Having proficiency in a particular skills that pay can open up many job opportunities and even lead to new career paths. According to a report from the Department of Labor, jobs that require certain skills or expertise will almost always pay more than jobs that don’t.
Furthermore, it is safe to say that these skills that pay are here to stay. No matter what industry you work in or plan on entering, you’ll probably find yourself needing one of these skills at some point. Regardless of your current situation, where you live, or your financial capacity, learning new skills can have a positive impact on your career path and life in general.
And while it is easy enough to list all the different skills that pay that could possibly assist you in getting ahead professionally and personally, it’s another thing entirely to discover affordable ways to learn these skills that pay as fast and efficiently as possible.
Table of Contents
Here are The Lists of Ten Skills That Pay
Communication Skills
Being able to communicate effectively is perhaps the most important of all life skills that pay most nowadays. It is what enables us to pass information to other people, and to understand what is said to us. You only have to watch a baby listening intently to its mother and trying to repeat the sounds that she makes to understand how fundamental is the urge to communicate.
Communication, at its simplest, is the act of transferring information from one place to another. It may be vocally (using voice), written (using printed or digital media such as books, magazines, websites or emails), visually (using logos, maps, charts or graphs) or non-verbally (using body language, gestures and the tone and pitch of voice). In practice, it is often a combination of several of these.
Communication skills may take a lifetime to master—if indeed anyone can ever claim to have mastered them. There are, however, many things that you can do fairly easily to improve your communication skills and ensure that you are able to transmit and receive information effectively.
The Importance of Good Communication Skills
Developing your communication skills can help all aspects of your life, from your professional life to social gatherings and everything in between.
The ability to communicate information accurately, clearly and as intended, is a vital life skill and something that should not be overlooked. It’s never too late to work on your communication skills and by doing so, you may well find that you improve your quality of life.
Communication skills are needed in almost all aspects of life:
- Professionally, if you are applying for jobs or looking for a promotion with your current employer, you will almost certainly need to demonstrate good communication skills.Communication skills is one of the best Skills That Pay and are needed to speak appropriately with a wide variety of people whilst maintaining good eye contact, demonstrate a varied vocabulary and tailor your language to your audience, listen effectively, present your ideas appropriately, write clearly and concisely, and work well in a group. Many of these are essential skills that pay and that most employers seek.
Verbal communication skills are ranked first among a job candidate’s ‘must have’ skills and qualities. According to a 2018 survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).
As your career progresses, the importance of communication skills increases; the ability to speak, listen, question and write with clarity and conciseness are essential for most managers and leaders.
- In your personal life, good communication skills can improve your personal relationships by helping you to understand others, and to be understood.It is almost a cliché that personal relationships need communication. Failure to talk has been blamed for the breakdown of any number of partnerships and relationships—but the ability to listen is also an important element. Communication is also vital in wider family relationships, whether you want to discuss arrangements for holidays, or ensure that your teenage children are well and happy.
If this area is of particular interest, you may want to read our pages on Communicating with Teenagers, Talking to Teenagers about Contraception, Pornography and Consent, and Talking to Teenagers about Sex and Relationships. Our pages on Personal and Romantic Relationship Skills also contain a number of pages touching on communication.
- Communication skills can also ensure that you are able to manage interactions with businesses and organisationsOver the course of your lifetime, you are likely to have to interact with a wide range of organisations and institutions, including shops, businesses, government offices, and schools. Good communication skills can ease these interactions, and ensure that you are able to get your point across calmly and clearly, and also take on board the responses.
Data Analysis and Interpretation Skills
What is a Data Analyst?
A data analyst is someone who uses technical skills to analyze data and report insights.
On a typical day, a data analyst might use the following skills:
- SQL skills to pull data from a database
- Programming skills to analyze that data
- Communication skills to report their findings
However, which skills are the most important to land a data analysis job? To answer that question, we performed many hours of research, including interviews with data analysts, data scientists, and hiring managers.
