Newman Estrada's Blog

How to Survive Upwork’s Beginner Hell

Your competition is smaller than you think

Starting on Upwork feels like being thrown into a jungle. You’re surrounded by thousands of freelancers, all competing for the same jobs.

But here’s the truth: You’re not competing with everyone. And the real competition is smaller than you think.

Let’s break it down with this universal principle:

Upwork CompetitionInactive33%Never sent a proposalActive but Ineffective33%Send proposals but rarely succeedTop Performers33%Consistently win jobs

These numbers can vary and are not exact. But I'm using a simple heuristic to represent the average scenario in any competitive field, including UpWork.

Competition on upwork is garbage

Clients hate to read proposals, everything looks copy pasted from the same 3 templates.

This means most freelancers are just adding to the noise. If you can write a clear proposal and build a strong profile, you’re already ahead of the majority.

And your only real competition is the top 33%

But guess what.

The top 33% can't take on all upwork clients.

And that's where you come in.

Look for these edges. The jobs that experts aren't willing to do, and that beginners can't outcompete you.

 _"The competition isn’t as fierce as it seems—most freelancers are just making noise."

The beginner hell is tough but temporary. Once you break through, the pool of real competitors shrinks.

You don’t need to be perfect—just better than the noise. Start small, focus on improving, and keep pushing through.


link to this post on substack https://newmanestrada.substack.com/p/how-to-survive-upworks-beginner-hell