Do you have high-income skills? It’s a tough question to answer for a lot of people.
The more high-value skills you have, the more you can get paid to do. Many people take their skills and work at home or become a freelancer to earn more money.
If you want a specific job, then there will be specific hard and soft skills that you need to get that job, so the high-income skills to learn will vary.
Most people think of trade skills or skills that come from college degrees, but there’s so much more than that!
There can be lots of reasons why you want a higher income and high-income skills, but generally speaking, they can lead to a better quality of life.
Let’s dive into these high-income skills to learn and make more money!
Quick Picks
Having the right skills can open many doors for you, making your assets more recession-proof!
But there are some that pay more than others, or some more in-demand skills.
Here are our top picks for the best skills:
- Best For Beginners – Proofreading
- Highest-Paying – Bookkeeping
- Most Flexible – Freelance Writing
- Best Freelancing Site – FlexJobs
- Best Online Courses – SkillShare
Learn How to Become a Proofreader and Start a Freelance Proofreading Business.
15,000+ Students. 7+ Years of Results.
25 Best High-Income Skills For 2023
1. Proofreading
Income potential: $50,000+
What does it entail: Proofreading is where you check over a piece of content to check that there are no mistakes in it.
Proofreading is different to something like copywriting, which is where the content will be changed to make it flow better.
There is a high demand for proofreading, as there is so much content out there, either online or in paper form.
You can take professional proofreading courses to provide high-quality services and get certifications to make your resume stand out.
There are free resources to learn about proofreading too, including this free workshop that got Brittany started!
Learn How to Become a Proofreader and Start a Freelance Proofreading Business.
15,000+ Students. 7+ Years of Results.
2. Blogging
Income potential: $100,000+
What does it entail: When you have a blog, there is a lot that goes into creating and running it.
There are lots of skills that you need for blogging, such as writing and marketing. You will also need to be good at sales and running a business in general.
It is a business like any other, which means that you have to put a lot of work into your blog to get it to take off.
There are lots of tutorials that you can take online for free. Take this FREE Start Your Blog Boot Camp to get started now.
Get FREE access to our step-by-step plan for starting a blog that makes $1,000 per month.
3. Affiliate Marketing
Income potential: $150,000+
What does it entail: Affiliate marketing is where you can get a commission for recommending a product or service to someone.
You can use affiliate marketing either for your own business or for your employer- it’s a valuable skill you can monetize in several ways.
You will need to recommend good products/services relevant to your target audience.
We did a rundown of the best affiliate marketing courses you can take. Classes can be expensive but are very worth it- when you know what you’re doing, you earn more money doing it!
Learn everything you need to know about affiliate marketing with this course.
How To Nail Your Niche, Get More Traffic, Build Your Email List, & Make More Money Blogging!
4. Graphic Design
Income potential: $55,000+
What does it entail: Graphic design is creating different graphics. These can take shape in many different forms, and there is a high demand for these skills.
A lot of graphic designers will study graphic design, but you can still find work if you are self-taught.
If you have a passion for graphic design and are willing to work the hours to learn it (as there is a lot of trial and error), this could be for you.
5. SEO Marketing
Income potential: $50,000+
What does it entail: SEO marketing is search engine optimization marketing.
You could earn up to $50 an hour as a search engine optimization marketer, and it can all be done from home.
When people search for a certain term in Google, you are going to want to be at the top of that search term for your chosen subject.
For example, say you have a company that sells organic dog food. When someone heads over to Google to buy some organic dog food and types that in, you will want to pop up in the search.
Search engine optimization is ensuring your client’s products appear on page 1 on Google!
You can either learn it all yourself from tutorials and trial and error or pay for courses. Sign up for this FREE SEO Masterclass to get started today.
6. Virtual Assistant (VA)
Income potential: $50,000
What does it entail: This may not sound like a high-income skill, but having the skills for a virtual assistant will help you make a high income.
You can become a virtual assistant pretty easily, and with there are a variety of high-value skills you can monetize, including email services, SEO, social media marketing, phone answering, and more.
Many business owners are looking for these skills when they hire someone, and you can get a high income from them.
You can learn how to be a VA from virtual assistant courses, especially if you want to charge more for your services or join a high-paying niche.
Learn more about becoming a Virtual Assistant here.
7. Bookkeeping
Income potential: $70,000+
What does it entail: Bookkeeping is dealing with the financial records of a business before it is handed over to an accountant.
Bookkeeping is a useful skill to have for yourself as well – you can use it in your business and in your home.
Bookkeeping is a highly desirable skill to have because a lot of business owners don’t have the time to do this for themselves and want to hire it out.
