From time to time, we evaluate and update the specialties and skills listed on Upwork to reflect the current trends and talents that members of Upwork have to offer. These updates improve your chances of being found on Upwork, so it’s important that they’re kept up-to-date.
Often, these updates involve simple renaming, merging, and corrections to streamline your experience. You may not even notice them! However, they improve our metadata and result in clearer information, improved organization, and more accurate listings in our marketplace and your job searches.
For example:
- If you are a client, specialties and skills help categorize your job post and match your project with the talent you need
- If you are a freelancer, specialties and skills help you market your talents and create specialized profiles that accurately reflect your expertise
Note:
Top freelancers tell us they frequently check the skills listed on their profile to make sure they are accurate and current. They also review their job search filters to keep opportunities up-to-date.
Updates to Marketplace attributes:
Significant changes have been made to Upwork skill attributes in this release. We added over 2,900 roles and skills to our ontology based on top queries from freelancers and clients, and from standardized roles and skills developed by European and US agencies. We continue to add synonyms to improve search results and capture variations in how freelancers and clients describe their skills and needs. With a constant eye on streamlining categories and avoiding ambiguity, we've merged 308 values and deprecated 103 values.
In this particular update, we’ve added brand new subcategories and specialties in the Customer Service and Admin Support categories. We’ve also made additional improvements to the rest of the Marketplace Taxonomy. Please find these changes in the list below.
New attributes | 2937 |
Deprecated attributes | 103 |
Renamed attributes | 2032 |
Merged attributes | 308 |
Hover over the different colors of text to see what changes were made.
Green changes mean a category was renamed.
Red changes mean the category is new.
Blue changes mean a category was merged.
Purple changes mean a category was moved and renamed.
Pink changes mean a category was moved.
Marketplace Category Structure
Accounting and Consulting
Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 |
Accounting & Consulting | ||
Accounting & Bookkeeping | ||
Accounting | ||
Bookkeeping | ||
Financial Planning | ||
Financial Analysis & Modeling | ||
Financial Management/CFO | ||
Human Resources | ||
HR Administration | ||
Recruiting | ||
Training & Development | ||
Management Consulting & Analysis | ||
Business Analysis | ||
Instructional Desig | ||
Management Consulting | ||
Other - Accounting & Consulting | ||
Lifestyle Coaching | ||
Tax Preparation |
Admin Support
Customer Service
Data Science & Analytics
Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 |
Data Science & Analytics | ||
AI & Machine Learning | ||
Deep Learning | ||
Knowledge Representation | ||
Machine Learning | ||
Data Analysis & Testing | ||
A/B Testing | ||
Data Analytics | ||
Experimentation & Testing | ||
Data Design & Visualization | ||
Data Visualization | ||
Data Extraction/ETL | ||
Data Extraction | ||
Data Processing | ||
Data Mining & Management | ||
Data Engineering | ||
Data Mining | ||
Quantitative Analysis | ||
Other - Data Science & Analytics |
Design & Creative
Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 |
Design & Creative | ||
Art & Illustration | ||
Caricatures & Portraits | ||
Cartoons & Comics | ||
Fine Art | ||
Illustration | ||
Pattern Design | ||
Audio & Music Production | ||
Audio Editing | ||
Audio Production | ||
Music Composition | ||
Music Production | ||
Branding & Logo Design | ||
Brand Identity Design | ||
Logo Design | ||
Game Art & AR/VR Design | ||
AR/VR Design | ||
Game Art | ||
Graphic, Editorial & Presentation Design | ||
Art Direction | ||
Creative Direction | ||
Editorial Design | ||
Graphic Design | ||
Image Editing | ||
Packaging Design | ||
Presentation Design | ||
Performing Arts | ||
Acting | ||
Music Performance | ||
Singing | ||
Voice Talent | ||
Photography | ||
Local Photography | ||
Product Photography | ||
Product Design | ||
Fashion Design | ||
Jewelry Design | ||
Product & Industrial Design | ||
Video & Animation | ||
2D Animation | ||
3D Animation | ||
Motion Graphics | ||
Video Editing | ||
Video Production | ||
Videography | ||
Visual Effects | ||
Voice Talent |
Engineering & Architecture
Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 |
Engineering & Architecture | ||
3D Modeling & CAD | ||
3D Modeling & Rendering | ||
CAD | ||
Buildings & Landscape Architecture | ||
Structural Architecture | ||
Landscape Architecture | ||
Chemical Engineering | ||
Chemical & Process Engineering | ||
Civil & Structural Engineering | ||
Building Information Modeling | ||
Civil Engineering | ||
Structural Engineering | ||
Contract Manufacturing | ||
Logistics & Supply Chain Management | ||
Sourcing & Procurement | ||
Electrical & Electronic Engineering | ||
Electrical Engineering | ||
Electronic Engineering | ||
Energy & Mechanical Engineering | ||
Mechanical Engineering | ||
Energy Engineering | ||
Interior & Trade Show Design | ||
Interior Design | ||
Trade Show Design | ||
Physical Sciences | ||
Biology | ||
Chemistry | ||
Mathematics | ||
Physics | ||
STEM Tutoring | ||
Other - Engineering |
IT & Networking
Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 |
IT & Networking | ||
Database Management & Administration | ||
Database Administration | ||
ERP/CRM Software | ||
Business Applications Development | ||
Systems Engineering | ||
Information Security & Compliance | ||
Information Security | ||
IT Compliance | ||
Network Security | ||
Network & System Administration | ||
Network Administration | ||
Systems Administration | ||
DevOps & Solutions Architecture | ||
Cloud Engineering | ||
DevOps Engineering | ||
Solutions Architecture |
Legal
Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 |
Legal | ||
Corporate & Contract Law | ||
Business & Corporate Law | ||
General Counsel | ||
Intellectual Property Law | ||
Paralegal Services | ||
Corporate Law | ||
Intellectual Property Law | ||
Paralegal Services | ||
Finance & Tax Law | ||
Securities & Finance Law | ||
Tax Law | ||
International & Immigration Law | ||
Immigration Law | ||
International Law | ||
Public Law | ||
Labor & Employment Law | ||
Regulatory Law |
Sales & Marketing
Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 |
Sales & Marketing | ||
Display Advertising | ||
Campaign Management | ||
Digital Marketing | ||
Email & Marketing Automation | ||
Email Marketing | ||
Marketing Automation | ||
Lead Generation & Telemarketing | ||
Lead Generation | ||
Sales & Business Development | ||
Telemarketing | ||
Market & Customer Research | ||
Marketing & Brand Strategy | ||
Brand Strategy | ||
Content Strategy | ||
Marketing Strategy | ||
Social Media Strategy | ||
Public Relations | ||
SEO & SEM Services | ||
Search Engine Marketing | ||
Search Engine Optimization | ||
SEM - Search Engine Marketing | ||
Social Media & PR Services | ||
Public Relations | ||
Social Media Marketing | ||
Telemarketing & Telesales | ||
Other - Sales & Marketing |
Translation
Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 |
Translation | ||
Legal, Medical & Technical Translation | ||
Legal Document Translation | ||
Medical Document Translation | ||
Technical Document Translation | ||
Medical Translation | ||
Technical Translation | ||
Translation & Localization | ||
General Translation Services | ||
Language Localization | ||
Language Tutoring |
Web, Mobile & Software Development
Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 |
Web, Mobile & Software Dev | ||
Desktop Application Development | ||
Desktop Software Development | ||
Ecommerce Development | ||
Ecommerce Website Development | ||
Game Design & Development | ||
Video Game Development | ||
Mobile Development | ||
Mobile App Development | ||
Mobile Game Development | ||
Product Management | ||
Agile Leadership | ||
Scrum Leadership | ||
QA & Testing | ||
Automation Testing | ||
Manual Testing | ||
Scripts & Utilities | ||
Scripting & Automation | ||
Web & Mobile Design | ||
Mobile Design | ||
Prototyping | ||
UX/UI Design | ||
Web Design | ||
Web Development | ||
Back-End Development | ||
CMS Development | ||
Front-End Development | ||
Full Stack Development | ||
Other - Software Development | ||
AR/VR Development | ||
Coding Tutoring | ||
Database Development | ||
Emerging Tech | ||
Firmware Development |
Writing
Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 |
Writing | ||
Content & Copywriting | ||
Content Writing | ||
Copywriting | ||
Creative Writing Services | ||
Creative Writing | ||
Ghostwriting | ||
Scriptwriting | ||
Editing & Proofreading Services | ||
Editing & Proofreading | ||
Grant & Proposal Writing | ||
Grant Writing | ||
Resumes & Cover Letters | ||
Career Coaching | ||
Technical Writing | ||
Technical Writing | ||
Other - Writing | ||
Business Writing | ||
Writing Tutoring |