7 In-Demand Skills to Learn in 2024

In-demand skills are skills with more demand than supply, giving job seekers who possess them the advantage when applying and negotiating in the job market. Like the stock market, job demand changes with the tide of the economy and perceived value. 

For example, over the last two decades blogging and copywriting were highly in demand. Today, social media marketing and video skills have overtaken writing as the most in demand for marketing teams. As AI spreads across industries, prompt engineering and machine learning are emerging as high-demand skills.

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In short, these skills are in demand because they aid companies in keeping up with efficiency standards or leading innovation. They often impact a company’s bottom line, as they’re related to either improvements to their product or popularizing their product in the market. 

This article covers rising in-demand skills and how to feature them on your resume.

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Want to show the right skills on your resume? Build a free resume with Teal's guidance and skill matching today.

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7 top in-demand skills

While soft skills have become increasingly important to companies, according to the 2024 State of the Workforce Skills Gap, technical skills will always be the foundation for every new job opening.

In truth, these in-demand skills usually are the job. For instance, one skill might be coding or cloud computing. If those are the skills requested in a job opening, that’s the basis for the work you’d do.

Often, a combination of the right in-demand skills can earn you even more money. Teal's Skill Generator helps identify the key skills the company is after and its Skill Manager helps you group skills to use repeatedly on certain resumes for similar roles and easily show or hide skills from certain resumes.

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So, if you’re looking below for high-paying skills to acquire to increase your income, you might consider it a new direction for your life altogether.

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AI skills in demand

AI has permeated just about every industry, improving technologies that already exist, adding features to SaaS tools, and bringing entirely new tools and opportunities to the market. 

Take Teal’s AI Resume Builder as a prime example of this. It has the features you’d expect any resume builder to have (and then some)—like the ability to generate cover letters and reword your bullet points and responsibilities based on details from your work history and the job description.

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But the addition of AI allows users to boost their bullet points by finding the perfect phrasing, adding assertive language, and highlighting numbers. 

A third of all SaaS companies are now marketing some AI features or capabilities. Because of that, the jobs with some level of AI in the description are growing. 

With this surge, the ability to work with AI is one of the most high-income skills in the job market right now. 

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Jobs in AI

• Cloud computing engineer
• Data modeler
• Machine learning engineer
• AI engineering
• AI research assistant
• Prompt engineer
• AI consultant

And so much more. Here are two AI hard skills, along with related jobs:

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In-demand skill 1: Language Programmer

Many people looking to get into coding think they need to excel in programming languages like Julia, Python, C++, and Javascript. 

But most companies have established use cases for SQL (rather than Python) and use an SQL database to store their data. Being able to query the exact data you need is exceptionally handy, and makes language programming one of the most in-demand skills in today's job market.

Web development skills are also increasingly in demand, especially for those interested in creating and maintaining dynamic websites and applications.

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Language programmer jobs

• AI engineer
• Machine learning engineer

Average language programmer salary: Entry-level AI engineers make around $118,000 per year, while the average salary for an AI engineer is around $156,000 per year.

Most lucrative industries for language programmers: According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the tech industry hires more AI engineers than any other sector, understandably. The finance and healthcare industries are close behind.

Degree and skills required for language programming: Taking a look at several job descriptions for AI engineers, you’ll see a Bachelor’s degree is the most requested level of education (at minimum), with a wide array of tracks running from computer engineering to electrical engineering. 

Most of these job openings also require some experience in robots and autonomous systems. 

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In-demand skill 2: Data modeling and analytics

Analytics ranks in the top ten on LinkedIn's top skills list. Almost all analytical skills are the highest paying skills right now, and just about any job with “analyst” in the title will benefit from SQL and Excel expertise, just as with language programming.

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Though technical expertise and skills in data analysis are highly in demand, they’re also more prevalent than engineering. In other words, the market is flooded with job seekers looking to hold an analyst title. It’s a competitive industry, but according to LinkedIn, there are 180,000+ data modeling job postings on their site alone.

Machine learning is also a critical component in data modeling, helping to automate and improve predictions and insights from data.

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Data jobs

• Data analyst
• Data scientist
• Data engineer
• Data architect
• Technical manager
• Business intelligence developer

Average data modeler salary: The average salary of a data modeler is around $105,000 per year, though this total may vary with bonuses or commissions (on average, $135,000 per year after bonuses). 

Most lucrative industries for data modelers: Healthcare and pharmaceuticals, finance, and retail tend to be the largest hirers of data modelers, with the financial industry paying the highest salaries among them. 

