The best way to propel your career (and income) forward is to learn a high income skill and find employers/clients to pay you for it. You can even pivot this into launching a business in the future. It all starts with choosing the right skill, though. So in this article, we’ll cover: 5 examples of good high income skills to learnLet’s get started…
5 Good High Income Skills to Learn
1. Software engineering Some employers require a 4-year degree to work as a software engineer (usually a degree in computer science or math). However, many don’t – and even top employers like Google and Apple have done away with the requirement for a degree.
So it’s possible to learn this skill without a formal university degree… usually through online or in-person “coding bootcamps†which typically take around 12 weeks to complete.
Overall, software development is one of the best high income skills to learn because of the high demand for this type of work. More of the world’s businesses and systems are being run on software.
More transactions/purchases are happening online each year. And more people are using apps, online tools, and electronic devices in virtually every aspect of their lives.
(They even make doorbells now with integrated cameras that send video to your smartphone when someone’s at your door. This requires software engineers to build!)
And it’s not uncommon for software engineers with a few years of experience to earn $100,000+, and the very best engineers in top companies can earn $200,000 or more.
If you decide to go the freelance software development route, you could charge upwards of $100-150 per hour with certain programming languages and skillsets (some pay more than others).
2. Sales
If you don’t want to learn to write code, no problem. Sales is another one of the highest-income jobs in the world and doesn’t require any type of technical background or specific degree.
In one of my first office jobs, I was doing customer support, but I happened to sit very near the sales team. The top salespeople were earning $500,000 or more per year. One guy made $2 million in the first year I was there… …With a Bachelor’s degree in English. So while many companies will want a four-year degree of some type, you don’t need any specific educational background to get into sales. Some companies may not even require a degree at all.
Also, there are different types of roles within sales. There are people who close deals (known as “closersâ€) but there are also people who reach out to potential customers initially and try to set up that appointment with the closer. These are often called “appointment settersâ€). 3. Digital marketing Digital marketing is a field I taught myself and used to earn a freelance income for one year while traveling and growing this website,
Marketing is a great high-income skill with many sub-areas that you can specialize in to earn even more.
(They say “niches make riches,†and it’s true. Companies want to hire a specialist, at least when it comes to freelancers/consultants. If they need help with email marketing, they want an email marketing pro, not a marketing generalist. So over time, it’s best to specialize. Don’t worry at the start though – learn everything you can and decide later).
Some specific areas within digital marketing include:
Online advertising Social media marketing Content marketing Email marketing
4. Copywriting
Copywriting isn’t a well-known type of work outside of the marketing/advertising world, but within the industry, everyone knows how vital this skill is. (And the best copywriters can make millions – usually through a commission or percentage of sales, which is agreed to upfront).
For example, if a large online business hired a copywriter to put together the sales page for their new product, they might agree to pay the copywriter $10,000, plus 2% of net sales.
That 2% might not sound like a lot, but if the company sells $5,000,000 worth of product, that’s $100,000 in commission for that one project!
5. Web design
Any online business needs designers to decide how their web pages should look.
So if you’re interested in technology/web business, but don’t want to learn to write code, you could consider learning web design instead. It’s not quite as lucrative as software engineering on average, but the best web designers still earn $100,000+, so I consider it a good high-paying skill if working in tech seems interesting to you.
The best high income skills to learn include software engineering, sales, digital marketing, copywriting, web design. You can develop these skills through formal training programs, online courses, or free content from websites like YouTube.
To take your learning further, find a great mentor or coach who can help you develop your skills faster based on their own experiences and successes.
Enjoy! Azoka Theo Founder, Recruitment Trust
P.P.S. If you enjoyed it, let me know! I’d love to hear from you and don't forget to follow me on instagram 🤗
|