AOA, my name is Kiran, and I am a top-rated content writer on Upwork. My story is one of struggle and hard work. I come from a small village where my family leads a simple and traditional life. I have always seen my parents fighting financial battles. I have two brothers and four sisters. When I was young, my father owned a small shop that kept us afloat.
I attended a government school up to matriculation and never scored below 80-90%. I am the youngest in my family. My elder sisters are also educated but completed their education privately. When I reached matric, I received a solar panel as a reward for my good grades, which was a huge achievement.
My brothers went abroad, but they faced difficulties there and couldn’t send us money. They had visa issues, and after working hard, they finally sorted out their visas. I remember often not having enough money to buy shampoo. Once at school, there was a bet that if we won, we would get a treat, and if we lost, we would all chip in ten rupees for snacks. The teacher won, and everyone had to contribute ten rupees. I only had five rupees, so I borrowed the other five from someone else. I didn’t go to the canteen that day and the next because I had to return the borrowed money.
I scored 85% in my matric exams. The real challenge began now. My sisters completed their education privately, but I had to attend college, it was far away from our village. My parents suggested I study privately as they couldn’t afford the expenses. The money my brother sent was meant for my elder sister’s wedding, paying off debts, and building our house.
But Allah helped me, and I received a scholarship of 36,000 rupees for two years, which was more than enough for me since I enrolled in a government college. Two years passed, and I completed my ICS. Now the bigger issue was that I needed to attend university to get a BSCS degree. My family was emotionally supportive but financially struggling, so they couldn’t do anything for me. But they say if your intentions are pure, God paves the way.
Through a common friend, I learned about a virtual university where we could study online. Fortunately, my elder sister had a laptop, and I decided this was my way to get a degree. I started teaching at a small private school in the village for just two thousand rupees. I pooled money to pay the admission fee and then paid the semester fees in installments from my salary. When my salary came, other girls would buy things for themselves, but I would pay my fees.
I taught there for two years, but the principal was very rude. My aunt’s brother opened a school, and I requested a teaching position there. They offered me four thousand rupees as my BS was halfway through. I taught there for another two years.
In my final semester, I had to do a final-year project and take exams. We weren’t allowed to use books in the classroom, so I prepared for my exams during break times. During my fourth semester, internet issues were a big problem. Only mobile data worked in our village, and that too was 2G. I couldn’t submit assignments on time, missed quizzes, and often cried.
On cold winter nights, I would go to the roof to complete assignments because there were some mobile phone signals accessible there. My sister’s laptop was very old, and one day its casing came off. I didn’t have enough money to buy a new laptop. I feared my dreams would shatter again.
Allah helped again, and my name came up in the Prime Minister’s Laptop Scheme, and I got a new laptop. Time passed, and I completed my degree at the beginning of 2020. There was a wedding in my family, and I wanted to attend. I requested leave from my school principal, but he refused. My mother called him and asked for leave, explaining that her daughter also wanted to attend the wedding. The principal hung up the call, and the next day I received a termination letter.
This was practically a tough time for me as my salary was about to increase. I got an offer from a school in a strange neighborhood. I went there and was heartbroken by the school’s condition and the principal’s lecherous looks. I cried all day after returning home, despite having a BSCS degree.
My cousin referred me to a receptionist position in the city. I went for the interview, and they saw my CV and said they would hire me as a developer intern instead, but only for five thousand rupees a month for three months. I agreed, hoping to earn more later.
The city was 21 kilometers away, and traveling daily was a problem. I told my family I would teach at an academy and rent a small house in the city for me and my brother. They agreed. We moved to the city, not knowing another challenge awaited. One of my sisters fell ill, and we had to bring her to the city as well. My sister-in-law and mother stayed at home, but they also joined us later. During this period, my elder brother and sister got married. My brother was on leave, and then COVID-19 struck. My office closed, my brother was home, schools and academies shut down, and we all sat in a rented house in the city.
I started suffering from depression, feeling responsible for bringing everyone to the city, and now having no job. We relied on the earnings from our village lands to cover city expenses, which was embarrassing for me. Eventually, I got a job at an academy for five thousand rupees. Five rupees felt like a lot to me, so I accepted the job.
One day, I learned about a boy in the neighborhood who did something online. My mother and I went to his house, and he guided us well, setting up a Fiverr account for me. He said he would do the work, and we would share the earnings 50/50, but I would manage the account. After two months, we got a five-dollar order. Time passed, and we kept working, with me earning around 10-15 thousand rupees. I felt our situation was improving, but even that wasn’t enough to cover expenses. We returned to the village at the end of 2020.
Back in the village, someone told me that if my English was good, I could write articles.
This was a good pick. I practiced and started writing. The Fiverr account had closed by then. Through my work, I met a girl who outsourced work, and I started earning 5-10 thousand rupees a month. I was happy because at least something was coming in. At home, the financial burden was less since there was no rent.
I enrolled in an e-Rozgar course for social media marketing. One day, the instructor was hiring content writers, so I applied. During a session, he called out names, and everyone learned who the writers were among us. I didn’t get the job there, but a girl messaged me about a 30,000-rupee content writing job. Imagine how I felt hearing about 30,000 rupees when I was only earning 5-10 thousand a month.
I got interviewed and was selected. April 22, 2022, was a memorable day for me when I joined MAF Tech. I started contributing financially to my family. My brothers were almost unemployed, and the household expenses were on my shoulders. Slowly, I took on more work and started earning around 35-40 thousand rupees a month. A person came along, had me do the work, and earned dollars on Upwork. I wondered why I couldn’t do it myself.
But I didn’t know much about Upwork. Thankfully, I saw an ad for Fahad’s Upwork training with a discount during Ramadan. I paid 5,000 rupees and enrolled. I started understanding things better and created an account, but no orders came in initially. I kept bidding persistently. One day, I got an order for three dollars per hour, which felt like a jackpot to me. I worked with that client for several months. I resolved that if my work continued, I would use my first payment to perform Umrah.
My family only knew about my job at MAF Tech, not Upwork. Invitations started coming in, my Upwork profile boosted, and I started getting orders. By the end of 2023, I had saved 1,600 dollars. I saw that it was enough to perform Umrah with my parents. We got passports and all necessary documents, and on December 13, we were on a plane.
Now, to wrap up this story: Alhamdulillah, I easily earn six figures monthly from Upwork and still have my job at MAF Tech.
The purpose of my story is to show that challenges come, but you shouldn’t give up. If I can go from earning just 2,000 rupees to six figures now, why can’t you?
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