The more you learn, the more you can earn. This was a quote once said by legendary investor Warren Buffett and it is absolutely true. The more you learn and improve your skills, the more opportunity you have to earn more.
In this ever changing world it is important develop the skills and knowledge to not only increase your income but to also positively impact the world.
What is a High Income Skill?
Before we kick of the article on which high income skills you should choose, I may as well give you a brief intro as to what high income skills are.
A high income skill is a skill that generally speaking can earn you at least a six figure income a year and for which you don’t usually have to go to university or have a degree to learn it.
While becoming a doctor, lawyer or engineer is great and provides a ton of value to people, these professions often require years of going to university and working to gather experience.
The high income skills are often involved with business and marketing as they usually make the most money. The good thing about the high income skills is you don’t need to go university nor work years at a people to gather experience so you can move up in position.
So how do you learn high income skills? You can learn them through books, online courses, videos, etc. Here are some of the best high income skills you can learn.
Web Design & Development
Creating good websites can be very profitable.
After all, a lot of businesses and individuals need help with websites. Surprisingly there’s still some businesses that don’t have websites or even worse poor websites.
You can either create your own custom websites by coding them or you can use platform like WordPress or Wix. Although it can take longer to learn to code your own websites, however you can more advanced websites if you do create your own website from scratch.
That’s not to say platforms like WordPress or Wix are basic. These platforms also have some great features to them and you can create some amazing and beautiful websites with them while they also have a much less of a learning curve.
Potential earning: Although you can can make good money being employed as a web designer or web developer and can earn around $40,000 – $70,000, depending on experience. If you were to start your own web development business you can earn more. Check out this guy who earns $750k/year.
You can either get work with a company through Stackoverflow.co, Github, Mashable or The Muse. However if you’re looking to start your own web dev business then your you’ll need a website so you can show your portfolio to potential clients. A good place to start your own website is Bluehost, you get a free domain name and cheap web hosting through this link.
Where to learn: A good place to get started is Skillshare. Skillshare has some fantastic online courses on how to build websites and they’re taught by experts! Whether you want to learn how to code your own website or use a platform like WordPress, you can learn how to on Skillshare. You can get a free 1 month trial when to use Skillshare as much as you like when you use this link.
Copywriting
Copywriting is the ability to write copy that persuades and sells. Copywriters are usually tasked with writing clear and articulate copy for ads, blogs, websites, product pages and other marketing materials.
A good copywriter can earn really good money with a copywriter with good experience can earn up to $75,000 per year and if you are really skilled you can earn up to $300,000 per year.
Copywriters are in demand and while a degree in English or qualification can be helpful it is not necessary.
Once you are skilled enough you can either start finding clients and start your own business or even start working for another company.
Potential Earnings: According to our research the average copywriter makes an average salary of $60,000 per year however this is dependant on experience and you can start making more when you have a good amount of experience.
For jobs as a copywriter check out freelancing marketplaces like Upwork, Freelancer.com and Fiverr. Once you’ve accumulated enough experience and have a client base, you can start on your own copywriting agency.
Where to learn: A good place to learn copywriting if you would like to learn is Skillshare. Skillshare is a online learning platform and you can watch and get access to loads of expert courses on copywriting. You can get one month free access to Skillshare by using this link.
Digital Marketing
Digital marketing is the process of getting more sales and creating more awareness for your business or brand through online marketing channels. This involves social media, search engine optimization and email marketing.
As more businesses are online than ever before there is never a better time to start digital marketing. Businesses will need someone who has expertise in digital marketing whether they don’t have time or the knowledge.
You can help business grow through digital marketing and provide value to them. Like with copywriting, digital marketing does not require a degree although experience can be helpful.
Potential earnings: Entry level digital marketing jobs can pay $20,000 to $23,000 with those with more experience earning about up to $90,000. However there is better money if you are looking to start your own digital marketing agency. It may involve some hard work getting it set up and finding clients but once up and running you can make up to 6-7 figures per year.
If you’re looking to find employment in marketing, you can try Monster.com or Indeed. However if you want to start your own agency then you’ll need a website first to show off your portfolio and skills to potential clients.
You can get one years free Domain name and cheap web hosting with Bluehost by using this link.
Where to learn: You can learn about digital marketing from Coursera, an online course provider. Coursera provides professional courses from Google and Facebook as well as many others which provide official certifications which you can show potential employers or clients.
Software Developer
Software developers can make a lot of money. Software developers typically use their knowledge and skills to build, test and develop a software based on the needs of their client. This can include computer software or mobile applications such as apps and games.
You would be using your coding skills and could be using a variety of different programming languages so would need to be proficient with coding.
Potential Earnings: The big tech companies like Google, Amazon, Facebook and co are always looking for talented software engineers to join them. The perks that some of these companies are amazing such as stock options, free on-site meals, medical and dental care and much more. Perks may vary from company and jobs but you can expect to make a starting salary of around $75,000.
Even if you don’t get a job with one of the top Silicon Valley tech firms, you can still expect to get paid well at other companies as software developer jobs are always in demand.
Where to learn: You can learn from Codecademy a website with detailed step by step courses all taught by experts. Whether you want to learn HTML, Python, C++ or Javascript you can learn it all on Codecademy.
You can find opportunities for work on Indeed, Monster.com and Relocate.me.
Sales
Sales is a skill that will always be in demand no matter what. People will always want to buy things. Even though we are moving towards a more technological world where some jobs are becoming redundant, sales will always be needed. The reason being because people by from people.
Being good in sales does require some skills such as communication skills, rapport building, knowledge about product and objection handling skills.
However even if you don’t have these skills, the good thing is like almost anything they can be learned.
Potential Earnings: It will depends what you are selling as sales people are usually paid a basic salary plus a commission on anything they sell. Dependant on the job you can make over $100,000, if you hit your targets and are a good sales person. It’s better to look for jobs that deal in higher value items such as real estate, cars, business development opportunities and pharmaceutical as they present the best opportunities for higher commissions.
Where can you find these jobs? Look on job boards like Indeed and Linkedin for some good opportunities in sales.
Where to learn: You can learn to become a good sales person by watching YouTube videos to improve your sales skills. You can also read books by sales experts like Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracey and Grant Cardone. If you prefer to learn using online courses you can use websites like Udemy who have a plethora of sales courses for you to build your skills up with.
Conclusion
There are plenty more high income skills but these are some of the main ones you can use to improve yourself and make some money. As long as you put the effort in to learn the skills you should be able to become successful with these high income skills.
You need to have patience and be consistent as sometimes you may not get the results you wanted but consistency will make sure you prevail.
