Anyone has been at "Upwork"? Thread poster: Paulo Reis (X)
|
|---|
Paulo Reis (X) 
Portugal
Local time: 15:03
English to Portuguese
I got a email, from Upwork saying hat my account was suspended, because I accepted payment outside Upwrok site. That is completely false, I've been there since a couple of weeks, made a lot of bids, but didn't have any working proposal and never received any money for a job I got there. Is it truth what I've been reading online, that Upwork is somehow a "strange" site for freelance translators?... See more I got a email, from Upwork saying hat my account was suspended, because I accepted payment outside Upwrok site. That is completely false, I've been there since a couple of weeks, made a lot of bids, but didn't have any working proposal and never received any money for a job I got there. Is it truth what I've been reading online, that Upwork is somehow a "strange" site for freelance translators?
Paulo Reis
[email protected] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Rates there are ridiculously low even for proz.com | Oct 9, 2018 |
Don`t waste you time. Upwork isn`t worth it, at least for translators.
| | | | | Waste of time | Oct 9, 2018 |
I have been on it for several years and I keep on bidding for the rare interesting and lucrative projects. Guess how many jobs I have won: none.
People there have ridiculously low rates like 10 USD/hour, and project posters seem to prefer them.
The only reason I keep on bidding every now and then is curiosity; I don't expect to actually win any bid.
A few years ago they even put me in a "special pool of professionals" called "Rising Talent". All I ... See more I have been on it for several years and I keep on bidding for the rare interesting and lucrative projects. Guess how many jobs I have won: none.
People there have ridiculously low rates like 10 USD/hour, and project posters seem to prefer them.
The only reason I keep on bidding every now and then is curiosity; I don't expect to actually win any bid.
A few years ago they even put me in a "special pool of professionals" called "Rising Talent". All I got while I was in it was jobs that had nothing to do with translation or had language pairs in which I don't work.
So, no, I would not recommend it for a translator: it will mostly cause endless frustration. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 16:03
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Paulo Reis wrote:
I got a email from Upwork saying that my account was suspended, because I accepted payment outside of the Upwork site. That is completely false...
Did the e-mail explain in what way you accepted outside work on Upwork? It doesn't sound like you lost any money, though.
Is it true what I've been reading online, that Upwork is somehow a "strange" site for freelance translators?
If I understand correctly, there is nothing wrong with trying to get work via Upwork. I particularly like how Upwork shows all kinds of information about the job poster, e.g. how much money they have spent on previous jobs, how often they accept jobs, how many jobs they've had on the site so far, what the average hourly rate is that gets paid by them, etc. This type of information isn't available at ProZ.com because ProZ.com doesn't force clients and translators to conduct all their business via the site.
| | |
|
|
|
| Worse of the worst | Oct 9, 2018 |
Paulo Reis wrote: I got a email, from Upwork saying hat my account was suspended, because I accepted payment outside Upwrok site. That is completely false, I've been there since a couple of weeks, made a lot of bids, but didn't have any working proposal and never received any money for a job I got there. Is it truth what I've been reading online, that Upwork is somehow a "strange" site for freelance translators? Paulo Reis [email protected]
I've got this email from them in February 2018:
"After reviewing your account history, we noticed that you have bid on an extremely high number of jobs, none of which has led to earnings on Upwork. This signals to us that work is potentially being taken off the platform, which violates our Terms of Service. It may also indicate that there are no client opportunities on Upwork that meet your skillset.
In either case, we have decided to close your Upwork account, effective immediately."
This is as stupid as there site is. I've never got any job from their site, at least while I was a member. Their fee is ridiculously 20% of your rates. And the rates are around 0.01 EUR per word, sometimes with insulting client demands in their offers ("At the beginning of your offer write that you love fruits," or "Write English translation of some German word so we can see you are a serious translator" and translation has nothing to do with German lang. etc.)
