So, here I am, working as a cable guy – Jim Carrey's style. I'm losing my mind because a regular job is hard to find.
There's a little girl who works with me. She is older than a daughter. As Trump wants to say, a beautiful girl. He studies to be an architect one day. Meanwhile, we are on the farm because we are waiting to build cable and internet networks.
He is fluent in English, Russian, and Ukrainian. I find it difficult to wrap my head with his choices.
-You were born in freelance. You should be better.
-I am strong. It didn't work for newbie freelancers.
This is where my story begins.
The worst experiment in the history of remote work
It's 96 months, give or take, because I cleaned my accounts at Freelancer.com and upwork. I was previously among the top 100 freelancers in freelancer when there was a “only” 20m remote worker riding on this platform. Today, there is 80m and counting. I used to be one of the top freelancers in Upwork, before and after the so-called “Great Merge” (when Odesk and Elance started their remote love at work in 2013).
Pride goes before destruction, and a proud spirit before the fall.
Proverbs 16:18
Yup, tried-and-true.
My hypothesis is simple. An experienced five-star freelancer can start from the beginning to any platform and be successful. He does not need reviews or Benjamins. From zero to a freelance hero, like Robert de Niro (in “heat,” for example).
So, don't blame a freelance platform, but your remote work attitude is screaming for a reform. That's theory. The time has come to test my hypothesis.
If I can do it and do it, then my younger female colleague should do the same. It's not about proving who's right, but that freelancing is worth the fight. Isn't it? Isn't it?
Pressing upwork pay-to-play-wall
From the very first moment, there is one thing. What happened to a bunch of free connecting for the happy new upwork freelancer moment?
This is not a fair trade, I refused to upgrade. Have to have a way to play. Ah, here it is.
This is a catch-22. For each of these tasks, I need money, my upwork honey.
WTF, I'm stuck. It didn't go back to the sun. Upwork closed its doors for newbie freelancers. The girl is right. I came back to the beginning of all the starts – Freelancer.com.
Little pain, great benefit – the “word industry” ride again
Here is a screenshot I took years ago.
I used to be one of the top 100 freelancers at Freelancer.com. Can I do it again?
I have to swallow my pride and ride a new freelance ride. I waited almost a month for my groundbreaking first five-star review. Then, in less than two weeks, I got my third review in succession. The best thing about this is, I have no charge for it. Good old freelancer.com still has a free membership choice. You know, first you make money, then your freelance platform does it. This is how it should work, from the beginning of the Freelance Times.
As I share this story, I work on my 4th project. With this money, I will invest to get proven. Then, I'll apply to be a part of the freelancer program. What's that well, that's the top gun for freelancers. The best projects and clients for the best of the best.
So, is it worth becoming a freelance newbie in 2025?
Upwork and Freelancer.com are not only the freelance platforms there, but they are the oldest and biggest. I didn't know about you, but I was disappointed when I saw the so-called “ultimate list” on X and/or LinkedIn where people, who probably didn't spend a day working as freelancers, sharing platforms in no particular order. It looks so beautiful and promising. The catch you lack the whole picture.
Do you have to pay to play? That is, do you have a fair starting point without investment? What are your money removal options? Are all these freelance platforms newbie-friendly? Can you expect top clients and projects to come? You see, the remote work devil is in details; All of these lists are leaving.
So, if you ask me, new freelancers should try the old platforms first. Guru came to my mind, apart from Upwork and Freelancer.com. I previously called these platforms “The Freelance Triumvirate” for one reason. Fiverr is also fine, but it is a completely different type of remote work beast. I'm talking about good old freelancing in a strict “traditional” way, you know, bidding and projects, not gigs and catalogs.
As you can see, I lost a lot of weight because I used to write under the username “word industry,” but I never lost my freelance.
Just in case, if you're wondering what the best freelance platform there is, my answer hasn't changed all these years: this is what you do. As the best publication is the one without paywall, and where you have been published in spite of all the controversy, as long as your claims and findings are based on facts and reliable resources.
