Perhaps you’re fascinated by cryptocurrency and have started researching blockchain software development and how to land a blockchain developer job. You probably bought your first bitcoin before it gained huge awareness, so friends and family frequently come to you for help on which coins to buy. Maybe you’re often the first in line when a new crypto project is announced.
You remained consistent, and along the way, you fell in love with the booming wave of technology surrounding crypto, blockchain technology, and the use cases that come with it. If you enjoy crushing problems and have good analytical skills, here’s a comprehensive guide on what to expect working in blockchain development and the skills needed for a blockchain developer job.
What is blockchain development?
Blockchain technology is a decentralized ledger and a chain of time-stamped digital data connected via computer nodes (cryptography). It essentially combines peer-to-peer networks, offering transparency, minimized risk, and efficient data confirmation.
Blockchain development involves implementing technical solutions for blockchain platforms to build decentralized applications. It also involves using acquired skills to create innovative blockchain-based solutions, including smart contracts, a set of automated programs stored on the blockchain.
Who is a blockchain developer?
A blockchain developer builds blockchain platforms. Blockchain developer jobs consist of building and scaling blockchain protocols, designing the framework of blockchain networks, designing smart contracts, and building patterns to communicate the end goal and point out future network upgrades.
A professional blockchain developer knows how to use relevant programming languages. They will have an in-depth understanding of blockchain in order to develop products ranging from play-to-earn games and NFTs to DEXs.
While some blockchain developer jobs may focus on designing the architecture of a blockchain system, others implement the core web framework created by the developer to build decentralized (DApps). This is why there are two main categories of blockchain developers: core blockchain developers and blockchain software developers.
Ultimately, the core blockchain developer builds the foundation and security upon which blockchain software developers work to create innovative web3 projects. Unlike the conventional software developer, web3 or blockchain developers use tools such as Solidity, Rust, and other blockchain programming languages to build smart contracts.
Are there many open blockchain developer roles?
The massive demand for blockchain experts has resulted in an abundance of blockchain development jobs. As of early November 2023, close to 35,000 blockchain developer positions are being advertised, per ZipRecruiter listings. The web3 jobs portal lists over 20,000 open blockchain positions spanning multiple domains. Some roles at these job portals offer up to $260,000 as an annual salary.
According to the employment website Indeed, the total number of crypto and blockchain jobs available on the site increased by 118% in July 2021 compared to September 2020. This stat, however, highlights a more heartening finding. The concerned job market grew by 615% between 2015 to 2019 but surged by 395% between 2020 and 2021. This massive one-year growth looks set to continue beyond 2023.
This significant increase in demand has also expanded to several job roles, with about 30% of all the crypto and blockchain listings related to software development. Furthermore, a report suggested that the total market cap of cryptocurrency will grow to $67.4 billion by 2026. Besides the growth leading to high demand, here are a few more good reasons to consider becoming a software developer.
1. Career options
Being a blockchain software developer opens you to several career options. Depending on what works for you, you can decide to work as a freelancer or work within projects or platforms such as Ethereum. Most of these jobs don’t require going to the office every day, and you have the option to choose a work environment that fits your requirements.
Likewise, you can work in different organizations, including non-blockchain companies, and there’s always room for skill improvement.
2. Progressive learning
Perhaps one of the interesting benefits of being a blockchain software developer is progressive education. Since the web3 space is still unfolding, there are always new tools and better ways to improve your skills. In addition, after starting as an entry-level software developer, blockchain developers can be promoted to senior positions.
3. High salary
The rule of thumb says the bigger/harder the problem you solve, the more you earn. Therefore, blockchain development comes with a lot of input, and the salary is a motivating factor in why people become blockchain developers.
A blockchain developer can earn an average annual salary of $120,000. It is worth noting that the average annual paycheck figure has been identified considering the average salaries listed on different portals like Glassdoor, Aworker, and more.
