The Top 14 Must-Learn Profitable Skills for Students

Having multiple skills as a student can give you an edge over your peers and improve your prospects in the job market after graduation. Although academic qualifications are necessary, acquiring additional skills can make you stand out from the competition and increase your appeal to prospective employers.

To improve your chances of landing a good job after completing your education, there are several skills that you can learn. In this article, we will highlight the 14 most profitable skills to learn to succeed in your career. But first, let’s share with you a valuable tool that you will need to use while learning the different skills we are about to discuss.

Part 1. The Best Tool Students Need Before Learning New Skills

UPDF is a robust and versatile PDF editor tool that can help students to be more productive. With its comment feature, students can easily take notes on PDF documents and collaborate with others. Additionally, UPDF's editing tools can enable students to convert PDFs into editable formats such as Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, making it easier to extract and incorporate information into reports or presentations.

Furthermore, UPDF provides free planner templates that can help students stay organized and manage their time more effectively. Overall, using UPDF enables students to streamline their workflow, work more efficiently with PDF documents, and optimize their productivity.

UPDF key features

• It has an intuitive UI, making it easy for users to navigate.
• It has several editing tools, including a text editor, image editor, and page manager.
• It allows users to annotate and comment on PDF documents.
• It supports adding digital signatures.
• Password protection for documents.
• It supports sharing PDF files via a link, QR code, and email.

UPDF has a free version with basic features. Those who need access to all features can pay for the premium version at $39.99/year or a $59.99 one-time payment. Moreover, as you are a student, you can apply a 50% OFF student discount to buy the license.

Part 2. 14 Best New Skills to Learn for Students

Now, you can open UPDF and pick up one profitable skills to learn at the moment.

1. A New Language

Learning a new language can be an important skill that can enable you to communicate with more people across the world with ease. Besides communication, knowing more than one language also creates opportunities if you intend to travel and work in foreign countries.

Where to Learn: YouTube, conversing with native speakers, and using language software. 

How Long to Learn: 3 months to two years.

How to Earn: Foreign language teacher, Translator, Content writer, etc.

Earning: $11,000 to $71,000 per year

2. Video Editing

As the consumption of video content continues to grow year over year, video editing has become a highly demanded skill with opportunities in various industries, such as film, TV, and marketing. Video editing skills also come in handy if you plan to start your own business while still in school or when you’re done.

Where to Learn: YouTube, Udemy/Coursera, or attending film school

How Long to Learn: Two weeks to three months. 

How to Earn: Freelance work, Publishing videos on YouTube, and digital marketing.

Earning: $17,000 to $110,000 per year

3. Voice Over

Voice-over artists record voices for various purposes like narrating videos, commercials, audiobooks, etc. This skill has become highly marketable, especially in the digital marketing space.

Where to Learn: YouTube, Udemy/Coursera, or going to a voice-over school. 

How Long to Learn: Several months to one year.

How to Earn: working for voice-over companies or freelancing on Fiverr or Upwork.

Earning: $18,000 to $90,000 per year.

4. Photoshop

Photoshop is a software tool created by Adobe, and it is used for editing and manipulating digital images. Learning photoshop will create for you lots of opportunities in the design and marketing industry.

Where to Learn: YouTube, or Udemy/Coursera.

How Long to Learn: A few weeks to several months.

How to Earn: Freelancing on Fiverr or Upwork or working for a digital marketing agency. 

Earning: $24,000 to $156,000 per year.

5. Drawing

Drawing is a creative skill that can lead to opportunities in various fields, including art, animation, and advertising. Unlike what most people think, drawing is not just a talent but a skill anyone can learn if they put in their time and effort.

Where to Learn: YouTube, Udemy/Coursera, attending design classes in a drawing school

How Long to Learn: Several months to several years.

How to Earn: Doing freelance work on Fiverr or Upwork or working for a design agency. 

Earning: $16,000 to $100,000 per year.

6. Photography

This involves capturing and editing images and can lead to opportunities in various fields, such as journalism, hospitality, marketing, and fine arts. Like drawing, photography is not just a talent but a skill anyone can learn with time and effort. As a photographer, you will also need to learn photo editing using tools like Adobe Lightroom.  

