Hi all. I am pretty new to Odesk but been reading stuff and getting myself covered on every side to actually start bidding for jobs. Meanwhile, while i am presently waiting for another of my payment method to be ready, i sniff through job offers to know what offers are here and gosh! Emily is absolutely right. I see a job offer - i start reading with all my imaginative antennas stretched out and then, i begin to see twisted and really high standard demands and i am like 'no probs, i just have to sit up to meet up!' and then i behold the pay and i see 1 dollar per article, seen even 0.8 each for five 600 - 700 word articles to be submitted in 2days! Jeez, they mean, i will stand still my world, come up with 3500 words in 5 unrelated yet competitively written articles on God-knows-what and get paid 4 dollars! I will make more than that for same even in my country and I must say my morale is dropping fast. Infact, it is what made me start looking out for other contractors to see how they have been fairing in this economy. I brought down my charge so i don't scare clients off but truth is intellectual property is the most expensive bit of property any one should pay good money to have. However, with all i read here, i know i am not alone, will keep the fire burning. Good thread!