Sometimes I wonder what I would do if I had to start my career from scratch today. Fortunately, I’ve discovered ten in-demand jobs or entrepreneurial ventures that:
- Will likely remain in demand for years to come.
- Are in thriving, not dying, industries.
- Require some skill plus a modest investment in education for those who want to differentiate themselves.
I discovered many of these jobs through my network of entrepreneur friends.
We’re asking each other for people with these skills all the time. And though you’ll need some education to start working in these fields, the good news is that none of them require a four-year degree.
Thanks to Google and YouTube, you can begin learning many of these skills for free. Do whatever research you can to start making some progress.
However, courses created and curated by experienced pros tend to be more efficient, teaching the skillset you want to learn in a focused and compressed format. If we’ve found a quality online course, we’ll link to it below.
Though most of these job ideas won’t be a fit for you, you don’t need to combine several of these skills if you want to make a living. You just need one.
If you find that none of them are your cup of tea, that’s okay. Just keep looking until you find a good fit for you.
1. Facebook Ads Manager
I can’t even tell you how many times an entrepreneur friend of mine has said to me, “I really need someone to help me with Facebook ads. Do you know anybody?”
This is huge.
Learning how to run successful ad campaigns for businesses may sound intimidating, but it really isn’t. And if you can prove yourself with just one company, you’re set, because most people I’ve hired over the years have been those referred to me by someone else.
Once you’ve handled one campaign successfully, you’ll be able to network your way into success.
Here’s something to consider: If I, as a business owner, can hire someone who can earn me a dollar for every 50 cents I spend on a Facebook ad, how much money do you think I’d be willing to pay for that service? And why would I ever let that person go?
Anytime you can help a business owner earn a little bit more money without taking up any more of their time, you’re onto something.
If you want to learn everything you need to know to become a successful Facebook Ads Manager—including how to find clients—check out this course.
2. Videographer
Just last week, my friend told me she got a quote for a one-minute video from a Videographer whose work she respected. The bid? Between three and five thousand dollars!
There’s a lot of work involved in shooting and editing video. I have some experience in this field, and surely some education is required if you want to do it right.
But when you can command prices like that, you’ve found an in-demand niche. That’s an excellent place to be!
Video content isn’t going anywhere. The demand for it will only increase in the coming years.
3. Affiliate Marketer
Many companies will pay you a finder’s fee when you refer a new client to them (Amazon, for example). This is called Affiliate Marketing, and it’s one of the main ways SeedTime supports itself.
Here’s how it works.
First, you recommend—or even just mention—a service or product on your website. Then, you create a special link to buy that product on the site you have an affiliation with.
If someone clicks on that link, and that click results in a sale, you get a percentage of the purchase. This is powerful stuff!
However, a word of warning: We’ve all seen people on social media or blogs hyping up a product that is junk just to try to make a buck. Those people don’t last as Affiliate Marketers.
Why? Because the trust you establish with an audience is the most valuable asset you have. If you lose that, you’re in trouble.
My approach to Affiliate Marketing is to write and speak honestly about products I already use, enjoy, or believe would work for our readers.
I do not recommend something just because doing so would earn us more money. In fact, quite often I recommend products or services that I love (that earn us nothing) while there are inferior, but competing products paying hefty sums.
Put simply, I view our audience’s trust as the most valuable asset and refuse to trade that to make a buck.
If you do the same as an Affiliate Marketer, you have the opportunity to create a cycle of trust in which:
- Your audience takes a recommendation from you.
- The products you recommend provide a “wow” experience.
- People return to your site for quality recommendations.
- You develop an audience that trusts you more and more, earning you increasing success.
All you have to do is be honest. When you review a product, enumerate its qualities, both great and not-so-great. Both consumers and businesses benefit from this kind of work.
Here’s why.
First, businesses don’t advertise the way they used to, cramming their stuff down your throat. They need real people to give their honest opinion of their product.
Second, shoppers today are smart—they do their research. They check reviews. They look until they find quality. They’ll buy something that doesn’t have a perfect review because it’s a real review from someone they’ve come to know and trust.
The key to long-term success in this field is honesty. If you do that, you’ll build trust with your audience, increasing your ability to make a sustainable living.
There’s a lot to learn if you want to become an Affiliate Marketer, and I happen to be an Affiliate for an excellent course on the subject.
I’ve taken this course, learned a lot, and applied what I’ve learned successfully. Click here to learn while you help support the work we do here at SeedTime.
4. Web Designer / Graphic Designer
I hear this over and over again: “Hey, do you know a good Web Designer,” or, “Who do you recommend as a Graphic Designer?” I’ve gotten to know and collaborate with many myself, and I’ve met some incredible Designers along the way.
I’ve found that the top Web and Graphic Designers—the ones who are really capable—make a lot of money. Being an artist used to be a difficult way to make money. Now, however, using your artistic skill in this medium is a way to have a lucrative career.
One caveat: Web and Graphic Designers don’t have 100% creative control over everything they do. This is not a field where you are creating your own artwork for your own collection.
Still, it’s a career where the demand is high. If you have an artistic eye, consider becoming a Web Designer or a Graphic Designer.
5. Pinterest Specialist
I know several bloggers, influencers, and YouTubers who have a Pinterest Specialist on their payroll.
The job description is simple: Help companies get traffic to their site through Pinterest.
