The 7 most in-demand tech skills for freelancers—many pay more than $125 an hour

Tech companies have been making headlines for mass layoffs of late. Google, Microsoft and Amazon all announced they’d be letting go of tens of thousands altogether and Twitter and Meta both announced layoffs in the fall.

But demand for tech skills remains high. “The skills gap is still sharp, it’s still a significant gap,” says Vicki Salemi, career expert at Monster. “Employers are struggling to find labor in this tight labor market” that can fill various tech needs.

While employers won’t always be looking for full-time experts, some may be looking for part-time or contract work. If you have tech expertise and are seeking opportunities, here are seven skills that will likely be in-demand for freelancers this year according to freelancer platform Upwork, along with descriptions of what each entails and how much freelancers on the site are charging.

Full stack developers are trained in building both the front and back end of a website. The front end is what users see and interact with and the back end powers the site. They know coding languages like JavaScript and Python and test sites and software to ensure both work smoothly.

Full stack developers on Upwork charge as much as $135 per hour.

A mobile app developer is a software engineer who specializes in creating apps for smartphones, tablets and computers. They know coding languages, fix any bugs that arise in the software and work with graphic designers and data scientists to build their apps.

They charge as much as $155 per hour.

Web designers build websites, creating the appropriate functionality and look using programming languages like HTML and JavaScript and graphic design software like Adobe Photoshop.

Web designers on Upwork charge as much as $250 per hour.

These designers focus on creating user-friendly experiences on websites and apps. They plan the structure of their sites, develop its content, create prototypes and test for bugs.

They charge as…