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masscheleyn-veer
Community Member

low payment

Hi fellow translators

 

is it me or are the job offers for translations appalling? Some clients pay as low as 0,0125 per source word! And above all, there are so called translators who actually work for these prices, spoiling the market for everybody. If 'entry level' is based on that rate, then you can't be shocked if clients think experienced translators should be paid 0,03 per source word!This is very disturbing.

Above all these so called translators who work for very low wages just use machine translators, google translate etc. and apparently clients are not disturbed when they receive a poorly executed translation. Some of them send the file to a proofreader who they pay even less but ends up doing most of the work (if he or she is even serious about his/her job). 
It doesn't make sense. When a client posts a job offer paid on an hourly base, he or she can not pay less than 4,99 USD per hour (if I'm correct), but those fixed prices are not even checked! 

 

What happened to being proud of one's work? To dedication? 

Perhaps I'm old-fashioned. 

I would love to hear your thoughts on it. 

Have a nice day.
Sincerely

Veerle

ACCEPTED SOLUTION
masscheleyn-veer
Community Member

 I've just finished writing this message and again a client posts a job offer: translation of 750 words for a fee of 25 USD and clients dares to call this a payment for expert level!!!

How can this be possible? Who sets those standards? No professional, no experts would even consider working for such a low wage!

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masscheleyn-veer
Community Member

 I've just finished writing this message and again a client posts a job offer: translation of 750 words for a fee of 25 USD and clients dares to call this a payment for expert level!!!

How can this be possible? Who sets those standards? No professional, no experts would even consider working for such a low wage!

Translation seekers do specify - what is your rate per word.

Seekers never did request for sentences to be edited accordingly since I saw they are seeking also proofreaders and editing. 

 

Whatever rate is fine when word count is requested. Go to Google and just google translate word per word style and send it to him and the owners of UPWork - at least you and I get to speak directly to the owners of this website and the seekers of word rates not TRANSLATE and EDIT to make it sound French, Spanish or whatever second language of their choices would be. 

birgit-udras
Community Member

Veerle, 

 

You read my mind. I just wanted to post a thread asking exactly the same thing. Translation market is totally screwed up and rates offered are ridiculous. I just got offered 0,028-0.035€ for technical translation (automotive field). It`s very offensive. Part that I absolutely can`t understand is that how can they say that these are good rates and people work for these rates. I am seriously considering quitting a job as a translator, it`s not worth it anymore. 

 

Next thing I can`t understand and what is totally new for me is the CAT-tool matches, they want discounts. Sorry there are no such tool that is doing it`s job properly. It`s a again a greedy business people invention to make money not to make translators life easier. For example my language is only spoken by 1,4 million people and the client compared it to Arabic. Sorry but Arabic is spoken in 23 countries and it`s not the same thing.  I am absolutely discusted about all that. 

Hi Birgit U

 

thanks for reacting. That's an outrageous offer that you've received for that technical document. 
I was once asked on Upwork by a client to even do a test translation of 900 words! That's ridiculous. A test translation should be 150 words maximum and it should even be unnecessary when you have good reviews. I have obtained the highest score of the English - Dutch upwork test, out of all 5044 people who did it and still the client feels I should do it a test. Why? What's the use of the Upwork test then? 

 

Regarding those CAT tools, I have exactly the same sentiment. This week, I proofread a translation (not on Upwork) done by a translator who used a CAT-tool. Very poorly! I ended up doing the translator's work. The whole concept of a CAT tool is that the translator creates a translation memory while translating, but when you have a bad translator, you end up with a bad translation memory. It's as simple as that. And pay should definitely not be cut because you are obliged to use a CAT tool. 

 

It's going in the wrong direction.

 

A CAT tool does not replace a translator. 


Just saw a job posting for a medical journal article (.pdf file included). French-to-English translation.

