How I started with Web Development
My Story With Web Development, Started in 2019 I was interested in programming I heard It's a good career choice It has a lot of demand, Then I started learning about it it was just like a hobby, I didn't think it would be my craft, As the time goes on I felt in love with it, That love and hope that I will get a job in a big Coumpny as all developers dream, keeps me going.
After I spent 3 years learning and building projects for fun, I was looking for ways to make money from my skills on YouTube, That's when learned about Upwork
The start on Upwork
In 2022 I created an account and started sending proposals to clients, I knew it was going to be hard to get my first client, But I kept going until March 18 when I got my first client
The client hired mutiple candiates and give us a test, The test was to build a page from the Figma desing and he will chose who will get the job, I took the test I built the page and send it to him, He likes my work, And I got the Job, reulting in 5-star reviwe.
From that moment I thought the hard part was done since I got my first 5-star review, I was wrong,
The platform has a lot of competition, I think in the last few years the market has been saturated with developers, due to the fame it gets, And There are a lot of no-code tools to build landing pages/e-commerce sites, extra
In my opinion, the high-paying jobs were mostly taken by developers or agencies who were on the platform a couple of years before me with strong profile and tons of good reviews,
Supply and demand
Upwork has become a cheap platform due to the large number of developers and low demand from customers, and what makes it worse is that a lot of people from India and Pakistan are willing to work at low prices which makes it more difficult to get a reasonable price for your work.
How much I earned
From 2022 to 2023 I worked 8 jobs and earned in total 2400$, here is my Upwork Profile, the platform fees haven't been applied yet, As you can see this amount isn't what I was hoping for, But it was a great experience that freelancing isn't going to cut it for me
Upwork Fees
When I started Upwork Fees were 20% and they go to 10% when you earn more than 500$ with the client, For me 20% is a High fee, And it is not easy to get a job, Plus You have to buy Connect in order to apply for jobs
Connects is like Upwork currency, When You sign up you get 40 Connect after they are used you should buy them, It will cost you 15 cent per Connect
Lately, Upwork has introduced a new feature, in Which you can bid on jobs by using connects, And they increased the amount of connects to apply for a job
This was the straw that broke the Camel's Back because in order to get your proposal to the top spot so the client can see your proposal, You have to bid a lot of connects
Before, the first one to submit the proposal is the first one that appears on the client, But now Freelancers and agencies who have the budget can spend as much as they can to get in the top spots,
I sent tons of proposals and learned how to write a good cover letter, I changed my methods, But I didn't get much of a response, Even When I got the TOP-Rated badge it didn't change anything
Conclusion
In this article, I aim to share the insights I've gained during my two-year journey as a freelance web developer. While many have found success on this platform, I decided to take a different path. Despite having numerous clients, I realized that I was constantly trading my time for money. This realization prompted me to pursue the creation of a passive income stream, ultimately seeking freedom from the time-for-money cycle.
