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b_scholler
Community Member

regional pricing?

I have been reading through many posts today trying to determine the viability of utilizing Upwork for my launch into the virtual freelance world. I was referred to Upwork by an existing freelancer with this disclaimer, "At first, it takes time to make money, jobs can be very low paying, as we are competing globally for contracts."

Is there no regional, country or demographic separation feature available to freelancers ? If so, please explain. If not, why? We all have regional Cost of Living standards to attain.

Thanks

13 REPLIES 13
prestonhunter
Community Member

re: "Is there no regional, country or demographic separation feature available to freelancers?"

 

No.

 

re: "If so, please explain. If not, why? We all have regional Cost of Living standards to attain."

 

Um, okay. But the purpose of Upwork is not to help you maintain your standard of living by staying at home and doing stuff on the computer instead of going out and getting a regular job.

 

Upwork is a company, and it's purpose is to make money.

 

How does it do that?

By getting money from paying customers.

Meaning: the clients. The people who actually pay money to Upwork.

 

Clients benefit from having a global marketplace.

Clients like to be able to hire people from a broad range of skill sets, and a broad range of backgrounds.

 

Clients hire freelancers, and pay them through Upwork. Thus, clients are happy, and Upwork is happy.

 

I'm a freelancer. I'm also happy, because through Upwork, I earn large amounts of money.

But I'm not Upwork's target customer. I'm a partner in helping Upwork earn money.

 

So the simple answer is:

There is no regional separation of freelancers because that's not a feature that Upwork thinks will be more profitable for them.

 

Now you may be thinking:

But... don't different people in different places have different costs of living? Well... okay, sure. But that has nothing to do with the clients (Upwork's customers).

 

Does this mean that Upwork doesn't work for freelancers? Actually, that's not the case. Upwork does work for a large number of freelancers. There are large numbers of freelancers who live in the most expensive countries in the world, as well as freelancers who live in less-expensive places, and also freelancers who live in places where the cost-of-living is very low.

 

Upwork works for a lot of us. There wre successful freelancers from around the world who have found their niche and who are NOT asking for regional separation.

 

Does Upwork work for most people who want to be a freelancer? NO. But there are many reasons for that, not just regional disparities in cost-of-living. MOST people have absolutely no business trying to be an online freelancer.


@Preston H wrote:

re: "Is there no regional, country or demographic separation feature available to freelancers?"

 

No.

 


Of course there is. There is an US-only option which allows US-based clients to post jobs that will be visible only by US-based freelancers.

 

It's actually the default option for all US clients.

-----------
"Where darkness shines like dazzling light"   —William Ashbless

re: "It's actually the default option for all US clients."

 

I don't think that's true right now.

 

I posted 3 jobs and hired 4 people over the past few days. I live in the U.S.

 

Every time I posted a job I saw two options:

- U.S. Only

- anywhere in the world

 

As far as I could tell, neither of these options was selected as a default.


@Preston H wrote:

 

 

As far as I could tell, neither of these options was selected as a default.


This is interesting.

-----------
"Where darkness shines like dazzling light"   —William Ashbless


@Rene K wrote:

@Preston H wrote:

 

 

As far as I could tell, neither of these options was selected as a default.


This is interesting.


Indeed it is, because in another ongoing discussion here many freelancers have been complaining about US-only being the default setting for US clients. Are they all mistaken? 

 

I don't know what to tell you.

I was following that thread, and that is specifically why I thought I should mention this.

 

Because what I'm seeing definitely doesn't match up to what they are saying.

 

Now, there IS indeed a U.S.-only category, but it doesn't look like a default to me. Maybe it was previously? Maybe it is for some people.

 

This is what I see, as of 5 minutes ago, when I create a job post:

Screen Shot 2018-08-22 at 5.18.51 AM.pngNote that the "Next" button is disabled. I can not proceed to the next screen and post a job unless I CHOOSE one of these options. No option is highlighted.

 

HOWEVER: When I REUSE a job as the basis for posting a new job, then the selection from that jost is the default when creating a new job.

 

So this morning when I tried creating a new job posting using a previous job as the basis for it, then "Worldwide" was the default option when I got to this screen, due to the fact that "Worldwide" was the option I chose for that previous job.

Thanks for posting that, Preston.

 

I've never been much bothered about the fact that some jobs are US-only.     (I'm in the UK.) As far as I know it's been the same same all the time I've been using Upwork, and I just focus on what's in my job feed and invitations. The US-only thing usually only comes to my attention when I click in the "Similar Jobs" area (which I rarely do any more) as that does take me to US-only jobs which it then tells me I can't apply for.

 

For me it's mostly a case of "out of sight, out of mind". But now that other thread has piqued my interest in the subject.

 

' re: "Is there no regional, country or demographic separation feature available to freelancers?"