Here’s what we learned.
Why Data Analyst Need is Listed to Our List of Skills That Pay?
Because the data science tools you will use vary depending on the role, the company, or the industry, we learned to focus on skills and not on tools (like Python, R, SQL, Excel, Tableau, Power BI, etc.).
Here’s what you’ll need to do as a data analyst (not how to do it).
Here are the eight most important data analyst skills:
- Data cleaning and preparation
- Data analysis and exploration
- Statistical knowledge
- Creating data visualizations
- Creating dashboards and reports
- Writing and communication
- Domain knowledge
- Problem solving
And here’s an explanation of each . . .
1: Data Cleaning and Preparation
Research shows that data cleaning and preparation will consist of about 80% of the work of most data professionals. That means this skill is vital.
A data analyst will commonly need to retrieve data from one or more sources and prepare it for numerical and categorical analysis. Data cleaning also involves resolving missing and inconsistent data that may affect analysis.
In data analytics, data cleaning isn’t always exciting, but preparing data can be fun and challenging when treated as a problem-solving exercise.
2: Data Analysis and Exploration
It might sound strange to mention “data analysis” in a list of required data analyst skills, but analysis as a specific skill is necessary.
Fundamentally, data analysis involves taking a business question or a need and analyzing relevant data to develop an answer to that question.
Another form of data analysis is exploration. Data exploration involves looking for interesting trends or relationships in the data that could bring value to a business.
A business question might guide exploration, but it also might be relatively unguided. By looking to find patterns in the data, you may stumble across an opportunity for the business to decrease costs or increase growth.
Interested in this skill? Check out our list of data analyst courses.
3: Statistical Knowledge
Probability and statistics are important data analyst Skills That Pay. This knowledge will guide your analysis and exploration and help you decipher the data.
Additionally, understanding statistics will also help you ensure your analysis is valid, and it will help you avoid common fallacies and logical errors.
The exact level of statistical knowledge necessary will vary depending on the demands of your particular role and the data you’re working with.
For example, if your company relies on probabilistic analysis, you’ll want a much more rigorous understanding of those areas than you would otherwise need.
Interested in this data analytics skill? Check out our probability and statistics courses.
Read: Top 50 Biggest Headache with Technology Today and How to Fix It
4: Creating Data Visualizations
Data visualizations clarify data trends and patterns. Humans are visual creatures — that means most people will understand a chart or a graph more quickly than they will understand a spreadsheet and this work will consider the Skills That Pay.
This means creating clean, visually compelling charts that will help others understand your discoveries. It also means avoiding things that are either difficult to interpret (like pie charts) or that can be misleading (like manipulating axis values).
Visualizations can also be an important part of your data exploration. Sometimes, there are things that you can see visually in the data that can hide when you look only at the numbers.
It’s very rare to find a data science role that doesn’t require data visualization, which makes it a key data analyst skill.
Interested in this skill? Check out our data visualization courses.
5: Creating Dashboards and Reports
As a data analyst, you’ll need to empower others to use data to make key decisions. By building dashboards and reports, you’ll give others access to important data by removing technical barriers.
This might take the form of a simple chart and a table with date filters, or it might be a sophisticated dashboard containing hundreds of interactive data points.
Job descriptions and requirements can vary from position to position, but almost every data analyst job is going to involve producing reports on your findings or building dashboards to showcase them.
Interested in this skill? Learn how to create dashboards and reports with our Power BI courses.
6: Writing and Communication
The ability to communicate in multiple formats is another key data analyst skill. Writing, speaking, explaining, and listening are all communication skills that will help you succeed in any data analytics role.
Communication is key when collaborating with your colleagues. For example, in a kickoff meeting with business stakeholders, careful listening skills help you understand the analyses they require.
Similarly, during your project, you may need to be able to explain a complex topic to non-technical teammates.
