Recent Difficulty Landing Work / 100% JSS and Top Rated Plus

[dustin_slack]

Hello Upwork Community, please tell me if you are experiencing similar issues. Or if I'm crazy or doing something wrong, please tell me straight up. Also let me preface this by saying that I realize I'm not the best designer in the world. Always room to grow, I get that. But I do stand by my work and the vast majority of my clients are pleased with my work as well. 

I've been top rated plus 100% jss (graphic designer) since way before Upwork implemented these ridiculous changes. Connect boosts, 10 free connects a month (oh how generous - let's push the freelancers to boost their proposal so they'll run out of connects sooner and have to buy more), consultations, project catalogs... my work is in my profile! CLIENTS CAN VIEW MY WORK IN MY PROFILE. Not only that, if they search my name in Google, they will find my actual portfolio website. This leads my to my first concern listed below. 

Project Catalogs: If a client wants a fixed price pitch deck, they can find me and invite me to interview and discuss it with them in detail. Not all graphic design projects are alike. Some require more effort, some require minimal effort. Three tiers for a project just doesn't cover it. It is a nuanced discipline. It's more work for us trying to comply with Upwork's new standards and less money coming our way. Looking at it from a client perspective, it seems like they would think of us freelancers as unflexible, rigid, unwilling to budge, too complicated, and then just give up on the platform. I had to wait about 15-20 days and multiple fixes to get my first Project Catalog to go through. You know what Upwork said when I asked them what was taking so long? They are having trouble getting through the influx of similar concerns. I mean, that's a red flag right there. 

Consultations: Clients aren't dumb, they might need direction or need advice and might not know exactly what they are looking for, but they aren't dumb. Why are clients going to pay for a consultation when they can just message me through Upwork by inviting me to a job - even if they are unsure they'll even want to hire for the job? If the project looks good, my type of client, or design style, I'll respond, for free - because I potentailly want that specific work. What does Upwork think they are getting out of this? I'm not a lawfirm, consultations... I just don't get it. 

I haven't been receiveing invitations or landing jobs like I used to. I started noticing it about 3-4 months ago. It used to be like I'd snap my fingers and there was a good job at hand (even when I wasn't top rated plus!). Now it's nothing. I've been complaining to Upwork support about this for about a month, but I'm to be assured, these changes are working and are great for freelancers! I'm just not seeing it and I can't be the only freelancer not getting the same amount of work they used to get, not even close. I can't be alone in this, maybe I am, but intuition and years of experience tells me I'm not. 

Let me know if any of you fellow freelancers, especially graphic designers, if you're experiencing similar things or feel the same way or if you have a different opinion. I'm just trying to understand what is going on. I used to be able to make a living straight through Upwork. I've always respected Upwork so much that I'd route clients who reached out to me through my website back to Upwork, those who found me through Behance, or Dribbble, etc. Currently, it's almost impossible though. I've been using Upwork since about 2015-2016 or back when it was Freelancer. I've never had such a hard time getting work while being top rated plus at 100% jss. Something is amiss and it has to be these recent (within the last 9 months) changes to the platform. 

At this point I'm just frustrated. I put in so much work and so much effort to increase my jss to 100% and become top rated plus in my field. Now it feels like I did all that work for nothing. Great for discipline in general, not seeing the benefits monetarily anymore. 

Also, the less us freelancers get work, the less Upwork gets their cut of our pay. I think Upwork isn't looking at the fact that we (freelancers, clients, and Upwork) rely on each other. Which is why none of these changes make any sense to me. If I'm not making money on Upwork then Upwork isn't making money from me. When things start messing with your income, you notice. If I'm not the only one, then Upwork has to be experiencing less income (their cut), unless they are relying on us freelancers buying more connects to fund their platform - which just doesn't add up in my mind. 

The thing is, I'll keep using Upwork because aside from a few other sites, they've cornered this market - and like I stated before, I've been on here working since it was Freelancer. I just hope things change for the better and soon. During a time of inflation in the States, I'm not so sure about other places, having my income interrupted because of platform changes is quite frustrating. Maybe it's the platform changes, my feeling is that it is, but then I again I could be wrong. This is just my experience as of the last couple months. 

Anyway, let me know your thoughts. Whether we agree or not, much love and respect to my peers for responses.

Dusty

[dustin_slack]

This is blowing my mind. I knew this was a problem. But didn't actually realize how many of us it was affecting. Seems like the majority and we'll never know from those not on the forums speaking up. 

