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

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

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