Odesk..com

[piscesforever 1]

Hi,

I just want to share a website that I know that works. I am sharing my experience because I know looking for a job now is hard.

Last week, when I got my EAD, I immediately looked for jobs in Odesk and now I have work, a decent hourly rate to start with.

I have experience with Odesk when I was still in Philippines. That time, my hourly rate is $4, but I increased the rate now that I am in US. Although I could have start looking for jobs that are not work-from-home, I decided to work through the website again to gain more skills in my field of profession.

Anyway, my husband is also working through Odesk. He just want to work as a freelancer, and the website is perfect for him. He found a lot of clients through the website.

There might be odd jobs in this website, only if you are willing to work on those odd jobs. But I assure you that there are plenty of decent jobs to apply for and accept.

Jobs here varies, from Data Entry to Virtual Assistant, to Customer Service, Graphics, Programming, Writing, Researcher... etc.

I found a lot of people from US offering their services through this website. Some of them has a $6 hourly rate. I know that's low, but I think they just made it low for experience, since they had to compete with other people that are not from US and who offer less rate.

But I found other people from US that has $10 hourly job or more...that includes my husband. Really, hourly rate depends on your skills and work experience, and how you will present yourself on each job application. Interviews are done through the website, or through chat in YM, or call in Skype, or call over the phone.

And there are several methods to get your money from the site.

If you have personal questions, you can PM me. Else, share it through this thread.

[ValerieA 350]

Coincidentally, I looked at this site for the first time last night, and was intrigued. When I get my EAD, I am going to set up a profile and see how it goes. A little disturbed by how cheaply some were offering accounting services, but I figure companies will know that you get what you pay for.

[piscesforever 1]

Coincidentally, I looked at this site for the first time last night, and was intrigued. When I get my EAD, I am going to set up a profile and see how it goes. A little disturbed by how cheaply some were offering accounting services, but I figure companies will know that you get what you pay for.

You have to compete with people who are from non-English speaking countries. But there are plenty of clients willing to pay $10 or more, especially if they are looking for experienced people. To start with though, I suggest, you start in a low rate, and apply on jobs that are short-time. There are some assignments done in one week or in a month. These kind of assignments will give you plenty of feedbacks that will be checked by other clients. But you can also just put your normal rate in the profile, but offer lower rate when applying, so that when a client check your profile and wants to interview you directly, your rate is already high.

My husband started with $8 per hour for jobs that last only a week. Now he charges $20 and he can find clients who are willing to pay that high since he has enough feedback in Odesk already and can back it up with offline work experience.

My husband just want to work at home.

Edited May 5, 2010 by piscesforever

[ValerieA 350]

Thanks for the advice! We want me to work from home, too, we are trying to get pregnant now and I want to stay home to raise my child - just because that is the way I grew up, and I think it is a good one. I have been an accountant for 20 years, so I did my time in the workforce LOL.

[piscesforever 1]

Thanks for the advice! We want me to work from home, too, we are trying to get pregnant now and I want to stay home to raise my child - just because that is the way I grew up, and I think it is a good one. I have been an accountant for 20 years, so I did my time in the workforce LOL.

Good luck on your job hunting. Just be patient on your first set of job applications and take some Odesk tests to increase your job application quota.

When you sign up for an account, you sign up as an Independent Provider, or Freelance Provider. I forgot the whole term but provider should be in the choices, buyer is for clients.

Edited May 5, 2010 by piscesforever

[Spoom 8]

I've been freelancing for a while now (excluding my non-work-authorized period). I looked at Odesk back in the day but found that it was too overbearing (their signup process is extensive, and do I remember seeing something about requiring a webcam?). I use Guru for my freelancing and I can usually command a rate of about $35 per hour. Of course, I have a lot of experience and skills in web development. Guru seems a happy medium in considering the needs of both employers and freelancers, while most are heavily swung in the employer direction and don't care so much about the freelancers (I'm looking at you, Elance).

