r/UpworkOfficial

Dear colleagues,

I joined Upwork in 2023 and have since become a Top Rated freelancer with $50K+ in earnings, a 94% Job Success Score, and over 5,500 hours worked, specializing in Dental Billing, Insurance Verification, AR Follow-up, and Credentialing.

However, over the last couple of months, I've noticed something unusual. I'm barely seeing any new dental billing or revenue cycle management (RCM) jobs in my feed. It feels like the number of projects in my niche has dropped significantly.

I'm trying to understand whether this is a platform-wide issue or something specific to my account.

Are there any other dental billers or RCM professionals experiencing the same thing? Or is there anything in my profile that could be affecting the jobs I'm seeing?

I'd really appreciate hearing about your experience. Thank you!

Thought I'd see how well the Claude / Upwork search and job posting works. Based on what I see, it's pretty poor. First, instead of asking ANY clarification questions, it immediately generates search queries full of requirements the user didn't mention. Then the results for a freelancer search had zero US candidates.

Here's the original query I gave Claude : "I need a freelancer to create a simple landing page for a Pilates class signup"

The Upwork connector then expanded it to: "{"query":"Landing page designer developer for Pilates class signup","additional_context":"Web Development / Landing Page Design: Need a freelancer to create a simple, polished landing page for Pilates class signups. Deliverables should include a responsive landing page, clear class description area, instructor/brand section, signup form or booking link integration, mobile-friendly layout, basic SEO, and optional analytics setup. Suitable tools may include WordPress, Webflow, Squarespace, Wix, Carrd, Framer, or custom HTML/CSS depending on the freelancer's workflow. Must communicate clearly in English. No budget provided yet."}"

Awesome... so freelancers responding to this post are wasting time responding to details in the post the client may not care about, or even understand. What's the strategy behind this? Zero effort in getting the AI to clarify requirements AT ALL, one of the aspects where it could actually provide real value. Or help identify the most critical outcomes for the client with their project. So lots of garbage job posts filled with irrelevant information. Great.

Then I asked Claude to provide recommended freelancers for this job through the Upwork connector. Every recommended freelancer is from India. Cool. No one in the US works on landing pages? What do you think the client reaction is when all the recommendations are from India?

No wonder US freelancers are no longer getting invites they once did. And if you are a client trying out Upwork, what a horrible impression. I didn't specify a budget in the request, but Upwork defaulted to the lowest cost freelancers from India? So the client comes away with the impression Upwork only has low cost overseas freelancers?

Hey, Does still worth it to buy 100 connects and apply in Upwork? still worth it to apply these days in this platforms? How can you make sure that you get a client or you can get a job by applying in Upwork and won't waste your 100 connects by buying.

Hello :)

(german*) AND title:(law* OR legal* OR jurist*)

I'm under the impression that, in former times, the search codes worked much, much better. For not to say, they just worked at all, and just as expected.

But for several years already, it's just rubbish. Funny enough, it seems to be about the same time when they stopped the rss-feeds from working, unfortunately (guess Upwork still not getting enough money from us).

That's my search line, and it worked formerly; maybe somebody knows if there's something wrong:

(german*) AND title:(law* OR legal* OR jurist*)

Would be glad about your answers :) Greetings!

Edit: Corrected colons in the codes

I’m about to close my account. I’ve been on the platform for two months, I have an optimized profile, the Rising Talent badge, certifications, and experience outside the platform, but nobody gives me a chance.
I’ve only landed one job where I was paid $50 to upload 150 videos (3 videos per day, about $1 per day). After that, I was invited to apply and got hired for an administrative assistant position, but they ghosted me and the contract never started.
I keep sending proposals, but they either aren’t viewed, or if they are, nothing comes of it. I get invited to apply, I submit my application, and then they disappear. No one notices me. I’ve spent more money than I’ve earned—those $50 went entirely to Connects, and everyone just ignores me.

I'm a freelancer (AI/automation dev). I've been talking with a client on Upwork for a few weeks about a fairly large project. Early on they were genuinely engaged. We discussed scope, hosting, and the overall plan. They even shared their API key with me early on (before any contract) to help me start building the integration. I sent a detailed proposal about two weeks ago. They said "I'll review and get back to you," then went quiet.

