Important Announcement: Closure of Upwork Community and Academy

[#1]

Hello Upwork Community,

As of December 13, 2024, the Upwork Community and Upwork Academy will be closing. We understand these spaces have provided valuable resources and connections, and we recognize that this news may be disappointing.

Moving forward, we encourage you to visit the Upwork Help Center, which will continue to host existing help content. Academy learning paths and videos will also be transitioned to the Help Center, so you’ll still have access to these valuable resources.

We want to express our deepest gratitude to everyone who has contributed to making the Upwork Community and Academy so special. Whether you’ve asked questions, shared your knowledge, or quietly read along—you’ve helped shape something truly wonderful.

If there are any discussions or resources you’d like to keep, please make sure to save them before December 13th. We will keep this post updated with any new information, including links to where the content will be available in the Help Center once it has been transitioned over.

The Upwork Community Team

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the official closing date of the Community and Academy?

December 13th, 2024

Why is this happening?
We are closing the Upwork Academy and Community platforms as part of our efforts to streamline how we support freelancers. While these resources have provided value, we believe that transitioning the most-used educational content to our Help Center will better serve our community in the long run. This approach enables us to consolidate support in one place, making it easier to find the guidance you need, when you need it.

We're grateful for the connections and learning that have taken place in these spaces and thank you for being part of them.

Is this closure permanent or temporary?

The closure is permanent. There are no current plans to reopen the Upwork Community or Upwork Academy in the future.

Can I retrieve my posts, messages, or any shared content before the closure?

Absolutely. We encourage you to save any important posts, messages, or content from the Community forums before the closing date. After the closure, this information will no longer be accessible.

Are there alternative platforms where freelancers can connect and collaborate?

While the Upwork Community will no longer be available, freelancers can connect and collaborate through various professional networking platforms such as industry-specific forums, and social media groups dedicated to freelancing and remote work.

What will happen to the educational resources available in the Upwork Academy?

Academy Learning Paths and videos will be available in the Help Center going forward.

How can I get support or assistance after the platforms close?

You can continue to receive support through our Help Center and by contacting our Customer Support team. These channels remain open and ready to assist you with any questions or issues.

How will new freelancers receive guidance without these resources?

New freelancers can utilize the extensive resources available in our Help Center, which includes guides, tutorials, and FAQs designed to help you navigate the platform successfully.

What should I do about ongoing discussions or unresolved issues in the Community?

We encourage you to conclude any ongoing discussions and save any valuable information before the closure date. For unresolved issues, please reach out directly to our Customer Support team for assistance.

Will there be an archive of the content available after the closure?

No, there will not be a publicly accessible archive of the Community or Academy content. Please make sure to save any important information you may need before the platforms close

What will happen to my Academy Badges? 

Your Academy badges will no longer be visible on your profile once the Academy closes on December 13, 2024. We recommend saving any information about your badges if you wish to keep a record of your achievements.

Will Coaching and Workshops still be available? 

Unfortunately, live coaching sessions and workshops will no longer be available after December 13, 2024. We are currently exploring alternative ways to offer learning opportunities, and we encourage you to keep an eye on the Help Center for updates.

[#2]

"you’ve helped shape something truly wonderful."

Stan, are you referring to something beyond the forum, like AI training for example?

If its so wonderful why is it going?

[#3]

We haven't done any AI training in Community/Academy.

[#4]

Hi Stan G, 

Quick question.  I tried to submit a proposal the other night and it kept "bouncing"  back to me.  I received a message that I could not send anything with any identifying information or outside links. How can I add the link to my website so the client can view my work?  thank you.

[#5]

It's good if we can get a definite answer about this but I have a feeling this (and a few other things) are "random things" done by the algo (sarcasm warning).

Is your website in your own domain? Although it doesn't really matter because links to Upwork website could also trigger the warning (along with Instagram etc).

I have no portfolio, so I always put links in proposals (none of them were "common website" though), I even put my email address as image a few days ago because the policy allows it for certain reasons and I refuse to submit to a broken bot, and I still never got to see one of those notorious warnings (I took the initiative because there are tons of reports about blocked proposals if an email address is involved).

[#6]

I sincerely burst out laughing when I read your question.  However, the entire situation is actually quite sad. 

[#7]

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 wrote:

I sincerely burst out laughing when I read your question.  However, the entire situation is actually quite sad. 

---

Pat,

It is well nigh impossible to tell who is replying to whom.

I am not at all sure it is a bug or a work in progress.

