers want to pay "high quality" writers is ridiculous. (often below minimum wage) I have written more than a thousand published articles and ghost write for the financial services industry, and still when I have bid, I never get the jobs. Not worth my time and effort anymore.
Hey how it works like the clients are sending me telegram links to contact about the work and they are offering to submit work on telegram so is that fake?… how upwork works?
I watched your first video on Upwork and knew you would get paid more if you stayed for a bit longer. The way i see Upwork is like a side gig to get some extra money. Thank you for the video!
Watching from Kenya 🇰🇪 love your videos I tried up work a couple of years back the competition is enormous.. too bad I gave up even before I started to earn. But very educative video I'm going to try my luck again
thanks for being so honest bro love it and the level of transparency that you gave with your examples that you gave with how much you made vs how much time it cost you was very helpful
You are not charging enough! I know people on upwork charging $30-$35 an hour for level 2 msp work. As a developer you can easily pull $50 an hour!! Please do not under value yourselves as this makes the market worse for us!!!
You have to charge minimal amounts on petty jobs at the beginning just to get those reviews which gets your foot on the door. Then once you have some minimum credibility you can charge $50+ an hour
Thank you for your video. I have been with UPWORK since 2015, but I wasn't that lucky as you were. It took me probably 3 months to get jobs as a translator from English to Spanish and such as others say, do works almost for free in order to get reviews. It takes time at UPWORK and it is a matter of a loooot of pacience. Also, there are sometimes (months) in which I do get very little work. We also have to be very careful about the scams, there are a lot of them. At the end, I believe that UPWORK is a good place with pacience.
A thing Kenny did not talk about is: on Upwork not everyone is welcome. They decide that certain programming languages are not "cool" or too many people know them, so they reject your application.
Thank you Kenny. I really like the way you make things so lucid and giving your honest opinions. The best part was that there was no unnecessary gibberish in it. You've got yourself a new subscriber.😁
My first programming job was on upwork when it was oDesk. Ended up working with my first client for 4 years but moved off upwork after a few months. It's good for getting your foot in the door and getting some experience but they take too much of a cut.
Hi Kenny - first, thanks for getting straight to the point. But more importantly, THANK you for not "spreading the cheese" and just being honest about it all, especially the small turnaround you experienced. I actually think that if you worked it for a decent amount of time, you could actually turn it into something really viable. I'm getting ready to launch myself on their service for a bit to feel it out. I probably agree with you that, in general, it's not the best-case scenario. But for some, it may be a godsend. As you said, "you do you" and it may be the greatest for some people (more power to them!) and just "meh" for others. Great video!
Awesome content and super authentic. Results on Upwork also depend on the niche you're in. Ideally something in demand, that also gives your customer a great return on their investment so you can charge higher prices
Avg pay for Java developer is $60-80/hr at mid-level which seems like where you are at (if not senior). So $40/hr is awful. I do wonder if this is a good way to get your foot in the door though or just have fun on the side. Interesting video though. Thanks for sharing and keeping production quality so high!
I really appreciate your efforts in providing this information. It seems that if someone has it in mind that the objective is to get good reviews at first, that it may end up paying off the more work you do on the platform. Based on this, I think it's something that I'm willing to try.
Thanks for being so transparent. It's tough for anyone from the United States to start out on a platform like Upwork without reviews. Everyone knows that India and Pakistan have the upper hand when it comes to those platforms. They can always do the job cheaper. What irritates me when using a platform like that is the language barrier. I've paid $75 for 3000 word blog content and gotten garbage. Twice! Articles never ranked and I had to rewrite a lot of it because they used ai to write articles that made no sense because they don't understand English.
I'm Indian and we do know english. You just had a bad experience with sucky people and that can happen anywhere. And I've been freelancing for a while and still haven't gotten a single gig so its not easy for all of us. We have to work hard too.
@@shivanipathak5380 I think the point is that many people in india and pakistan have lower cost of living so can work for cheaper, thus driving down the rate the hirer is willing to pay.
Upwork isn't as lucrative for countries like US, UK because they have a higher currency value. For countries like Philippines, India, Ukraine, it's beautiful because the conversion rate is awesome. Even for my country, Barbados, it's 2 to 1 for the dollar so I made a pretty good amount on Upwork at $35 - $50/hr.
You neglected to mention that in order to work on Upwork, you must obtain their ID Verification Badge, providing Facial Recognition, Voice Recognition, ID, and Banking information that is provided to NSA.
Upwork has been an incredible platform for me, and honestly the key platform I use for my freelancing business. I loved this video though! For those who are just starting on the platform, don't give up, keep trying! It's taken me ~6 months to become a top rated freelancer and I make a living through it.
It's nice you encountered some decent clients. That's one of the issues I had when I worked on the platform before the name change. Thanks for sharing this video.
I run a small business, I run most of my operation on Upwork, businesses are willing to pay more for quality work. Just get as many 5 stars as you can first, then don't low-ball to get clients, less stressful and more money.
