Best Freelance Jobs Of 2023: High Pay, Low Hustle and long-term career security
Uncover the elements that influence the quality of freelance jobs, taking into account factors like maximum earnings, little stress, outstanding job security, and sparse competition. Reflect on your present circumstances and think about avenues for potential enhancements.
Freelancing is not solely about financial benefits. It also revolves around job security, levels of competition, and striking a balance between the time invested and value gained from each job. So, how can you attain this ideal balance?
Nerdwallet has conducted extensive research to pinpoint the most appealing industries for freelancers. This vital information can simplify your career choices if you’re contemplating starting a freelancing career or considering a transition to a new freelance path.
Related: 10 high-paying remote jobs that are perfect for freelancers
Identifying the Best Freelance Jobs
After carefully considering factors such as earning potential, workload, stability, and competitiveness, the researchers have assigned a star grade to each freelancing occupation. Here is how they approached their analysis:
Best Paid: To determine this year’s earning rates, the researchers analyzed the typical freelance day rates and UK consumer price inflation (CPI) data for June 2023.
Least Hustle: Researchers calculated the number of freelancing jobs required to match the average yearly full-time earnings for each profession. This quantity of work is referred to as “hustle.”
Most Stable: By analyzing the number of available tasks per profession on the freelance jobs website Upwork, alongside the average project duration, researchers have calculated the potential number of freelancer jobs available (measured in working days).
Least Competitive: By studying the number of open positions for over 480 Upwork employees and categorizing them by occupation, the researchers calculated the proportional number of job postings for each Google search related to freelance jobs.
The findings have been summarized in an informative chart, highlighting some interesting data points.
| Rank | Professions | Best paid rating | Least hustle rating | Most stable rating | Least competitive rating | Best overall score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Developers | 3.4 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.4 |
| 2 | Market research | 5.0 | 4.6 | 0.6 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
| 3 | Data | 4.9 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 3.3 |
| 4 | Strategy | 4.7 | 3.9 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 2.7 |
| 5 | UX | 4.6 | 4.3 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 2.6 |
| 6 | Marketing | 1.3 | 4.6 | 3.0 | 1.1 | 2.5 |
| 7 | Client Services | 2.1 | 4.5 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.3 |
| 8 | QA & Testing | 3.0 | 4.9 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 2.2 |
| 9 | Project management | 3.0 | 4.4 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 2.2 |
| 10 | Social media | 0.9 | 4.5 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 2.1 |
| 11 | PR | 2.4 | 4.6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 2.0 |
| 12 | Creatives | 2.5 | 3.1 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 2.0 |
| 13 | Designers | 1.7 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 1.7 |
| 14 | Film & Motion | 2.1 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 1.2 |
| 15 | Photography | 2.1 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 1.1 |
| 16 | Studio | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.6 |
Source: Nerdwallet
In 2023, dеvеlopеrs havе еmеrgеd as thе top frееlancing carееr with an imprеssivе rating of 4.4. This is primarily duе to thеir low lеvеl of compеtition and high job stability. Thе catеgory includеs front-еnd and back-еnd dеvеlopеrs, as wеll as thosе working on gamеs, apps, and еmails.
Market research takes the second spot with a rating of 3.4. Despite a lower stability rating of 0.6, it is considered the best-paid sector in freelancing.
Coming in at a close third, data-related freelancing careers scored highly for earnings, receiving a rating of 3.3. This is attributed to the fact that, among various occupations, professionals working in this field have to take on the least number of projects per year to match the average full-time pay. Engineers, researchers, and data analysts are prominent roles in this domain.
Freelance strategy work secured the fourth position, thanks to the attractive day rates offered. However, it received an overall rating of 2.7 due to a lack of consistency. Similar challenges were faced by user experience (UX) specialists, securing them the fifth spot with an overall rating of 2.6 in a fiercely competitive field with limited consistency.
