How to Get Your Foot in the Door With an Entry-Level Blockchain Developer Job

Technology is growing at an incredible pace, and with the recent surge of cryptocurrencies and blockchain to the market every second, industry seems to be looking for full-time blockchain developers to shift their business models up a notch.

With this, there is a pressing need for devs to up their skills, so they can secure a lucrative job in this hot niche.

Skills Required to Land Your Dream Job

If you are familiar with blockchain, you already know that having just an awareness and the basic knowledge is not enough. A blockchain is a decentralized database, and so, you need to have strong programming skills, problem-solving capabilities, and be able to build new apps or move existing businesses to the blockchain.

Admittedly, a huge part of the role is the creation of APIs and software development kits, but you should be able to build complex apps, too. Even though you don’t need to be a coding maestro, it’s important that you learn at least one programming language and have some app-building experience under your belt; this will provide you with a credible portfolio, ready for the big interview to land your dream job. Since C++ and Java are easier to learn and have an established community presence on the Internet — Stack Overflow, anyone? — it’s pretty much a requirement to have a qualification in at least one of the two. Both of these languages offer unimaginable versatility, so you should be suitable to work in a wide variety of niches. Versatility and creativity are key, here.

If you love coding and would prefer to not move up the managerial ladder, with all the added responsibility that doing so entails, it’s entirely your choice. But, since most people prefer the kudos, and it’s generally a good idea anyway, the importance of attending conferences and industry-related events is huge. Topping up your CPD knowledge is vital to stay current and employable in your field, and networking with your peers and other employers could extend and broaden your knowledge, even perhaps finding you the job you’ve always dreamt of.

Are There any Helpful Blockchain Resources?

There are several free, and paid, resources, depending upon your skill level and the depth you are willing to explore; one of the most helpful of these being a blockchain community called Blockgeeks. Not just offering basic knowledge, they go deep into coding, explaining the creation of blocks and the validation of an incoming transaction. While they might be established as a professional community, it’s an excellent source for beginners, and the language isn’t too ‘techie,' so it shouldn’t be a problem to grasp the pace.

In order to help enthusiasts with understanding the core concepts and components of the blockchain infrastructure, together with organizational development, a course is being offered by IBM at Coursera, taught by multiple industry experts. On completion of the course, you should come away with a basic knowledge of blockchain, how to create a simple blockchain solution, and understand more with regards to a blockchain developer’s role.

If you are already familiar with blockchain concepts and would like to learn more about the blockchain programming language, StackOverflow, FreeCodeCamp, Udemy, and GitHub are all great resources. For Ethereum-specific blockchain development, Solidity (a programming language) must be learned and HackerNoon could help you with that. More specifically, the Udemy masterclass is for the development of an Ethereum-based blockchain network; it’s quite reasonably priced and has more than 6,500 students from across the globe, so the cross-discussion could also aid in the learning process.

How Much Does A Blockchain Developer Earn?

Undoubtedly, blockchain development is one of the highest paying jobs right now due to the high demand and a lack of supply. Larger organizations will, more than likely, pay more than small startups, which usually pay something between $50,000 and $80,000: this is a reasonable figure when compared to mainstream Java, .NET, and Javascript development jobs. If you’re looking to approach a larger company, be aware of, along with the higher wage packet, the greater qualification and experience expectations.