Upwork has to fix this. Whatever it is. 

Thanks to all who have commented regardless of agreement or disagreement on certain details. The point is to air it out. 

Upwork support is useless, kind, but useless as far as pushing complaints up the laddder. So please, if you have something to say, let's keep it rolling. Tell your story, ideas, thoughts, suggestions, whatever. Let's literally air out our frustrations here on this thread, another thread, your own thread. 

Again thanks so much to anyone who has commented! 
Dusty 

[feed_my_eyes]

I would say that most people who are experiencing a dry spell can directly attribute it to the ever-increasing number of freelancers on the platform. The number of new jobs being posted in my category hasn't increased - not for projects that pay more than $5/hour, at least - but the number of bids on each job has gone through the roof in recent months. Clients just don't have time to wade through all of the bids, nor go beyond the first few pages in the search results.

If Upwork has no plan to curb or impose even minimal quality controls on the number of new freelancers who are joining every day - nor get rid of the ones who are unsuccessful, despite months or years of bidding - then the situation will continue to get worse. With inflation increasing, a lot of people with full time jobs will need a source of additional income, so I would expect even more new freelancers to sign up in the coming months. So all of the "demands" being mentioned - verifying clients, getting rid of the boost feature, etc. etc. - aren't going to help. Too many freelancers, not enough jobs - that's the real problem here.

[bilal1983]

RE: "I would say that most people who are experiencing a dry spell can directly attribute it to the ever-increasing number of freelancers on the platform." ....... "Too many freelancers, not enough jobs - that's the real problem here."

I agree Christine. A lot of people have been raising this issue for quite some time now. UW knows this, we all know this. But there has to be a reason why UW is not doing anything to curb the influx of unqualified freelancers. What is their painpoint? What is the solution?

If keeping things the way it is, benefits the platform, then why would they listen to us? 

[feed_my_eyes]

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Bilal M wrote:

If keeping things the way it is, benefits the platform, then why would they listen to us? 

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If it does increase profits, then fair enough - I wouldn't expect them to do anything about it. But I can't see any possible way that it can be a benefit to have loads of unqualified freelancers on the platform.

[81f2681a]

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Christine A wrote:

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If it does increase profits, then fair enough - I wouldn't expect them to do anything about it. But I can't see any possible way that it can be a benefit to have loads of unqualified freelancers on the platform.

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Christine, you should understand that the problem isn´t the newbies freelancers here. All freelancers needs to have their IDs verified, pass through interviews, set payments methods  and a lot of things to be accepted here. While, clients must do nothing. To a client be accept here, the only thing they must do is existis and proclaim thenselves as clients, then "uhu I´m going to post jobs!". So, it is too much easy having fake clients and scammers clients here than unqualified freelancers.

Focusing on attracting any clients to the platform isn´t the solution. Freelancers wants legit clients, not any "client" tha may be a scammer or just some children playing as business man. A lot of clients will atract more freelancers for sure, the qualified ones and unqualified too, but won´t set contracts and jobs done, so it is useless this strategy of letting any client join the platform.

And, how are you suposed to say that a freelancer is "qualified" or "not qualified" to work on his field? As you are a graphic designer, you must knows that sometimes art "quality" is subjective. I saw many poor quality artists here. Some with same quality as a small children drawing in school. Of course my drawings and illustrations has much more quality than theirs, but they are earning more than me. Why? Because their clients thinks they are good enough for their projects.

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Christine A wrote:

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If it does increase profits, then fair enough - I wouldn't expect them to do anything about it.

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Upwork mus be earning lot of profits now, using the actual: Lots of clients, no matter if they are legit clients or not, lot of legit freelancers, wanting to work to feed their families (weel, now can you see? The math doesn´t matchs!). And how Upwork is making money? With freelancers keeps bidding and boosting bids, and spending a lot of connects to bid, and keeps biding in a cycle of false hope to get a job (since fake clients and scammers don´t set contracts). Many freelancers is asking thenselves "What I´m doing wrong? I followed all tips! Am I unqualified? Why? Why?" A lot of freelancers is thinking they didn´t get a job because they didn´t bid enough, or didn´t boosted their proposals with enough connects, and they are crazy and doing like adicted people to slot machines, keeps send proposals and biding and "maybe" you will get a reward. But this "reward" never comes. "Let me play just one more time, now I will get a job!" (And I assume I was doing like that. Now I can see the problem isn´t me and I´m not unqualified. In another platform I had more than 100 jobs done and 5 stars reviews. But here I´m just a small insect.)