What I do know is that this "problem' is a great disruptor to logical conversations.

[#8]

Ravi, I apologize for the confusion.  I probably should have copy/pasted so it'd be known for sure.  I was responding to Sein's comment:  "If its so wonderful why is it going?"

That continues to make me laugh (and cry) simultaneously.  So very sad as so many things have gotten to be here.

[#9]

I recommend freelancers and clients copy/paste and save two important posts before the Community shuts down:

1) To All Freelancers Looking For Help - This post is informative on its own and doesn’t need a forum to be valuable. Although the links will stop working after December 13, 2024, Jeanne's message remains important for new freelancers.

2) Top Red Flags for Scams - This post is linked in Jeanne's post mentioned above. Use this post to learn about the types of scams you might see on Upwork. You may already know of many types of scams, but this is surely one of the most beneficial posts ever created on Upwork.

[#10]

I agree that those two posts should continue to be visible (Wes's post should be emailed to all new freelancers, actually).

[#11]

Is Upwork closing down the forums as a cost-cutting measure?

This is really disappointing.

The forums have been a great place not only to share information but also to get help from fellow freelancers.

It almost seems Upwork is insulating itself from the freelancers.

Reddit is a weird place to share information or get help as most freelancers use fake names.

Perhaps freelancers can meet on Facebook.

[#12]

"It almost seems Upwork is insulating itself from the freelancers.

Reddit is a weird place to share information or get help as most freelancers use fake names."

I fully agree Ravindra.

Not a good look for Upwork IMO, but apparently it's on target for its 5 years of profitability plan.

So what's next?

[#13]

Dear Sein M and all,

I hope this message finds you well. My name is Anis Ullah, and I am a new freelancer on Upwork. I am writing to kindly ask for your guidance and support as I navigate this platform, as I am facing some technical issues and struggling to gain connects to apply for jobs.

I come from the persecuted Rohingya refugee community, and due to the hardships we face, I have limited resources. Despite these challenges, I am determined to make use of Upwork as a means to support myself and cover my basic costs. Unfortunately, I am currently stuck due to technical issues and have not been able to fully utilize the platform.

I would be deeply grateful if you could offer any advice, tips, or assistance in resolving these issues, or guide me on how to get started effectively. Your expertise would be invaluable to me, and I truly appreciate your time and support.

Please feel free to contact me through WhatsApp at **Edited for Community Guidelines**

Thank you for considering my request. I look forward to your kind response.

Sincerely,
Anis Ullah

[#14]

There are 3 million active freelancers on the Upwork LinkedIn company page.

[#15]

I can't help but wonder how many of those are truly legitimate.  Even more so I can't help but wonder how many supposed clients are truly legitimate; especially during the past couple of years.  I'll just leave it at that as it's best that I don't even go any further.

[#16]

We know Upwork announced larger changes a couple of weeks back.  The question now is when will the future large announcement come -- the one where Upwork closes its doors?  Upwork's silence on this is very peculiar.

Upwork years ago had the best phone support system of any I have ever come across. Absolutely tops. Then they gave it up in favor of automation.

Moving to an automated help center is like telling robots to cook dinner. It's a way of saying the company is giving up on service and service, after all, is the point of having a company to begin with.

Upwork is a service company that is, once again, scaling back on service, banking on AI to bail it out -- replacing their important service options with a myriad of dead ends.

It isn't for no reason they call this a slippery slope .  (Please read on ....)

Now, having posted that dire prophesy, I wrote to a forum friend and I  guessed in my note to him that the forums are used by maybe 250-600 people each year. Of course, I was guessing, but I certainly see the same faces on the forums day after day.

Meanwhile, until recently, there were more than five, less than 10 (again, I'm guesing) monitors hired to babysit the forums. 

I dont know what they got paid -- but this sounds like $150,000 to $400,000 a year -- again pure guesswork -- to babysit, assuming I am way off, maybe 6,000 members each year.

Even as all those numbers are guesswork, in one mathmatical scenario, that would mean (with 18 million members) that only 0.000333 percent of Upwork members use the forums.

I'm just playing Devil's advocate here, but how would a company executive react if he or she saw that much money spent each year on so few members. That said, if there are 827,000 active members on Upwork and 6,000 who use  the forums each year, we get 0.007 percent of the active members who use the forums. Is that worth $300,000  to $500,000 dollars a year, considering monitors and the required technical support?

Looking at it that way, I'm going to miss the forums. You're going to miss the forums. But is Upwork going to miss the forums? I would guess probably not.