You don’t need to be amazing at math or have a degree to become a bookkeeper – it really is something that anyone could do.
The amount of pay you will get will depend on a variety of factors such as your experience and so on.
Learn how to start your own bookkeeping business today.
8. Public Speaking
Income potential: $50,000+
What does it entail: Public speaking is when you do a speech in front of people, usually for the purpose of informing or inspiring.
The amount of money you can make from this will vary depending on what you are speaking about and your impact.
If you’re a motivational speaker, you can command higher rates.
To be a good public speaker, you need to be confident as well as tell a good story.
This is a skill that you can learn for free – you just need to practice. The more that you practice, the better you will become.
You can learn this for free by offering your services to practice and also by watching other people and videos. Practice makes perfect!
9. Influencer
Income potential: $200,000+
What does it entail: An influencer is typically someone who is on a digital platform (e.g., Youtube, Instagram) that influences people in a certain way.
For example, this could be a fashion Instagrammer influencing people to buy similar clothes. Or you can become a full-time YouTuber.
There are so many different types of influencers out there, and it’s important to pick a topic that you are passionate about and a platform that you can commit to.
Have you started a YouTube channel but need to figure out how to make money from it?
Take the Mastering YouTube course from Erika Kullberg, who made over $100,000 in her first year as a YouTuber and is now sharing her techniques on making money from videos!
10. Video Editing & Video Production
Income potential: $100,000+
What does it entail: Video production is recording videos to be shown (a form of content creation); video editing is changing footage for many different reasons
You could edit videos for TV or film and many other projects. A lot of video footage needs to be created for the media, commercials, and so on.
Think of all the YouTubers that record videos daily- you could do video production and record those videos or start video editing for money.
This is something that you can learn either as part of your degree or something that you can teach yourself.
Video editing is a skill that you can learn whilst you’re studying – and it could even be your college degree.
This requires practice, and it’s something that will take a while to learn but will pay off.
11. Web Development
Income potential: $100,000
What does it entail: Web development is getting websites created and designed to be easy to navigate for users.
Like coming to our site, we make sure to have key categories for readers, large titles to read, and more to make it more usable.
Web development makes it possible for you to read our content and so much more on the internet!
Once sites are up and running, web development continues to improve and update as Google changes and as computers make new programs.
There are so many different ways you can learn to do web design, including some guides for a general start or online courses on SkillShare to get the coding down pat.
You’ll have to be careful reading job descriptions, however- they may require a bachelor’s in software engineering to be considered.
12. Mobile App Development
Income potential: $200,000+
What does it entail: App development is a difficult but extremely high-income skill if you do it right.
Mobile app development is creating apps for your own business or other businesses. You’re essentially figuring out what useful apps people would want on their phones.
It could be fun games, but even apps for tracking steps, creating sleep sounds, and more have been created to help people in life.
You also don’t need to know software development- the creation and brainstorming are the main parts of app development.
Once you have your ideas, you can try to learn coding/programming languages yourself or pay someone else for the software development side.
If you’re hiring someone to create the app, be sure they have plenty of work under their belt or a college degree in software engineering, so the project is done right.
13. Software Development
Income potential: $100,000+
What does it entail: Software needs to be designed and coded for application development.
Software development is the background details for any good website or app and you need to know programming languages to create them.
There are computer skills for you to learn, such as Python. This is a difficult skill to learn, which is why it is highly desirable and is a high-income skill.
Software development is something that you can learn at school or on the side, though some jobs will require a degree in software engineering.
14. Project Management
Management skills are important for most jobs, but project management is one key part that many are missing.
Project management is almost an umbrella term for a variety of soft skills- because many industries need help handling their projects and making sure teams make deliverables.
Project management skills are a combination of strong communication skills, teamwork, time management, problem-solving, and more- it’s a wide variety of options!
It’s great for you because you have your pick of the litter and can specialize in any industry you want or several.
For example, you could offer project management services for marketing firms to get ads published in magazines.
As a project manager, you’ll coordinate with the graphic design team, SEO specialists, and printers to ensure new ads are on track for publishing and hit all the boxes.
You talk to everyone about what is expected and what needs to be done by when and keep track of everybody along the way.
You can learn project management skills from courses on SkillShare once you determine which industry you’re interested in.
15. Freelance Writer
Income potential: $100,000+
What does it entail: Freelance writing is when you are a writer for various businesses. You aren’t an employee but are contracted to carry out writing work for them.
The type of writing work that you can get will vary depending on who you are writing for.
There is a high demand for freelance writing due to the amount of content that businesses need to produce.
There are all kinds of things that you can write about, but it does help if you have a specific niche, as you can become the ‘go-to’ person for that niche.
