Can I really only have 2 specializations? - New User

[donhartig]

This is my 2nd day with Upwork and I am a little confused regarding the "specializations" feature (or lack thereof). It appears that it is only possible to indicate 2 specialisations. Is this because I need to level up or become a paying member to add more areas of expertise? Or is this a standard limitation for all users?

If so, I have the following opinion / suggestion:

Two is really not enough. Most freelancers have at least 3 or 4 specialities in my experience, especially in the areas of web development and digital marketing, since anyone with more than 1 year of experience in these areas is almost certainly bound to develop skills in related yet separate disciplines, coding languages, marketing niches, etc. respectively. This applies even more to "full-time" freelancers, i.e. freelancers that make a living doing freelance work. I, for example, am now apparently forced to limit myself to only "copywriting" and "translation" as specialisations, 2 fields in which I am highly sought-after and have more than 10 years experience, even though I am also an established article/content writer and social media marketer and have designed and hand-coded close to 20 different websites in addition to being a highly-experienced full-stack web developer, level designer, 3D asset modeler and 2D illustrator. I was referred to Upwork by various Youtube channels but I am rather disappointed - and very surprised - at this feature (or rather feature limitation), i.e. having to limit myself to "2 specialisations", especially considering the fact that Upwork is ultimately a paid platform. As one of the previous commenters mentioned, this neither benefits Upwork since freelancers are limited to which jobs they can apply for. Is there any way to increase the number of specialisations (which is clearly just an arbitrary number that someone with only 2 skillsets has come up with)? E.g. is it possible to add more than 2 specialisations as a paying member (i.e. does Upwork offer some paid package by means of which this can be enabled)? Or do I have to resort to "borrowing" somebody else's Upwork and Paypal accounts just to be able to apply for more than 2 types of jobs? Alternatively, can anyone suggest any freelancing platforms similar to Upwork (apart from LinkedIn) that allow users to showcase all their skillsets?

[AleksandarD]

Hi Don,

Thanks for sharing your feedback with us! I will make sure to pass this as well to our team for review as said on your previous thread.

You can have a maximum of two Specialized Profiles and a General one. You may want to consider highlighting your other specializations on the General profile. Upgrading your membership to the Freelancer Plus will not increase the number of Specialized Profiles that you can have.

Please note that using someone else's account is a violation of the Upwork's Terms of Service.

Thank you.

[martina_plaschka]

Yeah, try the borrowing. Always works out great for everybody.