4. Work from anywhere
Convenience is another benefit you get as a blockchain developer. In a recent study, 44% share of crypto software development job openings posted on Indeed in mid-2021 were remote. Even though the same dropped to 34% in 2023, a massive chunk of Blockchain development jobs remain remote.
As a developer, you are not only restricted to working from home. You can travel or go to nearby offices and work. As long as there’s a computer and a stable internet connection to work with, you are good.
What does a blockchain developer do?
Typically, a blockchain developer understands the in-depth architecture of a blockchain project. There are several projects with different consensus algorithms and programming tools.
Blockchain developers write code to develop online frameworks, environments, and applications. As a result, mastery of one or more programming languages is required for this career path. Here are some tasks performed by core blockchain developers:
- Build blockchain protocols with languages suited for blockchain design like Rust, Go, or Java
- Build consensus protocols and security patterns for the network
- Create the network framework
- Perform overall supervision, including quality assurance on DApps
Successful core blockchain engineers know the right programming languages for each blockchain platform and structure.
Blockchain software developer
The work of a blockchain software developer is clearly different from a core developer. Much more like a normal software developer, these people build on the design architecture already built by core developers to create decentralized apps, smart contracts, and much more. They have nothing to do with designing frameworks. In this role, some of the tasks might include:
- Smart contracts development
- Develop interactive UI designs for DApps
- Develop a backend-specific to blockchain
- Supervision of the DApps
It’s important to note that once a blockchain mainnet is live, the job of a developer is still not done. At this point, they will continue to supervise and monitor for bugs and issues that are usually discovered by users. If bugs are found, they work to tackle the issue and then release an improved update.
Skills needed for a blockchain developer
Similar to tech job roles, blockchain development requires both soft and technical skills to work efficiently and create innovative projects. While the hard skills may seem totally quite different, here are some of the soft skills required by blockchain developers:
Soft skills
- Problem-solving
- Critical thinking
- Creativity
- Analytic skills
- Open-mindedness and adaptability
- Patience
- Confidence
- Teamwork and collaboration
Technical skills
Here are some of the more technical skills you may need:
Smart contract development
Developing self-executing contracts that automate the agreement between buyer and seller with a written set of codes has become a major skill for blockchain software developers. Thanks to the tremendous growth of Ethereum, other blockchains now integrate smart contract functionality into their framework.
A successful smart contract developer knows one or two of these languages: Solidity, Rust, Go, Viper, Chaincode, etc.
Mathematics and data structures
Analyzing data entails a good understanding of how data structures work. Blockchain data structure involves back-linked storage of blocks of transactions. Usually stored as a file or database. Each block might be a hash created using the SHA256 cryptographic hash algorithm. A blockchain developer needs solid knowledge about all these and must know how to play around with different blockchain data structures, including index, hash, and Merkel Tree.
Blockchain architecture
Unlike the usual architecture of the normal World Wide Web that utilizes a client-server network, blockchain uses a distributed network where each participant within the network maintains and validates new updates.
Understanding the core blockchain components, such as nodes, transactions, blocks — a data structure used for keeping a set of transactions, consensus protocol, and many more is essential to being a skilled blockchain software developer.
Web development
Web development is a specialized area of blockchain development that involves understanding all other relevant processes. This involves front-end and back-end development, where you get to build interactive graphical user interfaces for DApps, APIs, and lots more. Some of the tools to get familiar with include HTML, XML, Flash, CSS, etc.
Programming languages needed
A blockchain software developer should know one or more of these languages.
Overall, the average blockchain developer knows to a large extent the widely used tools including C, C++, Solidity, Golang, HTML/CSS/JavaScript, Python, Node JS, Angular, Typescript, PHP, ionic/React Native, Solidity, Golang, Linux, Windows, git, web servers, Cryptography, Hashing, P2p networking, database, etc.
Based on new reports and employer preferences, Blockchain developers must also be proficient with Truffle — a development environment and industry-specific use cases like the role of Dapps in real estate, voting systems, healthcare, finance, and more.
Who is hiring blockchain software developers?