There are some areas where you can get paid more for writing than others, such as medical writing or B2B.
Writing is one of the best introvert jobs, as you don’t have to interact with people much! And there are many ways to improve your writing skills and earn more money working from home.
Learn how to become a paid freelance writer today.
16. Photography
Income potential: $50,000+
What does it entail: Photography is obviously taking photographs, but there are different services you can provide for higher pay.
Just taking pretty pictures isn’t enough, as they will need to be of a very high standard, and this is a skill that you’ll have to learn.
You can train to be a photographer, but a lot of it is learning on the job and practicing and working on interpersonal skills.
There are so many tutorials out there that you can follow to practice your craft. There is a lot more that goes into being a good photographer than meets the eye!
Depending on the type of photography that you do, this can be perfect for introverts. If you, as the photographer, need to be heavily involved with the people that you’re shooting, then this may not work.
This is a high-income skill because not many people can take high-quality photographs unless they train and practice. You have to know what you are doing!
You could also start this off as a side hustle and develop it into your full-time income over time.
17. Digital Marketing
Income potential: $50,000+
What does it entail: To put it simply, digital marketing is marketing done in the digital world. You may be wondering, “is digital marketing a high income skill?”.
There are so many online businesses out there that need help with their digital marketing.
This is a high-income skill as there are a lot of big businesses out there that will pay big money for their marketing.
Digital marketers have the job of getting eyeballs on their clients. There are different ways of doing this, such as on search engines and social media.
The types of things you could be doing include creating email campaigns, marketing plans, and so on.
You can get experience from doing this through a job or get a specific degree for this.
It’s good for introverts because you can do a lot of it on a computer and can also do it as a freelancer.
Learn how to start a lead generation business today.
18. Transcription
Income potential: $50,000
What does it entail: Transcription is where you type out things that people are saying in audio clips.
The main reason for transcription is for people who are deaf or for when people need audio typed for meetings, notes, or podcasts.
There is a high demand for this; if people have already created the content once, transcription is another thing for them to do, which they then hire out.
Check out the FREE mini-course from Transcribe Anywhere to find out more about becoming a transcriptionist!
19. Sales
Income potential: $150,000+
What does it entail: Being good at sales is important for a lot of roles – so this is a good high-income skill to have.
This is just as important if you are an employee or an entrepreneur. If you’re an entrepreneur, sales will be important if you want to make money for your business.
If you are an employee, you will need to make the company that you work for money, so having good sales skills will help you do this.
There are different sales skills that you can acquire – whether that be drawing in a potential sale in the first place through to closing the sale.
This is something that you can learn through experience and watching various tutorials, as there is a skill to sales.
Sales are needed in so many different industries and job roles that encompass a lot of soft skills, just like project management does.
You could use these high-demand skills to net a high income with jobs such as a real estate agent or selling equipment to companies.
20. Content Marketing
Income potential: Unlimited
What does it entail: Creating new content on platforms like blogs, podcasts, YouTube videos, and more
Content marketing (sometimes called content creation) is when you write informative or inspirational content for people to learn, be entertained by, and more.
Our blog is exactly that, but blogging isn’t your only option.
Content creation can align with freelance writing, but it can be more than writing blog posts and books.
With content marketing, you can write scripts for podcasts or YouTube videos, speeches for conventions and TED talks, and so much more.
21. Data Science
Income potential: $100,000+
What does it entail: Searching through data to find important patterns that could point out problems or solutions.
Data science is a job where people are given spreadsheets or information, and they create graphs and deduce what’s going on behind the scenes.
Communication skills go across more than just words, but making data as quick to process as possible.
Data science has a lot of real-world applications in communication companies, software engineering firms, architectural businesses, and more.
Think of a mathematician or statistician who receives information on plant growth- they could interpret what areas would be best for farmland.
22. Audio Production
Income potential: $60,000
What does it entail: Recording and editing audio clips and content
Audio production is a high-demand skill you could learn, especially if you want to grow your own business.
Podcasts, YouTube channels, and more need great audio for people to hear them and get their messages across.
Starting your own podcast can be a great business idea to talk about things you really enjoy, plus earn money through affiliate marketing.
23. Social Media Marketing
Income potential: $115,000
What does it entail: Creating and maintaining social media accounts for businesses
Are you invested in social media? Well, you could add social media marketing to your skills!
Social media marketers help businesses to create campaigns, ads, pages, and more on social media platforms.
Businesses have found that having social media accounts can boost customer awareness and grow their brands online.
You can get hired to promote business products and services on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms.
24. Drawing And Painting
Income potential: $60,000
What does it entail: You have unlimited potential for freelance art graphics, selling paintings, selling printed works, creating gift cards, etc.
