Not all skills are equal .Some pay more, take less time to learn, and open more doors. That’s why we built a 6-factor ROI formula to compare skills fairly and transparently.

Here’s what goes into the score:

1. 💰 Average Salary

We use publicly available data from sources like Glassdoor, Levels.fyi, and LinkedIn to estimate the average annual salary for each skill in a global context. Higher salaries push the ROI score up.

2. ⏳ Time to Learn

Some skills take years to master. Others can get you hired in months. We estimate how long it takes to reach job-ready status — using averages from online course durations, bootcamps, and expert benchmarks. Shorter learning times get a higher score.

3. 🌐 Freelance & Remote Friendly

Skills that allow you to work remotely or freelance increase your flexibility and earning potential. We award higher scores to skills with strong opportunities on platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, and remote job boards.

4. 📈 Trend Growth

Is the skill gaining popularity or fading away? We analyze Google Search trends and hiring reports to see if a skill is growing in demand. A strong upward trend boosts the score.

5. 🧠 AI Risk

Some skills are at high risk of being automated. We assign a Low, Medium, or High AI disruption risk to each skill based on current reports and expert analysis. Lower risk = higher ROI score.

6. 🔍 Search Volume

We look at how many people are actively searching for each skill online (e.g. “how to learn UI design”) using tools like Google Keyword Planner. This helps us understand popularity and perceived relevance — a skill with high search volume is often seen as more valuable or accessible.

🧮 The Final Score

We normalize each factor on a scale from 0 to 10, apply weights, and compute a final ROI score out of 10. It’s not perfect — but it’s one of the most balanced ways to compare effort vs reward across multiple learning paths.