 

Without including the references, the article runs to about 3,000 words -- obviously very technical/specialized in nature. The client says he/she is looking for "Expert" "$$$."  Yeah, right -- at $100.  Um, no--no, you are NOT looking for an expert. You are looking for someone from a francophone country who dabbles in translation, but who has no idea what the medical terms mean. Or else you are looking for someone who can type into "Google Translate."

It's raining posts like this today. To be honest, it's rarely someone does know how to pay a translator :-((((

Supply and demand.

I have already said my piece about people who ask for translations of sensitive, particularly medical, material. It is shockingly unethical to publicly display patients' names, and even worse to accept translators whose offerings could have an extremely detrimental impact on the patient.

 

I won't even go into the rates


@Preston H wrote:

Supply and demand.


This is apt to an extent, Preston. The issue I was raising is this: the true "supply" of translators qualified to do a high-quality job on a French-to-English translation of a medical-journal article (of the type I read today) is limited. That supply remains limited in size--such that those skilled and specialist translators can (and do) demand rates starting at $.12 (a bargain!) per word. Rates go up from there.

 

A client who hires someone to do the job I described above at $100 is NOT hiring from the "supply" of qualified translators (unless one of them has had a brain freeze or is having a lark), Such a client has a "demand," but he or she will not truly have that demand met. 

 

There are just only so many truffles harvested from the woods each season. You can demand a truffle for the price of a portobello mushroom, but you aren't going to open your market basket and find a real truffle inside.

I'm by no means suggesting that this accounts for the bulk of the problem--I'm sure Janean's example is very common--but I do wonder how often this might come into play in translation through a site like this. In the professional world, I've occasionally run into content I need "translated," but not really. What I really need is to know what it says. I don't need a professional translator. I need someone who can read and write both languages at a servicable level. 

 

I've always been able to find someone within my network when this arises, but I wonder whether this type of need might account for some of the one-off "translation" jobs posted here.

Tiffany, you are right, but if one just wants to get the gist of a text, then Google, and now many others, can occasionally do a sufficient job. And for the most part, these are free - so why pay the sort of freelancer who will do a Google translate anyway?

 

I have certainly been in a position when editing a text, translated from a language I can just about say "hello" in, where if I hadn't had the original text, Google, and a dictionary, I would not have been able to complete the work. I returned it to my client with a disclaimer.

If it is legit this request, that is.  It could be a translator that got a lot of work. Will pay someone less and pocket the rest without doing more than proofreading the translation.  It is legit. He makes money and the translator well, got 80$ instead of $100.  I can't confirm this but I was told by some recruiters from India and Philippinos. Maybe there is more. They team up.. A few asked for teaming up then I heard nothing from them. They are found in - we are looking for translators and other outlets I.T. articles - I never heard back. I apply at all times. 


@Lisa D wrote:

If it is legit this request, that is.  It could be a translator that got a lot of work. Will pay someone less and pocket the rest without doing more than proofreading the translation.  It is legit. He makes money and the translator well, got 80$ instead of $100.  I can't confirm this but I was told by some recruiters from India and Philippinos. Maybe there is more. They team up.. A few asked for teaming up then I heard nothing from them. They are found in - we are looking for translators and other outlets I.T. articles - I never heard back. I apply at all times. 


 _______________________________

 

What on earth are you talking about? 

 

A translator will charge for translating, but will also try to deliver  error-free copy. For longer, or literary works, as for all writing, it is better to hire a proofreader. However, for most translated works proofreading means just that. It does not mean editing.

 

Birgit and Veerle, 

 

I absolutely agree with both of you regarding the low rates. My absolute "highlight" happened yesterday, when I was asked to translate a csv file containing about 100.000 words for $200! I was truly speechless, especially since that client had obviously found people who actually did that job (into other languages) for that price. If I would depend on Upwork only, I would probably starve to death.

