3 Skills For Freelancers That Pay $100,000+ In 2024

Recently, an intriguing story from Fast Company was published with the headline: “Thanks to AI, we’re in the golden age of freelancing.”

While the essence of the article seemed to concentrate heavily on top-tier “elite workers turning into super builders”—the white-collar tech professionals who are ex-FAANG employees (hailing from Big Tech companies Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Google),—it did raise a valid point that can be applied elsewhere and provokes one to wonder what other benefits AI provides to freelancers, or those who are hoping to start freelancing.

Although the top 2% or elite of freelance product builders and consultants are on freelance websites and platforms such as Toptal and A-Team, the emergence of generative AI presents an enormous opportunity for other freelancers who can capitalize on the productivity and money-making potential of AI, whether they are elite super-builders or not.

By now, it’s already a well-established fact that AI skills are extremely lucrative, with the average pay standing at $141,000, and going up to $220,000 according to salary estimated for jobs and careers with this skill set on Salary.com. In the war for highly-skilled, top tech talent to power the AI craze, some companies have been known to offer eye-watering salaries of as much as $900,000 (such as Netflix did for their product manager position).

But sky-high salaries aside, when considering AI, there are three skills that appear to be extremely lucrative—(although not as flattering as almost being a millionaire), and freelance professionals with these skill sets have the potential to earn more than $100,000 on average in 2024. (Average pay ranges and salaries are taken from Salary.com and ZipRecruiter.)

These skills are:

1. Product Management

According to ZipRecruiter, a freelance product manager can earn as much as $159,405 on average annually, in the United States. This skill set is in high demand as tech start-ups (and those who do not predominantly operate in tech but need apps or other products to complement their business) are demanding the services of freelance professionals who have product management skills.

As a freelance product manager, you are using your skills to help validate a new product idea by bringing the MVP (minimum viable product) to market, or to update an existing product to ensure a business remains relevant to its customers. So if you already have a background within product development/product management, you already have a high-income skill, with the potential to set up a solid career as a freelancer.

Top tip: if you upskill yourself and learn AI as part of your product management skill set, you will be even more in demand.

Average pay range for this skill: $51,500 to $197,000

2. LLMs, Data Science and Generative AI

As noted above, professionals with AI skills are few in comparison to the high demand. This is where businesses of various sizes could use your help as a freelancer. If you have deep industry knowledge and experience with large language models (LLMs), data science, and/or generative AI, you could provide consultancy services, advising corporate clients on how to implement and integrate artificial intelligence tools and applications into their workflow and existing apps.

Average pay range for this skill: $61,262 to $220,126

3. Software Development

Freelancers who have honed their skills as software developers can work on all sorts of exciting freelance projects, from IoT (Internet of Things), to e-commerce platforms, enterprise-level solutions, and mobile apps. You might be there to advise and make suggestions, or you could use your skills to teach others how to develop software, or you might work directly on building the product yourself. This skill is very versatile.

Average pay range for this skill: $79,021 to $110,088

So, if you’re looking for some freelance inspiration for your next side hustle or full-time freelancing venture, and you have a background in tech—you have plenty of fertile ground to cover. And what’s even better, all three of these high-income skills are well-suited to remote work, enabling you to make money online as a freelancer.