Written communication is also incredibly important — especially when you’re writing a summary of your analysis or explaining a discovery in your data exploration.
Communicating clearly and directly is a skill that will advance your career in data. It may be a “soft” skill, but don’t underestimate it.
The best analytical skills in the world are worthless if you can’t explain what they mean and if you can’t convince your colleagues to act on your discoveries.
7: Domain Knowledge
Domain knowledge is understanding topics that are specific to the industry and company that you work for.
For example, if you’re working for a company with an online store, you might need to understand the nuances of e-commerce.
By contrast, if you’re analyzing data about mechanical systems, you might need to understand how those specific systems work.
No matter where you work, if you don’t understand what you’re analyzing, it’ll make executing your job significantly more difficult.
This is certainly something that you can learn on the job. However, if you know a specific industry or area you’d like to work in, then building as much understanding as you can up front will make you a more attractive job applicant — and a more effective employee once you get the job.
8: Problem-Solving
As a data analyst, you’re going to run up against problems, bugs, and roadblocks every day. Being able to problem-solve your way out of them is another key skill that will be valuable as a data analyst.
Here are a few potential scenarios:
- You might need to research a quirk of some software or coding language that you’re using.
- Your company might have resource constraints that force you to innovate how you approach a problem.
- The data you’re using might be incomplete.
- You might need to perform some “good enough” analysis to meet a looming deadline.
Whatever the circumstances, strong problem-solving skills are going to be an incredible asset for any data analyst.
Business Skills
Business skills are an important component of workplace success. Whether you’re a business owner or an employee, possessing certain competencies can help you positively impact the efficiency, performance and productivity of an organization. Understanding these capabilities and how to hone your expertise can help you qualify for a variety of corporate roles and it will be listed the best Skills That Pay todays.
What are business skills?
Business skills are competencies that help people understand consumer habits and organizational behavior so they can use this information to promote the success of the company. Business skills typically qualify as soft skills, and may include team management, leadership and communication skills.
These skills are particularly important and also one of the best skills that pay today for entrepreneurs, company owners and managers. However, employers in a variety of fields may look for candidates who possess a combination of both business and technical skills.
There are several categories of business skills, including:
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Time management skills
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Team-building skills
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Analytical skills
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Negotiation skills
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Problem-solving skills
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Sales and marketing skills
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Financial management skills
Business skills may vary between company type and industry. For example, a person working in the finance industry may be required to have business skills that include being able to produce financial reports and analyze the market. Employers typically expect professionals in management to delegate tasks and communicate with team members confidently.
Why are business skills important?
Business skills are important and the reason why it listed to the Skills That Pay today because they’re a fundamental component of starting, running and managing a successful business. If you are a business owner, these skills equip you with the ability to meet the needs of both your consumers and employees. As a potential or current employee, business skills can set you apart from other workers and help you advance your career.
These competencies can also allow you to help an organization with the following tasks:
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Maintaining high product quality
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Building excellent customer relations and customer care standards
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Increasing performance, productivity and profits through efficient planning, management and implementation of business aims and goals
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Forming a reliable financial base and maintain a prudent financial policy
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Maintaining a positive and productive company culture
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Motivating employees improve their performance
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Establishing profitable sales and marketing channels
Computer Programming Skills
Technology has become the backbone of our everyday lives, and programmers are needed to keep moving that technology forward. The options are endless: an aspiring programmer can bring the next life-changing smartphone app to life, create new worlds in gaming, or craft the way millions of people across the globe interact and communicate online. These are just a few of the ways programmers impact the world around them, but all programmers have certain things in common — the in-demand hard and soft skills that propel their career success.