 

But I have to defend the infamous CAT tools a bit. I use Trados, and I have to say, it speeds up the translation process considerably, especially when you have a lot of repetitions in the text. It mainly helps me with technical translations and to ensure consistency, and once you have built a decent translation memory, it is really a benefit. It is also quite handy for handling extensive glossaries.

 

But of course, CAT tools cannot replace a professional translator and the availability of those tools makes gives translation agencies an excuse to take advantage of freelancers. Personally, I rarely give discounts for fuzzy matches, except they allow me to raise my base rate. I didn't buy an expensive software to lower the costs of translation agencies, but to work in a more efficient way.

fasttranslations
Community Member

I'm affraid that lower rates are exactly what clients are looking to find on Upwork in the first place 😞

 

Do you even bother bidding a higher price than suggested?


@Petra T wrote:

 

Do you even bother bidding a higher price than suggested?


 Absolutly!

 


@fasttranslations wrote:

I'm affraid that lower rates are exactly what clients are looking to find on Upwork in the first place 😞

 

Do you even bother bidding a higher price than suggested?


 Yes, I do that quite frequently, because budgets are often just placeholders. I prefer looking at the average hourly rate and how much the client has paid for past projects.

See what's actually behind the rate offered. Take a look at the text requiring translation. Often, it's not as complicated as it seems at first sight. Sometimes there are repeat parts which you only have to translate once anyway, occasionally with minor adjustments. Some jobs require hardly any research, or even none at all, containing vocabulary you are well familiar with. How long does it take you to type 750 words? 15 minutes? 20 perhaps? Add to that 10 minutes to reread it, and you're already done.

In the end you may have produced a 750 word translation for "only" $25, but consider the actual work and time involved: $50/hour. I see that the OP's hourly rate is way lower than that, so instead of always dismissing "cheap jobs", take the time to see what they really are. They're not all as bad as they look. 

 


@Nadine D wrote:
Yes, I do that quite frequently, because budgets are often just placeholders. I prefer looking at the average hourly rate and how much the client has paid for past projects.

I too bid higher. If the customer thinks me too expensive, so be it. Then he'll get what he deserves. If he's a skinflint wanting make himself a laughing stock, it's not my problem.

Sometimes, when I bid higher, the customer realizes their offer was too low in the first place.

And there are those rare gems who actually expect you to bid higher, so they see proof that you are indeed a professional.


@Ludy F wrote:

See what's actually behind the rate offered. Take a look at the text requiring translation. Often, it's not as complicated as it seems at first sight. Sometimes there are repeat parts which you only have to translate once anyway, occasionally with minor adjustments. Some jobs require hardly any research, or even none at all, containing vocabulary you are well familiar with. How long does it take you to type 750 words? 15 minutes? 20 perhaps? Add to that 10 minutes to reread it, and you're already done.

In the end you may have produced a 750 word translation for "only" $25, but consider the actual work and time involved: $50/hour. I see that the OP's hourly rate is way lower than that, so instead of always dismissing "cheap jobs", take the time to see what they really are. They're not all as bad as they look. 

 

While it is certainly true that the time required depends heavily on the source text, it is quite unrealistic (at least for me) to translate 750 words in 20 min without producing any typos. On average, this takes about 90 min, which make the $25 ridiculous.

e_luneborg
Community Member

I do both translations and content writing and I have found that translatons pay way less than content work. Both because there are fewer well paid jobs available for translations, and because this takes longer then creating the content myself.

 

For content I can write for between 0,05 and 0,07 USD per word, depending on what kind of content it is, and still have an hourly rate of at least 50USD, but for translations I would have to charge at least 0,1 USD to get the same hourly rate, and very few clients are willing to pay that.

 

That's why I'm going to remove translations from my profile, and just focus on content from now on. Translations are just not worth it anymore. 

________________________
Freelancing is a gamble - To win you need skill, luck and a strategy
fr_guerrab
Community Member

I think there is a reason behind all these low payments: Ignorance.

