Upwork is a great platform for freelancers with a wide range of skills – but if you want to know how to make money on Upwork without skills, don’t worry. You’re not alone.
There are plenty of Upwork gigs that require no skills – so it’s easy to make a living even if you don’t have a degree or formal credentials.
Want to know how you can start making money from home – even with limited skills? Keep reading to learn more!
Can you make money on Upwork with no experience?
All you need to make money on Upwork is a good internet connection and the willingness to work (and meet deadlines on time, of course)!
While most people focus on how to find jobs as freelance writers or graphic designers on Upwork, you don’t have to have skills in either of those areas to make money.
In fact, you don’t have to have any skills at all, really.
While your earning potential on Upwork will be much higher if you do have customized or specialized skills in a certain area, there are some jobs that are more or less mindless – but do still require the human touch.
If you want to know how to make money on Upwork with no experience, there are a few excellent ways to do so. Most of these ways can be applied to making money on Fiverr without skills as well.
For example, as a virtual assistant, you don’t have to have any specific skills – you just need to be helpful!
One freelancer earns more than $10,000 a month doing this. You could even work as a data entry clerk like this mom and earn more than $13 an hour!
Online virtual assistant and data entry work are both great options for busy parents who are at home with their kids.
They don’t require advanced skills or training and Upwork makes it easy to see all the jobs that are available to you. You can be successful with these gigs on Upwork or Fiverr.
11. Microworker
Although most microworkers are educated – about 37% have graduate degrees – they certainly don’t have to be.
This is one of the easier side jobs for a software engineer because it doesn’t require nearly the same skill level that they use all day.
A microjob is a short online task for which you will pay a fee – usually a few cents or dollars. You’ll do things like completing surveys, participating in rewards programs, or testing programs on a company’s website.
Although you won’t earn much per task, most of these are mindless tasks that are so simple you can do them in front of the television.
Earning Potential: $5/hour (BloggingCage)
10. English Teacher
You can also work as an English teacher on Upwork. This is a job that sounds like it would require a lot of skills, but really – it doesn’t.
The key here is that you’re not going to be teaching 19th-century literature to your students.
When you work as a teacher on Upwork, you’ll literally just be teaching the fundamentals of the language to non-native speakers.
The result? All you need to be successful at this job on Upwork is to be a native speaker yourself.
Although it is a different focus, this is one of the more rewarding jobs for former math teachers, or really any former teacher, who wants to continue improving the lives of others through education.
Earning Potential: $10/hour (Upwork)
Tactic for Success
Although this is an entry-level job, you can graduate to higher-paying jobs by getting a teaching certification or a TESOL/TEFL certification. This shows that you are qualified to teach English as a second language and may help you command higher rates.
9. Data Entry
Data entry online is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the work-from-home field. Technology makes it easier than ever for companies to hire independent contractors on Upwork for their data entry projects.
It can include a variety of tasks, such as:
- Entering Sales Data – You will use a computer to enter information from a hard-copy format into a software application, one of the more popular side gigs for accountants
- Scanning Documents – You might use optical character recognition or OCR to do this
- Transcribing – you may listen to audio recordings and upload your transcription into a database
- Update Customer Information – You might enter information about customers like phone numbers and email addresses into a central database
Earning Potential: $13/hour (Upwork)
8. Virtual Assistant
As a virtual assistant, your job will be to help your boss with any tasks that need to be completed. You’re just like an administrative assistant or secretary – but working from home.
Most virtual assistants work with just one client but if you have the time, you can take on multiple clients at once.
Learn how to hire virtual assistants to get a better idea of how to market yourself for the position.
You will do work such as:
- Filing and Maintaining Records – You might enter information into a spreadsheet or database to help your client stay organized
- Scheduling Appointments – These might be business meetings or personal ones (such as doctor’s appointments)
- Planning Events – Event planning requires a bit more skill but may be part of your daily duties
- Answering Phones – Your client might set your phone up to serve as a remote answering service
Earning Potential: $13/hour (Upwork)
7. Sales Representative
As a sales representative or account executive, you’ll sell products or services on behalf of your employer.
You might work to find and connect with potential customers, to follow up on warm leads, or even resign and upsell existing customers.
It’s ideal for people who want to work online and have the flexibility to set their own schedules – yet still want to be able to interact with people and not just a computer screen.
Earning Potential: $14/hour (Upwork)
6. Customer Service Representative
As a customer service representative, you’ll provide email, chat,; or phone support to a company’s customers and help them solve problems.
It’s one of the most common online jobs you’ll see on Upwork – but you do need to be careful about which ones you apply for.
Some have strict schedules so if you want to work on your own time, that might be a problem.
If you’re great at working with others and helping them navigate through their problems, working as a customer service representative might be the right choice for you. Yes, even if you have no experience or skills!
Earning Potential: $14/hour (Upwork)
Trend on the Rise
Mobile customer service is on the rise, accounting for 53% of all sales. Because of this, you’ll be expected to work with customers via text and online chat methods of communication.
5. Website/App Tester
Do you have strong opinions about what works and what doesn’t work well for the web? If so, you might want to become a user tester for a website or mobile application that’s still in development.
Believe it or not, you don’t have to be all that knowledgeable about the Internet – or technology in general – to get one of these jobs.
Companies just want to know how easy and effective their products are to use – so really, the less experience you have, the better!
Earning Potential: $15/hour (Upwork)
Trend on the Rise
Machine learning is making it possible for companies to test websites and apps without actual people to do so. However, usability is still a big factor, so there will always be a need for freelancers who can test apps and other programs to ensure that they are easy to use.
4. Community Manager
A community manager is someone who moderates and organizes the audience of a company across social media groups.
You might answer questions, moderate discussion, and add or remove people from groups on Slack, Facebook, and other online forums.
You Don’t have to have any skills in order to qualify – perhaps just a basic knowledge of social media and the ability to follow clear instructions.
Earning Potential: $20/hour (Upwork)
3. Proofreader
You’re a good fit for a proofreading job if you are great at detecting spelling errors or typos.
You can land more jobs on Upwork if you have the credentials to back you up – like an English degree or a high score on a proofreading test on the platform – but this is an easy job to get with zero skills, too.
Earning Potential: $22/hour (Upwork)
2. Social Media Manager
A social media manager or coordinator will be someone who helps a company run its Facebook, Twitter, and other accounts.
You might have to have a small amount of tech skills to be good at this job.
However, as long as you’ve successfully managed a social media account or two (even your own!) you should be able to land an entry-level position.
Earning Potential: $25/hour (Upwork)
1. Content Rewriter
There are all kinds of writing jobs you can get on Upwork – and while some of them do require a base level of skill, one job that’s become more popular is that of a content rewriter.
As a content rewriter, you’ll simply be “spinning” old content to make it your own.
The goal here is to help it pass through plagiarism-checking software and make sure it stands out as a unique source on the web.
You’ll need some practice in order to get good at this kind of work – but it requires zero skill and can pay off in dividends.
Earning Potential: $25/hour (Upwork)
Wrapping Up
There are many ways to make money without having any specific background.
With a little effort, you can learn how to make money on Upwork without skills – and start cashing in on the benefits of the freelance lifestyle ASAP.
Rebekah is a writer who covers all things education, business, agriculture, and finance. She owns a small farm business in upstate New York. Her educational credentials include a bachelor's degree in English from St. Lawrence University and a master's in special education from SUNY Plattsburgh.