Hard Skills
- Data structures and algorithms
- Database and SQL
- Object-oriented programming (OOP) languages
- Integrated development environments (IDEs)
- Cloud computing
- Web development
- Containers
- Text editors
- Git version control
Soft Skills
- Communication (verbal and written)
- Teamwork and conflict resolution
- Problem solving
- Empathy
- Patience
- Curiosity
- Adaptability
- Accountability
- Time management
9 Hard Skills Programmers Need
- Data structures and algorithms
- Database and SQL
- Object-oriented programming (OOP) languages
- Integrated development environments (IDEs)
- Cloud computing
- Web development
- Containers
- Text editors
- Git version control
Becoming a Programmer
Career prospects for programmers look bright. According to CareerOneStop, an expected 9,700 U.S. job openings in programming are anticipated each year through 2030 with a median salary of $89,190.
Even better, in the Denver, Colorado, area, programmers can anticipate a median salary of $91,550 and companies such as Meta (formerly Facebook), Intel, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, and Colorado State University are all actively looking for programmers,
To take advantage of these great opportunities, you’ll need to acquire the knowledge and skills programmers need to be successful. The good news is that there are several options to choose from — a traditional degree, independent study, or a coding boot camp.
Obtaining a degree in computer science is always a popular choice for those interested in pursuing a career in programming. Taking three to four years, these degrees allow learners to explore the theoretical aspects of programming, while pursuing adjacent subject matter and additional interests. Given the significant time and financial commitment required to pursue this type of degree, it’s important to be sure it’s the right path for you. Some learners consider taking an introductory coding course, boot camp, or conducting independent study prior to committing to a degree program.
For those who lack the time or financial resources required to pursue a traditional degree, or want to explore their options before making a commitment, independent study can be the right choice. Also, many who prefer a slower tempo and self-directed approach pursue independent study of a programming language to enhance their existing skill set. Common options include:
Interestingly, many who begin their coding journey in independent study soon progress to enrolling in a coding boot camp. Boot camps are a great place to gain in-demand skills in a practical environment where learners apply their newfound knowledge on real-world projects that will eventually populate their professional portfolios.
Marketing and Advertising Skills
If you’re considering a career in marketing, you may be wondering if your skillset and professional strengths are a good fit for the field.
Modern marketing is a very different world from the marketing of even just a few years ago, with digital strategies playing a significant role and traditional methods (such as print) becoming less relevant and less effective. That means that while certain skills associated with the field (such as creativity and communication) are certainly still important and applicable, there are a whole host of other, newer skills that employers are now looking for in their marketing hires.
What Skills Do You Need for Marketing?
Key marketing skills can be broken down into two categories – soft skills and hard skills. Soft skills are broader and more widely applicable, and are useful (or necessary) in many different career paths. Hard skills are more focused on technical abilities and familiarity with specific tools and strategies. Given that marketing is a very broad field, the hard skills you’ll need to get hired will vary tremendously from role to role, but for the purposes of this article, we’re focusing on some of the most common skills employers are looking for when hiring an entry-level marketing generalist (typically a coordinator or assistant role).
Top Marketing Soft Skills
Learn: How to Make Free Calls to All Networks, From Anywhere in the World
Communication
At its core, marketing is about communicating to an audience, so it’s no surprise that communication is the top skill those in the field need to have! Being able to express yourself and convey concepts to others in a clear, engaging way will be essential to your work as a marketer.
Creativity and Problem-Solving
Marketing is all about cutting through the noise and delivering a message that resonates with your target customer. Creativity and thinking outside the box to find new ways of doing things is one of the trademarks of a successful marketing professional. Even if you’re not someone who thinks of themselves as creative (for example, if you’re more of a data person), marketing still requires the ability to tackle problems from new angles and come up with innovative solutions to rising challenges.
Attention to Detail
As a marketer, your work will be seen by many eyes, whether it’s a blog post, a social media graphic, or a printed piece of promotional material. Accuracy is essential – both to ensure your company’s image is maintained, and so that your customers are getting the right information.