 

Since clients do not know anything about translation and cannot speak the target language either, they have no way to know if the translation has a high quality or not.

 

They believe that it takes us only 1 or 2 minutes to copy and paste it in Google Translate and then modify some words and give the proper format again. They are unaware of all the process.

 

You might think that they will get what they paid for, but since they have no idea to know what they got, then they will be just happy to see "weird words and weird characters" on their papers.

 

This doesn't happen when the target language is their native language. Take my word for it.

1- Some clients tend to dramatically lower the price.

2- Some freelancers (lowballers) don't mind to do a back-breaking job (translation) for next to nothing.

 

This is damaging clients more than freelancers. A client wants a translation of 4000 words for 20$!

I don't just get it! There is only one obvious thing I can see here, it's that they don't care about quality at all. All they want is to have their work done at few cents! And how the hell does some freelancers accept such "torture"?!

 

And one more thing, do these clients really check the freelancers' portfolios? I doubt it. I once bid for a translation job and didn't get hired. I checked the portfolio of the freelancer who got hired and.....WHAT? No way! Mistakes here and there in a translated document of about 500 words.

 

That's alarming!


@Lahcen S wrote:

 

 

That's alarming!


 What exactly are you alarmed about? The fact that some freelancers make different choices than you do about what is a worthwhile rate? Or that clients who are careless in hiring and prioritize bargain basement rates get the low-quality work they're paying for? 

 

I'm having difficulty identifying the cause for alarm.


@Tiffany S wrote:

 Or that clients who are careless in hiring and prioritize bargain basement rates get the low-quality work they're paying for?


 

Certainly this.

Lahcen --

 

This is from your profile:

 

"Proofreading and editing (English, French and Arabic)"

 

I find THIS "alarming," and would note that you have been advised several times by professional English proofreaders against offering your services as an English-language proofreader.

 

ETA:

 

1- Some clients tend to dramatically lower the price [unclear reference].

2- Some freelancers (lowballers) don't mind to do [incorrect use of infinitive verb form] a back-breaking job (translation) for next to nothing.

 

This is damaging clients more than freelancers. A client wants a translation of 4000 words for 20$ [incorrectly positioned dollar sign]!

I don't just [incorrect adverbial placement] get it! There is only one obvious thing [awkward phrasing] I can see here, [run-on sentence; re-do punctuation -- perhaps choose colon?] it's that they [antecedent unclear] don't care about quality at all. All they want is to have their work done at few cents [non-standard idiom/obvious "foreign" phrasing]! And how the hell does [again, obvious "foreign" phrasing: (1) subject does not agree with verb; (2) English speaker would use a "why" phrase, here] some freelancers accept such [questionable word choice: "such"] "torture" [reason for quotation marks is unclear -- if the word is ill-chosen, then don't use it; if the word is a stand-in for another idea, then make that fact clear; apologizing with quotation marks is poor style]?!

 

And one more thing, [run-on] do these clients really check the freelancers' portfolios? I doubt it. I once bid for [incorrect preposition] a translation job and didn't get [weak verb: avoid "get/gets/getting/got"] hired. I checked the portfolio of the freelancer who got [weak verb] hired and..... [Why so many dots in this ellipsis? Three dots is the standard.] WHAT? No way! Mistakes here and there in a translated document of about 500 words.

 

That's alarming!


@Janean L wrote:

Lahcen --

 

This is from your profile:

 

"Proofreading and editing (English, French and Arabic)"

 

I find THIS "alarming," and would note that you have been advised several times by professional English proofreaders against offering your services as an English-language proofreader.

 

ETA:

 

1- Some clients tend to dramatically lower the price [unclear reference].

2- Some freelancers (lowballers) don't mind to do [incorrect use of infinitive verb form] a back-breaking job (translation) for next to nothing.

 

This is damaging clients more than freelancers. A client wants a translation of 4000 words for 20$ [incorrectly positioned dollar sign]!

