Being your own boss, working flexibly and as many cups of tea as you want – what’s not to love about freelancing?

Today, there are an increasing number of people hanging up their ties for a home office that lets them adapt their work schedule around home life. Given the plentiful rewards of freelancing, it’s not surprising that more entrepreneurs are warming to the idea.

With so many possible career paths, you might not know where to begin – or even which industries are freelancer-friendly. After all, you’d struggle to become a great freelancer when your speciality lies in the hospitality industry.

Here’s a run-down of the industries where freelancers’ rule – and where you could too.

Digital Marketing

Of all the industries that freelancers can work in, digital marketing is the one that makes the most sense.

Being a freelancer requires a thorough knowledge of digital marketing, particularly in areas such as social media, content creation and digital marketing mastery that eludes many small businesses.

It will also be a useful skill when it comes to building your own brand, as everything you do online is an advert for your work. A large social following will also work in your favour, as well as a strong personal brand with a clear mission.

Photography

Photography is one of the best careers for freelancing. As an independent and mobile job already, it doesn’t take much to get used to working for yourself.

This is the reason why it’s such a popular line of work in the freelance world. You’re able to work remotely, meet with clients and accept only work that you want to be associated with.

Freelancing suits the creative lifestyle down to a tee, so it’s bound to benefit your career – as long as you make sure to market yourself well!

IT Specialists

The majority of industries where freelancers rule are creative, as creativity something that’s difficult to tailor to the nine to five lifestyle. However, that doesn’t mean that only creative positions can benefit from freelancing.

Technological industries have been pioneers in remote working for years, and being an IT specialist can mean you hold some of the most desirable skills freelancers have.

Long gone are the days where the IT department would tell you to ‘turn it off and on again’. As systems become more complex they also become more demanding, and freelance IT specialists can capitalise on this by going freelance and working with small businesses who aren’t so tech savvy.

Graphic Design

Likewise with photography, graphic design is cut from a very similar cloth in its work-ethic. Working remotely improves productivity for graphic designers ten-fold, as working conditions are a large factor in being able to produce a quality piece of work.

From fine art, website design, illustration and animation; there’s a number of areas that you have the opportunity to work with.

Everyone needs graphics as part of their marketing scheme, and few decide to hire an in-house graphic designer for the job. Being a freelancer will give you flexibility to work on different projects while you decide on your specialism.

Translation

Language skills are hard to come by, so if you’ve got it, flaunt it! Translators are in demand, and can have their pick of the most interesting projects to work on.

If you’re already fluent in a second language it won’t take much to get some training as a translator. It can be tempting to bypass this process, but translation requires a different set of skills from simply being able to speak another language.

You can make yourself more in demand by specialising in one particular industry. This will help you build a relevant portfolio that give you authority in the field, and result in more, higher paying work.

Are you thinking of taking up a new skill to progress your freelancing skills? Leave us a comment below and let us know!