If you’re looking to start making money on your own, then you need to start developing a good idea of what your freelancing career is actually going to look like. You can start by looking at which skills you already have and how you can apply them to start earning. But it’s also worth looking at where the demand is already growing. Here, we’re going to look at some of the fastest-growing freelancing gigs around at the moment and just why they’re so in-demand.

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Writing

One of the most popular freelancing positions of all is writing. It’s not a position that’s easy to get into, but if you’re able to do it well, it’s easy to do at flexible hours because you can do it at any time and from anywhere. We’re not talking about blogging, here, either, but rather the kind of writing that you do for professional clients. As such, a lot of it might involve writing blog content for business blogs, press releases, web page content, and much more. There are a lot of clients out there looking for web content that they need people to write.

Programming

Marketing content isn’t the only kind of writing that pays well in the freelance marketplace, either. Programming (or developing or coding) is one of the most in-demand careers in the world and that extends to the freelancing world, too. Freelancing as a programmer often involves creating bespoke software and applications to meet the needs of individual clients. Or you can specialize and freelance as part of a team or multiple teams, focusing on front-end or back-end development. Either way, this role requires a lot of technical expertise, particularly the knowledge of demanding coding languages. However, it also requires that you’re able to work well with others, to understand their needs, and to communicate how your solutions can meet those needs.

Tech support

Digital technology plays a bigger role in our working lives than ever before. The vast majority of modern businesses rely on some sort of tech and, often, they need help fixing it when something goes wrong or protecting their business from viruses, hackers, malware and the like. There are different kinds of tech roles you can take a freelancer. Tech support involves troubleshooting and fixing all kinds of IT issues but cyber security is a good career because it involves specializing in a type of technology that businesses of all sizes and shapes use. As such, if you become an experienced cyber security technician, it can be one of the most lucrative freelance tech roles around.

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Graphic design

There are all kinds of graphic design roles that you can take. So long as you have the skills for creative digital design, you can find all kinds of work, including designing logos, assets for websites, branding materials and much more. Unlike some of the careers named above, there isn’t much demand for you to be able to display great technical expertise. What you do need to do, however, is develop a portfolio of work that shows off all the different kind of designs you can create for your clients. Developing a portfolio is all about steadily doing more work for your own sake while paying attention to design trends that are most in-demand at the moment in time.

Photography

Graphic design isn’t the only aesthetics based talent you can start to capitalize from, either. If you have a passion for photography, then there are plenty of ways you can make money from it. You can, for instance, sell photos to local newspapers (with the sports columns being particularly consistent ways to make money) or you can start to do wedding photography. A portfolio is recommended for this kind of work as well, but there are also websites that will pay you for your photography. Often these websites will request photographs that fit certain keywords or criteria too, so if you’re a more versatile photographer you can still make a career out of it.

Translation and localization

As you might have assumed, to get a good career in freelance translation, you’re going to need to know at least two languages. If you do know those languages, however, then you can work on all kinds of projects. You can translate scripts for ads, TV and movies, translate instructions for manuals, or content for websites that reach internationally. Localization is a little different from translation is that it’s not a purely linguistic skill. It involves understanding the culture you are localizing to, for instance, so that you are able to better translate idioms and concepts that might not apply equally from one culture to the next. At the very minimum, to translate, you are going to need to be fluent if you want to keep finding work. Given that the world is steadily becoming more and more connected and more businesses are going global than ever, the demand for translation and localization are both skyrocketing at the moment.

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Social media marketing

If you have a flair for the written word and, in particular, a good understanding of social media formats and trends in how those platforms are used, then you have one of the most valuable marketing skills right now. Businesses of all kinds are looking to improve their social media presence due to the unique ability of those platforms to reach millions of people (so long as you can go viral) and the positive word-of-mouth and social proof you can build. If you have your own social media presence with plenty of followers, you can even sell that as an influencer marketer.

Admin work

If you’re well organized, have good attention to detail, and have great phone manners, then you might want to look at the world of the virtual assistant. Effectively, these jobs involve doing all the kinds of things an assistant might normally, taking care of schedules, taking notes, dealing with emails, and other admin work. You can also become a virtual receptionist, which is a slightly different line of work, though the two often combine. This role involves taking phone calls for a business or professional, redirecting calls, taking messages, and generally making sure that the client misses no correspondence. For both roles, the actual duties from client to client can change regularly, so having some flexibility to you is important.

Bookkeeper/accountant

Business owners often need plenty of help to make sure they’re keeping track of the businesses finances well. If you have a good sense for numbers or experience in using business accounting software, then you could become a freelance bookkeeper, helping multiple businesses ensure their books are organized. Accountants are different from bookkeepers. Often, when we say accountant we are referring specifically to chartered accountants who are trained to offer tax advice, helping their clients save money or avoid audits. If you have experience as a bookkeeper and are confident in your abilities, then you might want to look at what it takes to become a chartered accountant. The role is demanding but it pays significantly better.

With a little research, you will certainly be able to find positions outside of those listed above that are fast-growing. However, it’s important to ask why they’re fast-growing, too. There are some fields that are saturated at the moment, meaning that there isn’t the demand to satisfy the number of people getting into the work. Ensure your role of choice is not only popular but also in demand before you throw yourself into it.