If anyone's looking for something to do and doesn't find technology scary, you can teach yourself web development. Just pick up a few books from the library or see if you can get older editions from places like Amazon Marketplace, since they're usually cheaper and not too far behind (though I wouldn't go too much older than, say, 2006). I find the Wrox Professional series pretty good in that regard. You could also learn it entirely online through tutorials, but I find that my learning works better when I have a physical book. If you're starting from scratch, learn (X)HTML and CSS, and then find a good book on PHP and MySQL to get into the actual development part. You could also go the Microsoft route and learn .NET. Once you've got those, you can expand in a bunch of directions; I'd take a look at what employers are looking for on Guru for ideas. Some of the work I've seen a lot recently involved Wordpress, Joomla, Facebook app programming (all PHP), Flash, mobile apps (iPhone, Android), and various online shopping cards (usually PHP). You can get a book on everything in that list except the shopping carts; they're usually just trial and error getting to know how their code works.

Edited May 6, 2010 by Spoom

[ValerieA 350]

Thanks Spoom! I do have an account on Guru, just need to get my EAD now.

[piscesforever 1]

I've been freelancing for a while now (excluding my non-work-authorized period). I looked at Odesk back in the day but found that it was too overbearing (their signup process is extensive, and do I remember seeing something about requiring a webcam?).

Webcam is not necessary. I haven't encountered yet a buyer who asked me to get webcam shots. But it is an option. The sign up in Odesk includes sending your W-9 if you live in US. But it can be done online including a signature. The time I signed up in Odesk, when I was still in Philippines, I think I thought the same way that the sign up process was extensive, including taking tests. But after I passed through that stage, I thought it was worth it.

I use Guru for my freelancing and I can usually command a rate of about $35 per hour. Of course, I have a lot of experience and skills in web development. Guru seems a happy medium in considering the needs of both employers and freelancers, while most are heavily swung in the employer direction and don't care so much about the freelancers (I'm looking at you, Elance).

I haven't checked Guru, but I saw Elance.com before. I don't like Elance.com that much when I signed up on it. I like the job application process in Odesk. So I stuck with it. I'm glad Spoom were able to share his/her experience from other sites for freelancing. That gives you more options.

If anyone's looking for something to do and doesn't find technology scary, you can teach yourself web development. Just pick up a few books from the library or see if you can get older editions from places like Amazon Marketplace, since they're usually cheaper and not too far behind (though I wouldn't go too much older than, say, 2006). I find the Wrox Professional series pretty good in that regard. You could also learn it entirely online through tutorials, but I find that my learning works better when I have a physical book. If you're starting from scratch, learn (X)HTML and CSS, and then find a good book on PHP and MySQL to get into the actual development part. You could also go the Microsoft route and learn .NET. Once you've got those, you can expand in a bunch of directions; I'd take a look at what employers are looking for on Guru for ideas. Some of the work I've seen a lot recently involved Wordpress, Joomla, Facebook app programming (all PHP), Flash, mobile apps (iPhone, Android), and various online shopping cards (usually PHP). You can get a book on everything in that list except the shopping carts; they're usually just trial and error getting to know how their code works.

That's actually true. I taught myself Search Engine Optimization, Internet Marketing, and Wordpress. I learned basic HTML, CSS, and PHP; and web hosting. I want to learn more on PHP and CSS so I can create web programs.

I find reading a book not enough though. I want to enroll in a school. My husband is learning through a book, and practice. I can't do it myself without someone supervising me, but we don't have money to enroll in a school.

(I wish we live in Salt Lake City so I could go to the big library for free. They might have PHP books that will keep my attention. )

Edited May 6, 2010 by piscesforever

[Spoom 8]

Yeah, absolutely, if you can and you're serious about it, find a good college program. I learned a lot about proper software design, logic, and additional technical skills at a three year programming course, though most of what I use now I taught myself (since the college program was mostly Java and C++).

