9 Highest Paying Freelance Jobs for a Regular Income (2023)

If you're just starting out as a freelancer, you sure want to find the right entry point into the most lucrative career path, right?

Many new freelancers think so. And it makes sense, doesn't it?

But it's much more complicated than that. Just because one skill is more in demand or pays better than others doesn't necessarily mean it's the best way to go.

There's a reason why some writers on Fiverr get paid $5 to write a 1,000-word article, while others get paid $100 for the same job elsewhere.

A good salary depends on your skill level, experience and the quality of your work.

However, it's also important to know your market and see what types of jobs and skills pay the best so you can start learning a new skill or plan a future freelance career.

Here are some of the best skills that pay the most.

1. AI Ads Engineer

This is one of the newest jobs that is seeing a rapid rise in the freelance markets.

Rapid engineering is all about writing tips for AI (artificial intelligence) tools to do the work for you. As a notification engineer, your job is to control these tools by typing the right notifications or issuing commands to get the most out of the AI ​​tools.

For example, popular AI tools like chatGPT will likely do this.replace most jobssoon on this list. You can already write articles, code, create websites and much more. But it still needs people to work. You need to write a message to give commands to chatGPT to get the correct results. That's what writing prompts are all about.

Freelance job sites like Indeed and SimplyHired already have dozens of quick jobs for engineers paying upwards of $100,000 a year.

It's a relatively new job category, so there are still very few jobs in popular markets. But keep an eye on that skill this year. It will be one of the most popular jobs in the near future.

2. Programming and software development

(Image credit: Chris Goodney/Bloomberg)

Meet James Knight, a programmer who left a lucrative job at Google to pursue a freelance career. Now it's renewed$1,000 per hourworking as a freelance developer.

Well, this article is a bit out of date and there are freelance programmers making over $1000 an hour these days.

Programming jobs, especially software development and mobile apps, pay more for freelancers. Just because it's a very difficult skill to master and there aren't many good programmers out there. Therefore, the demand for good programmers is quite high.

If you want to earn an income like James, start coding. And I don't mean learning from free courses on CodeAcademy or Udemy. They'll just walk you through the basics. You need to invest some money and time in learning and practicing to develop the right programming skills.

Of course, you can't immediately charge $1,000 an hour. You must build your reputation gradually. If you have strong skills in programming languages ​​like iOS and WebGL, you can start getting paid somewhere.$150 per hour, or more.

mar aUpWork surveyBitcoin developers are also in high demand. Most bitcoin developers make over $200 an hour.

3. Social video marketing

In an unexpected twist, a new skill is born: "Social Video Marketing". Capacity was ranked third by UpWork for the second quarter of 2019.fastest growing skillsList. And for good reason.

A quick search on the platform revealed that this feature is paying marketers upwards of $150 an hour.

No wonder this skill is in high demand. Especially given the rise of video content marketing. Booming social media channels like TikTok, Instagram video and YouTube will keep this skill relevant for years to come.

If you have the skills to create video content, optimize for SEO, and engage audiences with new marketing ideas and strategies, this skill will help you land many of the jobs that are coming up.

4. Web Design and Development

AfterUpWork's Most Wanted SkillsWeb design is ranked number one most in demand for 2022. In second place is WordPress.

The demand for web designers is huge. But it's worth noting that the freelance web design industry is pretty crowded right now because it's easy to learn web design and start coding websites.

The best strategy to succeed is to find a niche in this space. For example, Jonathan Wold turned$5,000 per monthBuild websites with WordPress and make minor theme tweaks. You can probably make more money by providing the right services to the right customers.

5. Writing and Content Marketing

Thanks to the emergence of online marketing trends and the development of new methods such as inbound marketing, content writing is being considered.one of the hottest fieldspara freelancers

You don't have to go anywhere to find evidence of how well freelance writers are doing. Take me for example. I will turn right away$5,000 per month(most months at least) Business blogging, writing, and content marketing work. And I know there are other freelance writers out there who earn a lot more.

Although not everyone can be an experienced writer. You have to write, read and practice a lot. Most importantly, you need a creative mind to write great articles that pay well. Your MA in literature and A+ writing skills from college won't come in handy if you're working online either.

the best would betake some online coursesand learn to write for an online audience.

6. Graphic Design

Graphic design ranks 10th on UpWork's list of most in-demand skills for 2022. But it's still one of the best jobs to earn a steady income.

If you look at your best freelancers among thegraphic design category, you will see some freelancers compensating$85 an hourto do the design work.

Infographic design is most in demand these days. Logo design, icon design, and illustrations also pay very well. But just like content writing, to become a good graphic designer you need to develop an eye for design.

7. Publisher

Copywriters are different from marketers and content writers. These freelancers specialize in writing content for websites, product descriptions, services, and so on.

Copywriter fees depend on each freelancer's experience and skills.Linda Formichelli, an experienced freelance writer, makes$250 per hour.

If you look at UpWorklist of best writers, you will find that they carry between$25 per hourA$100 per hourfor editorial work.

8. Video editors

Freelance video editors in the US earn more than$81,000 per year, while more experienced video editors manage about$105,000 per year.

The demand for video editors in the freelance industry has increased dramatically in recent years, thanks to the opportunities offered by platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.

If you are good at composing music videos and creating amazing video content, then this could be a great future-proof career.

9. Social media manager

Social media marketing is number onemost requested skillin UpWork's Marketing category.

Social media marketing is an important part of brand and business marketing strategies. Almost all businesses from small local coffee shops to big corporate brands are now using social media to promote their products and brands.

This opened up a huge opportunity for freelancers when most of these brands and companies started looking for people to manage their social media channels for them. Now it's an industry of its own.

Earnings for US social media managers range from$46,000 a yearbis$72,000 a year, afterLohnskal. A quick LinkedIn search revealed more.9,000 job resultsonly for US social media managers and 2000+ jobs in India.

some kind advice

Most freelancers are always looking for get-rich-quick opportunities. Perhaps all the stories about billion-dollar startup takeovers and people quickly making millions from smartphone apps are starting to ring in their heads.

As a result of the media frenzy, they don't see the valuable message hidden in all these success stories: it takesHard workEarn money.

It took Mark Zuckerberg almost 5 years to make Facebook a success. He didn't even make money from the platform in the early years.

The moral of the story is don't try to pursue a professional career just because it pays well. If you want to earn a steady income and survive as a freelancer, choose a job that inspires you, a job that inspires you every day, and a job that challenges you to learn something new every day.

That passion and burning desire within you will drive you to improve and hone your skills, leading you to earn more than ever before.

Also learn to be patient. Because it will take time before you start to have a stable income. And remember, you only have to work hard for a short period of time. Then it becomes like a walk in the park.

I also recommend that you read myhow to start working as a freelancerGuide. And check them out toohow to learn new skillsGuide.