[#17]

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 wrote:

We know Upwork announced larger changes a couple of weeks back.  The question now is when will the future large announcement come -- the one where Upwork closes its doors?

---

Looks like it is time to move on.

[#18]

What's next, a buy out or merger with eX and Skiver?

Maybe a switch from escrow to shiz coin?

[#19]

Your numbers may well be spot on, but they don't address the people who never post but just read. And given that posts from the forum appear in many other places online, they may have a greater effect than it first appears. 

> But is Upwork going to miss the forums? 

Possibly. We already know that there'll be an increase in asking silly questions of customer service. Those people who ask them here will have to go somewhere. What we don't know is how many minor issues - which may not be silly at all - will go in the direction of customer service. Passive forum users who don't post could simply search the forum and often find solutions, or at least a nudge in the right direction. They might throw their hands up and declare it a mystery, or they might all open tickets. There's no way of knowing.

And the 'giving up on service' thing is more than the practical elements of dealing with problems. It's a major change in Upwork's image and how they sell themselves.  Maybe Upwork has a super-dooper action plan that will account for this in a positive way. If they do, they're keeping it very quiet. 

The problem with just seeing the forum in terms of the number of users is that it doesn't account for who those users are and the effect they have. So I'd guess that Upwork might well miss the forums. But by the time they realise that, it will be too late.

[#20]

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 wrote:

And the 'giving up on service' thing is more than the practical elements of dealing with problems. It's a major change in Upwork's image and how they sell themselves.  Maybe Upwork has a super-dooper action plan that will account for this in a positive way. If they do, they're keeping it very quiet. 

The following four-year-old article may shed light on the priorities of Upwork: Provide services to bigger clients with fewer (possibly EVT) freelancers.

There could well be a two-tier setup: earn reputation from one and money from the other.

https://www.businessofbusiness.com/articles/18-million-users-have-been-purged-from-gig-economy-site-... 

Keep these excerpts in mind:

“Part of the shift may be attributed to [redacted], who emphasized that the company is targeting Fortune 500 companies as opposed to smaller, one-off companies just looking for a quick gig worker. At the earnings call, she spoke of a ‘skill gap’ between what companies were looking for on a platform like Upwork and what they were getting.”

“[Redacted] pointed to three goals for 2020: 1. Attract more, bigger clients; 2. Enable more spend per client; 3. Make more high-quality matches, particularly in Upwork's technical categories of Web, Mobile, and Software Development.”

[#21]

In your numbers, you forget that many people read the forums and never post or upvote. It helped a lot more people than you think.

I'm going to send all of the people who come to me for help to the CEO. Since there is no need for the information, then it should not result in a single visit.

[#22]

I am the kind of user that will not boost the usage stats of forums since I take a passive role, mostly reading through and posting only when I need it.

This year I have had great difficulties with my Upwork activity and Upwork Help was not entirely helpful I must say. In spring I was looking for answers on the forum and I did get valuable insights, more than the off/dry responses comming from Upwork customer support. More important than anything, I was able to tap into the client's perspective and better understand how to position myself and craft my proposals by asking punctual questions where I needed clarification. 

[#23]

This is a real shame. This forum is an excellent resource, although it's been sad to see its decline over the past couple of years. I've learned a lot here and enjoyed interacting with everyone - this place has helped to make work that can sometimes feel quite impersonal a little more 'human'. Hey ho.

[#24]

I'm taking the risk of triggering people here but i believe this is a good idea. Upwork should never have invested in this much overhead. For the people losing their jobs (if there are any) my heart is with you that you have to go through a period of change but i'm sure this will result in better paying and more fulfilling future for you.

[#25]

Maybe if Upwork had let the community do what it was good at, and didn't cost much money, instead of publicly setting up tracking for every single person who ever used the forum in a popularity contest, they wouldn't have a money issue. Or the time and money spent on badges, etc. The problem is there is no mechanism for new and confused freelancers. If you think the magic bot is going to replace the humans who went out of their way to educate and help, you are, unfortunately, mistaken.

I will be happy to share the messages from all the additional freelancers who will come to me for help because of the closures.

Upwork fired 15% of their staff last year, and now another 21%. So, 36% was overhead?

[#26]

It's very sad and disappointing. This community is so valuable. I earned money from here because of the community. I'm wondering about the situation after this Community closure. How can I connect with experts on Upwork in this community? Real people and ready to support together to win and succeed. How? Where? What? When? ‌‌😭😭