The 10 Best Upwork Jobs For Beginners In 2024

The best Upwork jobs for beginners are easy ways to start your freelancing career and develop a strong portfolio to attract more clients.

Whether you're interested in becoming a data entry specialist or working as a virtual assistant, these jobs can be picked up without needing a bachelor's degree.

Read on, and we'll break down everything you need to know to apply for these easy jobs on Upwork and kickstart a successful career.

The 10 Best Upwork Jobs For Beginners In 2023

The Upwork platform hosts thousands of entry-level jobs for freelancers that don't require extensive experience to perform.

In this guide, we've selected a selection of roles for various levels of experience to help you find your first freelance gig and earn money.

Here's our list of the ten best Upwork jobs for beginners in 2023:

10. Voice Recording Artist

One of the easiest Upwork jobs for beginners is working as a voice recorder for clients looking for narration for their products and services.

Working as a voice recording artist is a flexible role that can be worked around a stay-at-home mom schedule without interfering with chores.

Some of the content you'll be recording includes providing readings for audiobooks and helping out with corporate training videos.

Establishing a strong reputation could lead to more varied work recording voiceovers for TV shows, radio broadcasts, or even movies.

To work as a voice recorder, all you'll need is a high-quality microphone and the relevant software to turn your recordings into the correct audio files.

Naturally, you'll also be expected to have a clear and well-pronounced speaking voice, although you won't have to be a professional voice actor.

While pay can vary wildly between projects, working in voice recordings is easy to get into, with many companies happy to hire beginners for steady work.

9. Customer Service Representative

Another type of work commonplace on Upwork is customer service representative roles, which require little to no experience to apply for.

A lucrative industry with frequent opportunities posted on Upwork, customer service roles are posted worldwide and often have a degree of flexibility.

As a customer service representative, you'll deal with customers via email or telephone through a live chat system.

Your client will provide you with instructions and set responses to deliver, and there may be some limited training to bring you up to speed.

Applicants should possess strong communication skills and be able to present a professional front to customers when dealing with their queries.

As you build a network of customer service clients, you'll be able to earn more connects on Upwork and apply for better-paid roles.

In short, becoming a customer service representative is one of the easiest jobs on Upwork and a great way to get some exposure to clients.

8. Location-Based Jobs

Not everyone who wants to start out on their freelance career intends to work from home using computers and would prefer to be out and about.

Fortunately, there are plenty of easy-to-perform location-based jobs for beginners listed on Upwork for those who prefer in-person work.

Location-based work can involve simple tasks such as distributing flyers in your local area and other similar roles that require no training.

Other types of location-based roles for beginners include working with clients to verify how their mobile app is functioning in your particular region.

Some may require skills and experience in a particular domain, whether interviewing potential customers face-to-face or working as a photographer.

Whatever your qualifications and work history, there are many in-demand jobs for beginners to earn decent money without being stuck indoors.

While there has been a clear rise in remote working in recent years, plenty of clients are still looking for hands-on freelancers.

7. Native Language Jobs

Aspiring freelancers who are fluent in two or more languages can use their linguistic skills to apply for their first job on Upwork.

There are lots of potential clients looking for translators for their projects, and the work can bring in a significant income for strong communicators.

While English is the most popular language on Upwork, searching for work in the other languages you speak is possible to fine-tune search results.

You may be working on projects translating documents, in which case you'll need an eye for detail and be competent at punctuation and grammar.

On the other hand, it might be general work such as data entry or customer service, but working with international teams where your language skills are required.

In addition to showcasing your writing skills in a second language, there are also Upwork jobs for beginners that require a clear speaking voice.

This could involve rerecording audio files into another language or even recording voiceovers for a training video in a foreign language.

6. Social Media Manager

Freelancers who clearly understand how social media works can find jobs on Upwork as social media managers.

The job description for a social media manager typically requires the regular posting of business-related content on the main social media platforms.

You'll be tasked with scheduling regular posts daily or weekly using websites such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.

The creation of visual assets, including images, graphics, and videos, is also something that social media managers are often expected to do.

Since you'll be interacting with comments on posts, good communication skills are another requirement of the role as you manage online communities.

You'll also need to understand the client history and social media trends that can be used to help drive targeted marketing campaigns online.

You can research the best Upwork profiles to make sure yours is written to showcase your social media management skills in their best light.

