Top-Rated Plus Software Developer with $450K Earnings Struggling on Upwork

Where you appear on the list of proposals is decided by "best match" which is pretty hit and miss, Sometimes it works really great, sometimes it doesn't work well at all.

It's also not entirely merit-based because it also suggests people without much experience which is fair enough as otherwise new freelancers in competitive categories wouldn't appear at all.

The best match algorithm is supposed to match not only by metrics (JSS, earnings, quality etc) but also on how well your profile fits not only what the client is looking for (skill tags), but also on history, such as have you successfully completed relevant jobs and has the client have good experiences with freelancers like you.

The more history both parties have, the better the algorithm tends to work, but occasionally it screws up in a spectacular manner.

What I'm trying to say is that with one client you ended up near the bottom, with another you could be right at the top after the boosted proposals, just because of the match algorithm.

Upwork has never been this competitive, and is currently drowning in freelancers. In my opinion it is a huge mistake to let every Tom, Dick, and Harry join and then just kick them out after they pissed off clients.

Top rated and 100% is more the norm than anything particularly special these days, although the end of the feedback removal perk will most likely mean that this will change at least a little bit.

If your proposals aren't well out of whack price-wise, and you are sure that the first 2 lines of your proposal still work, there is no way of telling why you've been struggling without seeng your proposals and/or your profile.

Your average contract value is high. If you're sure your proposals are really good, try boosting, so you know for a fact your proposal is at the top.

Boosting a proposal only works if what you're offering aligns really well with what the client is after and your proposal (especially those vital first 2 lines) are hitting the spot.

No amount of boosting works to fix a mediocre proposal.

I think that both the rotation and the boosting factors mentioned by the other respondents account for the 'low' placement on the results list your client mentioned.

However, this proposal list that clients get to see when they post an RFP can only be a snapshot in time. Otherwise, the almighty algorithm wouldn't be doing its job of sorting and re-evaluating properly. I don't know how often it does this or what factors go into the function, but in a perfect system, the list should change regularly.

Zeke Xanders I can share my experience, which is similar to yours. I started in 2020, and in three years, I earned 300k. I reached Expert-Vetted status in about a year and a half. After the first year, I hardly sent any proposals except for a couple of months each summer when work slowed down. Otherwise, I often received invitations or direct requests, happy life!
I always maintained a perfect feedback score, rarely dropping below 98%. Every year, I experienced what was referred to as the "algorithm rotation", meaning a couple of slow months, but things always picked up afterward.
In Feb-March 2024, however, I noticed a drastic drop in profile visits and far fewer requests. I tried boosting my profile and sending out several proposals, but my service is quite expensive, so I often couldn’t find clients with the right budget.
As a result, over the past year, the number of jobs has drastically decreased, and the clients I connect with typically have very limited budgets.

Due to the global economic situation the platform is being flooded by people who are choosing (or are being forced) to try to freelance to make a living.

Also, AI is affecting a lot of categories.

This is not an Upwork problem, it is a "state of the market worldwide" problem.

Petra I agree, and I also think this is a global issue, as it seems many parts of the world are experiencing some level of economic recession. Over the past year, all my clients have had tighter budgets and are looking to cut costs, whereas before, I had no trouble selling my higher-priced packages.
Reading through the old Upwork forum, I can’t understand why seasoned professionals like Zeke or myself seem to have been hit so hard. I’ve seen many posts from freelancers with years of experience on Upwork and earnings of $3/400K or more who have faced significant declines.
I don’t think AI is having such a strong impact on this segment. Clients seeking high-quality, top-tier services are unlikely to rely on AI. I understand that many people turned to freelancing after COVID, which may have saturated the market, but it still feels strange that the higher-end tier of freelancers has been hit so hard.

Ravi

Right, AI can't replace humans in this segment.
Um, although I agree with you, in fact I am not sure AI, as presently constituted, can replace humans in any segment.

But...that doesn't mean people, more relevantly clients, don't think that it can. They have been marketed to and sold that it can. Salesforce just announced it isn't going to hire any mid-level devs anymore because of AI. Is that complete marketing bullshit I am sure, but, I am sure, lots of people believe it's true. There aren't the only ones.

Mark
People will learn the hard way.

Ravi They do, very slowly, and they forget what they learned and then repeat the same mistakes in an endless cycle.

If it is good, it is unlikely to be cheap. If it is cheap, it is unlikely to be good.

I think AI is going to prove out to be both expensive and not good which is the hidden option in my statement. But, I am a skeptic.

Zeke Xanders I feel your pain. I started in 2014 and over the years (on and off) I managed to earn 500k with 100% JSS. I lost my Top Rated status though, because my last contract was closed more than 24 months ago. In 2019 I got a contract in just 1 month (that lasted 3 years). Now, I'm trying to get anything for 4 month without much success. I see you are in "Mobile App Development". What do you do specifically, iOS native, Android native or cross-platform? I only do iOS native and I would say 3/4 of jobs are cross-platform now.

My lowkey theories are that Upwork changed its search, it now marks everyone as best match (people have reported over 10 best matches now so you don't stand out anymore), and they've changed the importance of certain aspects of profiles. One of these days I will change my profile, but these are my conspiracy theories!

It very much seems like clients are not using Talent Search, or are not being directed to it during the job-creation process as much as they were (again, guesses, as I do not hire on the platform).

But something is really, really up (well, down).

I score in the top page or two for my skillset in Europe, and am no.1 or no.2 in the UK depending on just text search or text search + obvious category.

Top Rated with 100% JSS. And very few invites.

It doesn't make any sense.

I made almost $4M and still have a trouble getting hired now... Although clients see and reply to my proposals, just won't hire :/ I guess it's just a general market downturn.

anovikov Do you find that they think you farm out? I feel like once I crossed the $1m mark, people think I'm farming out. I get asked somewhat often or they approach it in a way where they talk about freelancers not doing their own work and feel like they got scammed, prompting me to tell them I don't farm out.

TopRatedTroll I never pretended to do the work alone. I'm not hiding we are a company and i have a company account. Only work fixed price, never using hours or tracker, so it's according to the ToS: if you are doing fixed price, and tell clients in advance that this is a company not individual, you can take projects in the name of the agency owner (myself). That's how i work all the time.

rlatief What else is it there in the "entire freelancer universe" except marketplaces?