I don't just [incorrect adverbial placement] get it! There is only one obvious thing [awkward phrasing] I can see here, [run-on sentence; re-do punctuation -- perhaps choose colon?] it's that they [antecedent unclear] don't care about quality at all. All they want is to have their work done at few cents [non-standard idiom/obvious "foreign" phrasing]! And how the hell does [again, obvious "foreign" phrasing: (1) subject does not agree with verb; (2) English speaker would use a "why" phrase, here] some freelancers accept such [questionable word choice: "such"] "torture" [reason for quotation marks is unclear -- if the word is ill-chosen, then don't use it; if the word is a stand-in for another idea, then make that fact clear; apologizing with quotation marks is poor style]?!

 

And one more thing, [run-on] do these clients really check the freelancers' portfolios? I doubt it. I once bid for [incorrect preposition] a translation job and didn't get [weak verb: avoid "get/gets/getting/got"] hired. I checked the portfolio of the freelancer who got [weak verb] hired and..... [Why so many dots in this ellipsis? Three dots is the standard.] WHAT? No way! Mistakes here and there in a translated document of about 500 words.

 

That's alarming!


 If this does not get the message across, nothing will!


@Lahcen S wrote:

@Tiffany S wrote:

 Or that clients who are careless in hiring and prioritize bargain basement rates get the low-quality work they're paying for?


 

Certainly this.


 Why does it alarm you that clients have chosen to purchase low-quality work and so get low-quality work?

 

Are you alarmed by the fact that people who buy their shoes at Walmart for $9 get shoes that are of lesser quality than those who have them custom made in Italy?

dalahast
Community Member

There are clients who are willing to pay fair rates and clients who are not. Sadly, some of the latter are encouraged to continue doing what they do by freelancers who don't know any better and undercharge for their work. I've just accepted an invitation from one of these people, only to withdraw my proposal a few minutes later: he said he'd like me to do a short sample, and I asked him to confirm that he was happy with the price I quoted him, since it was above the budget he'd put on the job (which I assumed was a placeholder, since it worked out to less than 2¢/word). He told me it was too high.

 

When I let him know that he shouldn't really be hiring a translator if he can't afford to pay a decent rate, he told me his usual translator works for those absurd prices, but she's on vacation right now. [sigh]


@Cory K wrote:

There are clients who are willing to pay fair rates and clients who are not. Sadly, some of the latter are encouraged to continue doing what they do by freelancers who don't know any better and undercharge for their work. I've just accepted an invitation from one of these people, only to withdraw my proposal a few minutes later: he said he'd like me to do a short sample, and I asked him to confirm that he was happy with the price I quoted him, since it was above the budget he'd put on the job (which I assumed was a placeholder, since it worked out to less than 2¢/word). He told me it was too high.

 

That's a very smart move that should be much more widely implemented. 

 

When I let him know that he shouldn't really be hiring a translator if he can't afford to pay a decent rate, he told me his usual translator works for those absurd prices, but she's on vacation right now. [sigh]

 

I think you mean "When I let him know that in my opinion he shouldn't really be..." I'm constantly baffled by the need so many freelancers have to manage how other people do business.

 

I don't get why people engage. I usually just throw out an LOL and move on. Why even ask if someone is happy with the quote? I don't get it. Just tell them what it costs, what they need to do so you both can move forward, and then go off and do your thing. They will either disappear or send an offer. 

 

These people start asking if the client is ok with the price, or tell people prices are negotiable, or offer any other discount before the client even responds is just a sign of weakness. So weak and beta. No wonder why most of these people get railroaded. 

Yeah... my prices aren't negotiable. Neither my profile nor my proposals have any suggestion that my prices are negotiable.

 

I charge what I charge.


I provide estimates of how long tasks will take (in hours). And I provide specifix fixed-price quotes.

 

Clients can then choose to hire me or not. It's not complicated. And it doesn't present any kind of problems. I think clients appreciate the certainty about what their options are.

