There are tons of posts online covering the highest paying freelance jobs on sites like Upwork and Fiverr. But, what if you need to make extra money while also learning a high-paying skill?

In this blog post, I’m going to show you 5 EASY Upwork jobs for beginners that you can start now. You will also see real earning examples from freelancers on Upwork and Fiverr to inspire you and show you that it is possible.

Disclaimer

The post may contain referral links and I earn a small commission if you choose to use them at no additional cost to you. In some cases, I have locked in exclusive deals for you.

My Story

Freelancing completely transformed my life in ways that I never imagined were possible. I’ve become one of the top-earning freelancers on Upwork making up to $157 per hour with over $967k of total earnings.

View Here: Josh Burns – Upwork Profile

In 2016, my full-time salary was barely higher than my student loan debt, and I was struggling to make it paycheck to paycheck. I had never done freelancing before and had doubts whether I would be able to succeed working with my clients.

By getting over my fear of failure and just taking a chance at freelancing, I was able to increase my yearly income from $50,000 to over $200,000 within a year.

You Can Do It Too

In a world that’s full of layoffs, unemployment, and tremendous uncertainly, having multiple streams of income will help prepare you for whatever life throws your way.

And I’m here to help by showing you 5 Upwork jobs that you can start making extra money with very quickly.

#1: Customer Service Representative

Most of you have likely worked in some sort of customer-facing job at some point in your life. While I was in high school and college, I worked at Kroger in customer service for around 5 years.

If you enjoy interacting with people and solving basic customer issues, then this could be the perfect freelance job for you. In fact, you can earn anywhere from $15 – $30 an hour on freelance sites like Upwork.

As a freelance customer service representative, your job duties will typically include providing customer service support via phone, email, chat, and ticking systems.

In most cases, all you need is a computer, phone, and reliable internet. If you’re someone who’s never worked in a customer-facing job, then all you need is for one client to give you a chance.

#2: Content Writer

If you love writing, there are many opportunities for you to make a lot of freelance money on Upwork and Fiverr. On average, you can earn from $30 – $60 an hour. And after gaining 5-star reviews, you could make over $100 an hour.

Most companies, businesses, and influencers have blogs but don’t have time to write for them. You can take this extra work off their plate by writing content for the blog, website, or other publications.

I know this from experience because I’ve personally hired freelancers to write for my blog on JoshBurnsTech.com. For example, this blog post on “How to Get Your First Job on Upwork“ was written by a freelancer. And all they had to do was take my YouTube video and convert it into a blog post.

There are numerous blogs and websites online that need content writers. If I needed to make extra money fast, this is a freelance job that I would pursue.

To get started, simply go to Upwork or Fiverr and post your services.

#3: YouTube Thumbnail Designer

YouTube thumbnails function like billboards to help viewers decide what videos to watch.

According to YouTube, 90% of the best-performing videos have custom thumbnails. Well-designed thumbnails can attract more viewers and increase viewer retention.

As a freelance YouTube thumbnail designer, you can create custom thumbnail art for YouTubers in exchange for money. On freelance sites like Upwork and Fiverr, you can create packaged services by setting the scope, price, timing, and requirements.

In the Upwork Project Catalog, freelancers typically have the starter, standard, and advanced tiers. Each is priced based on the offerings, with the advanced tier being the highest priced.

Moreover, you don’t need a college degree or 5-10 years of experience to start making great freelance money as a YouTube thumbnail designer. You only need to provide examples of your work.

Canva

To get you started, one of the best tools that I use to create thumbnails is Canva. It’s completely free to use and extremely easy to create high-quality custom thumbnails for YouTube.

If you want to take it a notch higher and have more customizations, you can upgrade to the Pro Plan, which is what I use. It makes it easy to remove the background from images (see below) and contains more elements as well.

I learned everything that I know about creating YouTube thumbnails by watching free tutorials on YouTube. It’s extremely easy to get started. And being the second-largest search engine in the world, there’s massive earning potential on YouTube.

#4: Virtual Assistant

This is one of the best in-demand Upwork jobs that you can get into with no experience. If you’re organized, reliable, and have decent computer skills, then you’re ready to get started.

In the US, you can expect to earn anything between $20 – $40 an hour as a freelance VA on sites like Upwork. VA Upwork jobs can be very lucrative if you find the right employer.

In a nutshell, a Virtual Assist is any type of remote assistant who provides administrative, creative, or technical support services for online businesses. In other words, you will perform tasks online for people who are too busy to do them.

Examples of VA tasks can include scheduling and sending emails, answering calls, managing calendars, setting appointments, and other similar tasks.

There will never be a shortage of busy people who need to free up more of their time. This makes freelance virtual assistance a great way that you can quickly start making extra money.

#5: YouTube Video Editor

One of the things that YouTubers outsource to scale and free up their time is video editing. On sites like Upwork and Fiverr, you can earn $20 – $100 an hour as a video editor.

As you start gaining 5-star reviews with great feedback, you can gradually increase your rate based on the quality of your work.

I just recently started editing my videos, and I love it. However, most of the previous videos on my channel were all edited by a freelance video editor who I hired on Upwork.

To get started, I recommend that you download either Adobe Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro. Simply start by watching free tutorials on YouTube, which is exactly what I did to learn video editing.

Secret Expert Tip

You can also go to any YouTuber’s channel, click on their about tab, and find contact information such as their email address.

Send them editing samples you’ve created and tell them how you can free up their time so that they can focus on creating more content. You can even download one of their recent videos and edit it to show them exactly how you can improve their content.

If you want to take it a step further, you can learn YouTube best practices and SEO. This will allow you to work as a YouTube channel manager in addition to video editing.

I’ve personally been offered several opportunities to manage YouTube channels.

Conclusion

Now the next-level way to make tons of freelance money is to combine several jobs from this post.

For example, Customer Service Representative and Virtual Assistant are similar freelance jobs. Same for YouTube Thumbnail Designer and YouTube Video Editor.

If you offer both services, you will have more opportunities to win freelance jobs. Besides, most of the highest-paid freelancers on Upwork offer several services that relate to each other.

The most important thing to remember is it just takes a few clients who can give you consistent work to completely change your life.

Get Started Now

If you’re interested in any of the beginner Upwork jobs from this video, then head over to Upwork and create a profile using tips from the following videos.

Watch Here: How to Become a Top Rated High Earning Freelancer

My goal with my freelance content is for you to become so successful that you don’t need my content anymore because you are so busy making money, working with tons of clients around the world.

Need more help on Upwork? Join my Patreon today which includes benefits like:

  • Upwork mentoring
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  • Direct line of communication with me
  • Engage and grow with like-minded individuals
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Join Today: Josh Burns Tech Patreon

What’s your biggest struggle on Upwork? I want to help, so let me know in the comments below.

Also, take a second to follow me on Instagram and Twitter for more freelance help, insight into my daily work ethic and grind, and see all other things that I enjoy most in life.