How stable is Upwork at the moment, and is it worth joining it as a Wordpress/PHP developer?

Question

Freelance

Hello everyone, I want to ask knowledgeable people in freelancing, namely Upwork.
I work as a React developer in Moscow (before that I worked with PHP, Wordpress, Opencart, Modx, some Laravel, October CMS).

For the sake of maintaining knowledge of PHP and my old stack (well, to earn my penny for butter and bread), I want to go to upwork (there are at least 5-7 free hours a day that I want to spend for the benefit of myself and my career).

How difficult is it for a newbie (freelancer) to get started on Upwork? What is the rate usually set by "novice" freelance developers, whether it is necessary to try to dump in order to find a client. My English is at the pre-intermediate level (I read technical literature well, but I have problems with speaking, especially when I'm worried, I can squeeze out typical phrases, will this be a stumbling block, or can I use chat?)

If it's not difficult, leave the actual links for information or share your experience. I will be very grateful.

Answer 1

How stable is Upwork at the moment?

Upwork is nowhere more stable. The only question is, can you pull it)

How difficult is it for a newbie (freelancer) to get started on Upwork?

Depends on your actual experience and knowledge. Professionals are valued even if they just joined Upwork. It can be very difficult for weak programmers. Up to a complete failure and subsequent ban.

What is the rate usually set by "novice" freelance developers

Look at people from the CIS who are doing the same thing as you, and place a similar bet, taking into account that you are a beginner. I think something in the region of $20/hour should be.

Do I need to try to dump to find a client

I do not advise. Do you need clients who value every penny or who is willing to pay for quality? If you dump, you will fight for the first. And still the Indians will kill you. There are many customers who are willing to pay for quality, they immediately weed out all Indians and other cheap workers. These are the ones you need to focus on, if knowledge allows.

My English is at the pre-intermediate level (I read technical literature well, but I have problems with speaking, especially when I'm worried, I can squeeze typical phrases out of myself, will this be a stumbling block, or can I use chat?)

There are some clients who basically need fluent English and phone calls. But these are far from all. Many people are comfortable with chatting. Especially if the client himself is not English-speaking. It is absolutely normal to say that English is not your native language, so it is better to communicate only in writing.

Answer 2

How stable is Upwork at the moment,

livelier than anyone alive, revenue and profits are growing every quarter: https://investors.upwork.com/

and is it worth joining there as a developer

obviously, especially if a competent developer (ca): nowhere else in the offices you will earn so much, all other things being equal (and average knowledge of English)