Yes, that is what Upwork looks like now: a big slot machine with chances of getting a job less than 10%.

I left another platform because the high number of scammers that suddenly dominated there. I had more than 100 jobs done, and 5 stars reviews in 98% of my jobs done. When I came to Upwork hoping things here could be better, I just faced this dry spell. I don´t want Upwork turns to be like the platform I left. But if things continues as it is, not just me, (an irrelevant freelancer for Upwork), but high ranked freelancers with 200k+ earnings will just leave the platform. 

In long term, the losses for Upwork will be higher than the profits they are making now. Upwork must focus on contracts and jobs done, not on bids, boosting and jobs posted. If freelancers leaves, no bids anymore, no contracts anymore and consequently no profits anymore.

[feed_my_eyes]

Asking clients to verify their identities will result in fewer clients - that's a fact. And Upwork needs new clients a lot more than they need new freelancers. 3/4 of the freelancers on this platform could leave, and there would still be too many.

[81f2681a]

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Christine A wrote:

Asking clients to verify their identities will result in fewer clients - that's a fact.

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Yes, but I prefer compete for a legit job, with a small chance to be hired, than compete for a fake job that has no chance of converting to a hire to any freelancer. Can you understand that fake jobs is just a lost game with no chances of winning?

Much more worst is the scamm jobs. In fake jobs you just have no chance, you just spent your time (that has value too), in scamm jobs you have a chance of spending your time and lose your efforts and money. In both, no any chance of winning.

The vast majority of job posted didn´t hired anyone. Freelancers just loses their time, connects and money doing custom proposals on jobs that has no chance to be converted to any hire. It is completely a loss of time and efforts. I can´t believe that a job with 20+ proposals and no one is good enough to do the project?

If a client realy wants his project done, he doesn´t mind to verify their ID.

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Christine A wrote:

And Upwork needs new clients a lot more than they need new freelancers. 3/4 of the freelancers on this platform could leave, and there would still be too many.

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Yes, it would be very good if we could just cut 3/4 of our competitors out! But we would keep competing in lost games without any chance of winning. Fake jobs and scamm jobs won´t be converted to hires and sucessfull jobs done, in any way, no matter how many competitors we have.

Freelancers wants legit jobs, not just a mirage of a job.

[pudingstudio]

Some of my clients were "just browsing" on UpWork. They ended up being fantastic people with whom I love to work.

They wouldn't post a job on UpWork if they had to go through "a procedure". They, only after finding a freelancer, did necessary steps.

Not all "unverified" clients are frauds.

[81f2681a]

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Antun M wrote:

Not all "unverified" clients are frauds.

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But a lot is. And nowadays is epidemic. And these frauds, scammers or the ones is just kidding makes us lose a lot of time.

[pudingstudio]

Is that new?

My Job Feed is the same as it was. Bunch of jobs without any description, bunch of jobs I don't care about, bunch of jobs with obvious maliciousness intent (budget of $13456 as if they are typing their 90s password, with a need of 99 freelancers and a promise of more work to come).

Also, bunch of obviously real jobs. Some of which I like.

Have described my Job Feed from this month and from any of the months I've been on UpWork. It's the same.

Same thing is happening in Community. Bunch of the same issues which shouldn't exist if a freelancers would bother to understand platform they are working on. Bunch of complaints for lack of moneys.

Only some freelancers can be "successful" (earn a good living) by using only UpWork. There are ALL of the freelancers, there are more freelancers than there are humans in the world.

No, I'm not in awe because most of us don't earn a lot.
No, I don't think this is something new.

[feed_my_eyes]

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Andre A wrote:

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Antun M wrote:

Not all "unverified" clients are frauds.

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But a lot is. And nowadays is epidemic. And these frauds, scammers or the ones is just kidding makes us lose a lot of time.

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So why don't you just filter out new, unverified clients when you're doing a job search, if you can't tell which jobs are scams and which ones aren't? I work with new clients all the time and have never once even come close to being scammed, so why not let me bid on these jobs, if I want to?

[the-right-writer]

If you are looking only at the verified payment, you are in trouble. Vetting clients is about the whole picture. I make sure the job is funded before I start to work and I have never been scammed.

Time spent on applying for jobs is part of the business. The more you know about scams, the better you can avoid them.

