The Economic Times reports that freelancing is displacing payroll employment globally. In fact, in the United States, self-employed workers are expected to increase to 60 million by 2020. In the UK, freelancers have increased from 3.3 million in 2001 to 4.8 million in 2017.
India has also joined the gig economy and is the second largest employer of freelancers in the world. These numbers aren’t surprising, as more and more industries are transitioning from the traditional workplace to a digital one. With the gig economy increasing year-on-year, companies are taking advantage of the increase in tech skills available for short-term employment.
Yoss claims that companies are able to hire freelancers from the top 1% of tech talent, which demonstrates how expansive the market has become. The wide array of freelance job boards, plus the increasing number of freelance marketplaces like InstaTaskers allow independent workers to land jobs that fit their expertise. With that, here are five of the most in-demand tech freelance jobs.
Blockchain developers
Verdict points out that jobs with blockchain in the title have more than a thousand vacancies in the UK, with most of them based in London. Blockchain-related jobs, especially blockchain development, pay an average salary in the UK of more than £60,000 (₹5,279,167). To become a blockchain developer, you need skills in computer science, particularly programming languages like Python and C++. You also need a background in web development, with enough knowledge on industry staples like HTML, CSS, NodeJS, and MongoDB. Knowledge of networking and security is also a big advantage.
Social media strategist
Social media trends change so fast it can be hard for companies to keep up with them without dedicated strategists or managers. They analyse current strategies and come up with plans to break through the noise of numerous fast-evolving platforms, customer preferences, and current social media trends. It used to be that random sales posts with call-to-actions was enough to generate sales, now, it’s important to look past the ordinary and deliver engaging and relevant social media posts.
Artificial intelligence developers
Upwork’s 2017 research data showed AI was the second most in-demand skill during the first quarter of that year, followed by language processing, and other AI-related machine learning skills. Two years later, the demand has only continued to grow. Upwork CEO Stephanie Kasriel said AI is creating enormous opportunities in numerous industries: “Our data clearly shows that businesses are embracing AI”.
Web designers and developers
In this digital age, a business doesn’t exist if it doesn’t have social networking pages and/or a website. It used to be the case that having a simple web page would make a business relevant and “searchable”. Now, websites need to be designed so they’re readable, mobile-friendly, and easy to navigate. This makes web design jobs all the more lucrative. To become a good web designer in the freelance world, you need to know how to use multiple programmes in order to be competitive.
Software developers
Every day, more aspects of our lives become dependent on computer software and even mobile applications. This makes software developer roles more significant than ever. Take the financial industry for example—the systems they use need to be able to analyse data efficiently and deliver that data in a specific timeframe. As a software developer, you need to make sure you know how to apply the best software for a particular business, industry, or sector. This will ensure you can create new programmes that are not only efficient but reliable, too.
The tech industry is going to keep expanding, which means plenty of freelance job opportunities. If you are looking to jump start a successful tech career consider the above jobs as viable long-term careers.