This varies from business to business, but a typical Pinterest Specialist is someone who will create images for a company, pin those images, and then spend some time finding other quality content to pin to some of the business’s boards.
From there, you just follow the company’s ongoing Pinterest strategy, driving traffic to their site.
About two months ago, I bought a course and learned how to maximize my Pinterest traffic. My Pinterest Specialist and I went through the course, and we’re implementing everything we learned there.
You can check out that course here.
6. Social Media Manager
Now that many brick and mortar businesses are taking social media seriously, there’s a greater and greater demand for Social Media Managers.
While the most skilled craftspeople will command the highest prices, many small brick and mortar businesses are getting online for the first time and may have very basic needs.
In some cases, they might just need someone who knows how to create a Facebook page, post regularly, and keep an eye on things.
However, because this is a sought-after position in many organizations, there are a lot of people who want to jump on this opportunity. Those who educate themselves on how to grow a social media following will differentiate themselves from those who aren’t willing to work as hard.
The extra effort on your part will add major value to your clients.
7. Kindle Author
The Kindle platform is where self-published authors like you and I can write a book in a Word document, upload it to Amazon, and start selling it through the Kindle store within a couple of days.
Sure, there’s a little more to it than that. But the simplicity of the process is one of the reasons the Kindle platform has exploded in the last few years.
I got my first taste of Kindle authorship when I took one of my longer blog posts and converted it into an eBook. Since then, it’s been downloaded thousands of times!
Some are able to make their living as Kindle authors, but for most of us, making a few hundred dollars of passive income every month would be a big help. Whenever I can do work one time and get paid over and over, I want to recommend it to you.
Joseph Michael, a Kindle author and friend of SeedTime, has a great primer on becoming a Kindle author, and it’s surprisingly inexpensive.
Learn more here, using the code SEEDTIME for a very generous discount.
8. Web Developer
Web Developers are coders and programmers. They have solid technical skills, familiar with how to make all the parts of a website work together to create a seamless user experience.
I’ve managed this website for many years, and I’ve run into several technical challenges with it. Some of them have taken me hours to hack my way through. When I finally wised up and called a Web Developer, I found they could do the same work in a half-hour. Lots of people like me need someone like that.
If this is something you’re cut out for (since I’m obviously not!), you have the opportunity to be part of an in-demand industry. In fact, one IT career site named the Web Developer job description as one of the top 10 IT jobs poised for future growth.
Quality Web Developers can leverage word-of-mouth to keep business coming in. In the “personal financial blogger” niche, one or two developers have their name passed around over and over again, allowing them to build a reliable business with several clients because they have proven they do good work in that specific industry.
9. YouTuber
As you might expect, the work to create and maintain a great YouTube channel is substantial, but it’s really fun. I love it.
For those of you who aren’t interested in being on camera, good news! You don’t have to be. Tons of YouTubers never have their face on camera. Many don’t even use their voice. There are several ways to create videos that help people solve their problems. Being on-camera is only one way to do that.
As I mentioned above, video is not going away anytime soon. Significant growth lies ahead for video content creators, making this a great space to occupy.
The course I took when I got started on YouTube helped me tremendously. You can learn about that course here.
10. Online Course Creator
One of my main five streams of income is an online course. And, if you haven’t noticed, I’ve referred you to several online courses above, many of which I’ve paid for myself!
The reason? Online courses are proving themselves to be one of the best ways to learn. I spent a lot of money on four years of college education—between $50,000 and $60,000—and still had a hard time finding a job right out of college, let alone one I actually enjoyed.
Meanwhile, there are several high-quality online courses focused on a specific skill set. Students like you and I can finish these courses in a week or two, allowing us to apply what we’ve learned instantly.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not against receiving a college education, and some career paths require it. However, several career paths are more suited to online education. Online courses can be updated instantaneously, something impossible for a lot of college curriculum.
If you have a smartphone, you can shoot videos incredibly easily. Or you can create videos using the screen recorder on your computer with your voice over. I’ve even seen courses that are entirely text-based and still very effective.
If you have a unique skill—think really, really specific here—you’re at a competitive advantage because you’re targeting a small group of people.
This process used to be extremely time-consuming and difficult, but it’s gotten much easier thanks to this platform, which I can heartily recommend.
Now, here are three bonus jobs that are equally as exciting as those above.
Honorable Mention #1: Copywriter
A copywriter, as opposed to other kinds of writers, is one who creates sales pages.
A friend of mine actually spent $12,000 to pay a copywriter to rewrite his sales page, artfully explaining why people should buy his product. And while that sounds like a lot of money, great copywriting can drive sales. My friend gladly spent that much money and made it back several times over.
Any time you can help a business-owner make more money without taking up any more of his or her time, you’re onto something big.
Honorable Mention #2: Keynote Speaker
A friend of mine was a fulltime speaker for several years, traveling all over the country and speaking as many as sixty times a year. He has a course where he teaches exactly what he did, how he grew his business, how he got gigs, and how you can do the same thing.
Honorable Mention #3: Blogger
Blogging is my bread and butter! It’s what I’ve done for the past ten years, and I’ve loved it. It’s been good to me, but don’t be fooled. Blogging is a lot more than writing articles. There are a lot of hidden details that make this a truly successful endeavor.
I’ve created this free course for people who want to get started, then some paid courses for those who are serious about diving in. You can find those here.