[the-right-writer]

No platform is going to guarantee good jobs. The "3/4" Christine mentioned are not legitimate freelancers. This platform has so many fake and unqualified freelancers, it is ruining the platform.

I'm not talking about new freelancers; I'm talking about fake and cheating people who will do anything to make money. These scammer freelancers are not competition. However, they do anger and frustrate clients who get 50 proposals from unqualified scammers. Then some of those clients give up. They clog the system, they send clients away, they cheat the client if they get hired because they have no skills. Then the client is angry at all freelancers, Upwork and the whole process. Bottom line: massive amounts of freelancers with no skills or looking to game the system hurt everyone. Upwork needs to reinstate their qualifications for everything from the profile photo to qualification testing to not allowing more freelancers into flooded categories.

[martina_plaschka]

Yes, that is what Upwork looks like now: a big slot machine with chances of getting a job less than 10%.

That sadly seems to be what most of the newbies believe, that they appear with a mediocre profile, probably send proposals that aren't any better, and that they should get jobs. (Not talking about anybody personally!)

Upwork approves thousands of profiles each and every day. A few years back when these numbers were openly available in the search function, I found that less than 5% of all freelancers (with active profiles, so probably even less) had one or more jobs on their profiles. 

Winning just one job means the person is already in the top 5% of all freelancers. Finding steady work, that is sustainable and can keep someone busy full-time - well the chances of that are really not high, in comparison with the total number of people trying to achieve that. 

BTW, I dare upwork to make those numbers public again. I wonder why they took away that search function. I found it really useful to get an idea what is really going on on the platform 

[the-right-writer]

I second your dare to Upwork. Upwork, bring back those stats. Why did you remove them?

[oquintela]

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Martina P wrote:

[…]

BTW, I dare upwork to make those numbers public again. I wonder why they took away that search function. I found it really useful to get an idea what is really going on on the platform 

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It won't happen. They hide everything that can give outsiders an hint of their inner-working. Some 7 or 8 years ago I had access to research papers that used the platform's vast amount of data, and even dared to share one or two in this forum (got a warning...). That's gone forever. Expect things to get worse as far as this is concerned.

[tjmisny]

It's true.  Last year my success rate (jobs applied to versus jobs booked) was 7%... around $165k earnings.  And this year it's less than 1%.  Will finish the year with around $100k less earnings in 2022 compared to 2021.   

The question is (and it's a question I hope Upwork realizes quality freelancers are asking) - it is worth it to spend so much time at the slot machine for the less than 1% change of the payout?  

[the-right-writer]

If you left another platform because of scammers, then you know they follow the trail of new and vulnerable and often just plain greedy freelancers. It takes time to build a career on Upwork.

I do not believe for second established freelancers earning anything even remotely near two hundred thousand dollars would for a second consider leaving. Why the heck would they? They would be destroying their business. Your statement makes no sense. Find one single person making that kind of money who is leaving, just one. There are none.

Upwork needs the "freelancers" with no skills and no intention of actually working to go away. That is the huge problem. When there are 50 proposals within three minutes of a job being posted, do you think any of them are qualified? No. The clients hate the mess of anything that can throw up a couple of words being a freelancer. There are far more scammer freelancers here than scammer clients.

[81f2681a]

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Jeanne H wrote:

I do not believe for second established freelancers earning anything even remotely near two hundred thousand dollars would for a second consider leaving. Why the heck would they? They would be destroying their business. Your statement makes no sense. Find one single person making that kind of money who is leaving, just one. There are none.

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If your source of water drys, you just go to search for another. Simple as that.

If your gold mine is deplet, you go to search for another mine. Simple as that.

[the-right-writer]

As I said, there are no freelancers making money who have left or are leaving. You have presented nothing to back up your statement. Upwork requires no loyalty clause; many freelancers do not depend entirely on Upwork for income. And they should not in the vast majority of cases. Most have some business in other platforms or in the real world. I am one of those. I do not believe in having all my income from one source because things can happen that make this an excellent business strategy.

If 80% of freelancers were eliminated, the clients would rejoice and so would the real, valid, genuine, talented freelancers who keep the platform going.

[81f2681a]

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Jeanne H wrote:

When there are 50 proposals within three minutes of a job being posted, do you think any of them are qualified? No. The clients hate the mess of anything that can throw up a couple of words being a freelancer. 