Degree and skills required for data modeling: You’ll likely need a bachelor’s degree in either data science, computer science, information science, mathematics, or another related field, according to various job listings. 

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Example data analyst qualifications

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Example data analyst skills for a resume

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IT skills in demand

In-demand skill 3: Cybersecurity and cloud security

According to the 2024 Pluralsights Tech Forecast, “cloud security is a persistent skills gap—and orgs will need cloud-specific policies, organization-wide security experience, and hands-on experience in Azure, GCP, and AWS to fill it.” 

Organizations are working on staying lean, while still trying to build up their cloud architecture in the face of much more commonplace AI-generated cyberattacks. This makes anyone with skills in cybersecurity in demand in the current job market. 

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Cybersecurity and cloud jobs

• Security engineer
• Risk analyst
• Security architect
• Cybersecurity consultant
• Cloud network security engineer
• IT security analyst
• Cloud compliance
• Security office
• Software architect

Average cybersecurity salary: The average salary for someone in cybersecurity is $121,000 per year to $222,000 per year. However, the variety of positions in cybersecurity and your location will have a large impact on your earning power.

Most lucrative industries for cybersecurity: Financial institutions remain one of the largest targets for hackers and cyberattacks, naturally making them one of the largest talent seekers of cybersecurity professionals. 

A long-standing shortage of cybersecurity professionals has separated cybersecurity as one of few high-income skills if you’re looking for a profession with many opportunities. 

Degree and skills required for cybersecurity professionals: The minimum education for a cybersecurity job is a bachelor’s in cybersecurity. You should also develop skills in coding, risk management, policy configurations, firewalls, and computer forensics. 

Soft skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication are crucial to cybersecurity. 

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Example cybersecurity qualifications

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In-demand skill 4: Sales

The ability to sell will likely remain an important skill for the foreseeable future. Companies will always need to close deals and increase revenue. 

There also tends to be a lack of job seekers in sales, particularly for sales leadership roles requiring management skills, making it a rewarding skill to develop if you’re interested in a high-paying career with low technical or computer skills. 

Interpersonal skills are particularly important in sales, as building and maintaining client relationships is key to success.

Sales jobs can vary wildly though. For instance, the industrial market doesn’t have “recurring” revenue, and focuses more on MRO (maintenance, repair, and overhaul). They won’t move you off accounts each year and request that you spend more time developing relationships. You might take trips to facilities each day or week to develop those relationships. 

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Sales jobs

• Sales representatives
• Sales manager
• Sales director
• Licensed sales professional

Average salesperson salary: The average salary of a sales professional in the US is $81,000 per year. 

Most lucrative industries for salespeople: The tech industry remains one of the largest employers of sales professionals, as well as one of the highest-paying industries. 

Degree and skills required for salespeople: You don’t typically need to have a degree or certificate to get into a sales role. But you might need to be familiar with some of the sales tools many companies use, particularly their CRMs (customer relationship management systems). 

That isn’t to say an education isn’t helpful in sales, or that you won’t need one in some industries. 

You might have a degree in Horticulture and sell supplies for large landscaping companies. You could even have a background in cybersecurity and switch to sales, selling cybersecurity implementation on DoD construction projects to general contractors. 

The benefit of a sales career is there’s generally a role for job seekers with people skills and any type of background. 

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Marketing skills in demand

Marketing is in a constant state of flux. But with generative AI, the removal of third-party cookies, growth gaining popularity of podcasting and video marketing, LinkedIn’s shift to a TikTok-like video platform, the change as of late has been dramatic and it seems companies are still adjusting.

One thing that has remained steady in the marketing world, though, is the need for content. While written content (such as articles) has long-held reign, the business growth across platforms like TikTok has led to a surge in demand for social media marketing and video development skills.

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In-demand skill 5: Video editing

The U.S. Department of Labor and Statistics show there are around 28,000 video editors already employed across the United States. But this doesn’t account for self-employed video editors.

While some companies do keep video editors on staff, the freelance market for video editors is large and thriving.

This is largely thanks to the rise of marketing teams using TikTok and YouTube, and now, as LinkedIn switches to a more TikTok-style format, this demand will only increase. 

Digital literacy is crucial for video editors, as they need to navigate various software tools and platforms efficiently.

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Video editing jobs

• Director of video production
• Videographer
• Multimedia production specialist
• Video content creator
• Film editor

Average video editor salary: The average salary for a video editor in the United States is $65,000, according to the Department of Labor and Statistics.

