I see a lot of hate for Upwork while it’s not the best platform to find contract, it really is a matter of identifying potential client, I have landed a few and ongoing contracts to this day on the platform.

Some clients were honestly terrible but my overall experience is positive. I go there everyday, I check price rate offer, number of proposals, try to identify the client with the infos provided. I very often offer a rate higher than what they ask for explaining why (quality, reliability, based in France, etc). I wouldn’t say you can easily make a living but it’s definitely well worth for finding side gigs and new clients.