High-income skills are important to learn whether you wish to build a career in them or not
Looking for a bigger salary so you can support yourself and your family comfortably in the middle of inflation? Then you should look no further than these seven must-have skills, as identified by Coursera in its "7 High-Income Skills Worth Learning In 2024" report.
It's no secret that learning new skills can set you at a greater advantage for your career—not only when seeking to secure a new job, but also when launching your own business venture as a freelancer or when building your side hustle.
But learning a high-income skill is even better.
What Is A High-Income Skill?
Compared to other skill sets (soft skills and technical skills included), high-income skills are a set of soft and technical skills that are in high demand within the workplace, and within certain industries and markets.
Consequently, employers (or clients if you are a freelancer), are willing to pay a premium for talent who possess these skills because they are a rare breed (as least for now until this article and the Coursera report gets popular). They are also willing to pay higher salaries because they know just how crucial these skills are to the successful running of their business operations.
To give a rather obvious example, a CEO is generally paid much more than any other executive, manager, or employee for that matter, in part because there are less professionals with CEO capabilities and potential to fill that particular role than there are middle managers or other employees, and also because the CEO is absolutely indispensable to the needs of the business, to drive it forward.
These two factors—the skilled talent shortage and the indispensable nature of the role—are two important priorities to consider and look out for when seeking to retrain or upskill yourself. As a rule of thumb, if you have a high-income skill, your career is more likely to be agile and withstand external pressures such as layoffs or market changes, because these skills can be transferred almost anywhere, so you will be able to bounce if needed.
7 High-Income Skills
On a side note, surprisingly, in Coursera's analysis, AI (artificial intelligence) did not feature in their list of high-income, in-demand skills to learn in 2024. Might this be because the hype around AI is starting to fizzle out? Are professionals and employers still recognizing the value of integrating AI into their workplaces and implementing AI tools across their workflow? Or do they already have all they need to know? Perhaps that is a question for another time.
However, it is interesting to note that some of the skills listed in the report relate in some way to AI integration and development—such as data analysis and software development, for example.
Back to the point—the seven high-income skills Coursera listed are:
- Data analysis
- Software development
- User experience
- Web development
- Project management
- Account management
- Content creation and management
7 Free Online Courses (With Certificates)
Here are seven online courses that are not only free (meaning you have no excuses to not start a course today), but also come with certifications and/or badges—which gives you a sense of pride and adds a stamp of validity to all your hard work and studies:
Everyone—whether freelancer or employed—should build at least one high-income skill
1. Free Data Analysis Courses With Harvard
Harvard University might be viewed as an Ivy League school out of most people's pocket range, but they do offer a range of free data science and data analysis courses accessible to anyone, that you can study online. While the courses are free, you may need to pay if you want the certificate—but this is much cheaper than paying for an entire course and is well worth it if you wish to prove your skills to employers or business clients.
2. Google For Developers Platform
Google has a platform dedicated to aspiring developers which includes a vast list of developer education, helpful if you wish to be a software developer, especially for Android. While they may not provide a certificate per se, they give you a quiz at the end of their courses and you receive a badge on your developer profile. With parental consent, learners can start as early as 13 years old.
3. Google UX Design Certificate
Google offers a free course and certification via its educational arm, to help aspiring user experience professionals learn the skills they need for the workplace. This UX Design certification is offered via Coursera.
4. HTML, CSS, and Javascript for Web Developers by Johns Hopkins University
Provided by Johns Hopkins University, this introductory course also comes with a free certificate, and its content is available free if you require and are eligible for financial aid.
5. Google Project Management Certificate
When it comes to project management certifications, we often think about industry-leading certificates such as those offered by the PMI (Project Management Institute). But when it comes to the world of free project management certificates, Google's career certificate in project management tops the rest.
6. Customer Relationship Management Certification by Great Learning
Provided by Great Learning, this CRM course covers the fundamentals of relationship management as a sales professional handling business accounts, and also comes with a free certificate.
7. Digital Marketing Course: Get Certified in Digital Marketing, by HubSpot
HubSpot offers an extensive range of free certifications via its HubSpot Academy, and one of the courses with certificates that it offers for free is its digital marketing certification. It covers topics including SEO and social media.
Learning a high-income skill sets you in a competitive position to be able to control more aspects ... [+]
This list of free courses and certifications proves that anyone can learn a high-income skill. Even if you have no desire to work directly within these fields, you can still learn these skills and apply them to your work function. For example, if you work as a manager, gaining a project management certification may not be necessary, but may help you stand out from other employees, enabling you to be well-recommended for promotions or a pay raise, as you have more niche skills. A skill set within digital marketing can come handy if you're a freelancer seeking to market your services effectively. Ultimately, not only is it the case that everyone can learn a high-income skill, but everyone should learn a high-income skill if they wish to have a thriving career.