Jennifer/Preston: I think in the scenario described, the freelancer was attempting to get confirmation that the client wasn't going to try to talk him down later before investing further time in the the "interview" process, which makes good sense. 


@Tiffany S wrote:

Jennifer/Preston: I think in the scenario described, the freelancer was attempting to get confirmation that the client wasn't going to try to talk him down later before investing further time in the the "interview" process, which makes good sense. 



Yeah, that's why I asked. I had a feeling he wasn't actually going to pay what I wanted and just didn't bother looking at the price. If I hadn't asked, I would have wasted my time doing a sample for someone who I wasn't going to work with anyway.

luisbastos
Community Member

  Complaining is fine but likely to change anything.

  The truth is quite simple. This platform employs people from all over the world. Keeping that in mind, one must realize that living standards differ from country to country. What might be considered low in Switzerland is likely a lot of money in Lithuania.

  Most employers may even request native speakers on their posts but end up settling for fluent.

  There are a ton of freelancers here that actually represent agencies in India who "magically" seem to have people fluent in every single known language. Now, anyone familiar with freelance platforms knows that you simply can't compete with people from India when it comes to prices. (Quality however...)

  But there's no reason to despair. Try to build good long-term relationships here. When you feel like it's time, start asking for a slightly better rate. Usually they are fine with it if they like your work.

  Also, translation work is much more rewarding if you cut the middleman, and there's an abundance of them here. Most people here are posting jobs that they get from someone else and they still want a piece of the action. Add Upwork's fee to that and you truly end up miserable.

  Do some leg work. Go around town looking for companies and offering your services. You'd be surprised at how many companies prefer to rely on people nearby than someone pretending to have 1000 highly qualified employees working in India.

 


@Luis B wrote:

  Do some leg work. Go around town looking for companies and offering your services.


 A few years ago I did just that. I did not get any writing contracts, but I did end up presenting a weekly talk show on astronomy on a local radio station for more than three years. Best job I ever had.


@Luis B wrote:

  Complaining is fine but likely to change anything.

  The truth is quite simple. This platform employs people from all over the world. Keeping that in mind, one must realize that living standards differ from country to country. What might be considered low in Switzerland is likely a lot of money in Lithuania.

  Most employers may even request native speakers on their posts but end up settling for fluent.

  There are a ton of freelancers here that actually represent agencies in India who "magically" seem to have people fluent in every single known language. Now, anyone familiar with freelance platforms knows that you simply can't compete with people from India when it comes to prices. (Quality however...)

  But there's no reason to despair. Try to build good long-term relationships here. When you feel like it's time, start asking for a slightly better rate. Usually they are fine with it if they like your work.

  Also, translation work is much more rewarding if you cut the middleman, and there's an abundance of them here. Most people here are posting jobs that they get from someone else and they still want a piece of the action. Add Upwork's fee to that and you truly end up miserable.

  Do some leg work. Go around town looking for companies and offering your services. You'd be surprised at how many companies prefer to rely on people nearby than someone pretending to have 1000 highly qualified employees working in India.

 


 lol funny cuz true

I get spammed by the scourge SEOs every day. This one indian claimed to have 1500 web designers on staff. LOL

 

Sometimes I play with them and waste their time. If they promise me first page in Google, I get their website and then report them to Google for selling links and if I'm feeling especially country that day, I get some of their customers and report them for buying links.

 

Don't spam me, scourge.

evemue
Community Member

Hi Veerle,

 

I completely agree with everything you've written. I would love to blame the clients, but in reality as freelancers, we are completely at fault.

 

Just yesterday, I was invited for a job writing an article of 1000 words. The price the client was paying was $0.70 for the entire 1000 word article. At first, I thought it was a typo, and continued reading the very long job post to see if I had misread the information. I hadn't. 

