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I Got My First Job
Yesterday, I said, “It’s Hard at the Beginning.” Today, I got my first job on Upwork. It’s a fixed-price job worth $10, but it’s very important to me. It’s my first big step toward earning dollars outside my country.
VPS Setup
When I first saw the job, I thought there would be many people applying for it. After thirty minutes, I noticed that not many people had applied. I realized I could do the job, so I spent about ten minutes writing my cover letter, explaining the three steps I would take to set up the server. I received a message from the client immediately after submitting my application. I asked the client a few questions and also answered the questions they had for me.
Beyond My Estimated Time
I estimated that setting up the server would take one hour. Previously, when setting up a server, I used SFTP or SCP to transfer files. However, the client was more familiar with FTP. When I tried to set up FTP on the root account, it was forbidden for security reasons. So, I created a normal account to enable the FTP service.
Since it was my first job, I wanted to complete it as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, this made me waste a lot of time. I worked hard without taking a lunch break.
Unexpected Result
When I ran the Node.js application, I expected a webpage to display the correct port. Instead, I saw a 404 error page. At first, I thought something was wrong with the service, so I needed to fix it. In the afternoon, I carefully reviewed the code and realized that the 404 page was correct. It wasn’t a webpage but a bot server application.
Time Difference
The client was in the USA, while I am in China. There’s about a 13-hour time difference between us, which was a challenge for me. After accepting the job, I realized the client was about to go to bed. Setting up the server required communication with the client, so I wanted to complete the task quickly. Moving forward, I will optimize my work process to handle such situations better.
The Result
Eventually, I completed the job. I’m grateful to the kind client for giving me this opportunity. I will continue working hard for my future clients.