I absolutely agree with him. My first job on Upwork was worth $12 and the second one was $45. It took me so much time to work on them and just felt like it wasn’t worth it. But I kept on working and my 3rd job was $500, with 4th being $1000 and it kept on increasing. Fast forward 1 year, now I’m making $20k+ on a monthly basis and I have a full time job too. The platform is totally worth it so don’t lose hope if you don’t get a reply. I didn’t get a proper job for months.
@@What_am_I_doing_here Well I'm really trying hard to get an order from somebody for 5$. I handle problems related to wordpress and HTML. Let me know if you are interested.
$20k+ per month, really? I seriously doubt you. With the all the limitations that it comes with. You must be a true guru at what you do then. There are less expensive ways to earn way much more money than $20K per month just so you know.
Living in the UK, Upwork just isn't worth it. Unless everyone starts to value themselves higher rather than undercutting each other, it's just a platform that benefits clients only.
That’s not true. For me my first upwork job was a $20 gig now I’ve grew to an agency brining in anywhere from $200 to $400 a week. Total I’ve made over $10k and I’m top rated
the job application thing - going against 50 people or so. i have found out that it doesn't really matter if you have the skill, and will to write up a good application. and the best applications seem to be... you just spill out your thoughts on the project and questions you'd need answered anyway, and outline how you think you're going to do what needs to be done. the clients there CAN recognize skilled person who's kinda already on the job (thinking about how to do it and what they need for doing it), and the remaining 40 applications of "i can do teh codez for 10 bucks because i'm from india" won't matter (unless the client is a moron in which case... bullet dodged), and the rest of 10 applications who took the time same as you... well, those are fair and reasonable competition.
I use Upwork as a voice over artist. It's really solid in that regard. I average about $30 an hour with the work that I do. Some of it isn't glamerous, but it works as a way to get some solid practice as an amateur
I got lucky to have first client on upwork for full-time long-term project (depends on amount of work, cuz it's paid by hour). Started with 28, now 34$/h. And by time, the upwork fee is lowered to 5%, after 3 months. I'm happy with the client and the job. I'm not from USA, but I would say that someone from there would be ok with that. So I would say it's pretty good for someone that wants to be flexible and that values his time. But you gotta be a bit lucky 🙂
My experience on Upwork was way stranger and shorter. I paid a fee to bid on jobs, that same day a client reached out. He loved my portfolio and wanted me to add a blog to an already establish site. Once we spoke over the phone, he decided to go with someone else. At first I did not think it was racially motivated, but I've experiencing quite a bit of that. I decided to dig into Upworks comment section and found out some interesting things that are bias and motivated by discrimination. Most importantly, it does not matter how many five star reviews you have, you will be denied opportunities.
I started with upwork then moved to toptal and i am really happy that i did that. I don't care how much cut toptal makes i get what i have set my price that enough for me. Without the hassle of hunting for projects.
Hey since you're anonymous here can you tell me your hourly rate on toptal and or how much can a developer earn annually there realistically? Im doing front end and am curious.
My first weeks on Upwork was almost identical. From what I heard is that when you get 10-15 solid 5-star reviews you start getting bombarded with inbound job offers on the platform. I will try to find out if this is true or not myself haha. Great video btw!
I worked 2 weeks and get 13 dollars, I know it's too low but some of my friends says that they don't even get a job on Upwork and that's true also getting a job in Upwork is really tough
Sometimes it is Got 4 days on Upwork 1st day, I sent my first one Got $500 Then I sent 50 on the coming days And the rate they say they're getting is more than 70% off of the original budget WTF
I found out about Upwork about 1.5 years ago, I had basically no experience in professional content writing but applied for some shit-pay jobs (which often still pay better than minimum wage in England) and found it fairly easy to find work. 1.5 years later I have earned about $50,000 on the platform from content writing, only working like 10 to 20 hours a week. It's been an absolute life changer. However, the money went to my head and I was just travelling Europe blasting Upwork and spending money that I should have been putting aside for tax. I did not put money aside, and once I realized this was a problem, I lost my two clients that both paid $70 and $120 per hour respectively. Baaad situation cos I now need to come up with like $10,000 because of the weird UK tax system. was worried for a couple of days until I get offered a job today of someone offering 500 ARTICLES at $80 each for a total of $40,000, needing every single article in the next month. Wish me luck because if this goes ahead, my soul is committed to upwork for the next month
You have to go for a super simple small job and not mind doing it at a "loss", just to get that 5 star review. That just propels the algorithm in your favour.
@@TheGrinningSkull That's true. I am currently a top rated freelancer on Upwork and I still find it hard to get a successful application. I have freelanced since 2015 and I got that badge end of last year. It's still tough.
@@missmusungu I agree, I'm also finding it tough in certain regards. I'm finding that 10% of my time is spent on project proposals as well. But yeah, I was only referring to the first job to even become noticeable and top rated. My experience was similar to this video. It took me a month before I got a first proposal through and that was for a $20 job that took less then a day to do, but after that 5 star review, I was starting to see other projects come through.
