Are you a student who doesn’t want to depend on parents or relatives for money?
It’s a known fact that students’ lives are hectic. You have to simultaneously juggle between reading and assimilating books to caring a lot about your grades.
Those who want to make money while actively studying don’t have to be limited by classes, lectures, tests, or exams; with the skills that will be listed later on in this article, students and even undergrads can capitalize on current digital skill trends and get lucrative gigs from an employer or the freelance market.
With these best-in-demand digital skill-sets, you’ll be able to capitalize on any opportunity that will enhance your experience and make money.
So, what are the “Top in demand skills for students to earn money” without neglecting their student duties? Well, let’s delve right in…
6 Top in demand skills for students to earn money
1. Website Development
You might not know this, but website development is, without doubt, a must-learn digital skill if you want to earn not just quick money, but a life-changing one.
The demand for website developers will never dwindle, as every local business and big firm needs an online presence to showcase its services or products.
And gone are the days when website development is not for the faint heart. Nowadays, even a non-techy person can build a website within a few days of dedicated learning.
Luckily, there are tons of courses (both paid and free) about website development on the internet. You may decide to code a website either from scratch or use “no-code” tools, such as the popular WordPress CMS platform.
If you’re someone who likes simple stuff and doesn’t want to dive deep into the web development rabbit hole, then learning WordPress will be the best for you. Why?
Because it’s effortless to use and learn. WordPress’s basic knowledge such as installing a new theme or plugin and editing website interface using drag-and-drop builders such as Elementor will get you going.
However, learning to code from scratch using basic coding languages like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP and Python will be required if you would like to be in total control of a website and make changes as you want.
2. Graphics design
Are you an art lover with a good eye for design and color schemes? Then the graphics design skill-set is for you. You will create visual content that’s appealing by combining typography, colors, hierarchy, and a clean layout.
Just like web development, graphics design is a highly demanded skill and will continue to be like that for years to come. How true is this?
For simple explanations, I want you to look at one of your books. You may see some graphical content on it, look around and you may see enormous billboards displaying 3D images or there might be posters plastered on the surrounding wall.
All the above examples are done by a graphics designer. You can venture into this skill path by learning how to use Photoshop software to make outstanding visual graphics.
However, learning Photoshop is not enough. Being a graphics designer, you must be creative and have an eye for arts/color schemes.
Visit YouTube or Udemy, search for courses on Graphics design, put in the time, and start doing basic stuff such as making a simple logo, removing or adding a background to an image and so many more.
After spending weeks or months honing your design skills, you may be a freelance designer on platforms such as Fiverr, Upwork, or PeoplePerHour.
Have designed minor projects you can showcase as a portfolio to potential clients, then you can take advanced courses to further enhance your Graphics design skills.
3. SEO (Search Engine Optimizations)
Search engine optimization or SEO for short is the process that includes On-page, Off-page, or Technical SEO to garner more organic traffic on SERP (Search Engine Results Page).
This is another digital skill worth learning, as long as websites and blogs are launching daily, the demand for SEO skill-sets can never decrease because SEO is a crucial process needed to be done for every website or blog that wants to gather more revenue, attention, and organic traffic.
Your job as an SEO specialist is to optimize client’s website (On-page, Off-page, and Technical). The SEO skill-sets are more demanding in terms of dedication and learning curve as SEO strategies being used are not stagnant. For this reason, you need to keep up with the latest tricks and tips to rank a website.
Once you have mastered the SEO skill-set, you can become a freelancer or work for a company that will be more profitable.
4. SMM (Social Media Marketing)
4.62 billion people are using social media such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn and so many more according to SmartInsights.
Companies have ditched traditional advertising methods, such as Tv adverts, billboards, and Radio PR. For this reason, social media advertising is now the go-to for companies who are really into brand building and want to reach more audiences.
This is one of the many reasons SMM skills are in high demand. You will be in charge of planning viral posts, running targeted ADs, generating more followers, and increasing the company’s brand awareness, thereby increasing sales/revenues.
5. Content Writing
If you have a spark for writing, then this is a chance to monetize that spark. Content writing can include writing long-form blog posts and articles like the one you’re reading right now, optimized product descriptions, video and podcast scripts, email swipes, sales pitches, and so on…
Content writing is in high demand because businesses, websites, and blogs have come to realize that good content is indeed an essential hook to get fish off the river.
To become a hirable content writer, you must be able to write fluff-free English and also be an excellent researcher. Before getting started, you need to choose a writing niche you want to be specialized in, such as:
- Finance
- Digital marketing
- Technology
- Education
- Real estate
As a content writer myself, I’ve noticed the niche choosing part is where most people get lost. I mean, there are tons of niches that it’s almost impossible to choose a particular one that will be profitable as well as be relevant for years to come.
On the other hand, it is pretty easy; Just figure out what you love. You’re a sportswriter if you love watching sports. So are you a car content writer if you love cars. Also do a lot of brainstorming, practices, and researching on your own and you will get it figured out.
The niche you choose must be one you have a deep passion for and is pertaining to you to not lose your passion for writing later in the future.
After honing your skills, you can start reaching out to blog and website owners for permanent work or become a freelancer; The choice is yours.
6. Affiliate marketing
The last but not least high in-demand digital skill-set you may consider acquiring is Affiliate marketing. What is Affiliate marketing you ask?
Simply put, Affiliate marketing is the process where you earn a small commission by promoting other people’s products or services to potential buyers/clients.
You don’t need to create a product or service yourself, it is already created by people out there, what you need to do is sign up for an Affiliate program, copy your referral link, promote it, and once a sale is made through you; Commission will be disbursed to you, the sales commission may vary depending on the type of products you promote and how much percentage the product or service creator has set.
Below is a visual representation cycle of how Affiliate marketing works:
The affiliate marketing industry is very lucrative, the industry is well worth $12 billion and is rapidly growing according to Webtribunal.
You might as well tap into this money stream and start making passive income, once you’ve learned and mastered the Affiliate marketing skills and made a name for yourself; Potential product or service creators will be reaching out to you with Affiliate offers.
In Conclusion
You can make a career out of all the above-listed profitable digital skills apart from them being a passive income source. So take your time to learn about the chosen one that seems just right for you so you can offer value in the pool of digital skills marketplace.
On topics like this, I know there will be dozens of questions running through your mind. Please feel free to ask away using the comment section, I’m here for you and will provide you with a light-shedding answer.