Oh, another hidden market skill that's good for web developers is learning frameworks. CakePHP, CodeIgniter, Zend, Django, Rails... all these are used by small, highly competent shops that can pay pretty well for the correctly skilled person. Think of them as a third level above pure markup and programming. They usually have pretty decent documentation and tutorials available for free at their respective websites (and what you don't learn there, you can learn by Googling later).

piscesforever, have you considered contributing to open source projects? It's a more hands-on way of learning something; try making a mod to an open source application like phpBB or Wordpress. You'll probably need to learn a lot all at once, but sometimes having an immediate goal helps (and I find that I learn better by doing rather than by reading or hearing... many geeks are the same way).

[Jewel-8 21]

(I wish we live in Salt Lake City so I could go to the big library for free. They might have PHP books that will keep my attention. )

Which city do you live in? You can definitely go to the library for free to study. To check out books you have to pay $80 a year if you are not a resident of SL County. I live in Davis County but drive past it every day since I work in Research Park by the University. The $80 has been worth it as I borrow a LOT of movies from there, especially British TV shows.

[piscesforever 1]

Which city do you live in? You can definitely go to the library for free to study. To check out books you have to pay $80 a year if you are not a resident of SL County. I live in Davis County but drive past it every day since I work in Research Park by the University. The $80 has been worth it as I borrow a LOT of movies from there, especially British TV shows.

I live in Saratoga Sp. in Utah County. Thanks for that info. I didn't know about the fee. What's the maximum days you can have a book?

piscesforever, have you considered contributing to open source projects? It's a more hands-on way of learning something; try making a mod to an open source application like phpBB or Wordpress. You'll probably need to learn a lot all at once, but sometimes having an immediate goal helps (and I find that I learn better by doing rather than by reading or hearing... many geeks are the same way).

That's a great tip. I never thought about contributing to open source. I thought people who do that are already good at it. But I guess I can make simple programs. I will look into this. =) The reason I want to learn more is that I know this field pays well.

[Jewel-8 21]

I live in Saratoga Sp. in Utah County. Thanks for that info. I didn't know about the fee. What's the maximum days you can have a book?

I usually get books for 4 weeks, unless it's a New Release that 50 people have a hold on - then it is 2. Our DVDs we check out have a 2 week limit. You can also renew online.

Geez! I wish my husband, the immigrant that has had nothing but time on his hands right now, was as excited about the massive library as you and I are.

[ValerieA 350]

(and I find that I learn better by doing rather than by reading or hearing... many geeks are the same way).

I think you just called me a geek.

[m_ru 0]

Oh wow!

I'm looking for that kind of job?

my hopes for finding "real job" died

thanks a lot!!!!

could you guys tell me more about payment?

how does it work?

I'm new for web freelancing

thanks

[Spoom 8]

The process works by you, as the freelancer, searching for and bidding on projects that you feel you can complete. The "employer" (i.e. the person that posted the project) chooses whichever bid they feel is the best (usually a combination of competency, price, and speed) and awards them the project. The freelancer then works on the project, completes it, and invoices the employer who pays them through the freelancing website. The freelancer can then choose to withdraw their pay through any of the methods the site offers, which usually include a mailed check, direct deposit to a US bank account, PayPal transfer, or wire bank transfer.

Some sites (like Guru) have an escrow option whereby the employer pays the site at the beginning of the project, the site holds the payment through development, and then the employer releases the money to the freelancer upon completion of the project. This way, freelancers can be assured that the employer isn't just going to disappear upon delivery at the end of a project, since in a disagreement, the site will offer mediation and/or arbitration services to determine correct payment.

In some sites (also Guru), employers can also search for freelancers directly, and invite them to bid on their projects. This is why it's important to keep a complete, professional, comprehensive profile on the site; it is competitive business, after all. I've actually gotten a few emails asking if I'd be interested in long term work based almost entirely on my Guru profile.

One of the things that you should remember if you go this route is that this is self-employment, and it's treated as such at tax time, meaning that since no taxes are withheld, you'll have to pay all your taxes on that income when you file your return. (No more tax refunds.) That said, you get the same advantages as a business when filing, such as having many more deductions and write-offs available.

Guru has a pretty good overview of the process, I encourage you to read that.