5. Transcriptionist

Transcription services are among the most popular ways to become a freelancer since there are many entry-level positions in this field.

When working as a transcriptionist, you'll be sent audio files from clients and be asked to listen to them and create a written version of the content.

In some instances, the client will send you bespoke transcription software that you'll use to work on and create the correctly formatted document.

This can include inputting time stamps, speaker tags, and other pertinent information that places the text in its proper context.

If you're a fast typist with a good ear for language rules, you'll be at an advantage over other freelancers with a higher output rate.

The more successful freelance transcriptionists can foster relationships with clients looking for consistent, ongoing work on projects.

Just be aware that while many easy jobs on Upwork pay an hourly rate, transcriptionists are typically paid by the length of the audio recording they're transcribing.

4. Web & App Tester

If you're savvy with mobile and web applications and want additional income as a tester, Upwork has many listings in this field.

As the most popular apps continue to grow in users and more apps hit the market, testers are in high demand from a wide range of businesses.

Web and app testing jobs require freelancers to check all the features on a given platform to ensure everything functions as intended.

They also require trying to break the app and performing unusual actions to find code errors under various use conditions.

Additional testing involves verifying accurate performance on a variety of platforms, for example, checking an app on websites and mobile devices.

Any bugs found will be entered into a bug reporting system, where the nature and severity of the bug are logged along with its repeatability.

With testing among the most in-demand skills on Upwork, it's an easy job to help build up your freelance employment history, leading to higher-paying roles.

3. Content Writer

With content marketing the go-to method for building an online presence and attracting new customers, there's a high demand for content writing.

Whether it's a small, local business or an international corporation, content writing helps their company website to rise through search engine results.

As a content writer, you'll work on articles covering topics related to the client's products and services with a specific word count.

These articles will have specific keywords associated with them, which need to be included in the text and internal and external links.

Clients require writers with a good sense of grammar, spelling, and punctuation and the ability to research a given topic.

There are some clients who focus on a particular niche, with content writing roles covering everything from technical skills to the medical and financial industries.

To showcase your content writing skills, you can link to any previous work in your Upwork profile and any niche area of interest you have experience in.

You can also set up your own site with a blog website builder and use this to present your best work to attract new freelance writing clients.

2. Virtual Assistant

Another consequence of the rise of remote working is the significant increase in freelance roles for virtual assistants.

Working as a virtual assistant can be performed from home with just a laptop and internet connection and is also popular among traveling freelancers.

Virtual assistant tasks involve scheduling appointments for clients and managing their workload to help them stay organized on a daily basis.

You'll also be expected to answer calls and emails and perform similar functions as social media managers, such as scheduling posts.

There may also be some basic website maintenance tasks, for instance, ensuring the site's plugins are up to date and scheduling back-ups.

You might also be expected to compile PowerPoint presentations for your clients and other company promotional material.

As such, a degree of computer proficiency is expected from virtual assistants, as well as clear communication skills and keen attention to detail.

Like many jobs on Upwork for beginner freelancers, working as a virtual assistant can be a part-time job, depending on the potential client's requirements.

1. Data Entry

Data entry jobs are a flexible way to earn money in your spare time, whether working from home with a baby or in the evenings after a regular job.

There are thousands of data entry jobs on Upwork that require little experience, and while it can be tedious work, it's also a relatively easy job.

Clients will grant you access to their internal computer system and database, where you'll add the text or numerical information required for an update.

Data entry work can also require the verification of the accuracy of information in these databases, making it great work for detail-oriented freelancers.

Since you'll often be working on bespoke company software, you may be expected to undergo some level of training before starting in the role.

Additionally, some experience using data analytics software can be an advantage to freelancers considering entering this line of work.

Likewise, freelancers who are savvy with software such as Word, Excel, and other spreadsheet programs will be at an advantage when applying.

Since data entry typically allows freelancers to work at their own pace, it's an excellent opportunity to hone tangental skills simultaneously.

Summary

We hope you've found this breakdown of the best Upwork jobs for beginners an informative resource to help you get started with a successful freelancing career.

Depending on your level of computer proficiency and previous employment history, there's great scope with these roles to expand your freelance business in new directions.

The more honest feedback you get from clients, the more you'll work towards becoming an experienced freelancer and developing a strong client base.