Being a freelancer means constantly improving yourself and diversifying your skill set as you go.
It’s especially important to keep an eye out for skills that are in demand on the job market.
Learning a new skill has never been easier, thanks to online courses, webinars, video tutorials and guides that are readily available on the internet.
Here are 7 In-Demand skills every freelancer can learn for free:
1) Coding
Code is the language of this digital age. Whether it’s a company website designed from scratch, a mobile app that reminds you to drink water or even a full blown smart device powered by some type of Artificial Intelligence.
Now more than ever, there is a very high demand for programmers worldwide. In fact, a report from Burning Glass – a job market analytics firm, found that programming jobs overall are growing 12% faster than other available jobs.
You can too become a programmer when you start taking free courses online. Some websites you can take advantage of:
1) Code Academy
3) Coursera
4) EDX5
5) Codewars
2) Advanced Excel Skills
The ability to organize, calculate and evaluate quantitative data are highly important skills needed today in many businesses.
According to a report from AI crowdsourcing firm – CrowdFlower. found out that nearly 90% of data scientists are contacted at least once a month for new job opportunities with over 50% contacted on a weekly basis and 30% being contacted several times a week. And that people who know how to properly use a spreadsheet program make 10% more per hour compared to their peers make who didn’t .
The good news is that you too can become a spreadsheet guru from the comfort of your home with the help of some of these free online courses and constant practice:
1) Contextures
2) Data Monkey
3) Chandoo.org
4) Excel Easy
5) MrExcel.com
3) Writing
You can never go wrong by improving your writing skills. Whether you’re writing Emails, drafting resumes and cover letters, trying to write an engaging sales copy, passing down your knowledge through a blog-post or even preserving your own memories, you need to be able to communicate effectively through writing.
There’s also massive world of commercial writing that includes everything from web content to technical manuals and copy-writing – with a lot of money to be made in this world.
It’s okay if you haven’t always had a knack for writing , there are free courses to guide you in your writing journey.
1) Open2study
2) Coursera
3) Skillshare
4) Udemy
5) Content Marketing Courses & Training
4) Digital Marketing
Digital marketing skills are critical not only to freelancers actually working in the field but also to anyone looking to advertise their brand. Having a good knowledge of several aspects of digital marketing is sure to be advantageous to you as a freelancer.
1) Inbound Digital Marketing Course
2) Alison
4) Email Marketing for E‑Commerce: Tips and Tools to Increase Sales
5) Graphics Design
According to a study by Design Founders, Freelance graphic designers at Upwork charge an average of $30 per hour.
This is indeed good news for freelancers in this space. With Jobs projected to grow by 13% by 2020, graphics designers are sure to have more jobs coming their way.
Luckily, it’s not too late to put on your design cap and learn how to be a pro with these free courses:
1) Lynda.com
2) Skillshare
3) Alison
4) Edx
5) Coursera
6) UI/UX Design
Chances are you have heard about the field of UI design and you’re wondering why it’s so popular.
The UI/UX field has been rapidly growing over the last decade, and there are a lot of reasons for this. Firstly, mobile apps have become very popular, and people have to design the look and feel! Also, devices have become more powerful, and are more sensitive to touch general interactions.
UI/UX design skills are in high demand in many types of organizations, from startups to larger companies, giving you the flexibility to work on high-impact projects.
1) UI/UX specialization (Coursera)
3) UX Fundamentals (the gymnasium)
4) UX Design for beginners course
5) InVision – Principles of UX Design Ecourse
7) Social Media Management
This perhaps is the one skill on this list you could quickly pick up with just a few hours of training. If you have an eye for creating and curating compelling content, your skills can be directly applied in managing social channels. In case you’re not sure what it takes to become a social media guru, here are some free courses to help you along.
1) Intro to Social Media Advertising with Buffer
3) Hootsuite social media education
4) Advanced Social Media Marketing for Picking Up Clients
5) Alison
Bonus Tip
Did you know that from time-to-time, we organize workshops (free and paid) to help independent workers thrive in their careers?
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