I've followed up a couple of times on Upwork (polite, spaced out) with no reply. I also found their company online. It's a small business, around 4 people, and I have a couple of ways to reach them outside Upwork.

My questions:

1. Is it against Upwork's rules to message them on another platform to nudge them back toward the proposal on Upwork?
2. I found them on LinkedIn and Instagram. Would it be okay, or even wise, to reach out there to reconnect, or is that overstepping?
3. Does following up off-platform just look desperate?
4. The client shared their API key before any contract. Is that normal, and how should I handle it now (rotate it, delete my copy)?
5. How long would you wait on a proposal like this before treating it as dead?

It's a potentially high-value project, so I don't want to lose it, but I don't want to overstep either. Any advice appreciated.

Hi all! I'm new to Upwork and recently got an offer at $40/hour for admin work, and the time commitment would be 7 hours per week at my own pace. The offer seems too good to be true, but I'm so new to Upwork that I'm not entirely sure what are red flags and what aren't.

First they mentioned this about the pay:
I would like to formally clarify that we have paid the required opt-out fee in order to extend this engagement and execute the project outside of Upwork. This was done in full compliance with Upwork’s standard procedures and payment policies. We have observed instances where newly onboarded remote staff have expressed concerns regarding the tax deductions applied by Upwork, which can impact their take-home pay and overall satisfaction. If you have received any notification regarding this transition, please be assured that it was carried out deliberately and professionally, with transparency and in accordance with the platform’s guidelines. Moving forward, Kindly begin by describing your most recent experience in a role comparable to this one, as this is an urgent position that needs to be filled as soon as practical

Second, the offer was for urgent hire and they sent me an offer within the same business day, and I can't find any reviews about this client on Upwork (although this could be because they work off of Upwork with their clients?). Since I'm pretty new to Upwork and don't really have much profile activity or a portfolio at all, I'm just surprised this didn't get snapped up by someone else who has more Upwork activity and reviews built up.

The company is called Bloomingstaycollectives and I'm not able to find much info about them on the internet.

I welcome advice/thoughts from any experienced freelancers out there! Just don't want one of my first Upwork projects to be one giant scam with no money paid out lol.

I applied for a data entry job on Upwork, and the client asked me to communicate via WhatsApp. They said all instructions, discussions, and completed work should be handled and submitted through WhatsApp, and that payment would be made via direct bank transfer.

When I asked if we could first create and confirm a contract on Upwork and process the payment through Upwork for protection, the client told me that this is a “private task” and that everything would be handled through WhatsApp instead.

The client’s payment method and phone number are verified on Upwork, but the account was only created recently. The pay offered is also quite high for a data entry project.

Does this sound legitimate, or are these red flags that I should be concerned about? Any advice from experienced freelancers would be greatly appreciated.

Hey everyone,

I’m looking for some realistic feedback on whether it’s worth investing time and money (buying connects) into Upwork right now given my specific background and stack.

I’m a 22yo self-taught Frontend Web Developer and UI Designer based in East Africa (Ethiopia). I’m currently finishing up my third year of university (majoring in accounting, but my true focus is pivoting into tech/freelancing).

For context on my profile: I originally created it a couple of years ago as a video editor, but it only had 10% completion. I sent a single proposal, didn’t get accepted, and completely abandoned it. A few months ago, I revived the account, pivoted my niche to web dev and design, and just got it to 100% completion. But before I buy a bunch of Connects and start bidding, I want to make sure I'm not running into a brick wall.

My Skill Set & Stack:
Frontend: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, React, Next.js
Design: UI/UX design (Figma)

What I have in my portfolio so far:
A fully deployed, responsive personal portfolio website hosted on GitHub Pages.
A live calisthenics and strength progression tracking application built entirely with React and Next.js, deployed using GitHub and Cloudflare (it tracks workouts, sets, and progress metrics).

My main questions for the veteran freelancers here:

1 The Tech Niche: Is the entry-level React/Next.js space completely oversaturated on the platform right now, or is there still room for someone who can handle both UI design and clean development?

2 Location/Payment Factors: For anyone freelancing from East Africa or similar regions, are there any specific platform bottlenecks, client biases, or payment/banking hurdles I should prepare for early on?

3 Bidding Strategy: With the way Connects work now, what’s a realistic budget or mindset I should have for my first month of proposals? Should I target small fix-it jobs to get my first review, or go straight for medium-sized milestone projects?

