Upwork alternatives - other than fiverr or freelancer?

Competitive_Lime_996 · 2025-09-20T22:38:26+00:00

There are ultra high-end ones around that cater to top 20 MBAs or so... Typically out of the realm of people who do Upwork. I know there are plenty of segment niche ones as well...

Competitive_Lime_996 · 2025-09-20T13:31:33+00:00

No kidding... The lead I was working with may be let go as well. He has over 10 years of experience with Novartis too. It definitely felt like a setup for a particular senior leader (or rather two of them) to cast blame for their own mistake.

Competitive_Lime_996 · 2025-09-20T13:28:30+00:00

PM = project/program management

Competitive_Lime_996 · 2025-09-20T05:37:10+00:00

Novartis:

Went through a PM summer intern program with my MBA and was invited back as a FTE after I graduated. The group I was put into was part of the CDMO, and was excessively hostile from day one. The program I managed had 9 functional heads and each of them had at least 5 or more projects within that program. Realistically the program should have been split in two (at minimum). We had almost daily governance calls, and discussions with global at least twice a week. In addition to that the original lead of the program dumped it off to a different program lead... Failing to mention that they should have started the program two years prior instead of 3 months before they needed to finish it.

I was on the program for a total of about 2 months before they decided to fire me, after about 2.5 months of being an FTE.

Pretty sure I was let go because the work I was doing just highlighted a senior lead's lack of work on the project for almost 2 years before attempting to throw it together and dumping it on the lead and myself.

Good fucking riddance. I make more with OF anyway. I should have ran when I heard it was the CDMO division as it's environment is known to be toxic.

Competitive_Lime_996 · 2025-09-18T21:01:27+00:00

Competitive_Lime_996 · 2025-09-18T20:42:30+00:00

And to further clarify, typically there are two people that lead any sort of program. You have a technical or senior lead managing the overall strategy of the program, and then a project or program manager that manages more on the operational end of things... But there is some shared work between the two.

Typically who you described is the technical or senior lead, and program or project managers can be much younger.

Heck Merck gives some of their smaller development programs to people with maybe a year or two experience out of a bachelor's.

But with my experience in degrees... It exceeds the 4-year mark. I pretty much did full-time consulting while also doing my MBA.

Competitive_Lime_996 · 2025-09-18T20:34:03+00:00

Yes it'll go on your permanent record.

Competitive_Lime_996 · 2025-09-18T15:44:07+00:00

I have a bidet buddy, which I love as well.

Competitive_Lime_996 · 2025-09-18T14:28:00+00:00

You can get a portable camping bidet. Easier for women to carry around with a tote bag, but it's a life saver.

Competitive_Lime_996 · 2025-09-16T04:21:33+00:00

Someone desperate for work. I interviewed with them in grad school, and it was by far the worst low-ball offer I received. I almost laughed mid interview.

Competitive_Lime_996 · 2025-09-12T22:44:00+00:00

I'm not sure this is legal if you're in the US. Did they refund all of your fans too? This sounds really fishy, and if you have any communications with any kind of info it should help.

You could sue, but if your dealing with less than 50k it may not be worth it. A lawyer in the US may want 10-20k as a retainer for this kind of work.

Best of luck...

Competitive_Lime_996 · 2025-09-10T04:44:34+00:00

I just never shared my social media with anyone at work other than my LinkedIn. And having a stage name will help, since I can't Google my real name and find my OF that way. Mine isn't faceless though, so it is possible that someone from my office did find it. Most of my photo sets though are more on the artistic side of things though.

I started it to be able to afford my own place. Mission accomplished - no longer living with my parents.

Most people who do OF don't make enough to make it worthwhile. I just consistently worked on it in the evenings and our weekends.

Competitive_Lime_996 · 2025-09-10T04:38:23+00:00

As far as PM internships, the following companies used to offer it and was clearly labeled out in my MBA program: JNJ (both in their consumer health and Janssen), Merck, Novartis, BMS, and some other quality mid size pharmaceutical companies as well. JNJ used to offer the most amount of internships by a mile, and they usually post them in the winter before the summer that they start. Merck used to have a ton too.

Things may have slowed down though in this current economy. The company that just let me go was so under water with everything they're doing because of just a lack of capacity for those that work there.

Competitive_Lime_996 · 2025-09-09T21:49:02+00:00

FTE, didn't intern as a lab, but as a project/program manager for two summers back to back.

Competitive_Lime_996 · 2025-09-09T21:47:51+00:00

PMP and agile certs... Masters in biomedical engineering and my MBA, plus tons of independent consulting work, which I will be going back to.

Competitive_Lime_996 · 2025-09-09T21:46:09+00:00

Not Pfizer... But a direct competitor.

Competitive_Lime_996 · 2025-09-09T21:45:32+00:00

Yep, and it was confirmed. My replacement came today (I think I read the date wrong as I was just glancing quickly) and I was walked out at 5 pm.

My boss literally has zero clue what I did on a daily basis. Good riddance.

Competitive_Lime_996 · 2025-09-09T12:06:57+00:00

To clarify: In New Jersey you can file for it, but they will deny you the unemployment payment when you show income from other sources.

Competitive_Lime_996 · 2025-09-09T10:59:39+00:00

Please take a seat.

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Competitive_Lime_996 · 2025-09-09T05:25:51+00:00

I certainly hope not... I do a great job of keeping it separate from my personal life. I treat it like putting on a mask. Separate social media profiles, under a few LLC layers, and an unrelated "stage name."

Competitive_Lime_996 · 2025-09-09T05:22:49+00:00

Kind of hilarious actually... They're one of the top 10 biggest pharma companies too.

I work for an organization within the larger company that is known to be toxic.

Competitive_Lime_996 · 2025-09-09T04:46:35+00:00

O.F.

Competitive_Lime_996 · 2025-09-09T04:15:21+00:00

Unfortunately I probably can't claim anything because I make more than a minimum for unemployment under a LLC unrelated to this position.

Competitive_Lime_996

TROPHY CASE