25 Skills That Are Going to be In Demand If We’re All thrown back On Our Own Resources

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When I tried to post this article on FB it wouldn't let me (because the elite would much rather you avoid learning the skills on this list) so instead I will share it here where no one tells me what I can and can't post!

This entire article is taken directly from a post by Preppgroup

Click on the images to find their sources.


When people talk about trading after the apocalypse, usually they start discussing whether you’re better off stockpiling extra ammunition or some surplus food. These are both great trade assets – for a while. Eventually they’ll run out, though, and then what? The guy who’s been bringing you fresh eggs every day isn’t going to keep doing it when you’ve run out of shells for his 12-gauge. Trading surplus supplies might be essential from time to time, but it’s never going to be a long-term solution because, in the end, your supplies will be gone.

How about gold and silver? Some preppers have a touching belief that they’ll be highly prized after society falls apart. I’m not so sure. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t be too keen to trade a handful of rifle bullets or a sack of flour for something that’s basically just going to sit around looking shiny.

No, if you want a real trade asset, you can’t beat skills. Once you’ve learned a skill you have an inexhaustible supply of it. If you fixed someone’s generator today in exchange for a bag of apples from his tree, you can get more apples by fixing it again tomorrow. Years from now you can still be fixing his generator every time it goes wrong, and trading your time for his surplus fruit (unless he decides you’re either not so good at fixing generators or a bit too fond of his apples). Skills won’t run out, and in a prolonged emergency that makes them far more valuable for trade than anything else.

Here are 25 skills that are going to be in demand if we’re all thrown back on our own resources. Some of them will be valuable right away; others will kick in when hoarded goods start running out. Learning all 25 of them is probably beyond most of us, but if you get pretty good at three or four you should be able to barter your work for anything you need after the apocalypse.

  1. Vehicle maintenance
    Being able to keep cars on the road is going to be a vital skill. With society in disarray, most regular workshops will be closed. If you have a reputation as someone who can keep engines running that’s going to be a valuable skill – and you’ll be able to fix generators and pumps, too.

  2. Electrics
    If the power grid stays down for a while people are going to start looking for alternative sources of electricity. It might be a solar array, generator or wind turbine – in any case, it’s going to need wired up. That can be difficult and even dangerous. If you know how to adapt and extend house wiring, people will pay for that skill.

  3. Electronics
    If people have electricity they’re going to want gadgets that use it – but eventually they’re going to go wrong. You probably aren’t going to be able to make a new microprocessor, but some basic soldering skills can fix a surprising number of faulty appliances. Their owners will be pleased.

  4. Plumbing
    When plumbing goes wrong things can get pretty unpleasant in a hurry. That’s why everyone’s immediate reaction is to call a plumber. But what if the world as we know it has ended, and the plumber isn’t answering the phone? If you can help people out with that, they’ll be glad to help you out in some other way.

  5. Medicine
    Life is dangerous when society collapses; disease and injury will be more common, and the consequences of not treating them are more severe. Any medical assistance you can give, from basic first aid to advanced surgical skills, will make you a valuable asset to the community.

  6. Amateur radio
    Most of the communications we rely on aren’t going to survive a major social collapse. Without people to run its infrastructure, cell phones and the internet will go down in minutes. Landline phones – the ones that haven’t switched to VOIP – might last hours or even a couple of days. If you have the skills to use radios, especially CB or ham radio, that’s going to be a skill lots of people will want access to.

  7. Mending clothes
    Nowadays, if our clothes get damaged we just throw them away and buy new ones. Our ancestors, even a couple of generations ago, fixed them instead. If you can repair rips, replace broken zippers and even make alterations for size, you’re not likely to run out of customers willing to trade.

  8. Foraging
    There’s a lot of food out there if you know what to look for, in the form of edible fruits, berries, leaves, fungi and other plants. The problem is, if you don’t know what to look for you can get in a lot of trouble. Mistaking a death cap for a mushroom is a mistake you’ll only make once. If you have the right skills you can either teach them to others, or trade part of what you collect.

  9. Hunting
    Not everyone has the skills or equipment to harvest their own meat. If you do, you have a valuable source of food that you can trade for other things you need.

  10. Fishing
    If you’re elderly or infirm, and can’t do more physical jobs, you can still build up a tradeable food surplus with a fishing pole and some bait.

  11. Crop growing
    Not too long ago most families had their own vegetable garden. That’s a skill most of us have lost. If you still have it, it’s a valuable asset. Grow more than you need and trade the surplus, or look after people’s plots for them in exchange for a share of the crop.

