Jobs for skilled freelancers online are booming, thank you very much, on account of new technologies.
According to data from Upwork, a website that matches freelancers with employers, job postings for independent skilled workers in emerging technologies more than doubled this year.
In its latest Quarterly Skill Index showing the top 20 fastest-growing freelance skills in America, Upwork ranks robotics specialists first among the hottest skills freelancers can possess. Blockchain developers and Bitcoin cryptocurrency developers come in second and third respectively for the third quarter of 2017.
Top 20 Fastest-Growing Skills for Freelancers Q3 2017 Report
Upwork notes the 20 fastest growing freelance skills in the third quarter of 2017 all saw more than 100 percent year-over-year growth, while the top 10 fastest growing skills grew more than 200 percent compared to the same time period in 2016.
Check out Upwork’s full list of 20 fastest growing freelance skills, Q3 2017:
- Robotics
- Blockchain
- Bitcoin
- Penetration testing
- React.js
- Amazon Web Services Lambda
- Augmented reality
- Deep learning
- Instagram marketing
- Final Cut Pro X
- Swift development
- AngularJS development
- Salesforce
- Vulnerability assessment
- Natural language processing
- HubSpot marketing
- Machine learning
- Objective-C development
- Learning Management System (LMS)
- jQuery development
These skills, eight of which are new to the quarterly list, are seeing an uptick due to growing demand for new tech from businesses and consumers alike. Rates for the skills are also on the rise, with freelancers on Upwork reportedly earning more than $1 billion annually. If you are a freelancer looking to acquire the most in demand skills in tech, you should probably expand to these skills to meet demands.
Small Businesses Benefiting from Freelance Skills Uptick
Since small businesses are not always able to reskill their employees as fast as required by the market, they often rely on freelancers to complete essential tasks in their business. A large number of small business jobs in emerging technologies are outsourced to freelance techies.
And with Upwork’s more comprehensive “Freelancing in America: 2017” study projecting the majority of the U.S. workforce will be freelance within a decade, it may be worth it for your small business to keep tabs on new and emerging skills freelancers are providing that could be harder to find and cost more as time goes on.
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This article, “Robotics Becomes Fastest Growing Skill Among Freelancers, Upworks Index Says” was first published on Small Business Trends