Job offerings (Entry - Intermediate - Expert) Are Useless?

[08c2680d]

Hello,

I found a lot of clients are looking for freelancers with Intermediate/Expert levels and during the interview they mention they cannot afford to pay $20-$30 / hr rates and want cheaper rates or the client hires someone with entry level rate.

According to my best knowledge that the expected hourly rates based on experience and values are as follows:
- Entry level is <$20/hr
- Intermediate level is $20- $40 / hr
- Expert level is >$40 / hr

So, why the site don't restrict freelancers to bid on jobs with a rate lower than the client's required level of expertise? 

The levels are entirely useless. I see "expert level" and then budget: $10-$20!

The problem is I waste a lot of connects when sending proposals for Intermediate/Expert jobs this way. 
I feel like the clients want experts, but they are rarely ready to pay for their expertise. Do you think it's fair to find $3-$5 proposal for an Expert level job?

Any thoughts?

[petra_r]

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Mohamed S wrote:

According to my best knowledge that the expected hourly rates based on experience and values are as follows:
- Entry level is <$20/hr
- Intermediate level is $20- $40 / hr
- Expert level is >$40 / hr

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That depends entirely on the category

Different types of jobs have completely different suggested hourly ranges.

And that can not be translated to fixed-rate contracts either.

Anyway, yes, clients with champagne tastes and beer budgets are a reality of freelancing life.

[08c2680d]

Thanks Petra for your feedback.

The problem is that clients don't know price ranges for each level of expertise and there should be some sort of site restriction based on each category.

Do you know the hourly ranges for the Social Media Marketing / Marketing Strategy categories?

[feed_my_eyes]

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Mohamed S wrote:

Thanks Petra for your feedback.

The problem is that clients don't know price ranges for each level of expertise and there should be some sort of site restriction based on each category.

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Even if clients are given a price range, they will still get bids of $3/hour from some freelancers, and some of those freelancers will be well qualified and get hired. There's nothing to be done about that, I'm afraid. If Upwork seriously wanted to get on the path to profitability, they could start by raising their current minimums of $3/hour and $5/fixed price to something like $5/hour and $30/fixed price. 

[okpokpa_philemon]

Champagne Taste on a Beer Budget

Different jobs types have their different payment according to the experience level.

I feel the way things are currently is fine. What $3 means to an expert in Philippines (TBH, we do not like these people when they bid for a job with us in Nigeria, but yeah, it's a free world) is different from what that same $3 means to an expert in the US. It's totally context. 

It is also not surprising that clients sometimes prefer to go for "champagne on a beer budget" and for me, that is the idea of freelancing, right? - cheaper and more effective