Ask HN: What's a marketable and lucrative skill I can learn online in 6 months?
I think I am interested in the convergence between healthcare and AI but I basically have no experience in either unless you count my time in biotech which I am not especially interested in continuing in. I see this as the future and I would like to find a skill that I can perform remotely and make a good salary.
4 comments
You’re shooting for one of the hardest types of jobs out there: entry level remote work with decent pay. There’s not much of that around, which means it’s gonna be highly competitive.
I’d advise against setting a hard timeline like 6 months and instead focus on finding something that is interesting and you can devote free time to.
I started out in software sales a decade ago and realized it wasn’t for me. I learned basic web dev at home in my free time and got my first dev job after about a year of building stuff at home. I found a path that was sustainable and cultivated my interest, which is the most important part of career switching imo.
Also, working in an office for a few years was invaluable, I had to do it to get the experience that has allowed me to work remote. If you restrict yourself to remote jobs then you are cutting yourself off from vital opportunities and experience.
I’d advise against setting a hard timeline like 6 months and instead focus on finding something that is interesting and you can devote free time to.
I started out in software sales a decade ago and realized it wasn’t for me. I learned basic web dev at home in my free time and got my first dev job after about a year of building stuff at home. I found a path that was sustainable and cultivated my interest, which is the most important part of career switching imo.
Also, working in an office for a few years was invaluable, I had to do it to get the experience that has allowed me to work remote. If you restrict yourself to remote jobs then you are cutting yourself off from vital opportunities and experience.
I worked in an office for 8 years and it was the worst experience of my life.
Pretty much any lucrative area of healthcare involves more than 6 months of online learning. Most of the big money makers I work with had to study for 6 years and do additional training for another 7 years before being able to make the big bucks. Those people then have to do further upskilling in how to use robots etc if they want to. I just think it’s unrealistic to think you’re going to find something in healthcare + AI that is lucrative in 6 months of online learning.
Healthcare workers actually really represent the wage gap quite well you have those that are chronically under paid and treated like shit, and then you have the ultra wealthy but all of them probably have at least an undergrad degree but most have postgraduate certificates/degrees/masters etc
You could however apply for roles at places like Johnson&Johnson and Medtronic as a “sales rep”. Their reps actually have a pretty good deal. You don’t necessarily have to have medical training if you can bring to the role other relevant experience (like working in biotech) these companies are probably good places to get some niche insight, and experience that could lead to something in the convergence between healthcare and AI. Johnson&Johnson have orthopaedic robots etc. Robotics in medicine is actually a pretty big industry (tho some places are slow to uptake on the technology). Those big companies also have pretty good working conditions for their staff like flexi hours, company cars, at least six figure salaries etc. You probably wouldn’t get to work remote straight away, but depending on where you started and how you progressed in the company you could find yourself in a good role.
You could however apply for roles at places like Johnson&Johnson and Medtronic as a “sales rep”. Their reps actually have a pretty good deal. You don’t necessarily have to have medical training if you can bring to the role other relevant experience (like working in biotech) these companies are probably good places to get some niche insight, and experience that could lead to something in the convergence between healthcare and AI. Johnson&Johnson have orthopaedic robots etc. Robotics in medicine is actually a pretty big industry (tho some places are slow to uptake on the technology). Those big companies also have pretty good working conditions for their staff like flexi hours, company cars, at least six figure salaries etc. You probably wouldn’t get to work remote straight away, but depending on where you started and how you progressed in the company you could find yourself in a good role.
learn to code. this is a skill that will last a lifetime and can be lucrative. chasing the latest fad will not .
You might have to show up in person but I hear you can learn phlebotomy pretty quick.