Most lucrative industries for video editors: The film and television industries are one of the most prominent employers of video editors, but this is a drastically different brand of editing than you’d employ for an agency or company. 

Most video editors that work outside of film and television work as part of the marketing department. Even this work can vary wildly. You could work within healthcare systems, universities, nonprofit organizations, marketing agencies, or small to enterprise companies. 

Degree and skills required for video editors: Like sales, video editing positions don’t necessarily require a degree. They can be entirely self-taught, particularly if you start your career as a freelancer and work your way in-house from there. 

However, you may need experience using particular tools or software used within the company, such as this listing requiring experience with After Effects and Adobe Studio.

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Example marketing manager qualifications

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Example marketing manager skills for a resume

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In-demand skill 6: social media

Social media managers are high in demand right now as more and more companies try to humanize their products and services by putting a face to their name. They often do this by adding policies that encourage their employees to build their own audiences on a social channel and by having the company’s CEO build their audience. 

Some companies (Wendy’s is a great example of this) use their brand mascot as a personality across social media. 

Behind every one of those accounts is a social media manager or content marketing manager. Even CEOs will often have a ghostwriter managing their account.

With the prevalence of social media today, community building is a necessary method of getting in front of customers, putting it alongside other high-income skills.

Search engine optimization (SEO) skills are also valuable for social media managers to ensure their content reaches a broader audience.

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Social media jobs

• Social media specialist
• Social media strategist
• Community manager

Average social media specialist salary: The average salary for a social media specialist in the United States is $56,000 per year, according to ZipRecruiter. 

Most lucrative industries for social media specialists:  E-commerce and retail industries are the largest employers of social media specialists and also the largest spenders on social media advertising. SaaS, travel, and hospitality are also big employers in social media. 

Degree and skills required for social media specialists: While you can get a bachelors in marketing, communications, journalism, media, or other related arts track, it’s not always a requirement for a position in social media. It can be entirely self-taught, particularly if you’re freelancing. However, you will find that larger companies tend to request a bachelor's as a minimum level of education.

Example social media skills for a resume

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Trade skills in demand

The labor market has been facing considerable declines in job seekers for decades but are now facing significant losses for companies, particularly in manufacturing and construction. 

As a result, companies have increased salaries by nearly 20 percent, and competition for acquiring skilled candidates is at an all-time high. It’s likely this trend will continue. 

Because of that, it’s a good time to develop trade skills. 

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In-demand skill 7: Construction 

At the end of 2023, there were over 300,000 job openings in construction across the United States. The majority of companies with openings are having a hard time filling them. 

Of course, this is a wide field, and it’s not completely clear which skills are most vital within construction. However, there is a general need across the U.S. for welders, cutters, and solderers. Electricians and heavy equipment operators are also high on the list of needed skills. 

Adaptability skills are crucial in construction, as projects can change rapidly and workers need to adjust to new tasks and environments.

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Construction jobs

• Electrician
• Welder
• Solderer
• Heavy equipment operator
• Project manager
• Construction laborer

Average construction worker salary: The median salary for a construction laborer is around $40,000 per year. 

Most lucrative industries for construction workers: Construction is an industry all on its own, but real estate development looks to maintain its place as one of the most profitable niches.

Degree and skills required for construction workers: If you’re looking to become a construction manager, executive, or architect, you’ll need, at minimum, a bachelor’s degree in construction management, civil engineering, or architecture. However, the education requirements for construction laborers are much lower.

You might have gone to a trade school for your high school diploma, and that can certainly qualify you for most laborer jobs. Most employers are more concerned with your experience in the field. 

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Teal's AI features can help you highlight these in-demand skills. Simply scroll to the skills section, click “add skills,” and enter your skills individually, or add a comma between them to enter them in one pass.

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Future-proof your career with in-demand skills

While there is no way to predict which skills will remain in demand, certain skills are likely to remain important for the foreseeable future.

For instance, companies will always need to sell and market their products or services. While the particular high demand within marketing will always vary, it will still be a lucrative department in every industry. 

Technical skills like analytics, coding, and cybersecurity are also likely to remain vital skills for the next few decades, particularly as AI progresses and industries adapt.

If you can combine in demand skills, it’s likely you’ll always have a job. Besides the ability to seek positions in multiple industries and for many job titles, you would also have the skill set to start your own business.

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Whichever skills you decide to develop, you need to feature those skills effectively on your resume. Teal’s AI Resume Builder can help you stay competitive in the job market by highlighting your most relevant, in-demand skills. Ready to get started?