High-Income Skills Worth Learning

Every job requires some combination of workplace skills and technical skills, and chances are, you have already built an impressive skill set derived from your education or past work experience.

High-income skills are tools and expertise that employers tend to value highly and may make it easier to change jobs and even industries, according to a 2022 report from McKinsey & Company [1]. These job skills may be rare, and they’re often crucial to running a successful business.

As you aim to advance your career or shift your career focus, you may want to find ways to highlight your high-income skills. Depending on your desired career path, you may be able to leverage these skills to reach your salary goals.

7 high-income skills to learn

Below, you’ll find seven high-income skills that you can feature on your resume to help stand out to potential employers. To build this list, we looked at reports forecasting the most in-demand skills through 2030 from the World Economic Forum [2], Pearson [3], Future Learn [4], LinkedIn [5], Glassdoor [6], and Coursera [7].

The skills listed here are all transferable across a number of career paths. As you read this list, consider your career goals, past experiences, and the job descriptions of your desired roles, and notice whether any of these skills may naturally facilitate your path.

1. Data analysis

Analytical thinking and innovation is the top skill forecasted in the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report [2]. As businesses across industries increasingly rely on data to make informed decisions, they require more employees with the ability to collect, interpret, and share data that can solve their business problems.

People skilled in data analysis may use a range of tools including Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, SQL, Tableau, R, or Python.

Here are some careers that use data analysis, along with average base pay in the United States as of December 2022, according to Glassdoor:

Job title Average base pay

Business analyst=$76,147

Data analyst=$67,179

Data engineer=$94,327

Data scientist=$102,994

2. Software development

Increasingly, industries are turning toward technology to advance their business capabilities, and they need people skilled in developing, maintaining, and improving their technological systems. People who work in DevOps or software engineering build, monitor, and control an organization’s technology.

People skilled in DevOps or software engineering may use tools like Git, Docker, Jenkins, or Kubernetes, and may know coding languages like Python, Java, or C++.

Here are some careers that use software development, along with average base pay in the United States as of December 2022, according to Glassdoor:

Job title Average base pay

Applications engineer=$81,008

Systems developer=$90,943

Software engineer=$90,390

DevOps engineer=$104,148

3. User experience

Hand in hand with technological development comes user experience (UX), which has to do with the way a consumer interacts with a product. People working in UX figure out the best way to present a product to consumers. They may conduct research, design, or help market a product.

Although they still involve some data, UX roles are grounded in design and tend to offer room for creativity, and they require a high level of social perceptiveness—three skills that come up in multiple skill reports [2, 3, 4].

Here are some careers utilizing user experience skills, along with average base pay in the United States as of December 2022, according to Glassdoor:

Job title Average total pay

UX writer=$98,553

UX researcher=$100,490

User interface (UI) designer=$102,987

UX designer=$105,118

Product designer=$107,400

4. Web development

Web development brings together the fundamentals of software development and user experience, incorporating the technical aspects of the former with the design elements of the latter. People skilled in web development will also be familiar with technical search engine optimization (SEO) in order to design and program websites that meet business needs.

Here are some careers that require web development skills, along with average base pay in the United States as of December 2022, according to Glassdoor:

Job title Average total pay

Front-end developer=$104,394

Full-stack developer=$110,497

Webmaster=$110,686

Back-end developer=$119,292

5. Project management

Many companies use an organizational structure in which different departments, teams, or team members all work on a singular product or project. A person who is skilled in coordinating efforts across each of those touchpoints is skilled in project management. These team members may be responsible for maintaining schedules, organizing budgets, and communicating with project stakeholders (or various parties interested or invested in the project outcomes).

You can consider “project management” to be a catch-all term for leadership, communication, planning, resilience, and organizational skills—all of which are frequently cited as valuable to employers [2, 3, 4, 6].

Project management shows up in many careers and becomes especially important as you move into managerial positions. However, you can also pursue a career as a project manager. Here are some careers along the project manager path and their average base pay in the United States as of December 2022, according to Glassdoor:

Job title Average total pay

Project coordinator= $89,374

Program manager=$89,989

Project manager=$93,043

Portfolio manager=$119,373

6. Account management

While project management typically has an internal focus, account management taps into a similar subset of skills to work with people outside of your organization. Often highly valued in sales positions, account management skills enable you to confidently position your company and its products to customers.

Account management skills incorporate both the organizational aspects required to close a business deal as well as the interpersonal skills required to productively negotiate and maintain relationships. They often work with a customer relationship management (CRM) tool like Salesforce.

Here are some careers that use account management and sales skills, along with average base pay in the United States as of December 2022, according to Glassdoor:

Job title Average total pay

Account manager=$83,999

Business development associate=$88,601

Business development manager=$98,861

Sales representative=$100,310

7. Content creation and management

Content creation and management skills involve storytelling and are often crucial for marketing careers. This skill set incorporates creativity, originality, social perceptiveness, and emotional intelligence. Taking these skills a step further can also mean adding data analysis to your toolbox, specifically honing in on marketing analytics so that you can assess how well an audience is connecting with your content.

Here are some careers that use content creation and management skills, along with average base pay in the United States as of December 2022, according to Glassdoor:

Job title Average total pay

Social media manager=$76,325

Digital marketing manager=$96,206

Content marketing manager= $107,777

Brand marketing manager=$109,952