Interpersonal Skills
Working in marketing often means working closely with a broader marketing team, colleagues in other departments, clients, and/or vendors. Given that you’ll be interacting frequently with all kinds of different people, it’s important that you have good interpersonal skills and can build strong working relationships with others.
Leadership
While your first marketing role probably won’t be in management, leadership is still an important skill to build and develop over time, and can be put into use at any point in your career. Depending on your role, this could mean taking charge on a specific project, acting as a point person for a vendor or client, or helping junior members of the team in their work.
Adaptability
Marketing is a fast-changing field, with new best practices, tools, and standards emerging constantly. Additionally, marketing teams often have to work under tight deadlines and may be assigned last-minute projects or find priorities shifting with little notice. A successful marketer will enjoy this kind of fast-paced environment, and will be able to adapt to changing circumstances with ease.
Top Marketing Hard Skills
Writing
Writing is a highly sought-after skill no matter what field you’re in, but it’s particularly important in marketing, where (as noted above) communication is a critical part of your day-to-day work.
Data Analysis & Analytics
Marketing is nothing without measurement: you need to be able to calculate the success and ROI of your marketing efforts. Being comfortable working with data from a variety of sources and campaigns, understanding what’s relevant and what’s not, and using your analysis to inform future actions will be a key part of your role as a marketer.
Project Management
Project management is an essential piece of every marketer’s world: whether you’re juggling multiple campaigns, clients, or projects, you’ll need to have a strong set of project management skills to keep track of everything that’s going on and to get things done in an efficient way. This means being able to work to deadlines, prioritize your work, keep track of others’ contributions – all while delivering an excellent end product!
Research
As a marketer, you’ll often need to do research to build out campaigns, inform strategy, and create content. This research could take a variety of forms, such as looking into competitors’ marketing campaigns, learning more about a topic relevant to the services or products your organization provides, or building out a list of contacts in a specific industry. Knowing how to conduct effective research from reputable sources is an underrated but important skill that will increase the quality of your work.
SEO/SEM
Search engines are some of the most prominent marketing tools used today – knowing how to use them to your organization’s advantage, whether through paid or organic strategies is critical. The world of search engine marketing is huge and ever-changing, and many marketers work solely in this space. As a marketing generalist, you won’t be expected to know the ins and outs of paid search and search engine optimization, but knowing – and being able to execute – the basics is important.
Social Media Marketing
Social media continues to be one of the most effective ways for organizations to reach their customers – both more established platforms, such as Facebook and LinkedIn, and newer, emerging platforms like TikTok. Knowing how to adapt a brand’s voice and messaging to social media and connect authentically with your audience is an essential part of modern marketing.
Email Marketing
Although other forms of marketing have grown tremendously in recent years, email remains an important mode of communication. All marketers should understand the basics of email marketing, including voice and tone, engaging subject lines, and strong calls to action.
Visual Marketing
Design is a scary term for those who don’t think of themselves as artistic – you by no means need to be an expert graphic designer to be a successful marketer! Typically, marketing departments will have a dedicated designer on-staff, or you’ll outsource bigger design projects to an agency or contractor.
However, you should be comfortable with the basics of visual marketing – selecting images for a website or to accompany a social media post, for example, or taking pictures at an event. It can also be really useful to know the basics of the Adobe Creative Suite (particularly Photoshop and InDesign) and free design tools such as Adobe Spark or Canva to help you do your work more efficiently – it’s nice to be able to create a quick graphic on your own!
Website Management
Finally, being comfortable working in the back end of a website is an important marketing skill. Again, you don’t have to worry about your capabilities here – you don’t need to be a developer or web designer if that’s not what you’re interested in! Most marketers, however, will need to know how to make updates to pages, build out landing pages, and other basic web functions. (Keep in mind that every website will be different, so this is less about knowing the nitty-gritty of every content management system out there and more being comfortable diving in and learning if your organization uses a platform you’re not familiar with).
