Will upwork require a minimum hourly rate?

[Amir M]

It is incredibly hard to find work when there are people on this site that charge $3 an hour.  I am a talented web developer that usually charges $75 an hour.  I dropped my rate to $25 an hour, and then to $10 an hour but no one will give me a chance.

I've tried for 3 weeks to find just one job, and I've had no luck.

And then I read complaints about freelancers who don't know what they're doing.   You get what you pay for. If someone is charging $3 an hour, then that should be your first red flag.

[Tiffany S · Accepted solution]

Set your rates back to what you think you're worth. You can't compete on price and that is okay, because those charging $3 per hour are not your competition.

[Igor S]

Amir,

I have checked your portfolio and I'm sure you are a capable developer, it just take time to land first job on new site, especially in such crowded category as web development.

Maybe for start try going after fixed price jobs, after you won few jobs it will be a lot easier to get another one with some on site history to back up your bids...

Also I would like to warn you that you can't have link to your personal site on Upwork profile, you can send that link to clients in application but you must delete it from main profile overview text. 

[Amir M]

Thank you. I was not aware of that.  I will remove that link.

I need to spend more time perhaps on getting better pictures for the sites I've done.  The ones I have now are widescreen and taken from my portfolio.

[Jennifer M]

I eat $3/hour people for breakfast. 

[Tonya P]

https://community.upwork.com/t5/Freelancers/How-can-fixed-rates-be-so-low/m-p/183113/highlight/true#...

https://community.upwork.com/t5/Freelancers/Top-Excuses-for-Not-Making-Sales/m-p/184339#M106703

Blaming the competition really won't get you far. 

You can compete like everyone else who chooses to freelance, demonstrate that you are worth the rate you seek. When you choose to be an independent contractor you choose to give up salary guarantees and minimums.  

[Preston H]

Igor is right. You need to getting on the playing field with a few fixed-price contracts for small projects that receive positive feedback.

Don't even bid on hourly contracts until you do some fixed-price jobs first.

[Preston H]

Amir: Why does your location show up as [blank], United States?

It looks like you are lying about where you live.

Everybody else has the name of a city. You have a blank.

(I don't think you're lying... But I don't like seeing that blank.)

[Rene K]

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@Preston H wrote:

Amir: Why does your location show up as [blank], United States?

It looks like you are lying about where you live.

Everybody else has the name of a city. You have a blank.

---

 Some places are not worth mentioning.

[Amir M]

My full address is now in the system, but when I look at my profile, it just says United States.

I live blocks away from the white house.