Top 8 High-Income Skills to Learn In 2024 for Free

Eric Nkom May 11, 2024

0 5 5 minutes read

Top 8 High-Income Skills to Learn In 2024 for Free

Having a successful career doesn’t come with a high price. You can study practically anything at the touch of a button thanks to remote learning, artificial intelligence (AI), the e-learning and online course creation industries, and remote technology.

The traditional, pricey methods of career development, training, and upskilling (universities, seminars, in-person workshops) are becoming less and less common, and a greater emphasis is being placed on time-, money-, and environmentally-friendly training formats. A successful profession can be developed for little or no money via webinars, online courses, membership subscriptions, YouTube videos, online projects, and masterclasses, among other resources.

Your best bet, if you’re wondering which high-income skills to prioritize studying this year, is to concentrate on any or all of these eight. Compared to pursuing a drawn-out degree, these talents are relatively quick and simple to learn, and they offer substantial returns on investment because companies across a variety of industries value them highly.

These are essential skills to acquire if you want to supplement your income and career with side gigs or freelancing. They will also help you become the best version of yourself at work, making unique contributions to your company’s success and setting yourself up for a raise or promotion.

1. Content Writing

The practice of writing blog posts, articles, social media posts, and other content to reach a business’s audience is known as content writing. A product or service is sold to potential buyers through this type of content marketing. The digital marketing and content marketing industries, where job growth is expected to reach 6%, are in high demand for this expertise.

Employers value content writers highly, but if you learn and use content writing techniques for your side project or business, you’ll also be more successful in reaching your target audience and gaining customers, which will boost your revenue.

2. Digital Marketing

Given that so many people use the Internet for business, education, entertainment, and shopping, the digital marketing sector is incredibly well-liked. Experts in digital marketing, ranging from consultants to social media managers to executives, can demand astronomically high compensation.

Where to get it: Coursera, Meta, and HubSpot Academy

3. Coding

It makes sense for someone brand-new to the tech industry to start by learning how to code. If you are interested in a career in technology, learning it is not only a useful, high-paying skill, but it can also be very beneficial if you are an entrepreneur and need to launch a website or tech-based product, even if it is just at the MVP (minimal viable product) stage.

Where to get it: Free Code Camp, edX, and Codecademy

4. Negotiation

The development of partnerships and sales, two incredibly profitable professional pathways in and of themselves, depend heavily on negotiation. According to LinkedIn’s Most In-Demand Skills of 2024 research, communication skills rank first on the list and negotiation is a crucial component of those talents.

Aside from being a crucial step in managing and interacting with stakeholders for business transactions, becoming an expert negotiator might mean the difference between taking a job offer that pays less than you deserve and getting paid what you deserve.

Where to study it: Salesforce blog, LinkedIn Learning, University of Michigan via Coursera

5. Copywriting

Another talent that is included in the category of digital marketing is copywriting. Product descriptions and website copy are written with it, and employment in copywriting can pay up to $138,000 a year on average.

Where to learn it: Skillshare (free to start), edX, and Class Central

6. Social Media Management

Why social media management is a high-paying skill is easy to understand. Proficient social media administrators can earn between $101,610 and $128,900 annually. If you’re interested in doing this as a freelance service, it can also be a lucrative side gig.

Beyond this, though, learning social media management is helpful if you want to develop your brand and become a thought leader in the industry. This is especially true if you don’t currently have the resources to hire someone else to handle your social media strategy, content scheduling, production, and community involvement. These components help you establish your online authority and attract additional clients, speaking engagements, and professional chances.

Where to learn it: HubSpot Academy and Coursera provide Google Career Certificates.

7. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

This year, SEO is yet another crucial skill to acquire, particularly if you work as a freelancer or entrepreneur. By deliberately increasing your exposure on Google, the most popular search engine, and other search engines, you may draw in more paying customers to your brand, products, and services.

Even if you have a full-time job, you can utilize your SEO expertise to work remotely as an SEO consultant for other firms, earning an additional source of revenue.

Semrush Academy and HubSpot Academy are the places to learn it.

8. Project Management

Finally, if you want to advance in your profession in 2024, project management (as well as other related PM jobs like product and program management) is a crucial ability to acquire. It can assist you in becoming more organized, leading and successfully communicating your expectations in the workplace, and managing several facets of your personal and professional lives.

Additionally, project managers are in high demand right now, with forecasts showing that there will be 25 million openings for them over the next few years.

Where to learn it: PMI’s free online micro-courses, Coursera offers Google Career Certificates.

As you can see, regardless of the field you work in, all eight of these abilities will improve your career in a variety of concrete and intangible ways. Whether you work for yourself full-time, as a freelancer, or as part of a side business, these abilities can help you become more in demand in your industry and increase your income this year.