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I think that at least 1 must be qualified. Clients aren´t dumbs, they knows that when they post a job, unqualified peoples will try to get the job, but the ones who is qualified will trys too. It happens all the time, in any job. All company knows that. It´s part of the hiring process to separate who is qualified from who isn´t. Hiring isn´t just showing money, snaping fingers then ta daaaa, you can choose between all the bests in the world. There is no genie from the lamp in hiring process.

[the-right-writer]

Why would you think any copy-pasted mess of a proposal will result in hiring? I have had clients show me the proposals they have received. If I was a client and received even a few responses like that, I would find another platform or hire on my own. It is a fact many clients receive dozens of proposals immediately that are from unqualified freelancers who game the system. That means they cheat. They are disgusting thieves as much as scammer clients, and they destroy the platform.

Are you a client? Do you regularly view proposals from many other freelancers? No.

Clients can expect to go through the proposals and find the best candidate. Of course, there will be one or two that are not qualified - not a couple dozen or 50. Then they can't find a single decent freelancer because real freelancers aren't going to apply to a job with dozens of proposals.

You should read through Preston's many valuable comments about the hiring process so you understand the mechanism from the client's side. There are specific things a client expects and should receive. Being flooded with dozens of fake freelancer scam proposals is driving clients away and damaging every legitimate freelancer.

[7ba56d1a]

Hi! I tried looking for Preston's comments but can't seem to find them. Are they on this thread, and if so what page?

[the-right-writer]

Let me look...

[81f2681a]

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Jeanne H wrote:

Why would you think any copy-pasted mess of a proposal will result in hiring?

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I didn´t say that. Its obvious that a copy-pasted proposal won´t win a hire. The only one freelancer that is a good match and applyed for the job did a personalized proposal.

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Jeanne H wrote:

 It is a fact many clients receive dozens of proposals immediately that are from unqualified freelancers who game the system. That means they cheat. They are disgusting thieves as much as scammer clients, and they destroy the platform.

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I knows this is a fact and they must be cheating. As we freelancers has the dutie and all responsabilities to avoid client scammers and we must keep searching for good jobs, so clients too has all responsabilities to avoid cheaters freelancers and mus keep searching for good freelancers. Stops treating clients like babies. They want something tha we have and just us can deliver: our work. And  we wants something that they have: their money. It is an exchange, clients needs us and we needs clients. But seens your thinks that just freelancers is desperates to have jobs, it is true that we are desperate, but it is also true that cliens is so much desperate as we are, to have our work too.

A client that must have a job done will keeps searching until find someone that fits his needs, even in a mess of copy-pasted proposals. If he can´t find one, they will go to another platform. Same for us, if we can´t find good jobs, we will go to another platforms, no matter how much money we earned here previously.

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Jeanne H wrote:

Are you a client? Do you regularly view proposals from many other freelancers?

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I´m not a regular client. But I am the leader of my animation studio. Sometimes I must hire someone to do what I can´t do. Also, I worked for comic/manga publisher in Brazil. I received dozens of new stories to read and see if it had enough quality in art and wiriting to be published. There is thousands of manga artists sending their stories to publishers trying a chance to be published. And I must say: the vast vajority has no quality. It would be losing money publishing their stories, the company won´t publish 80% of sotries they receives monthly. I readed a lot of new mangas! 2 in 10 are good enought to be published! The vast majority is garbage! And when I told to those artists "you are not ready to be published. Your material wasn´t approved. You must improve your art a lot to be a professional mangaka", most of them crys or says bad words to me. Dealing with unqualified people is part of the process. Of course I would love to receive just high quality stories that will be the next big hit and defeats Naruto in sales, but this isn´t how it works. I´m no babie, I knows how it works.

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[miriam-ocampo]

Hi, 

Same here, I'm literally working like two days per week, sometimes I cannot even make a hundred dollars. It's getting pretty bad and I'm not sure what the problem is. I'm a top-rated translator. 

[sealvlservices]

I started on this platform in 2002 when it was Elance and found it somewhat easy to gain clients and possitive feedback pretty regularly which lasted through all the changes over the years without ever having to purchase connects. I got so busy outside of Upwork that I stopped using the platform in 2016. While i have continued to use Upwork as a client to hire talent for my clients projects, this year I recently rekindled my freelance profile, and while I still have my years of work history and feedback, my 5 star status was removed and I have found it very difficult to land projects. I figured it was just the years of additional freelancers willing to work for peanuts given after only 8 minutes of a project being posted there are already 20-50 bids, now after seeing this post, there seems to be a more detailed, internal issue, and while that kinda makes me feel better about my not winning bids like I used to, it's also dissapointing to learn this platform may have taken a nefarious turn.

