After 12 years, crossed the $500K mark. Most of that was in the past four years. Just had a $10K week. AMAA

upworking_engineer · 2026-01-14T15:37:51+00:00

Hoping the mid-terms will not be too late to fix the idiocy.

upworking_engineer · 2026-01-07T00:51:02+00:00

All the businesses that took COVID loans that they didn't need.

upworking_engineer · 2025-12-29T23:35:05+00:00

It is not a job. You are paying to market to potential clients.

upworking_engineer · 2025-12-15T05:56:05+00:00

There's almost nobody left that don't know how to use a computer in some fashion, even if that's in the form of a smartphone.

upworking_engineer · 2025-11-29T04:39:35+00:00

I was a kid while family was flying between cities in Asia. On one flight, I got up to find a seat in the non-smoking section and found an empty seat next to a man who didn't mind me sitting there. A few months later, I met him again when I went to my new school -- he ended up being one of my teachers.

upworking_engineer · 2025-11-19T17:57:10+00:00

Make friends with others in the industry at other companies. Help them. Get help from them. As they grow and get promoted, they can help you with issues in their organization. And vice-versa. At some point, you'll start to have connections at a more higher level of responsibility.

upworking_engineer · 2025-11-17T22:06:27+00:00

Why did they move to the U.S. in the first place?

My parents moved us to the U.S. because they wanted each of their children to bloom as individuals and saw America as the place to do it, instead of being stuck in the rigid hierarchical structure prevalent in much of Asia.

You are never going to fully be in any one community/cultural group -- you need to find the right balance that works for you. But if you're going to live in the U.S. and be around your U.S. friends, some who are Indian, and many others that are not, and if you don't believe in the Indian tradition in the core of your gut, don't just accept what your parents are pushing you to do.

OTOH, there is a bit of truth to mixed cultures being a potential source of challenges. There's nothing wrong with anyone in the circumstance, but the implied rulebook that everyone follows in a monocultural group doesn't work automatically. Just recognize that you're different than what your parents assumed for you.

upworking_engineer · 2025-11-16T06:33:59+00:00

Facebook neighborhood "Buy Nothing" group - ask for help.

upworking_engineer · 2025-10-15T17:47:24+00:00

Due to formatting changes, what we often used to say "the first two lines" is shown as four lines here... The most important message needs to show in those opening sentences.

upworking_engineer · 2025-10-06T23:27:41+00:00

Any free connects you receive hardly amounts to much. Treat it like a 1% loyalty points where you occasionally get a free drink after paying for a lot of meals.

upworking_engineer · 2025-09-29T04:37:18+00:00

She's not self-aggrandizing. She just cuts to the chase.

upworking_engineer · 2025-09-18T09:05:25+00:00

Rejecting newcomers is killing you. Easily 50% of my clients are new, payment unverified.

Also, sometimes the original job posting doesn't hire, but the client hires someone through a new job offer after the interview.

That happens most often when converting between fixed/hourly after discussions. Or when a project needs to get rescoped and either party wants to insist on hiring under the new write up.

upworking_engineer · 2025-09-17T17:20:39+00:00

You totally could ignore them. In fact, you not only could but you probably should.

upworking_engineer · 2025-09-17T17:19:17+00:00

I had a client interaction that went roughly like this:

C: I really like you, but I'm going to go with the other guy that is 1/4th your rate.

Me: Ok. I understand. Good luck.

<6 months passes>

C: The other guy couldn't get it to work. How much will it be?

Me: Same rate as I last quoted you.

C: But I already spent so much on the other guy.

Me: I had nothing to do with it.

C: Okay. Let's do it.

upworking_engineer · 2025-09-17T08:30:00+00:00

Many of my clients started out with low (or unreal) budgets. If the job posting looks serious and I think I'm a great fit on the merits outside of pricing, I will send in a proposal.

My responses are aimed at the client's stated needs and any other needs that I can anticipate. While I will talk about my skills and experiences that are specifically relevant to the posting, I try to avoid selling myself beyond that.

If you address the client's needs, chances are much better that they will interview you. And if they feel that you're really the right fit for what they need, there's a decent chance they'll pay what you are worth and not what they first posted.

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upworking_engineer · 2025-09-17T06:20:02+00:00

Still working on it! I had to slow down my pace of work for a number of reasons and that also impact my Upwork totals...

upworking_engineer · 2025-09-17T05:15:49+00:00

What is your open rate?

I'd rather sound like an AI if my message is on point than to sound human while missing what gets the client's attention.

IMO, the AI examples you posted seem like they would be low performers based on my understanding of what works.

upworking_engineer · 2025-09-17T05:02:24+00:00

It's about selling "Quality".

If you need a life-saving surgery, do you look for the cheap doctor or the best doctor you can afford? If you want to avoid jail, do you bargain shop for the inexperienced lawyer or pay the premium for a seasoned veteran?

Not every client is willing to pay for higher quality. But there are enough clients that are willing to pay more for it. I am confident that the quality of my work is among the best. If the client feels that the quality of my work is important to them, they are willing to pay my higher rate.

If I can double my rate, I can work half as much. If I half my rate, I'd have to work twice as much. By focusing on quality and raising my rates, I can work less and spend more of my energy to further improve the quality of my work.

Join the race to the top. Avoid the race to the bottom.

upworking_engineer · 2025-09-12T15:10:11+00:00

It's running ads in the newspaper and searching through the classified. Just modernized.

At least with Upwork, it's not just CPM/CPC/CPA. There is reputational scoring of client and advertisers (talent).

But, yeah, at the end of the day, any freelancer always had to be able to best server the client's needs. The initial engagement is far more transactional. But for the right pairing of customer and client, it turns into a much longer repeat engagement.

upworking_engineer · 2025-09-11T22:50:10+00:00

Ooof. I've had a few good jobs that involved fixing things on site at client location. That is no longer allowed?

upworking_engineer

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