 

No.

 

re: "If so, please explain. If not, why? We all have regional Cost of Living standards to attain."

 

Um, okay. But the purpose of Upwork is not to help you maintain your standard of living by staying at home and doing stuff on the computer instead of going out and getting a regular job.

 

Upwork is a company, and it's purpose is to make money.'

 

As someone who is medically unable to work outside my home, I found your tone offensive, Preston H. My initial impression has been that I can still offer my hard won skills here instead of applying for disability. Maybe I misunderstand the viability of working through Upwork altogether.


@Barb S wrote:

 

' re: "Is there no regional, country or demographic separation feature available to freelancers?"

 

No.

 

re: "If so, please explain. If not, why? We all have regional Cost of Living standards to attain."

 

Um, okay. But the purpose of Upwork is not to help you maintain your standard of living by staying at home and doing stuff on the computer instead of going out and getting a regular job.

 

Upwork is a company, and it's purpose is to make money.'

 

As someone who is medically unable to work outside my home, I found your tone offensive, Preston H. My initial impression has been that I can still offer my hard won skills here instead of applying for disability. Maybe I misunderstand the viability of working through Upwork altogether.


I am pretty sure Preston did not mean to be offensive, but there are some wannabe freelancers who thing it would be nice to stay at home all day and get paid for it. Some do it because they have lost there jobs for various reasond, some because they like the liberty to travel the world while working. Freelancing is not the easiest way to earn money and some never will. You will never know until you have tried. It is free to send out proposals on Upwork so why don't you give it a try?

 

If you check the other threads, you will find that freelancer complain a lot about losing jobs to freelancers in low-cost countries. That's the price we have to pay for globalization. But hey, we are all saving money because there are these people in low-cost counties sewing our clothes and assemble our computers, phones, tables etc.

 

The deal when working as a freelancer on a global platform is to stand out. This way you can earn more than enough money. I know that I do, and boy, Norway is expensive. You can try and focus on your local market to avoid some competition.

 

There is no separation feature available because it would also be discriminating. It is up to the client to decide which freelancer will be the best choice for him/her.

Thank you, Jennifer.
I'm considering this. I am exploring the site.

In my enthusiasm to learn more about the service Upwork provides, I've been reading quite a bit. I have read a whole gammit of pros and cons here, so far. I am also bookmarking the most helpful of postings.

Just remember the unhappy freelancer shout the loudest, these are often also those that won't last.

 

I believe Upwork is like every other job where you deal with different people all the time with the important difference that you usually cannot see the person you are discussing with. You have to learn to read between the lines and use clients histories.The big difference is that you have to sell yourself in job interviews again and again instead of only once.

 

Most freelancers just start working without exploring first and that often hurts. Once you get started you have a great advantage because you invest your time now.


@Jennifer R wrote:


Um, okay. But the purpose of Upwork is not to help you maintain your standard of living by staying at home and doing stuff on the computer instead of going out and getting a regular job.

 Maybe I misunderstand the viability of working through Upwork altogether.


I am pretty sure Preston did not mean to be offensive, but there are some wannabe freelancers who thing it would be nice to stay at home all day and get paid for it.


 Of course. Nothing wrong with that at all!

I think it is VERY nice to stay at home all day and get paid for working from home.

Would it be more heroic if I hated it ?

 


@Barb S wrote:

 

' re: "Is there no regional, country or demographic separation feature available to freelancers?"

 

No.

 

re: "If so, please explain. If not, why? We all have regional Cost of Living standards to attain."

 

Um, okay. But the purpose of Upwork is not to help you maintain your standard of living by staying at home and doing stuff on the computer instead of going out and getting a regular job.

 

Upwork is a company, and it's purpose is to make money.'

 

As someone who is medically unable to work outside my home, I found your tone offensive, Preston H. My initial impression has been that I can still offer my hard won skills here instead of applying for disability. Maybe I misunderstand the viability of working through Upwork altogether.


 _______________________________

 

Barb,

 

There are many people on Upwork who have disabilities of varying degrees of seriousness and some are doing very well indeed. I'm sorry to be so harsh, but even if Preston had known of your disability, his answer is still valid. Upwork welcomes anyone on board, disabled or not, particularly when they offer skills that will make money for both the freelancer and the site. 

 

However, Upwork is not a nanny state. Whatever your disability, you are still expected to deliver and keep up the standards Upwork requires of you, otherwise you become a financial liability. And this applies accross the board - nothing to do with medically able or not able. 

 

At the moment, your questions are entirely academic, as you do not yet have a profile. If you have the skills that you know you can exploit, then I am sure, whatever your disability, you can earn money on this platform. However, remember that "floating" clients are not like B&M bosses who (for the most part) have a duty of care toward the disabled people they employ. 

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