I mentioned graphic design above, but drawing and painting skills can take you a step further.
People say that artists don’t make much, but have you heard of high-paying art fields?
You can start your own business and create all sorts of art projects, but a few high-paying arts include medical illustration, interior design, and more.
I have a friend who makes body illustrations and slideshows for WebMD and more, and she makes over $65,000 per year.
So if you have some interest in doodles and want to take it a step further, consider expanding your art and learn about new art jobs that can pay well.
25. Animator
Income potential: $50,000
What does it entail: Creating characters, landscapes, and more and bringing them to life on the big screen
If you’re interested in art and have developed some strong art skills, you could translate that into creating cartoons and animated features with the right technical skills.
Think Disney, Pixar, Cartoon Network, and more!
Your art could become very profitable by creating short videos, whether you start on YouTube or help someone create a short commercial.
FAQs
What are high-income skills?
High-income skills are skills that you have that will help you to get a well-paid job.
They can be trade skills, technical skills, social skills, and so much more- it all depends on the job you want and the industry you’re interested in.
A high income is relative, so this could mean five figures or six figures for you- some people aim to make $30+ an hour and start from there.
High-income skills are especially important in areas where there is a high cost of living, such as Boston or LA.
There are some jobs that will require a certain set of skills in order to command the high wage that they offer. These are things to learn to earn money.
What are some high-demand, specialized skills?
There are so many different types of high-income skills without a college degree that you can attain- project management, proofreading, photography, etc.
You don’t just need to get one specific one either – but broaden your skill set so that you can carry it over into multiple jobs.
Some good high-income skills that will help you out no matter what you do are things like sales and marketing, organizational skills, and communication skills.
So many jobs will want you to know how to do these, as it’s generally through sales and marketing that companies make their money.
Make sure you check out our entire list of the different jobs that you can get with specific high-income skills and use it to help you make your career choices.
How do I develop high-income skills?
If you are reading this article because you want to get a high paid job, then you’re in the right place.
There are certain things that you can do to develop high-income skills to make you rich, which include:
- Decide what kind of career you really want. There’s not going to be much point in learning a bunch of random skills if you aren’t going to learn them. It’s really easy to get caught up in the “learning” stage and convince yourself that you are making progress when in reality, you’re just using delaying tactics.
- Have a plan. With the above in mind, it’s important to have a plan. What high-income skills do you need to learn for the career that you have in mind? You need a plan of what you need to do and how you are going to do it.
- Have good time management. The likelihood is that you are going to be learning these high-income skills either whilst you are studying or working. This means that you are going to have to have some good time management skills to ensure you get this all done.
- Learn high-income skills without paying. There are so many ways that you can learn for free online, and it’s a good idea to check these out before paying for something.
- Pay for other learning. Sometimes, there are high-income skills that you will have to pay for. For example, if you want to be a doctor, you need to study for it and get degrees.
What skills make the most money?
There are many in-demand skills that can make good money, but let’s talk about earning the most money for your work!
Several skills can potentially lead to high earnings, with many based on technological proficiency and market demand.
These include:
- Coding and Software Development: With an ever-growing digital landscape, skilled coders and software developers are in high demand.
- Data Analysis: Businesses across all sectors are increasingly relying on data-driven decision-making, heightening the need for individuals with analytical acumen.
- Digital Marketing: As more businesses establish an online presence, those with digital marketing skills can command lucrative salaries.
- AI and Machine Learning: As one of the most innovative sectors, expertise in artificial intelligence and machine learning can lead to substantial income.
- Project Management: An effective project manager who can oversee and deliver projects successfully is often well-compensated.
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO): The ability to optimize websites and content to rank higher in search engine results is highly sought after.
These and more are all high-income skills to learn and get into better career paths.
Where can I learn high-income skills?
Where you learn your high-income skills will depend on what you want to do exactly.
If you want to get a skill for a specific career, such as being a doctor, then you will have to go to college for it.
There are certain high-income skills that you can gain through college, but there are also some that you can learn yourself, either online or through experience.
You can learn proofreading from free workshops, whereas freelance writing could be a natural skill and experience.
You can also join sites like SkillShare and get access to millions of online courses to learn dozens of high-paying skills.
Final Thoughts
The great thing about high-income skills is that you can be sure of getting a job even in a bad economic climate. You can always monetize and find work with some key skills.
Proofreading, blogging, project management, digital marketing, web development, and more are all high-paying options for you, even as a beginner.
The benefits of earning a high income are generally being able to fund your dream lifestyle and reach financial freedom, and who doesn’t want that?
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