Thank you @stebokas good to know that you had a good history with such platforms. Sometimes I think about try again but just give up. I'll take in account your observations next time 😄
Yes I had imagined freelance and upwork as the kind of place where someone wants a PHP web site hacked together for $50 :)
There definitely isn't a magic recipe for getting freelance clients... contracting seems a sensible path to get started, as it's a middle ground between being an employee and a really 'free' freelancer From time to time such offers are shared, sometimes very clearly and other it's simply the contract form chosen for a remote job opportunity