  12. Animal husbandry
    Some livestock is a valuable asset, but it takes skill to keep it alive and productive. If you’re good at looking animals you can help out people who don’t have your experience. The most efficient way to do this is to keep their animals with your own and give them their share of the milk, meat or other products.

  13. Butchery
    Yes, this is the part of keeping livestock many people hate. It’s easy to buy Percy the pig as an investment in your future self-sufficiency, but a lot harder to whack him on the head with a hammer and chop him up. If you can do that for them, they’ll be happy to reward you with a few choice cuts.

  14. Canning
    A lot of people will manage to find or grow food, with or without your help, but won’t have the skills they need to store it safely. If you’re a canning expert you can make yourself useful by processing their surplus so they can build up stockpiles for the winter – maybe by trading your skills for a share of their crop.

  15. Carpentry
    It’s amazing what you can make with some timber, a few basic tools – and a bit of talent at woodworking. A good carpenter can put together anything from a storage box to a serviceable timber frame home. In other words, lots of things people will need and be happy to trade for.

  16. Blacksmithing
    This is a really rare skill nowadays, but it’s going to be in huge demand if the economy implodes. There are still a lot of horses round, and they need shoes – but a good smith can make a lot more than horseshoes.

  17. Gunsmithing
    Weapons are going to be essential when the SHTF – but they’re complex things, and sometimes they go wrong. Any good shooter can clear a stoppage, but what about repairing a broken trigger mechanism or re-crowning a barrel? Gunsmithing skills are pretty rare – and very valuable.

  18. Reloading
    There’s a lot of ammunition in the USA, but it won’t last forever. When stocks start to run low a lot of people will be willing to trade for more. If they can bring you their spent brass, and have it remanufactured into ammunition, that’s a very valuable skill to have.

  19. Fletching
    In a sustained collapse, stocks of modern weapons and ammunition will eventually be gone. To help them last as long as possible, and replace them when they’re exhausted, bows make a viable hunting – and even defensive – weapon. If you can make arrows you’ll find plenty of people willing to trade for them.

  20. Soap making
    Did you remember to stockpile a large supply of soap? Probably not, but that doesn’t matter – you know how to make it, using lye and any handy fats. Do you think everyone else in the neighborhood remembered to stockpile soap? Unlikely, but never mind. They can trade with you for the surplus you made.

  21. Candle making
    A year or two into a major collapse electric light will be a lot less common than it is now. Help your neighbors keep the darkness at bay by trading home-made candles. They’re a lot brighter – and safer – than a crude oil lamp.

  22. Leatherworking
    If you know how to make things from leather, you’ll never be short of work. Everything from shoe repairs to making new tack for horses will be in demand.

  23. Teaching
    Civilization might have collapsed, but you can help rebuild it by passing on the knowledge the next generation will need. You don’t have to be a qualified teacher, but if you have knowledge and the enthusiasm to pass it on you can turn that to your advantage.

  24. Playing an instrument
    No matter how bad things get, people need entertainment. In fact, when it’s really bad entertainment is more valuable than ever. If you can play a musical instrument you can do a lot to boost morale, and human nature means people will want to show their gratitude.

  25. Spiritual comfort
    If you’re good at choosing an uplifting piece of scripture, or making an inspirational speech, that can be a valuable skill. It might not be essential to life, but it can make people feel a lot happier about their situation. In a major emergency death is a real possibility, for example, and if you can give someone a proper send-off their loved ones will cope better.

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Keep on visualising that perfect future for yourselves everyone.

Your mind is the most powerful tool of all.



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35 comments
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Oh! I have a lot to learn from this list! Thanks for sharing.

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You and me both! Back to school we go ;)

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Yep! So much to read and understand!
I’ll have to catch up with my sleep too!

Have a pleasant day!

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Ok, got most of them...

but, how do i make money while waiting for the world to collapse?


#25 Spiritual Comfort? What's that? Do i need to become a guru or a pastor?

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#25 Spiritual Comfort? What's that? Do i need to become a guru or a pastor?

I'm thinking of starting 'apocolypse now' feel good courses, if you're interested..

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"I love the smell of napalm in the morning."

See, feeling better already!

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Crypto seems a pretty good answer to the money question. Assuming one has a mechanism to spend it when the time comes!

And it looks like @lucylin has the spiritual comfort covered ;)

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What time would you like me to pencil in a session for you? lol.
(child laborers get a discount!)

