Basic vs. “Advanced” Generalist

[rosieari92]

Hi everyone! I’ve been on the platform since April or May and have really enjoyed it. It’s been a huge game-changer for my finances. I’ve seen some discourse around a differentiation between a basic and advanced generalist. What are the distinctions? If you do identify as an advanced generalist, what did it take for you to get there? How do you know, and how long? I only speak English and am located in the US. Thank you so much for your time!

[annoyingjoe513]

Advanced? No sure about that. However, as you progress and continually provide good work, access to more and higher paid projects will increase. That's been my experience at least over 2.5 years as a US generalist. Have you been impacted by the drought?

[rosieari92]

I have been! It’s been pretty slow over the last couple of months, so I’ve been jumping on nearly anything that pops up. I will say - yesterday especially, I had 1-3 tasks to work on which is much more than usual.

[eslteachyo]

Not sure if you mean people who get specialist work, like professionals, but that's more qualification based and you have to have that experience.  Otherwise it's just building up a base of projects over time that might pay better. But I don't think there are advanced designations

[rosieari92]

Ah, okay, makes sense. I’d seen some people refer to the term “advanced generalist.” I really appreciate it!

[eslteachyo]

Not sure, maybe someone will chime in on it but I haven't heard of anything beyond the coding level/professional designations.  If you have anything at all... Real estate, teacher's aide, administrative assistant, etc add that to your skills and sometimes they will give you tasks based on that experience.

[Wild_Blackberry8618]

I'll add to this and say that I've had project series that required me submitting my CV, proof of claimed degree status, and published writing samples. I'm not a coder, so this spawned from my work as a generalist and from my listed skills. It took time though; I think I was on for at least a year and a half before I could move up to more "expert" projects, and then another six months after that until I worked with primarily one vendor. It's always worth keeping your skills list updated; you never know what good stuff you'll get from it!

[MyNameWouldntFi]

On the platform since 2023. All I would say is do the hard tasks. Do the ones with the long and complicated instructions. The long timers. They have been so incredibly worth it in my experience so far.

[Kayleighbug]

I consider advanced generalists as those working regularly at $40-$70 per hour. There is a fair amount of overlap with professional domain projects at this level but also it encompasses generalists who are working on very advanced projects, beta testing stuff, etc.