8 Top Career Skills for 2024

Every job requires a mix of workplace and technical skills, and you probably have a strong set of skills from your education and past work.

High-income skills are those valuable tools and expertise that employers highly appreciate because they address crucial business needs. According to a 2022 report from McKinsey & Company, these skills can make you a more competitive job candidate and help you switch jobs or even industries more easily.

As you work on advancing your career or shifting your focus, highlighting your high-income skills can be a great way to reach your salary goals. Depending on your career path, these skills could really help you get where you want to go.

8 high-income skills to learn

Here are eight high-income skills that can make your resume shine and help you stand out to potential employers. We put together this list by looking at reports from the World Economic Forum, Pearson, Future Learn, LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and Coursera, all predicting the most in-demand skills through 2030.

These skills are versatile and can boost various career paths or strengthen your current role. For example, a marketing professional might improve their data skills. Even if they don’t want to switch to a data-focused job, these skills can help uncover key insights and create better campaigns.

Whether you’re looking to enhance your career with some of these skills or want to build a career around one of them, use this list as your guide.

1. Generative AI (GenAI)

Generative AI (GenAI) is a game-changer that’s evolving quickly. More and more businesses are using AI tools to boost their productivity, and many are looking for ways to weave AI into their operations, products, or services.

Getting good at GenAI, especially skills like prompt engineering (which means crafting AI requests to get the results you want), is becoming increasingly important. The good news is there are plenty of ways to learn these skills or build on what you already know.

If you’re thinking about a career in AI, check out these roles that rely heavily on AI, along with their average base pay in the U.S. as of August 2024, according to Glassdoor:

Job title	Average base pay
AI engineer	$131,189
AI business strategist	$134,202
Data engineer	$104,153
AI developer	$107,249

2. Data analysis

Analytical thinking tops the list of essential skills in the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report. With businesses relying more on data to make smart decisions, there’s a growing need for people who can gather, interpret, and share data to solve problems.

If you’re skilled in data analysis, you might use tools like Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, SQL, Tableau, R, or Python.

Here are some careers where data analysis is key, along with their average base pay in the U.S. as of August 2024, according to Glassdoor:

Job title	Average base pay
Business analyst	$91,761
Data analyst	$83,888
Data engineer	$104,153
Data scientist	$113,716

3. Software development

Industries today are increasingly relying on technology to boost their business operations, which means they need people who can develop, maintain, and improve their tech systems. If you work in DevOps or software engineering, you’ll be involved in building, monitoring, and managing a company’s technology.

People in these fields often use tools like Git, Docker, Jenkins, or Kubernetes, and they might know coding languages such as Python, Java, or C++.

Here are some careers in software development, along with their average base pay in the U.S. as of August 2024, according to Glassdoor:

Job title	Average base pay
Applications engineer	$97,539
Systems developer	$95,337
Software engineer	$115,641
DevOps engineer	$106,952

4. User experience

As technology evolves, user experience (UX) becomes more important. UX focuses on how consumers interact with a product and aims to make their experience as smooth and enjoyable as possible. People working in UX might do research, design, or help market a product to make sure it appeals to users.

While UX roles do involve some data, they are mostly about design and creativity. These jobs also require a good understanding of people and their needs—skills that are often highlighted in various reports.

Here are some careers that use UX skills, along with their average base pay in the U.S. as of August 2024, according to Glassdoor:

Job title	Average base pay
UX writer	$70.342
UX researcher	$78,165
User interface (UI) designer	$93,702
UX designer	$80,362
Product designer	$93,534

5. Web development

Web development combines software development and user experience, blending technical skills with design. People who work in web development know how to create and manage websites, making sure they look good and work well. They also understand technical search engine optimization (SEO) to help websites perform better in search results.

Here are some jobs that need web development skills, along with their average base pay in the U.S. as of August 2024, according to Glassdoor:

Job title	Average base pay
Front-end developer	$85,620
Full-stack developer	$90,100
Webmaster	$71,112
Back-end developer	$89,084

6. Project management

Many companies organize their work by having different departments, teams, or individuals focus on a single product or project. Project managers are the ones who coordinate all these efforts. They handle schedules, manage budgets, and keep everyone involved updated and on track.

Think of “project management” as a mix of leadership, communication, planning, resilience, and organizational skills—all of which are highly valued by employers.

Project management is key in many careers, especially as you move into management roles. But you can also make a career out of being a project manager. Here are some project management careers and their average base pay in the U.S. as of August 2024, according to Glassdoor:

Job title	Average base pay
Project coordinator	$62,367
Program manager	$94,245
Project manager	$88,662
Portfolio manager	$93,553

7. Account management

While project management usually focuses on internal tasks, account management is all about working with people outside your company. This skill set is especially valuable in sales roles, where you need to confidently present your company and its products to customers.

Account management combines organizational skills for closing deals with strong interpersonal skills for negotiating and maintaining relationships. People in these roles often use customer relationship management (CRM) tools like Salesforce.

Here are some careers that rely on account management and sales skills, along with their average base pay in the U.S. as of August 2024, according to Glassdoor:

Job title	Average base pay
Account manager	$67,109
Business development associate	$63,492
Business development manager	$108,280
Sales representative	$72,148

8. Content creation and management

Content creation and management skills are all about telling stories and are key in many marketing jobs. These skills include creativity, originality, social awareness, and emotional intelligence. If you want to take it further, adding data analysis to your skills can be really helpful. This means diving into marketing analytics to see how well your audience is engaging with your content.

Here are some careers that use content creation and management skills, along with their average base pay in the U.S. as of August 2024, according to Glassdoor:

Job title	Average base pay
Social media manager	$55,087
Digital marketing manager	$88,670
Content marketing manager	$80,749
Brand marketing manager	$109,513