What are the Top 5 In-demand Skills for Freelance IT Specialists and How to Master Them?
By: Frank Gilbert
Tags: Development, Freelance, Jobs

According to the data provided by Upwork in its report, it becomes clear that the top freelancing skills include creative design and interface design (58%), copywriting (58%), and mobile software development (51%). Below, we’ll tell you how to succeed in freelancing and become a truly in-demand specialist. We’ve compiled a selection of free training materials that will take your skills to the next level.

According to the LinkedIn Global Trends report, people looking to migrate to telecommuting do so for several reasons. They want to travel freely, get flexible hours, new experiences, and comfortable working conditions.

There are many ways to become a freelancer and each one has its benefits. If you want to start a career as a remote employee while getting a stable job load and collaborating with well-known corporate clients, consider remote IT jobs at EPAM Anywhere. We’re happy to share information on the skills required to gain this opportunity.

Skills that freelancers need for software development jobs

There are a few areas that haven’t been covered by COVID-19. Despite the introduced quarantine restrictions, the demand for software engineers remained high. 86% of American companies haven’t changed their hiring process. More interestingly, 31% hire more software engineering professionals.

To remain competitive, software engineers must continually develop and possess the following skills:

Proficiency in one of these programming languages: Python, Java, JavaScript, C#, and PHP.

Integrated development environment (IDE) to manage the codebase.

Knowledge of popular relational databases like Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle Database, and MySQL.

Excellent understanding of software testing.

Understanding of software security fundamentals such as encryption algorithms, popular hacker attacks, and cryptography.

However, the main question is: what domains are popular today? According to Hired.com for 2019, demand for AR and VR engineers grew by 1400%. There was a remote147% increase in Gaming Engineer and Computer Vision Engineer positions. This course will help you get a good job in this field:

The Udemy Coding Interview Bootcamp Algorithms, Data Structures Course will help you prepare for your interview.

UX design skills

Knowledge of UX i design basics allows you to devise a consistent user journey. UX experts pay great attention to behavioral patterns and strive to solve user problems with easy navigation and other design elements. In this case, aesthetics fade into the background. Here are the key skills a UX designer must have:

Ability to conduct high-quality research of the target audience, create customer personas, and identify their needs.

Experience with devising information architecture to better organize content.

Excellent visual communication skills. Ability to create typography and icons for effective communication through design.

A good understanding of behavioral characteristics, empathy, and the problem-solving mindset make a UX designer a real professional. Below is a list of tutorials to help freelance UX designers take the lead in the niche:

DesignSpot YouTube channel with workshops and lectures from leading product and UX designers.

Skillshare free micro-course library helps creative freelancers acquire skills in illustration, motion design, filmmaking, and more.

A product design Udacity course with self-assessment, community support, and interactive quizzes to keep track of progress.

Cloud computing and DevOps skills

There is sometimes a gap between software development and IT operations. We need top-notch cloud engineers and DevOps[YS1] to close such gaps.

As a rule, DevOps are ex-system administrators or software engineers. Therefore, such specialists know how to manage projects and understand the SDLC cycle. They also have software testing skills.

For this reason, working with configuration and cloud platform management, deployment, versioning, and continuous integration management tools is essential.

DevOps must create a productive environment for professionals. Thus, good communication skills and a team-player mindset to unite IT specialists and developers is a must.

DevOps EPAM specialists have selected the best courses to help you strengthen or gain useful skills. Here they are:

DevOpsMinsk. This is a YouTube channel where videos are released every 2 weeks. Community meetups are also held there.

Cloud Engineering with Google Cloud. It’s not even a course, but a professional certification available on the Coursera platform. It’s completely free. It involves testing and subsequent certification for students.

Version Control with Git created by Atlassian. The course introduces you to the use of Bitbucket and Git in a version control context.

Software testing skills

Attention to detail, analytical skills, and technical experience are fundamental software testing skills. These specialists [YS2] constantly interact with project stakeholders and team members. Therefore, good communication skills are required. Only in this case, QA will be able to convey information correctly to all people involved in the project and eliminate the appearance of confusion.

These resources will help you improve your skills in software testing:

Micro-course on Coursera e how to build a test automation framework with the help of Selenium and TestNG. The program provides interactive mentoring and testing.

Software testing (course on the Udacity platform) is focused on middle-level QA. It covers a wide range of topics, including error messages and code coverage.

Business analytical skills

The work[YS3] of Business analysts isn’t limited to collecting requirements from customers. Moreover, their transformation into tasks for developers is also not the final stage. In addition to the above, the business analyst must develop comprehensive development and functionality upgrade strategies, using strategic analysis. Also, the competence of business analysts includes writing documentation and creating prototypes to make the requirements clear to the rest of a development team.

Extra skills like business intelligence help you get a competitive edge. You can find the fill list in the article we’ve recently wrote. The following resources will also help with this task:

Strategic business analysis. It’s an educational program powered by Coursera created for senior professionals. After completing the course, you’ll be able to calculate the lifetime value of customers, forecasting, and more.

Course on the eDX platform: «Business and Data Analysis Skills» teaches how to make the work of a business analyst easier and more efficient. With this course, you’ll learn how to use spreadsheets productively and present information in a visual format.

You can find more useful information in our blog.

Conclusion

Are you dreaming of working as a freelancer, but with a permanent job, benefits, and bonuses? Are you striving for a balance between personal life and work? All of this can be achieved at EPAM.

We’re constantly looking for professionals ready to channel their talents into the development of our customers’ projects. The positions of T-shaped IT specialists are always relevant. Join the EPAM Anywhere team and work on projects from all over the world.