It is the age of freelancing. Most people prefer to work from the comfort of their homes at their own timings. This saves them from long hours spent on roads while traveling to their offices and all the politics and highly demanding culture of a corporate life.Plus, they can make a decent living since they can work for clients or businesses in other countries.
A freelancer has more opportunities to grow because he can enhance his/her credentials according to demands. This will lead to better pay scale and more reliable jobs. It is easier to find a new freelance job compared to searching in your local job market.
When the 2017 list for Upwork.com billings was compiled, the highest paid were those with more specialized skills and they were also very rare. You can still get the freelance jobs with beginner skills like content writing or logo design but when you are really looking to earn big, it is important to go for some advanced certification.Following are the top 5 certifications which are high in demand.
- Information security certification
The electronic information age requires more and more safety measures to protect crucial information on the web. With a certification in your hand, you can confidently say that you are skilled in protecting data and information security.
You can take up the CompTIA Security+ certification and prove that network security is your speciality. This is a starter security certification that is ISO 17024 approved. With this certification, companies can hire you with confidence that you are apt in preventing any security breach and are capable of working with sensitive customer information.
- Project Management certification
The Project Management Professional Certification (PMP) is a popular one now in which a bachelor’s degree and 5 years of experience is required. With this certification in hand, you can demand a higher pay scale as a freelancer and can attract high quality clients. This course enables you with the experience, skills, knowledge and competency to effectively lead and complete successful projects.
As you progress in this field, you can explore other avenues of project management. But as a starter, the PMP certification should get you the push you need to become a freelancer.
- Graphics certification
Artists often prefer to work on their own as it is a freer environment that can easily let their creative juices flowing. If you seem to have artistic capabilities, you can start off a great career as a graphic artist. This will require you to become certified and skilled in Adobe apps like Photoshop, Illustrator or Flash. Graphic designers, animators, or videographers can use these tools to boost their freelance career. The best part about graphic design training is that you can find some really good online courses and learn it at home.
- Marketing certification
If you are from the marketing world or would like to be a part of the marketing arena; you can pursue a marketing certification through American Marketing Association (AMA) known as Professional Certified Marketer (PCM). This certification is useful for marketing consultants and professionals. To pursue this program, you need a Bachelor degree and 4 years of relevant marketing experience.
Plus, there are plenty of short courses for SEO or PPC marketing professionals including certifications from none other than Google itself. These can give you a good start.
- Programming certification
A professional programmer or developer can earn well by gaining a relevant certification. The Zen PHP 5 Certification is an entry level offering for a developer to gain aptitude in PHP programming language. PHP is one of the most common programming languages, hence gaining this basic certification can get you kick-started as a freelance programmer.
Although certifications are not necessarily expected of freelancers, some clients do expect you to have this knowledge and skills. Even if the job does not require any certification, an employer will most likely hire the person who is certified as opposed to the one who is not. A certification will show your worth, skills, and knowledge and make you stand out from the many other freelancers in the market. Hence, if you have just started off as a freelancer and would prefer access to better paying jobs, you should consider one of the many certifications available online.
