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Specialize, I made 25k on upwork doing exclusively Go development. The first jobs were tiny, $50 total. After building reputation I upped to $45/hr.

jhgaylor 10y ago
It might be time to up your rate again. You've been doing this ~14 weeks full time to make $25k at 45/hr. That's a lot of experience. You might lose a couple of jobs upping your rate to $100/hr but you'll need half the work to keep your pay the same.
truth_sentinell 10y ago
How much time did it take?
- theparanoid 10y ago
  20hrs/wk over 9 months.
  - truth_sentinell 10y ago
    Damn. I work like 60 hours/week and I barely make a thousand a month when is a good project. I have to get first-world projects.
    - g00gler 10y ago
      Maybe perceived value has something to do with it. I believe I listed my hourly rate at $25 thinking I'd be competitive for some side $$. I made some money but it seemed most things tagged JavaScript or PHP were either design work or WordPress plugins. This thread inspired me to sign back up and raise my rate to something more realistic IRL ~ $30-35/hr.
      - Implicated 10y ago
        > This thread inspired me to sign back up and raise my rate to something more realistic IRL ~ $30-35/hr. Double that.
        g00gler 10y ago
        For real? Lol maybe I'll try $50 and see where it gets me.
        Lalabadie 10y ago
        How much would an employer pay you? Generally speaking, your employer has to make between 1.5 and 2.5x the salary you're paid to be in the black. Now consider that you are your employer.
        g00gler 10y ago
        Good way to look at it. Double that it is!
      - truth_sentinell 10y ago
        > I made some money but it seemed most things tagged JavaScript or PHP were either design work or WordPress plugins. Indeed. Most work has to do with something pre-built, e.g CMS wordpress, joomla, etc. What projects do you work on?
        g00gler 10y ago
        I'm primarily a JavaScript developer (jQuery, React, Angular, et. al + Node) as that's my first choice and greatest depth of knowledge. I'm also very knowledgeable about PHP but prefer to use classic OOP patterns with it hence my reprehension for WordPress. I use ASP.Net and JavaEE at work. Kinda more circumstantial than anything, ie working with third party software. I actively choose not to seek further work with these tools because I don't enjoy using them. I wouldn't mind building web services with .Net or Java, though. I imagine those jobs are probably not very prevalent but I was only on Upwork for a short time.
scardine 10y ago
And after that, get one bad review and you will be kicked out, no questions. Upwork is a race to the bottom, avoid freelancer marketplaces.

jhgaylor 10y ago

It might be time to up your rate again. You've been doing this ~14 weeks full time to make $25k at 45/hr. That's a lot of experience. You might lose a couple of jobs upping your rate to $100/hr but you'll need half the work to keep your pay the same.

truth_sentinell 10y ago

How much time did it take?

theparanoid 10y ago
20hrs/wk over 9 months.
- truth_sentinell 10y ago
  Damn. I work like 60 hours/week and I barely make a thousand a month when is a good project. I have to get first-world projects.
  - g00gler 10y ago
    Maybe perceived value has something to do with it. I believe I listed my hourly rate at $25 thinking I'd be competitive for some side $$. I made some money but it seemed most things tagged JavaScript or PHP were either design work or WordPress plugins. This thread inspired me to sign back up and raise my rate to something more realistic IRL ~ $30-35/hr.
    - Implicated 10y ago
      > This thread inspired me to sign back up and raise my rate to something more realistic IRL ~ $30-35/hr. Double that.
      - g00gler 10y ago
        For real? Lol maybe I'll try $50 and see where it gets me.
        Lalabadie 10y ago
        How much would an employer pay you? Generally speaking, your employer has to make between 1.5 and 2.5x the salary you're paid to be in the black. Now consider that you are your employer.
        g00gler 10y ago
        Good way to look at it. Double that it is!
    - truth_sentinell 10y ago
      > I made some money but it seemed most things tagged JavaScript or PHP were either design work or WordPress plugins. Indeed. Most work has to do with something pre-built, e.g CMS wordpress, joomla, etc. What projects do you work on?
      - g00gler 10y ago
        I'm primarily a JavaScript developer (jQuery, React, Angular, et. al + Node) as that's my first choice and greatest depth of knowledge. I'm also very knowledgeable about PHP but prefer to use classic OOP patterns with it hence my reprehension for WordPress. I use ASP.Net and JavaEE at work. Kinda more circumstantial than anything, ie working with third party software. I actively choose not to seek further work with these tools because I don't enjoy using them. I wouldn't mind building web services with .Net or Java, though. I imagine those jobs are probably not very prevalent but I was only on Upwork for a short time.

scardine 10y ago

And after that, get one bad review and you will be kicked out, no questions. Upwork is a race to the bottom, avoid freelancer marketplaces.