Today, virtually every company is aware of the potential of blockchain technology. As a result, both individuals and mainstream companies are exploring this space to reinvent their technology and business models to drive innovations. This is great news for blockchain developer jobs, as the demand for professionals with these technical skill sets and the paychecks they can command constantly grows.
To better understand the hiring process, let’s explore the significant employers in the web3 and blockchain space.
Mainstream companies: These are global companies such as consulting and IT, banks, insurance, law firms, as well as database management firms exploring the world of blockchain. Some of these companies include; Oracle, Microsoft, Apple, Google, IBM, Amazon, etc.
Blockchain Startups: Crypto startup companies are blockchain-based firms offering easy access to the crypto world. They often allow the exchange of digital assets.
Since blockchain has expanded to many industries, these startups may specialize in financial technology, real estate, media, metaverse, NFT, DeFi, and other similar concepts within the digital economy. Some of these startups include Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, etc.
Tech giants: Interest and adoption by major tech companies are increasing daily, with a commitment to building their own blockchain networks or using other blockchain-based solutions. Examples of tech firms exploring this space include Apple, Samsung, Huawei, PayPal, etc.
Governments: Several countries are already embracing some use cases of blockchain technology. The political and economic concept of issuing central bank digital currencies CBDC has created many job opportunities for blockchain developers. While the Bank of England officially announced that it would examine the potential benefits of digital currency, other countries like France are experimenting with digital currencies.
New trends to surface
The companies and organizations mentioned above are hiring aggressively as the number of Blockchain developers is expected to cross the 1 million mark by 2030, per the BairesDev report. However, as of 2023, the United States and India have the most number of blockchain developers, according to the data released by Dappros. These numbers are only expected to increase, with the blockchain technology market expected to surge past the $1.59 trillion mark by 2030.
Where to find blockchain developer jobs?
LinkedIn, AngelList, BeInCrypto, and more drive the crypto jobs market. Here is a sneak peek of what to expect.
When it comes to job search, networking, and staying up-to-date, LinkedIn is a top-notch resource. Pretty similar to online job portals, blockchain recruiters utilize this platform to post job openings, and you can search for these postings using the job search tool.
Moreover, by connecting with professionals in your field, you can get new positions and perhaps request job recommendations. Likewise, to gain more reach, you can follow several blockchain startups and be notified of their latest LinkedIn updates.
While BeInCrypto is always looking for crypto talents, it also connects you to relevant job openings. BIC does it via its remote jobs section. The unique platform, Web3Jobs in Crypto, powered by BeInCrypto, provides you with a list of job opportunities inside the blockchain, fintech, and crypto industries. In addition, you can strain your search with different roles, including marketing, growth, partnership, developer, and much more.
Remote Jobs by BeInCrypto helps you find the right platforms for recruiting and rewarding careers in the blockchain industry to develop a wide network of blockchain professionals.
Upwork
Known as the largest freelancing job market online, Upwork has an updated list of several blockchain and cryptocurrency jobs updated every day.
The platform is pretty different from other job sites as it manages the jobs posted, tracks them, and facilitates the whole payment method. If you’re looking to land a freelance crypto job role, this is the best website for you to explore.
A surprising trend here is that Europe, in 2023, lists close to 68% of blockchain-specific roles, followed by North America and India at close to 14% for each. So, if you are looking for your next gig as a Blockchain developer, you know where to look first. Also, in Europe, Germany leads the charts in terms of open positions.
Becoming a blockchain developer can be lucrative
Becoming a blockchain developer requires a lot of dedication and commitment. It might get really challenging if you don’t have the creativity to implement innovative concepts in code. However, you are good once you have mastered the required programming languages and the framework needed for blockchain development.
Upon gaining proficiency in blockchain development, you can specialize in any of the many fields in the space. For example, you may decide to become a smart contract developer, core blockchain developer, or focus on DeFi.
Frequently asked questions
What is the salary of a blockchain developer?
Is there a demand for blockchain developers?
Do blockchain jobs pay well?
What is the work of a blockchain developer?
What skills do you need to be a blockchain developer?
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