 

I was appalled and insulted and wondered what made this client think, that this was something she could get away with. The answer is; that freelancers will take on a job like that, and settle for the pay. This gives other clients the green light to offer such ridiculous and insulting compensation, to someone who has the talent to command much higher rates of pay.

 

The client stated in the job description, that she was aware that the rate was extremely low, but that it was because, she was going to be providing a lot of work to the freelancer. So, since when does being awarded more work mean, that we have to settle for less pay? It doesn't.

 

I have clients for whom I will do a series of articles on any given subject, and they always want to negotiate a fixed price for the entire series. That is not a problem for me, because I am still getting compensated well and won't settle for anything less than what I feel I am worth.  

 

Recently, I wrote a letter to Upwork regarding this very issue. I am infuriated. I let them know, that this website is turning into a "content mill", and that if they allow this to continue, they are going to be losing some incredibly talented freelancers.

 

In addition, when I click on a job post that interests me, if the pay is insulting and ridiculous, I click on the "thumbs down" icon just beside the "heart" icon that saves the job. When you click on the "thumb" icon, there are multiple choices listed that one could select, as a reason for disliking the job post. I always select "budget too low". It only takes a few seconds to do this, and this feedback is sent to Upwork. If they start getting bombarded by freelancers who provide the same feedback, maybe they will do something about it.

 

As for us freelancers- it's up to us to put a stop to this nonsense. We need to place a higher value on our work and our time. I will never take a job that doesn't compensate my writing or research efforts as deserved. That is what has us in the predicament we find ourselves in.

 

Value your work and selves- You're worth it!


@Evelyn M wrote:

Hi Veerle,

 

I completely agree with everything you've written. I would love to blame the clients, but in reality as freelancers, we are completely at fault.

 

Just yesterday, I was invited for a job writing an article of 1000 words. The price the client was paying was $0.70 for the entire 1000 word article. At first, I thought it was a typo, and continued reading the very long job post to see if I had misread the information. I hadn't. 

 

I was appalled and insulted and wondered what made this client think, that this was something she could get away with. The answer is; that freelancers will take on a job like that, and settle for the pay. This gives other clients the green light to offer such ridiculous and insulting compensation, to someone who has the talent to command much higher rates of pay.

 

The client stated in the job description, that she was aware that the rate was extremely low, but that it was because, she was going to be providing a lot of work to the freelancer. So, since when does being awarded more work mean, that we have to settle for less pay? It doesn't.

 

I have clients for whom I will do a series of articles on any given subject, and they always want to negotiate a fixed price for the entire series. That is not a problem for me, because I am still getting compensated well and won't settle for anything less than what I feel I am worth.  

 

Recently, I wrote a letter to Upwork regarding this very issue. I am infuriated. I let them know, that this website is turning into a "content mill", and that if they allow this to continue, they are going to be losing some incredibly talented freelancers.

 

In addition, when I click on a job post that interests me, if the pay is insulting and ridiculous, I click on the "thumbs down" icon just beside the "heart" icon that saves the job. When you click on the "thumb" icon, there are multiple choices listed that one could select, as a reason for disliking the job post. I always select "budget too low". It only takes a few seconds to do this, and this feedback is sent to Upwork. If they start getting bombarded by freelancers who provide the same feedback, maybe they will do something about it.

 

As for us freelancers- it's up to us to put a stop to this nonsense. We need to place a higher value on our work and our time. I will never take a job that doesn't compensate my writing or research efforts as deserved. That is what has us in the predicament we find ourselves in.

 

Value your work and selves- You're worth it!


 The sad truth is that, as we have signed up to Upwork's 'values', it is not our place to "put a stop to this nonsense" (much as I agree with you). The only way we freelancers can do this, is by preaching it on the Internet, not on Upwork. Upwork is not going to change its business model, which appears to be working nicely for its owners.

 

We are not obliged to be part of Upwork's corporate mentality - but we stick around - or not . . . 😞