I was considering upwork, but honestly it reeks of DesignCrowd to me. $21/hr is pretty pathetic pay for someone of your skill level. Most of the job listings I saw on Upwork were people wanting the next Amazon for the price of a one-night stay at a Holiday Inn Express. If you know multiple languages like Java, JS, HTML, CSS, PHP, etc then you are easily worth more than $21/hr (regardless of your geographic location) -- Java is Java, no matter what corner of the world you're in. $45/hr should be the absolute bare minimum. In addition to coding, I do design work with PShop, Illustrator, etc. I won't even get out of bed for less than $45/hr. Developers charge higher rates for the same reason doctors do -- the customer is paying for the *_knowledge and skills,_* not the labor.
Not worth it for me. If you want to work as a freelancer, build your portfolio, network and find your niche. You get way more money, for way less stress and hard work
"People who value quality over getting the best deal". YES, bro. They're out there. You have to be patient and doing great work always helps but that's cool you stuck with it.
5 star reviews is not gonna help much these days, as any freelancer from a certain country will work for basically free, in exchange for reviews. Almost all my reviews are 5 star (98% of them), I have 100% JSS, I've been top rated for years and yet, with upwork's changes, I still end up with no projects. And I am a frikin' full-time freelancer. I do have a $50/h rate, but that's always up for debate. Still, I'm no indian..
I am an Indian, and In India, with $50/h rate you would make more money in 10 days than what professionals get paid in a month. Most developers in India make just $500-700 a month.
been on upwork for about 5 months now as an audio engineer. Just hit 2k earned and i do about one proposal per day .the problem is it's absolutely crawling with people from impoverished countries that are perfectly happy getting 6 dollars an hour and that really drags the value of your field down. and add to that the entitled scumbags who want a whole album mixed and mastered and want to pay $30 for it. That being said, i do it as a side hustle to my real job, so it's 2k i wouldn't have had otherwise, so it's still a net positive
Upwork is everything for me. In lockdown Upwork saved me and my family's life. Without Upwork I might be died in starvation and lockdowns. My father runs business which is dependends on education. So in COVID my father had no job. I was giving some tuitions to some of my students and by that money we were running our life. But when I learnt Upwork, I devoted my whole time on this platform and it's gave me results Did 26 jobs in lockdown and earn $100k in 2 years which is huge amount of money in India. So I am so grateful to have Upwork in my life.
I've been sending proposals for 30 days and I didn't get a single job. I already spent like 80 connections. And now I will have to pay to continue sending applications to jobs
Man, I know how so you feel. I sent over 100 job aplications (PHP and related jobs), and got zero jobs. Over 80% of clients was fake (after posting a jobs they never came back). I lost few days just to make my profile attactive, read a lot about making offers. Never helped. I was unable to reach an interview.
I am using it now and it’s frustrating. The issue is that developers don’t have templates to acquire information from me. They complain how much work it would be, blah, blah, blah. Yet, no one could give me a fair estimate nor provide me with a prototype to convince me they could complete my website. Want to develop my platform??
Good to hear your experience on up work. I have intentions to freelance there and your video is good on expeditions and what goes on there. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing your upwork experience, I would be interested to know your opinion on upwork alternatives for freelancers working either full-time or part-time from the US or Canada.
Been with Upwork since 2015 doing Customer Service and been satisfied so far! Upwork clients has provided me the income I need to do things I can't do when I was working in a call center. 😍 Though, it's disheartening to see Customer Service projects for $3 doing phone support, live chats and emails. Overall, can't complain!
I understand what you are trying to say. At first, it was a very tough. But after 2months of working as a Virtual Assistants, I made $1000/a week sometime more than that.
I make over 10k a month on upwork, some months ive made over 15k so its just about grinding you are right. But once you get a flow and keep at it, its awesome. Now I have a whole team setup so I can take on even more work trying to get to 20k monthly would be solid
Your rate is still skewed lower than average for a developer. A couple of things to consider that 20% drops down a lot lower the longer a contract / more money you earn on it. They prioritize long-term relationships more than short-term gigs.
What about 1099 taxes? If that’s around %15 depending on what state you live in, that’s $340-ish bucks for 19 hours. That’s less than $20 an hour. Makes me a bit glum
You should make your own version of up work and get rid of all the B.S. one time 10 dollar fee per year for applicants an one time 20-50 dollar fee for client sourcing
Been on upwork part time for a year now, it has its drawbacks but once you pass the $10k mark then things start to get easier, you are now Top Rated (assuming you maintained a 5 star rating) and commission is now 10% after the first $500 for non featured jobs, for featured jobs it's 10% outright. I don't even apply for jobs anymore, I just get invited to them. You need to maintain a good profile and don't take on any job, it's important to take on quality jobs only.
@@joshuaramcharan9735 A lot of these comments are clearly fake. I think there's something fishy going on with Upwork trying to make themselves look good. Lots of people commenting amazing success stories and never answering anything else. Very fishy
@@lunaloynaz-lopez2318 Lol just been thinking the same thing. If they are so quick to brag and someone gives them more opportunity to do so, how come they never answer? It looks very suspicious.
You made 500$ in 19 hours so good and here I cant make a damn 500 dollars in 1-month of writing proposals insanely yet with no response because I don't have any screenshots to provide past experience wow!