These 10 Skills Will Get You Hired and Paid Well in 2021 and Beyond

As challenging and ever-changing the job market is, professionals and students need to update their skills with the latest, much-needed ones. 

Technology advancements are continually influencing the most important aspects of our life —including jobs. 

Some skills are increasing in demand while others become obsolete. LinkedIn identified 10 jobs that had the greatest number of job openings in 2020. These jobs have had steady growth over the past four years. You can earn a livable wage if you have one of these skills. Most importantly, you don’t need to go back to school to gain these skills. They can be learned online.

Whether you are a professional looking to add value to your skillset or a student wondering what to study at college, this list of top 10 most wanted skills in the job market will be a good place to start. 

Software development (22.7M+ jobs)

Software development is an integral part of business development in the digital world.  From designing mobile-first platforms to improving sales and services, and more – software developers are one of the most important professionals today. 

Sales (17.8M+jobs)

Sales is one of those skills that are always in-demand. Businesses want to make sales and people who are great at negotiation, CRM, B2B, business development and storytelling are becoming harder and harder to find.

Project management (3.9M+ jobs)

The ability to manage people to accomplish a given task on time and with allocated resources is a skill very few people possess. Companies are hungry for people who can do that. 

IT administration (3.9M+ jobs)

As companies undergo digital transformations, there is a strong need for an IT person who can make sure that the company’s internal systems are up and running.

Customer service (4.2M+ jobs) 

With increased social media conversations, one bad experience can potentially cost a company’s reputation. Therefore a need for consistent customer service is highly important.

Digital marketing (1.6M+ jobs) 

With the rise of digital, it’s no surprise to see digital marketing as the most in-demand marketing skill on the list. Those with specific skills such as content marketing, SEO, Google Analytics, and social media are highly needed by companies.

IT support / help desk (1M+ jobs) 

Similar to IT admins, companies need IT support personnel to provide the customer or internal user with information and support related to a company’s processes, products, and services.

Data analysis (600K+ jobs)

Today companies collect more data than ever before. They need professionals who can make smart decisions based on these data. Over 600K+ job posts required data analysts with skills such as Excel, SQL, BI, Tableau, visualization, analytics, and more.

Financial analysis (360K+ jobs)

Similar to data analysts, more and more companies are relying on financial analysts to help and guide them through strategic investments.

Graphic design (654K+ jobs)

Businesses need creative people who can make a visual representation of ideas. That is where graphic designers come into play. If you possess a skill set such as Adobe Indesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator – you are always going to be needed to help a company, an entrepreneur, or an individual.

Where to learn these skills? 

As I said, the good news is that you don’t have to register for a semester and pay some fee to learn these skills. They can totally be learned online and mostly for free.

LinkedIn together with Microsoft and GitHub is offering free courses in the skills mostly wanted in the job market. You will learn from industry leaders in areas such as marketing, software development, project management more. You will be able to gain free access to the courses until the 31st of March, 2021. If in case, you miss the free time, there is another way to access LinkedIn courses for free by activating your free premium account for a month. 

Another place you can learn digital skills is through Google Digital Skills for Africa where you can learn a range of digital skills including data science, career development, and marketing.

Start building your skills today. Make it one of your new year’s resolutions to learn any of these much-needed skills of today.

*Data provided in this article is according to the number of job openings posted globally on LinkedIn in 2020.

Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash.