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:
33% of Upwork accounts are inactive. They’ve never sent a proposal or made a single dollar.
66% are active, but only a fraction of them are serious competitors.
The top 30% are the ones who consistently land jobs, deliver quality work, and get paid well.
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.
- 2 out of 3 proposals are bad.
- 2 out of 3 profiles are bad.
- Focus on being the 1 that's good.
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