This was funny

[ruth_bowles]

Just saw a job posting looking for "cheap proofreading", and I thought "and that's exactly what you're going to get." Lol

[wendy_writes]

Let me guess - Budget $7 non-negotiable.

[versailles]

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@Wendy C wrote:

Let me guess - Budget $7 non-negotiable.

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Than would be an easy seven buck snatch.

Client: this is the text.

Me (24 hours later): here it is. Great writing, found no mistakes. (Well maybe, I don't know, haven't opened it.)

[ruth_bowles]

No idea. I didn't click on it to get further information. I know my rates are low, but I have been incrementally raising them as I get jobs. I know when people say cheap, they would still consider my rates too high.

[wendyworks]

Love this post. The pay rate should reflect the skill set. 

[ruth_bowles]

Another title I avoid is the ones that say "great for new upworkers!"

[carlosbstatu]

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@Ruth B wrote:
Just saw a job posting looking for "cheap proofreading", and I thought "and that's exactly what you're going to get." Lol

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Well. I do not agree, and I can see most (or all) of you are American and Canadian citizens.

You may think $30 is cheap, but you didn't even open the job post. What if the total number of words were less than 200? 

Even though, the minimun wage in most of the countries located in Latin America is very low. Countries like Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia are some examples.

So, 30 dollars could mean nothing for you, but if we earn 30 dollars by proofreading a document, we would be earning as much as somebody else whose weekly payment is no more than 30 dollars a week, we would be getting as much as they can make within 1 week by working for a short period of time. And you may think those people didn't go to school, but there are plenty of people, even with degrees that are currently unemployed.

So I think the customer is free so ask for cheap work since there are a lot of freelancers that don't consider a certain amoun as cheap as you do since the US currency is 17 times worth more than our currency (where I live).

So they can just hire someone from these or some other countries and may get what they are expecting for what YOU think is low. 

Of course, the client may or may not take any of this into consideration, but that's definitely a good chose if they want to save some bucks. Just saying.

I do not know much about economics, but it's pretty obvious that our currency is several times below yours.

[allenwatson23]

I'm sorry, but the people you speak about in other countries who will take these "cheap" jobs likely do not have the skills to properly proofread documents. If a client wants a native English speaker, one that will do the job well and without mistakes, they will not find that at "cheap" rates. I do not mean to offend, but it will be rare to find people like the ones you speak of who will accomplish the task at hand. It is nearly impossible for those with English as a second language to get English proofreading completely correct.

As you say, people are free to post a proofreading job for those rates, but they cannot expect great work. 

[nessie-siler]

Based upon what I've seen so far, a great many people do expect stellar work for almost nothing. Or they expect one individual to do the work of four people, for that same tiny rate.

I am a new Upworker, but I have had years of experience. Also, I've had clients across the country. Having taken a look at other profiles in my field, I'm beginning to believe my rates may be too low. At the same time, most of the work I'm finding on offer requires the moon for pennies. Maybe I'm jaded... 🙂

N.

[ceidauilyc]

No offense, but Shane, do you mean to say that Nobel Winning Literary idols to millions of International Universities in non-native countries are a joke? That perfection in English is inherited by natives? I just received a client from U.K who went above and beyond telling me that he got 18 proposals from native English speakers who could not create anything but fluff. So, it's not hard to find native speakers without an ounce of perfection in their vocabulary or sentence construction. 

The urge to perfect, or even learn, is an acquired skill.  

I guess someone missed the lesson on Language Theory. Also, I just wish you won't miss out on the amazing English Literature from non-native English countries. English is not  situated at the rock bottom of U.S.A and U.K, dear.  Good Luck!

[ruth_bowles]

Carlos,

If the case is that the client is hoping to find someone in a country with a cheaper cost of living to do their work, that doesn't mean they should describe their own requirements as "cheap work". That implies to me that they do not value the work that they need to be done. "Proofreading at a great price" might have been a better title for their job. I have also seen jobs that specifically say they are looking for Phillipino writers, etc.

Including the word "cheap" in their title does not give me good feelings. I don't believe the work I do is "cheap", even though I initially used rates much lower than what I charge now. I believed my clients were getting great work at a great price because I was trying to build my reputation on Upwork. The word "cheap" does not have a very positive connotation in English, and I don't think it was a good choice for this person to use it in their title.

If I see a job that may be interesting, I will open it to read the description. If the budget is something like $7/hour, then I move along. You're right, that job could have been super small, but that doesn't make it a cheap job. If it takes me 15 minutes to proofread, at my current rate, that would still be relatively low cost for the client. For me, if the client is signalling that they believe the work they need is cheap, I'm imagining a client who will be a nightmare, who will quibble over each minute I take to complete the project.

So you see, there are more reasons that just the potential payment that made me keep scrolling.

Ruth

[lysis10]

Lol you'll fit right in buddy. What u doin?