Here were the top 10 fastest growing skills for the first quarter of 2018, along with the courses Upwork recommended to start learning them. You’ll notice the list has already changed significantly since previous quarter , in one sign of how rapidly the world of work is evolving.
While techies definitely have an edge in attracting business, there is also work aplenty for people with editorial, marketing and art direction skills. Among chief marketing officers surveyed by Gartner, 67% said they plan to increase their digital advertising spend in 2018, driving growth for areas such as voice over, subtitling, art direction and content strategy. “Instead of hiring an agency, they are going directly to a freelancer,” says Pearson.

1. Blockchain
Blockchain is the technology on which cryptocurrencies are built. Work for freelancers is plentiful for those who know how to design and it for new alternative coins or help clients build a new cryptocurrency exchange. “It’s going to be the new cloud of the 21 Century,” says Pearson.
Blockchain is not only driving demand for technology experts. Consultancies are also hiring writers who can explain how it works. “There are a fair amount of writers writing white papers and educating the market,” says Pearson. “There are a lot of unknowns and misconceptions about blockchain.”
Recommended course: IBM Blockchain Foundation for Developers (Coursera)

2. Tensorflow
Tensorflow is an open-source, software library used for machine learning applications, among other things. Developers who know how to use it are seeing a giant surge in demand on the platform.
Recommended course: Learning Path: TensorFlow: Machine & Deep Learning Solutions (Udemy)

3. Amazon DynamoDB
Amazon DynamoDB is a database service used in advertising technology, gaming, the internet of things and other industries. This is another fast-growing niche for developers.
Recommended course: AWS DynamoDB Deep Dive (PluralSight)

4. Voice over
The rise of video, audiobooks, podcasting and other media where narration is important is good news for voiceover artists. Current jobs on the site include narrating children’s books, doing a voiceover for a video sales letter, and doing voiceovers for online learning videos.
Recommended course: Voice-Over for Video and Animation (Lynda.com)

5. Subtitling
The explosive growth of online video has also created a demand for people who know how to subtitle videos. This area requires both good writing skills and some technology skills, as well.
Recommended course: Learn All About Creating Subtitles (SRT) and Closed-Captions (Udemy)

6. Art direction
Design studios and other traditional employers of art directors also rely on freelancers—and they’re keeping many free agents busy.
Recommended course: Learning Art Direction

7. Content strategy
As more companies look to create blogs, videos, podcasts and other content, they need professionals to help them focus their efforts. Freelancers with the right editorial and marketing skills are in hot demand.
Recommended course: The Fundamentals of Content Marketing (SkillShare)

8. Computer vision
This is an area of computer science and AI that aims to give computers a visual understanding of what’s going on around them. Many companies are on the hunt for developers who have mastered computer vision.
Recommended course: Become a Computer Vision Expert (Udacity)

9. Microsoft Power BI
Microsoft’s business analytics tools allow users to create reports and dashboards. Current jobs on Upwork for developers who know how to use Microsoft Power BI range from one helping with the development of financial analysis software to another doing business intelligence for a lead generation company.
Recommended course: Microsoft Power BI -- A Complete Introduction (Udemy)

10. Augmented reality
This is a technology that alters a user’s view of the physical word with visual, auditory or other special effects. It’s another fast-growing niche for developers.
Recommended course: Getting Started with Augmented Reality (Udemy)
Elaine Pofeldt is author of The Million-Dollar, One Person Business (Random House, January 2, 2018), a book looking at how to break $1M in revenue in a business staffed only by the owners.

Nice one. Need to research more on this bitcoin and blockchain of a thing. I've lost lots of work because of that.

Which of these is the easiest to learn within a short period of time?

BINARY OPTION

USFOCUS:
Here were the top 10 fastest growing skills for the first quarter of 2018, along with the courses Upwork recommended to start learning them. You’ll notice the list has already changed significantly since previous quarter , in one sign of how rapidly the world of work is evolving.
While techies definitely have an edge in attracting business, there is also work aplenty for people with editorial, marketing and art direction skills. Among chief marketing officers surveyed by Gartner, 67% said they plan to increase their digital advertising spend in 2018, driving growth for areas such as voice over, subtitling, art direction and content strategy. “Instead of hiring an agency, they are going directly to a freelancer,” says Pearson.


1. Blockchain
Blockchain is the technology on which cryptocurrencies are built. Work for freelancers is plentiful for those who know how to design and it for new alternative coins or help clients build a new cryptocurrency exchange. “It’s going to be the new cloud of the 21 Century,” says Pearson.
Blockchain is not only driving demand for technology experts. Consultancies are also hiring writers who can explain how it works. “There are a fair amount of writers writing white papers and educating the market,” says Pearson. “There are a lot of unknowns and misconceptions about blockchain.”
Recommended course: IBM Blockchain Foundation for Developers (Coursera)

2. Tensorflow
Tensorflow is an open-source, software library used for machine learning applications, among other things. Developers who know how to use it are seeing a giant surge in demand on the platform.
Recommended course: Learning Path: TensorFlow: Machine & Deep Learning Solutions (Udemy)

3. Amazon DynamoDB
Amazon DynamoDB is a database service used in advertising technology, gaming, the internet of things and other industries. This is another fast-growing niche for developers.
Recommended course: AWS DynamoDB Deep Dive (PluralSight)

4. Voice over
The rise of video, audiobooks, podcasting and other media where narration is important is good news for voiceover artists. Current jobs on the site include narrating children’s books, doing a voiceover for a video sales letter, and doing voiceovers for online learning videos.
Recommended course: Voice-Over for Video and Animation (Lynda.com)

5. Subtitling
The explosive growth of online video has also created a demand for people who know how to subtitle videos. This area requires both good writing skills and some technology skills, as well.
Recommended course: Learn All About Creating Subtitles (SRT) and Closed-Captions (Udemy)

6. Art direction
Design studios and other traditional employers of art directors also rely on freelancers—and they’re keeping many free agents busy.
Recommended course: Learning Art Direction

7. Content strategy
As more companies look to create blogs, videos, podcasts and other content, they need professionals to help them focus their efforts. Freelancers with the right editorial and marketing skills are in hot demand.
Recommended course: The Fundamentals of Content Marketing (SkillShare)

8. Computer vision
This is an area of computer science and AI that aims to give computers a visual understanding of what’s going on around them. Many companies are on the hunt for developers who have mastered computer vision.
Recommended course: Become a Computer Vision Expert (Udacity)

9. Microsoft Power BI
Microsoft’s business analytics tools allow users to create reports and dashboards. Current jobs on Upwork for developers who know how to use Microsoft Power BI range from one helping with the development of financial analysis software to another doing business intelligence for a lead generation company.
Recommended course: Microsoft Power BI -- A Complete Introduction (Udemy)

10. Augmented reality
This is a technology that alters a user’s view of the physical word with visual, auditory or other special effects. It’s another fast-growing niche for developers.
Recommended course: Getting Started with Augmented Reality (Udemy)
Elaine Pofeldt is author of The Million-Dollar, One Person Business (Random House, January 2, 2018), a book looking at how to break $1M in revenue in a business staffed only by the owners.

This is very educative especially because of the included courses and schools. Thank you!

Very informative article.

But the skills are really not that easy. You must be ready to learn and make impact, not for the faint hearted

MimiShopping:
Very informative article.

But the skills are really not that easy. You must be ready to learn and make impact, not for the faint hearted

Do you know any of them well? Which is easiest to learn?

preciousnobel:

Do you know any of them well? Which is easiest to learn?

Voice over.