[GrumpiNerd]

The wages aren't set at a "global standard of living". They are set by how skilled you are. Usually people who complain about not being able to earn enough don't have very good skills. I've been using UpWork for a little over 2 years. Last year I did about $60k, this year will be around $75k. Being able to communicate well with my clients is a huge advantage compared to overseas workers. It also helps that I actually know what I'm doing.

I rarely work a full 40 hours per week. I've been a freelancer for almost 10 years now. I've briefly done some part-time stints in-person in offices in that time and it was a good reminder of how much I hate being stuck in an office following an arbitrary schedule.

[da02]

What type of work do you offer? UX? Programming? (Which languages?)

[GrumpiNerd]

Full-Stack LAMP, mainly building heavily-customized WordPress sites. My current project is big enough that we've brought on some front-end help, so I've learned to manage git and am paying attention to developing my "soft" skills such as management. I'm likely doing a basic AWS certification soon, perhaps followed by some more DevOps type stuff or learning more formal UI/UX skills. At that point I'll be far above the average WordPress developer and could hit $100k+ if not next year, then the year after that. Pretty good for someone without a college degree working from home.

[ryanwaggoner]

You are leaving TONS of money on the table by using Upwork.

The entire conceit there is that you’re a commodity and you and the other code monkeys should bid for the job, because you’re interchangeable.

I know freelance Wordpress devs doing $200k per year, but not on Upwork.

[mixmastamyk]

Yes, though I get the feeling the person is trading free time for that cash. That includes avoiding bizdev hustle and doing taxes.

[da02]

How many hours per work do they work? How do they find clients?