3 More Skills That Will Pay For Your Retirement
Previously: 3 Skills That Will Pay For Your Retirement
Illustration
Employers love illustrations, for the same reasons they love quality photography. But while photographers are limited by what they can capture through their lens, the creative possibilities open to a freelance illustrator are virtually infinite. Conventional uses of this versatility include cutout drawings, which isn’t possible through photography.
Thanks to flexibility of an illustrator’s medium, he can come up with practically any kind of visual composition to suit his client’s needs. And clients who know how to harness this ability will be willing to pay good money for output. Illustrators who can adapt to current styles and creatively accomplish their clients’ requirements will find themselves in high demand.
Particularly illustrators who are proficient in both traditional and digital mediums.
Search Engine Optimization
A favorite way to locate information online is through search engines. Even if Google loses its dominance, there will still be a need for freelancers who have a knack of helping employers gain visibility through search engines. SEO ethics aside (I personally think that SEO experts should only work for people who really have something to offer online), many company’s fortunes—including b5media—depend on how much traffic search engines can refer.
Freelancers who have a proven track record of influencing the results of popular search phrases (I’m sure a lot of people are searching for “Lauren Caitlin Upton” right now) will attract the attention of employers with deep pockets. These people understand that SEO is a crucial requirement for a business looking to maximize its reach online, and consider good SEO experts worth their weight in gold.
Web Application Programmer
Everyone has an idea that will make them the next Google, YouTube, etc. But not everyone knows how to tell a computer what to do. That’s why the demand for the services of computer programmers grew as the computer became more popular. Now, as everyone jumps on the Internet bandwagon, the demand for web application programmers will also grow.
Any freelancer who can expertly turn an idea into a living, breathing web-based application can command a good price for his output. Online entrepreneurs, many of whom are backed up by venture capital, know that only serious money will make up for the long hours a freelance web application programmer spends coding, debugging, and maintaining his creations.
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POSTED IN: Great Advice, Living as a Freelancer, Marketing Your Skills, Useful Info, What's Great About Freelancing
3 opinions for 3 More Skills That Will Pay For Your Retirement
Doug
Aug 29, 2007 at 4:03 pm
SEO and programming are huge. Especially SEO I think. Great SEO can lead to a lot of sales/traffic, which all companies want. If I could pick one to be a master at, I think I’d pick SEO.
Rico
Aug 29, 2007 at 8:41 pm
And, with all due respect to the top players in both fields, it’s very possible to learn everything yourself. There’s just so much information online, especially since people are sharing it freely in an attempt to become an authority in their profession.
Anyone with the patience, comprehension, and passion will discover a lot of things.
The 6 Skills That Will Pay For Your Retirement: What Do You Think?
Aug 31, 2007 at 12:07 am
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