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When thinking of freelancers, the common jobs that come to mind are freelance writing, freelance marketing, or freelance designer.

But are these the highest paying jobs for freelancers?

If you are considering to become a freelancer, perhaps re-skilling and focusing your efforts on one of the 7 options below would be sensible. Some of the highest paying jobs for freelancers require very unique skills, which with the right background, you might be able to conquer.

In this post you will find the 7 highest paying jobs according to a study by UpWork that revealed the specific skills that companies are paying the most for.

Before we dive in, let’s look at some general stats and expectations of the freelance economy, also known as the gig economy.

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52% of USA workforce will be freelancing by 2023

The gig economy is growing in gigantic steps over the last years. By 2023, 52% of USA workforce is expected to pickup a freelance job at least occasionally (Fortunly). Right now, 57 million people in the USA alone are doing some sort of freelancing jobs, contributing $1 trillion to the economy (Freelancers Union). So who is getting the biggest slice of the pie? In this post we describe 7 of the highest paying jobs for freelancers according to statistics available.

Some of these are actually quite surprising and different than what is commonly thought as high paying freelance jobs. Freelancers that are doing skilled services earn a median rate of $28 an hour, which is 70% more than overall employees in the USA (CNBC). The jobs below earn significantly more than that. Try to find the freelance jobs that you can pursue. 

The average hourly rates we use below were pulled from an UpWork study that looked into the highest paying freelance jobs. 

How to get a high paying job as a freelancer

If you are at the start of your journey, we recommend you to start off by investing in yourself with some new skills. Skillshare is an awesome platform for doing just that. Sign up through our Skillshare link to get 2 months free trial. And be sure to check out this video about finding remote freelancing work on UpWork.

Following this course will get you familiar with the freelancing space, and teach you how to land the highest paying jobs for freelancers. The best part, it’s free with a 2 months trial!

We also recommend using AND.CO to manage your invoices and time. You can start using it for free using our link.

 

 

1. Legal service expert and advisor

Average hourly rate: $255

If you already have a proven track record as a lawyer or legal advisor working at a big firm, you might want to consider doing it on your own. According to UpWork, the freelance job with the highest average hourly rate is legal entity restructuring, with and average of $255 an hour. KA-CHING!

Businesses are always willing to pay to cover their legal matters in the best way possible. Changing the legal structure of their companies is not that unusual, and they need experts to advise them. Think of a structure change from a solopreneur to a limited liability corporation. Most business start with a certain legal form, and once they grow in size, a different structure might be more suitable. 

2. Software development and implementation 

Average hourly rate: $220

If you are a savvy coder and can show off with some nice projects you worked on, you have a chance to make big bucks in this industry. Perhaps even more importantly, know how to implement the hottest softwares and you will maximise your hourly pay. Focus your existing skills to get the highest paying jobs for software development freelancers. 

According to a report by UpWork, professionals who can implement Blackline can earn up to $220 an hour. Blackline is a software that automates finance and accounting processes for businesses. If you are familiar with companies’ IT environments and can familiarise yourself with Blackline, you will have something going for you. 

Furthermore, if you are familiar with any of the following technologies, you could earn anywhere from $170 to $215 an hour: Bitcoin, Image object recognition, virtual machines, and SQR. 

3. Accounting and bookkeeping advisor

Average hourly rate: $215

Accounting is a very transferable set of skills. You can do it in any industry, the rules are generally the same with some specifications changing. Therefore it is a very lucrative freelance job, as your opportunity pool is quite large. Nonetheless, specialising in international accounting standards will lend you the biggest freelance income options. 

According to UpWork’s statistics, the average hourly pay for an international accounting standards advisor is $215 an hour on average. Any company or individual that conduct business internationally face a specific set of accounting standards they have to comply with. Not complying with these standards can mean big fines for companies, therefore they are willing to pay to protect themselves from any issues in the future. 

4. Applied Behavioral Analysis

Average hourly rate: $195

This one requires a very specific set of skills. Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA)  is a scientific discipline focusing on applying techniques aimed to change behaviour. This practice is often used in education, animal training, and business management. 

Most of the jobs we found seeking this skill set were related to marketing analysis and consumer behaviour analysis. This is working with the marketing department of a company to analyse their customers and come up with better way to reach them. 

5. Designer

Average hourly rate: $195

This is your typical location independent remote job. Doing web design or graphic design can be done from anywhere. But if you choose to specialise in behavioural design, you stand the chance to make much more than the average designer. 

Behavioural design is a discipline on its own, and the main focus is how design can influence human behaviour. Similar to number 4 on our list right? It seems like companies aren’t trying to sell us things we need anymore, but rather change us to like their new products or services. Ethical discussion aside, pursuing freelance jobs with these skills can land you a $195 an hour job.

6. Asset manager

Average hourly rate: $175

Managing a company’s lease contracts for their property and equipment is quite a task. Companies are seeking professionals that can help them manage and negotiate all these contracts. Your background might be legal or perhaps in real-estate. Having a good understanding and experience with leasing contracts can be beneficial for companies that need to lease many of their assets. 

7. IT Strategist

Average hourly rate: $165

For this one, you will need to be familiar with how the IT departments of companies work. The aim of an IT strategist is to maximise the value a company is getting out of their IT investments. As the name suggests, you will need to have the ability to think strategically and have a long-term vision of where the IT world is heading. 

Having experience managing an IT department or similar tasks will help you get into this field. Most companies will require you to show some track record and proven experience before they let you make the big decisions for them. 

Not all freelance jobs are created equally

The jobs listed above are largely based on statistics from one of the most popular freelance jobs websites out there: UpWork. These show that there are very specific skills that you need to earn the most as a freelancer. If you are a software developer, depending on your skills level you could be earning anywhere from $20 an hour to more than $220 an hour. 

Through this article, we illustrated that the highest paying freelance jobs require specific skills. Simply saying that a lawyer or a software developer can earn more than $200 will not be telling the entire story. Nonetheless, the types of basic skillset you need for those highest paying jobs is quite diverse. 

If you have a background in one of the above 7 fields of work, you can aim to re-skill yourself and maximize the pay for your time as a freelance worker.