I’m ready to put in the work to optimize my profile and proposals, but I’d love a reality check from people who are actually in the trenches right now.
Thanks in advance for any insights!

I’ve been working as a freelancer for over six months. I’ve been trying to actively maintain my Upwork profile. So far, I’ve completed 8 projects. Two of them have great reviews, but for some reason the other clients didn’t leave any feedback at all, even though I always tried to do more than what was required by the contract.

Earlier, I also tried buying Connects and submitting proposals myself. I spent around $100 on Connects, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to win any jobs. After that, I decided to use my Connects only to boost my profile. Everything was going well until I completed my last project.

Now my profile activity has dropped significantly. Either nobody views my profile at all, or I get only one or two views at most.

I’d also like to mention that I’ve already earned over $800 on Upwork. I have the Rising Talent badge and a 100% Job Success Score.

Why is my profile no longer being seen, and why have clients stopped contacting me directly?

Does anyone know how to get a promo code for connects?

So has been pretty clear since boosting your proposals came out that if your proposal hadn't had some sort of interaction while you are IN the top 4 then you would not be charged for the connects you bid and they will be returned. This usually would happen within 24 hours of you being outbid. Well now they have changed it to where you only get the connects back 7 days later or the client closes/hires. Now by itself I guess not so bad right? Just making you buy more connects within that period making you spend more money but ok whatever set that aside.

Here comes the real grift what they do now is if the client interacts with your proposal like let's say they view it WELL AFTER the time period you were in the top 4 they are just saying its the same as being in the top 4 and you dont get those connects back.

So image you are now tenth in the list when the client views your project Upwork support is telling me they are just going to keep your connects and say "well you were viewed right?" "Unfortunate you didnt get the gig that happens." As if all the other issue werent bad enough. I asked when and where these changes were announced, they say oh we posted a blog post about it sometime earlier this year. You know how annoying all the notifications upwork puts all over the site about updates are? Like how specialized profiles where going away it was explained in 6 different places and came back on refresh of the page but nooooo they wrote a blog post in their community area of their platform which really only comes up if you literally search for connects.

Im so livid there has to be some sort of class action lawsuit that is possible for this blatant move there is no way this isnt illegal in some way.

P.S. For all you smart guys out there I do not plan on using the platform once I'ved used everything up. Im not an attorney nor do I care about your law opinions. Really just wondering if this was only happening to me.

I DON'T NEED THIS ACCOUNT.

My JSS is currently 75% how to increase it as there are not much relevant jobs according to my tech stack

I've received enough invites from new accounts in foreign countries claiming to do a massive-blockchain projects, super impressed with my minimalist reply and urging me to download and run their bitbucket repo to be skeptical and quick on the report button. The last 2-3 times, upwork says it's not a violation, and then in the next week the client js taken down, likely after scamming users of funds.

Upwork, where is your accountability? I don't want to support a system that is not protecting its users. The barrier and consequences for scammers is so low, and the impact for developers can be devastating.

"Thank you for submitting a report about a potential Terms of Service violation. We carefully reviewed your submission but didn't find a violation of Upwork's policies. We now consider this matter closed."

Hey everyone, I got laid off from my job recently, and since then I've been applying for new roles. The problem is... most of the jobs I'm finding just don't excite me, and I'm starting to wonder if this is the right time to try something different.

I'm a content writer, and I've been seriously considering starting on Upwork. I've always liked the idea of freelancing, building my own client base, and eventually being my own boss instead of relying on a single employer.

The only thing holding me back is all the mixed opinions I keep seeing. Some people say Upwork is completely saturated and almost impossible for newcomers, while others say it's still a great platform if you stick with it.

So I'd love to hear from people who are actually freelancing:

• If you were starting from scratch in 2026, would you still choose Upwork?
• Is it still possible to get decent content writing clients as a beginner on the platform?
• How long did it take you to land your first client?
• What would you do differently if you had to start over?
• Should I focus on freelancing full-time, or keep job hunting while trying to build my Upwork profile?

I'm not expecting to make money overnight. I know it'll take time and effort. I just don't want to spend months chasing something that's no longer realistic if there are better alternatives.

Would really appreciate any honest advice or personal experiences. Thanks!