Over the course of the pandemic, we have seen a lot of people looking for work anywhere that they can get it. Looking for this work has been easier due to companies like Upwork and Fiverr that have provided users on their sites with available freelance jobs. These jobs range anywhere from social media marketing to plumbing technicians to the occasional writing gig. However, these freelance job sites are taking more than just your resume.
Once you make an account on Upwork, you get put in a selection pool of different people who are looking for the exact job that you were looking for. You get to set your own hourly wage—which is cool—but the big issue is that Upwork takes nearly 20% of your income or your hourly wage once you do a job. So, let’s say you got a job to be a part-time writer for a company and you were earning $50.00 an hour. We can say that you work around 10 hours a week, so you would be getting $500.00 from that company for the work you did for them. But Upwork takes 20%, so you would lose $100.00 instantly just by using this site.
You may be thinking, “Oh, $100.00 isn’t that bad of a loss,” but overtime, the more work you do the more money you’ll lose. You may think “Well, I’ll just edit my hourly rate,” which is true. You can edit your hourly pay rate to make up for the loss you may be getting, but some companies don’t want to pay as much as you charge. That’s where you run into a problem. There’s a little sacrifice with whatever gig you get through sites like Upwork or Fiverr.
But these freelance job searching sites have provided millions of people with the flexibility and the perfect job they are looking for. Over the course of the pandemic, Upwork has grown by more than 35%. It is a good place to look for work if you are someone who is constantly looking for a new thing to do. It’s a place that you can earn the money you want, on your own timing, while living the life you want.
Is the charge worth it to you? Let us know down below.
This article originally published on GREY Journal.