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Do not miss the last post from @hivebuzz:

October 2020 is the World Mental Heath Month
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Good reminder😉

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Seemed like an important one to me. Or an important 25! I still have much to learn...

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Oy - you can't post this!

Just kidding.

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haha! I did feel a bit strange doing a pure copy/paste. Don't think I've ever done that before. But seeing the response it has am pleased I did :)

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Look some people never leave HIVE.. where else can we get our info from? 😂

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Got a check mark on most points, always room for improvement.

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Really? That's great going. So many things on that list which I really don't have clue about. Like where does wax even come from???

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I have been soft Prepping for years and I agree that skills are key to long term thriving. I am a Nurse by trade so Health Care skills are always in need. I know enough Electrical to properly wire household to local code from a friend that taught me. I possess a 1.2 KW Solar Power generator that could run large appliances. A Berkey Water system should the Water system fail after an Earthquake. Got a Victory garden and Cannabis seed. Access to the Fraser River for fishing (Still need to get a Zodiac boat) I can go on, etc.
Blacksmithing and Butchering are not there yet.

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I have four skills on the list... but I can perfect others!
Thanks for the inspiration, mate!


!BEER !tip and a huge hug! 🤗

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It's like our new school syllabus hey ;)

I will endeavour to work this in with what I teach the kids... and then teach myself at the same time!

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This post has been submitted to the OCD community curation initiative for some great upvotes! OCD are currently supporting posts in HIVE communities! Congrats and keep posting great content!

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Appreciated. Seems like a good list to focus on moving forward :)

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I should defo keep my partner then, I think he can do a lot of these things :) lol

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Exactly right! Sabrina is amazing at making things out of leather & currently learning how to make clothes. Much more useful than my primary skill as a film maker! Though it will always be fun in years to come when I pull out the old family movies to laugh at how much we have all changed ;)

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Lol, that can't be your only skill though. I have learned a lot reading your posts in the past months, and I think you (and your family) are an inspiration for many. I loved the video where you went to pick up the kitten as well, seeing how in awe you were with the environment where these people lived. Whenever I see something like that, I start thinking again, is that what we should go for next year, rather than just moving countries. But I feel I'm not quite there yet to take the step to that level. A lot has changed already, and we're defo making progress, but I also have to take into account that there's still work to do as well before I could feel comfortable in taking a step like that :)

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Great article!!!! And an amazingly important share. I have(at different levels of ability) 17 of your list that i am able to do. Pretty much just the electronics, black and gunsmithing, and the instruments would be the ones i know next to nothing about. I worked as a professional mechanic for 21 years of my life before i started my abandonment of the rat race. And growing up on an 1100 acre farm i learnt most all the others. How many are you able to do Sam? I know your great with growing/storing food and telling great stories, but I'm curious about any other talents you may have brother. We send our love to you and your beautiful family and wish you all the best.🤗🤗🤗

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17 ticks from that list is the sign of a life well lived my friend. Am pretty sure you could make some fab music with all the different tools of a mechanic ;)

I had a little count just for you and I would say I am relatively proficient at six of them, all the food related stuff plus carpentry, teaching & spiritual guidance at a push! Have always fancied making an instrument but never tried...

Interestingly, my partner Sabrina has many more ticks than me, which actually takes the pressure off me a bit ;) She is a trained electrician & mechanic (the most beautiful electrician in France!), she is great with leather making & has all the right kit for that. Also just yesterday she began a sewing & clothes making course which she will do one day a week for the next six months. Between us I would say we cover around ten, which should keep us trading skills for many years to come.

Something else I am thinking will be useful moving forward is the ability to construct basic homes in the middle of the woods. Have always felt like the safety of a permanent home is really just an illusion, especially when the home is connected to a street! Never tried doing this but I am pretty sure I would have a great time with it and end up with something quite decent...and who knows, perhaps it might even be waterproof. The SAS Survival Handbook was one of my favourite childhood books ;)

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Great list of skills. Learning to work with our hands again will be a much need skill for everyday living. Hunting, fishing, basic repairs. So many people don't even understand the basics of this stuff anymore. At the very least having a basic understanding of several of the skill listed will really help if it ever came down to it in the end.

I'm not on other social media outside of Twitter and a couple other decentralized projects that are against censorship. Is information like this really censored now?

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Is information like this really censored now?

It really is. Perhaps because this particular article was going viral, striking a chord with so many people. Facebook's exact words were that the contents of the article were 'breaking community guidelines'. Which is not all that specific!

My intention now is to work this list (or at least the basics) into my kids education, which will help me continue my own learning at the same time.

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