I do the same thing. I find tremendous value in skills and code familiarity overlap. It provides a lot of flexibility. I can focus on growing junior folks, and I get a lot of satisfaction in finding these folks other projects, and supporting the lifestyles they value. It requires a different set of values and management style which is why it’s less common.

I didn’t know you could make that much on up work. Do you monitor his screen though? I heard up work makes you install something like that?

> I didn’t know you could make that much on up work.

Our contractors range from $20/hr for something like content migration to $150/hr for someone who has built multiple products from scratch, been the CTO of startups, and has years of experience in coding, team management, architecture/system design, and infrastructure.

I've observed other people under-paying someone hourly and ending up spending a lot more in the long run. The most cost-effective strategy is to find the right person and pay them what they're worth. If you don't have the money to do that, you don't have the money to be in business.

> Do you monitor his screen though?

No. That's an insane practice, and it's shameful that Upwork promotes it. Anyone who needs to do that is incompetent at assessing talent and/or managing it.

> I heard up work makes you install something like that?

It does not force you, as far as I know. Our contractors log their time manually, and we trust them.

I prefer fixed-fee, but the way we run hourly work is similar in practice. We guarantee a minimum number of hours, and we expect a certain amount to get done.

As long as it gets done, what do I care if they finished it 2 hours faster? Whatever money I recovered by micromanaging, I'd end up losing again because micromanaging takes up my time (and drives talent away).

the challenge with upwork is how much effort and work is required to reach a point where i can find great clients like you.

do you have any advice for someone who can't afford to start at the bottom and work their way up? how do i screen clients and avoid the bad ones?

Unfortunately I have no idea how to help you. There really should be an Upwork competitor with only high-quality employers (agree to certain policies, like no screen monitoring) and contractors. Perhaps there is one and I just don't know about it.

That's optional and up to the employer to decide on using.

I would refuse to work for an employer if they wanted me to use that.