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Comment by caseydm | Hacker News Reader

I was very successful on UpWork. However, it is not something you can jump into with no work history on the site, like "I have 16 years experience so my rate is $125/hr." People don't believe you when you say that. They want to see proof from a third party. So you need to start lower ($30 to $50/hr), stay in a niche, and successfully complete jobs while gradually raising your rates.

When someone sees glowing reviews and completed jobs, you become the "easy button" and they will pay more to decrease their risk. When they see 10 completed jobs with 5 star reviews, all mentioning the exact type of work they need, they can be pretty sure the 11th will be successful. It's possible to charge $125 or more an hour on UpWork and have to keep your settings updated so that you are not spammed with invites.

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Upwork fees, and also being able to close your account for any reason (happened to me with 20 reviews, all 5 starts except 1), make it a deal killer.

I sound like a shill for Upwork (promise I'm not!). But the fees for long-term clients (>$10k in earnings) is 5%. If you go on your own and bill through a system you will likely pay 3%. So it's not that different.

I pay 0% ... wire transfers.

I have history on Upwork, and pretty good one. But I haven't used it in 6 years, and my rate then was around $60/h and it's double that now. But I keep hearing how terrible and underpaid it is in here, hence this post.

I would give it another shot. Since your history is older you likely need to keep your rate at $60 for a while and complete a few jobs. But UpWork has the biggest market and there are plenty of people out there willing to pay for developers with a solid history.

People say it's underpaid or terrible, but part of that reputation comes from people doing one or two jobs and quitting. Plus, I've hired developers on UpWork and a lot of people suck at writing proposals. I have a lot of advice on that too.

so whats ur adivce on writing proposals

Do not use UpWork. They take a big cut, the clients you get are generally garbage, and they can close your account (and even keep your funds) for any reason.

do you suggest an alternative?

No.

Thanks for adding all that value.

You're saying I have to offer an alternative each time I criticize something? Why?

No, I am not, but someone explicitly asked you for an alternative. But it's nice to have an alternative ready, otherwise you just sound bitter. Plus, you are not adding to the discussion, the reader is stuck with the same original question - where do you find contract work?

They asked me for an alternative, and I'm giving low value comments by saying I don't have one?

Not all comments need to add to the original discussion. Saying I do not suggest someone uses Upwork and giving my first hand experience of using the platform adds some value to someone.

Stop backseat moderating.

I used to use UpWork extensively 10yrs ago, with lots of success. We tried to use UpWork recently and cant even create an account. There is no real way to figure out how to make it work or what the issue might be. The site has gone downhill fast.

This - I recently hired someone for 80$ an hour for a quick Sharepoint Powerblabber fix - one online meeting, he pointed me to the solution in 20 minutes, charged 30 minutes - everyone was happy.

All very professional - answered promptly knew his stuff + the necessary meet and greet in the beginning.

It may also be a bit strategic from his side. You know he is reliable and doesn't overcharge now. He could be very useful going forward.

Do you use the spyware tools they want you to use ‘for your and their protection’? As a senior engineer and not in kindergarten, I cannot imagine anyone with over a year or so experience doing that.

No I never used any of that. I would have moved on to another job if someone insisted on it.

Also, the other way around, when you hire a senior and they insist on using that crap, they are more likely to scam you as you cannot dispute hours made ‘if the recorded screens show code’.

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