This year didn’t quite live up to expectations: a global pandemic, the deepest global recession since the Second World War, a record number of redundancies and the UK unemployment rate currently estimated at 4.8%.

With mass redundancies and approximately 9.6 million jobs in the UK getting furloughed, it’s no surprise that searches for terms such as “side hustle” and “passive income”  skyrocketed. TikTok exploded during the pandemic, with one of their key trends being videos of how to make money from home, with hashtags such as #financialfreedom, #makemoney, #onlinebusiness and #passiveincome having hundreds of millions of views.

However, side hustles aren’t for everyone. Around 1.62 million people in the UK are currently unemployed. With economists expecting this figure to rise and certain industries being advised to retrain, many individuals are left asking “what job should I do?”. The UK job market seems more uncertain and competitive than ever, with around 106% more applicants battling it out for every job than there was a year ago. Now is the time for job seekers to diversify their skills and ensure their CV stands out for their next job opportunity.

If you’re looking for ways to make money from home or needing to improve your skill set to get a more lucrative role, our team at Media Training Ltd have researched the key skills you need in order to make money in 2021.

1. Digital Marketing

This is a broad term and within it lies a variety of skills including but not limited to: Social Media Marketing, Facebook Ads, Google Ads, SEO, Blogging, Content Marketing, Ecommerce, Email Marketing and more. It might seem daunting at first, but once you master Digital Marketing the money making opportunities are endless.

There are some Virtual Assistants reportedly earning up to £7,500 per month doing tasks such as hashtag research, planning social media feeds, Facebook Ads, managing email marketing, writing blogs and more. Not only this, but Digital Marketing Manager roles are currently being advertised with salaries of up to £70,000 pa in the UK.

2. Design

Gone are the days where design skills are only required by Graphic Designers. If you’re looking for any creative role a large majority of them require you to at least have some basic design and software knowledge. Whether this is experience using Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator or even the free software, Canva, once you’ve obtained these skills you can charge anywhere between £200-500 per day as a freelancer.

Due to advancing technology, the requirement for UX Design skills is projected to grow by 22% over the next decade, with demand already outweighing supply in many countries. UX professionals are highly paid due to the global skills shortage and the demand for UX Designers is being reflected in salaries of up to £100,000 pa in London, in the FinTech industries.

3. Coding

If you’ve looked at job boards recently you will see an abundance of titles such as: Web Developer, Software Developer, Full Stack Developer, Front End Developer, App Developer, Cloud Engineer, Data Analyst, Data Science Manager and more. Coding jobs are in high demand, the industry is booming!

Gaining skills in HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP, XML, Python and SQL will result in you being a much sought after candidate. Demand for skills in data, analytics and development is driving a lot of hiring efforts and with that pushing salaries up to £150,000 pa or up to £800 per day in the UK.

4. Copywriting

Whether you want to be a fully fledged Copywriter or a Content Manager, Social Media Manager, Editor, SEO Specialist, PR Executive etc, excellent copywriting skills are required. Some people are natural wordsmiths, whereas others need to hone this craft through training and practice.

If you’re looking to make money working from home Copywriting could be just for you, all you need is a laptop, a good WiFi connection and your creative mind. Freelancers can make up to £400 per day with Senior Copywriters reportedly making up to £2,000 per day.

5. Video Filming & Editing

Everyone knows that video content is king and it’s in demand now more than ever. According to Cisco, approximately 82% of global internet traffic in 2022 will be video. Knowing how to film videos using a smartphone or filming with a DSLR is imperative to create professional content.

Filming is only half the battle, being able to edit using the industry standard software such as Adobe Premiere and After Effects will make engaging, click worthy content for both social media and online platforms. Once you have a contemporary portfolio of videos, experienced Video Editors can charge up to £500 per day.