How to Build Marketing Skills
You might be looking at the list above and worrying that you don’t have what it takes to be a marketer. But not to worry – all of these skills can be built through dedicated training and education. A marketing degree is a great way to learn the most important marketing skills today’s employers are looking for, both the core soft skills and the key technical skills. You’ll emerge from a degree program with a well-rounded, up-to-date marketing skillset that will poise you for success in your first role in the field.
Networking and Software Development Skills
As the tech industry continues to grow, it offers endless varied and rewarding career opportunities. In the field of network engineering, in particular, there are numerous specialisms which allow you to use your talents to showcase your abilities as you work your way to the top.
What is A Networking Software Engineer?
A networking software engineer specializes in designing, building and installing software for existing or new networks and infrastructures. Often, organizations require bespoke software solutions. By writing and creating these platforms, networking software engineers allow organizations to operate more efficiently, maximize their productivity and function securely.
Networking Software Engineer Education Qualifications
The majority of network engineer software roles require applicants to have a bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field. However, you can pursue a career as a software engineer without an undergrad degree, providing you have the technical knowledge and practical experience to perform the role.
If you want to secure a position as a lead or principal networking software engineer, it may be advantageous to undertake a further qualification, such as a Master of Business Administration.
In addition to this, many networking software engineers undertake professional qualifications with specific vendors. As network software engineers are critical to the telecoms industry, many companies within this sector provide bespoke training solutions. You may want to become proficient in Ericsson network engineer software, for example.
Networking Software Engineer Required Skills
The role of a networking software engineer encompasses many areas, so you’ll need to have a wide variety of skills in order to be successful in your chosen career. Required skills include:
- Analytical skills to determine how existing software can be enhanced
- Ability to work under pressure
- In-depth knowledge of network engineer software tools and coding languages
- Good written and verbal communication skills
Networking Software Engineer Responsibilities
As a software defined network engineer, your responsibilities will depend on your specific role. In general, however, the responsibilities of a network software engineer include:
- Designing custom software solutions
- Building and installing networking software
- Analyzing existing networking software and identifying areas for improvement
- Ensuring compliance with relevant regulations
- Implementing effective security measures
- Documenting methodologies
- Reporting to clients, supervisors and/or shareholders
- Training users in new software
How to Become a Network Software Engineer
Most networking software engineers begin their careers by completing a relevant undergraduate degree before applying for entry-level positions. Gaining broader experience in the IT industry may be necessary before you can secure a networking software engineer entry-level position.
Once you’ve obtained practical experience within the sector, you’ll be able to focus on your specialism and begin to develop your real-life networking software engineering skills. At the same time, you may choose to formalize your experience by completing professional networking software programs from reputable vendors. These significantly increase your employability and can make it far easier to progress.
Although you may begin your career as an employed networking software engineer, you don’t have to remain an employee in order to excel in the industry. Launching a career as a freelance network software engineer can be extremely rewarding, particularly if you want to set your own work schedule and focus on projects and areas that interest you.
At Field Engineer, we make it easier for IT professionals and network engineers to launch their freelance careers. Our unique platform connects engineers with prospective clients and provides secure communications facilities to discuss upcoming project requirements. In addition to this, the Field Engineer site allows clients to monitor projects as they’re on-going and ensures that engineers can provide regular updates and liaise with clients as needed.
To learn more about the benefits of building a career as a freelance networking software engineer, sign up to Field Engineer now!
Network Software Engineer Salaries
If you choose to become a network software engineer, you can enjoy an average salary of around $109,829. Of course, you will need to gain experience in your chosen specialism before you can command such a high remuneration package. Entry-level positions typically offer a salary that’s slightly lower than the average, but you have the option to climb the career ladder quickly if you develop your skills further and gain meaningful experience.
If you want to increase your network software engineer salary, you may want to supplement your income by working as a freelance professional or setting up your own company. With the option to work on high-value projects or work the hours you choose, the sky really is the limit when you build your career on your own terms.