[Edited at 2018-10-09 17:33 GMT]
| | | | Dawid Kita
Poland
Local time: 16:03
English to Polish
| Insight into the back-end of freelancing platforms | Oct 11, 2018 |
Back in time, I worked at the Upwork's competitor. These platforms will have advanced bots scanning your activity on the platform and triggering potential "off-siting alarms", which means that you might have shared your contact details (e.g. email address, Skype, etc.) at some point of the website - it might have been your profile, a private message you sent to another user, or even the fact that you received a private message with contact details from another user (intentionally or unintentiona... See more Back in time, I worked at the Upwork's competitor. These platforms will have advanced bots scanning your activity on the platform and triggering potential "off-siting alarms", which means that you might have shared your contact details (e.g. email address, Skype, etc.) at some point of the website - it might have been your profile, a private message you sent to another user, or even the fact that you received a private message with contact details from another user (intentionally or unintentionally, it might be a gate to transacting outside of a platform). These bots will be usually moderated or semi-moderated by internal staff of the company.
Obviously, this is a standard scenario that I can think of and it might not be applicable to your case. Please, mind me if you didn't make any of the mentioned violations [in the eyes of Upwork]. Funnily, other quite common reason could be a bug, human mistake, or looping you in a pool of an unwanted [for some unspecified reason] users. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Paulo Reis (X)
Portugal
Local time: 15:03
English to Portuguese
TOPIC STARTER | Upwork cancelled my account... | Oct 11, 2018 |
Samuel Murray wrote: Paulo Reis wrote:
I got a email from Upwork saying that my account was suspended, because I accepted payment outside of the Upwork site. That is completely false... Did the e-mail explain in what way you accepted outside work on Upwork? It doesn't sound like you lost any money, though. Is it true what I've been reading online, that Upwork is somehow a "strange" site for freelance translators? If I understand correctly, there is nothing wrong with trying to get work via Upwork. I particularly like how Upwork shows all kinds of information about the job poster, e.g. how much money they have spent on previous jobs, how often they accept jobs, how many jobs they've had on the site so far, what the average hourly rate is that gets paid by them, etc. This type of information isn't available at ProZ.com because ProZ.com doesn't force clients and translators to conduct all their business via the site.
No, did didn't "accused" of getting work outside Upwork, they "accused" me of receiving money from jobs I bid on Upwork, outside the site, which is against their rules! I hadn't got a single job, on Upwork. And at the end of the email, they made clear, that there was no use for me to reply to them, or to protest against the decision, because that was their last contact with me, they will not accept any other contact and/or reply to me, again...
| | | |
Buyers at Upwork and similar sites seem to expect to pay no more than 10% of normal market rates for professionals, so unless you're happy with such rates, such sites would appear to be a complete waste of time.
| | |
|
|
|
Adam Warren
France
Local time: 16:03
Member (2005)
French to English
| Sounds like a fruit machine | Oct 11, 2018 |
@Epameinondas: Sounds like putting coins in a fruit machine in a pub. Not to make money, but to pass the time.
If Upwork or a similar entity charges 20%, then I feel that one should increase one's usual agency fees by that percentage to cover the rather heavy Upwork fee. If rates are as low as are reported here, then unless one adopts your "fruit machine" approach, it's better to steer clear of these non-dedicated ("jack-of-all-trades") work advertisers, particularly if they appear ... See more @Epameinondas: Sounds like putting coins in a fruit machine in a pub. Not to make money, but to pass the time.
If Upwork or a similar entity charges 20%, then I feel that one should increase one's usual agency fees by that percentage to cover the rather heavy Upwork fee. If rates are as low as are reported here, then unless one adopts your "fruit machine" approach, it's better to steer clear of these non-dedicated ("jack-of-all-trades") work advertisers, particularly if they appear to invent complaints against their panel members, and especially if they don't pay: the boot would appear to be firmly on the other foot. In any case, previous experience with outfits operating to a similar pattern has taught me to turn my attention to more respectable work providers.
Good hunting.
With kind regards,
Adam Warren
(ProZ.com: IanDhu; Translator 41189).
[Edited at 2018-10-11 14:17 GMT]
[Edited at 2018-10-11 14:28 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member for the following reason: Duplicate post | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Anyone has been at "Upwork"? | Trados Business Manager Lite | Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio
Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.
More info » |
| | Trados Studio 2022 Freelance | The leading translation software used by over 270,000 translators.
Designed with your feedback in mind, Trados Studio 2022 delivers an unrivalled, powerful desktop
and cloud solution, empowering you to work in the most efficient and cost-effective way.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
Translation news