Where to Learn: YouTube, Udemy/Coursera, or attending photography school.

How Long to Learn: Several weeks to several years.

How to Earn: Becoming a solo photographer or working for a digital marketing agency.  

Earning: $20,000 to $90,000 per year.

7. Dancing

Dancing is a physical and artistic skill with several opportunities in the entertainment industry, such as music videos, concerts, and theatre. Even if you’re a talented dancer, you still need to put in the time and effort to improve your skill.

Where to Learn: Going to dancing school and YouTube.

How Long to Learn: Several months to years.

How to Earn: Becoming a dance teacher or doing freelance gigs.  

Earning: $26,000 to $202,000 per year.

8. Translation

Translation involves converting written or spoken content from one language to another. Translators can get opportunities in various fields, such as publishing, hospitality, journalism, and marketing.

Where to Learn: Attending language school, YouTube, Coursera/Udemy.

How Long to Learn: Three months to two years.

How to Earn: Becoming a foreign language translator. 

Earning: $20,000 to $74,000 per year.

9. Content Writing

Content writing involves creating written content for various purposes, such as blog posts, articles, eBooks, social media posts, and more. Many organizations and businesses are starting to appreciate the role of content in their marketing efforts, which has created more demand for content writers.

Where to Learn: Self-training, YouTube, or Udemy/Coursera.

How Long to Learn: A few weeks to several months. 

How to Earn: Becoming a blogger or working for a digital marketing agency. 

Earning: $20,000 to $80,000 per year.

10. Coding

Software development or coding involves creating computer programs, mobile apps, and software. It is a highly in-demand skill in today's technology-driven world as more organizations and businesses are searching for developers who can build them websites and applications.

Where to Learn: YouTube, Udemy/Coursera, self-training, or learning from colleagues.

How Long to Learn: Several months to years.

How to Earn: Freelancing on Fiverr or Upwork, building your apps, or getting a job as a software developer.

Earning: $20,000 to $150,000 per year.

11. Design

Design involves creating visual content for various purposes, such as logos, websites, and product packaging. Learning how to design is not necessarily a talent but a skill anyone can learn with practice.

Where to Learn: Udemy/Coursera, attending design school, or self-training.

How Long to Learn: Several months to years.

How to Earn: Freelancing or working for a design agency.

Earning: $30,000 to $75,000 per year.

12. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Search Engine Optimization involves optimizing websites and online content to improve their ranking and overall performance on search engines like Google and Bing. Every business wants its website to rank well on these search engines, creating more demand for SEO specialists.

Where to Learn: YouTube, or Udemy/Coursera.

How Long to Learn: A few weeks to one year.

How to Earn: Working for a digital marketing agency, or freelancing.   

Earning: $23,000 to $186,000 per year.

13. Master Excel

Being an expert in Excel can present great opportunities in various industries, including finance, marketing, research, and more. The good news is that learning Excel will also make it easier to use other spreadsheet tools like Google Sheets or Apple Numbers.

Where to Learn: YouTube, Udemy/courser, Excel Workshops, or self-training. 

How Long to Learn: A few months to one year.

How to Earn: Selling Excel templates and freelancing on freelance sites.

Earning: $14,000 to $69,000 per year.

14. PowerPoint

Learning PowerPoint will give you opportunities in various industries like marketing, education, and sales. Like Excel, PowerPoint skills can be used in other presentation tools like Google Slides or Apple Keynote.

Where to Learn: YouTube, Udemy/Coursera, or attending PowerPoint Workshops.

How Long to Learn: A few weeks to several months.

How to Earn: Selling PowerPoint templates and doing freelance jobs.  

Earning: $29,000 to $112,000 per year.

Final thoughts

Overall, learning a new skill can be a game-changer for any student looking to get ahead in their career. Whether it's coding, design, or mastering Excel, investing time and effort in developing any of the marketable skills we have shared can pay off in many ways. Not only can it set you apart from your peers in the job market, but it can also lead to increased earning potential. So, if you're looking for a skill to learn to boost your career prospects, consider the 14 most profitable skills mentioned in this article.

To make your learning easier, you can download UPDF to create a study plan with the free planner template and takes notes directly with UPDF. Download it to try. You will be surprised by it.