  This work examines the economic benefits of learning a new skill from a
different domain: cross-skilling. To assess this, a network of skills from the
job profiles of 14,790 online freelancers is constructed. Based on this skill
network, relationships between 3,480 different skills are revealed and marginal
effects of learning a new skill can be calculated via workers' wages. The
results indicate that learning in-demand skills, such as popular programming
languages, is beneficial in general, and that diverse skill sets tend to be
profitable, too. However, the economic benefit of a new skill is individual, as
it complements the existing skill bundle of each worker. As technological and
social transformation is reshuffling jobs' task profiles at a fast pace, the
findings of this study help to clarify skill sets required for designing
individual re-skilling pathways. This can help to increase employability and
reduce labour market shortages.