[laubach-lisa]

Hello, 

I am an illustrator of children's books, and I noticed that I'm not getting responses from clients. I set up a project catalog- not sure if I did it right. I also submitted an application for talent scout- in June and haven't heard anything. I watched some of the UpWork academy videos and looked into coaching which always seems to be closed - I'm at my wits end here!

[7ba56d1a]

Some of the effects of lockdowns were felt immediately, and others have been building since. That's the foundation, as other things have been happening that affect local/global economies. I guess my point is that a major factor might not have anything to do with you or Upwork.

[getcheeky]

Hi Amanda,

Yes, we are in some interesting times, that's for sure. On a side note, I checked out your profile--- you really do have a lovely voice! 🙂 Excellent work! 

[7ba56d1a]

Why thank you, Michelle 🙂

[getcheeky]

😊

[fe9b8d82]

Just to add my three cents - I'm fairly new to Upwork (joined in March).  Within a week of joining I had landed contracts and clients.  I had a fair bit of work that quickly mushroomed into actually more than I had set aside time for.  

Things were great, I was picking up jobs weekly, some that turned into long term clients, others that were one offs for contract review or revision.  Either way, things were great. 

Then June-July happened, and things started to go downhill.  I noticed that jobs that would have paid a decent amount were being posted with maybe half that much as the budget, hourly rates for legal review (by a licensed attorney) were at ridiculously low rates, and with ridiculous turnaround (we need this 50 page contract redlined by tomorrow).

Before summer, the vast majority of people who responded to me hired me.  After summer started, pretty much everyone who responded stopped hiring, or they would ask questions like "What's your hourly rate?"  (It's clearly stated in my proposal), or they would set hard stops like "We only have the budget for one hour's worth of work."  Well, you're asking me to revise a huge contract, that's going to take more than an hour, and as an attorney, I can't ethically take work that I am going to do a sloppy job on. 

The quality of the job posts is also much lower lately.  There's always been the share of posts from people looking for an attorney to sue <insert major corporation> for perceived wrong, or "I need this huge contract reviewed and rewritten by yesterday, and I'm offering $50," but lately that's the norm.  

TL,DR:  I got my Top Rated badge, and now I can't hardly find any work here since summer.

[eef33534]

I am a new freelancer on Upwork and it seems no one wants to give me a chance

its frustrating 

[fe9b8d82]

It is frustrating, but I do have faith that this is cyclical.  I believe it's a combination of economic factors, seasonal factors (activity seems to decline in summer), and perhaps some changes to how Upwork's internals function (I'm not a tech guru, so don't ask me).

I do have faith that things will get better for all of us though.  Sometimes just coming to the forums, expressing your frustration, and seeing you're not alone can really reset your mood.  Everyone's feeling the pinch, and really, we're all freelancers in this together.  

[eef33534]

Thank so much

I am encouraged

[laubach-lisa]

One thing I learned yesterday in an upwork deep dive on certifications is A/B testing when writing proposals. Basically its the same content but an a proposal might be one with 3 paragraphs as opposed to a b proposal with 4 paragraphs. Try googling it- you will get an upwork article- I am hoping by trying it myself i will have results. UpWork academy has some great videos. I hope this helps you 

[eef33534]

Thank you so much, I will try that out

[novaks]

I think the fact that COVID is going away, and a lot of businesses are going back to their offices has an impact too.

In covid times if you were a freelancer you could work A LOT (because businesses needed a lot of people duo to unstable times). And now that things are getting back to normal, i think it just makes normal sense for this to happen.

I don't think the problem is at the client side, i think the problem is at the freelancers side.

I enter a proposal with 30-40$/hr while i have to compete with the minimum rate, and mostly freelancers who steal work from the internet and send it over to the clients just so they can get the job.

Upwork should make the badges more relevant. If you have Top Rated / or Top Rated Plus - with high JSS... you should be listed on top of the applicants, and also have a tag that tells the client this person is PROVEN to give you good results. (I know this makes life terrible for new freelancers, but there are a million jobs with 5-10$ budgets in total so that they can use to get started).

[spectralua]

It's not good or bad, it's a type of platform. One site provides exceptionally high-quality workers and supports them in every possible way. The second site says that we have a huge number of employees and they cost a penny. The client chooses whether he needs quality or he wants a bad job but almost free.
In which direction is Upwork heading?