Ali Abdaal
June 21, 2024
5 High Income Skills Students Should Learn in 2026
TL;DR
A doctor-turned-entrepreneur breaks down five practical high-income skills—software consulting, copywriting, design, web development, and coding—that students can learn to significantly increase their market value and earning potential.
Key Takeaways
- 1Everyone has a personal 'stock price' in the marketplace; high-income skills directly increase your worth by solving problems businesses are willing to pay for
- 2Software consulting (Notion, HubSpot, etc.) is accessible to students and can command $300–$800+ per session by teaching businesses how to use tools they already own
- 3Copywriting—writing persuasive sales pages—can directly multiply business revenue; improving conversion rates by just a few percentage points translates to millions in additional profit
- 4Web design and development are in high demand; skilled developers can charge $10,000–$100,000+ per project as businesses fundamentally need functional websites
- 5Coding skills enable both freelance work and creating your own profitable products, with entry-level tech jobs paying $400,000+ and indie developers earning $35,000+/month
- 6Target businesses (B2B) rather than consumers (B2C); businesses have substantially more money to spend and value solutions differently than individual customers
Notable Quotes
“Everyone is already an entrepreneur. You already run your own business even if your business is hired out to one employer.”
— Ali Abdal
“It is so much easier to make money when you think about what is your worth, what are your skills that you can sell to a business rather than what's the value of your skills to a normal person.”
— Ali Abdal
“If someone were to copywrite our landing page and increase that conversion rate from 0.5% to 2%, instead of it being a $1 million a year business it would be a $4 million a year business.”
— Ali Abdal
“You can be a 13-year-old kid in Pakistan, learn how to code, build some sort of app, and if that app is good you could literally make thousands if not tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars a month.”
— Ali Abdal
Chapters
1. Understanding Personal Stock Price and Entrepreneurship
Ali explains the concept of 'personal stock price'—your market value. Everyone is already an entrepreneur selling their skills to the marketplace. Understanding this framework is essential for identifying which skills will increase your earning potential versus which ones won't.
2. High-Income vs. Low-Income Skills and B2B vs. B2C
The key distinction between skills that pay well and those that don't depends on market demand and who is buying. Selling to businesses (B2B) is far more lucrative than selling to consumers (B2C). Examples include copywriting (high-income) vs. academic essay writing (low-income).
3. Software Consulting: Teaching Businesses to Use Tools
Students can become highly paid consultants by mastering business software like Notion, HubSpot, or Asana and teaching entrepreneurs how to use them. Molina, a former university student, charged $300–$800 per session teaching Notion consulting, earning more than qualified doctors.
4. Copywriting: Converting Prospects into Customers
Copywriting—writing persuasive sales pages and emails—is extraordinarily valuable because even small improvements in conversion rates yield massive revenue gains. A conversion rate increase from 0.5% to 2% can turn a $1M business into a $4M business.
5. Graphic and Web Design for Businesses
Design is a critical skill every business needs. From YouTube banners to app interfaces to ad campaigns, freelance designers can charge thousands to tens of thousands of dollars. Ali's friend Henry charges $10,000–$115,000 for website and sales page design.
6. Web Development: Building Websites with Tools Like Webflow
Web developers can earn substantial income by using tools like Webflow and Framer. Henry taught himself in six months through YouTube tutorials and now charges tens of thousands per project. Every business needs a website, making this a consistently high-demand skill.
7. Coding: Building Products and Landing Tech Jobs
Coding enables both high-paying employment ($400,000+ starting salaries in tech) and entrepreneurship. Friends like Sahel built their own AI tools earning $35,000/month without formal credentials, proving that self-taught coders can create valuable products.
8. Mindset: Targeting the Right Market
Success depends on identifying the right clients. Ali earned $100/hour as a freelance designer by targeting med-tech startups that valued his medical background. Targeting businesses doing $1–20M annually in revenue makes high rates easier to justify.
Key People & Entities
- Ali Abdal
- Doctor-turned-entrepreneur and author of 'Feelgood Productivity'; host of the video sharing his entrepreneurial journey and high-income skill strategies
- Molina
- Former university student who earned $300–$800 per session as a Notion consultant for South American businesses while still studying
- Henry
- Self-taught web designer and Webflow developer who charges $10,000–$115,000 per project; designed Ali's book website and sales pages
- Sahel
- Self-taught coder who built Firecut, an AI tool for video editors, earning $35,000/month within nine months of leaving his day job
- Dicky Bush and Nicholas Cole
- Content creators with a YouTube channel and online course teaching ghost writing as a high-income skill
- Cardinal Mason
- YouTube creator who shares screen recording videos demonstrating how copywriting generates thousands of dollars
- Abby Conic
- Self-taught graphic and brand designer who teaches design skills on YouTube without formal university education
- Hostinger
- Web hosting platform providing affordable domain and website hosting solutions; sponsor of the video
Glossary
- Personal Stock Price
- Your market value or worth in the marketplace; how much money a business or employer will pay for your skills and time
- High-Income Skill
- A skill that commands significant payment from businesses or employers, correlating directly to increased earning potential and market value
- B2B (Business-to-Business)
- Selling services or products to other businesses rather than individual consumers; typically commands much higher rates and payment
- Copywriting
- The skill of writing persuasive marketing content (sales pages, emails, ads) designed to convince readers to take action, such as making a purchase
- Conversion Rate
- The percentage of website visitors who complete a desired action (e.g., making a purchase); even small improvements have massive revenue impact
- Software Consultant
- A professional who teaches businesses how to effectively use software tools they already own or have adopted
- Webflow
- An online design and development platform that allows non-coders to build professional, custom websites without writing code
- Ghost Writing
- Writing content (books, articles, newsletters, etc.) on behalf of someone else who receives public credit