Blockchain technology has gone beyond a buzzword. With its innovative characteristics and potential to revamp the complete industrial era, the technology has become the hottest topic of the time, with every second business leader looking forward to incorporating the technology into their business processes and earning higher revenue.
As a consequence, the demand for blockchain development skills has risen in the market.
Blockchain is the No. 1 skill on Upwork’s list of fastest-growing skills in Q1 2018, with 6,000 percent of the growth in the past three quarters. Besides, 9,577 of positions are found on LinkedIn’s jobs search tool for a worldwide search for the keyword “blockchain.”
These numbers and the daily headlines regarding adoption of blockchain in different streams is a clear indication that blockchain holds a profitable future.
Considering this, what is your perspective toward entering the blockchain market? Are you looking forward to becoming part of blockchain world? If so, this will be a good read for you.
Here, I’ll share the different types of blockchain jobs you can apply for in 2019 and the skills required.
6 Basic Skills to Work On
Though the skills for making a career in blockchain differ with the job title you choose, here are some basic requisites to enter the blockchain market:
1. Computer Science Background
A bachelor’s degree in computer science engineering or other such qualification or experience in the technical environment is the foremost requirement to get into the blockchain market. This will sharpen your technical skills and help you to easily understand and work in the vast world of technologies and tools.
2. Basics of Blockchain Technology
To enter the blockchain world, you need to have a comprehensive knowledge of the basics of blockchain programming along with familiarity with decentralized blockchain, dApp development, smart contracts, or cryptocurrency.
3. Expertise in C++, Solidity, and Other Programming Languages
To understand, write, and improve code in the blockchain development environment, you need to have a knack for C++, Solidity, and associated programming languages.
4. Knowledge of Cryptography, Data Structure, and Other Concepts
With security as the prime factor behind the booming market for blockchain, it is also mandatory that you know the basics of data structure and data security and the theories related to them.
5. Understanding the Business World
To embrace blockchain in the business world, it is necessary that you see the bigger picture of using blockchain for startups and established businesses. You are supposed to know when, why, and how blockchain technology will upgrade business and have the best blockchain use cases at your fingertips.
6. Risk-Taking Ability
With blockchain still in its nascent stage, there are developers in this field with little-to-no experience. You might struggle with finding the right resources, reusable code, and support from other developers, implying you will have to handle all the challenges single-handedly. You will have to think beyond typical dimensions to understand each problem and find the right solution. You will be required to experiment with your code and strategies, face the related challenges, and revise your code to launch more effective solutions.
Career Options You Have in the Blockchain Arena
When it comes to blockchain, the foremost job choice that hits our minds is becoming a blockchain developer. No doubt blockchain app development is the most popular career opportunity in the blockchain market, but it is not the only one.
Here are six different blockchain career option you can go with in the year 2019.
Blockchain Project Manager
As depicted by the job title, the role of blockchain project manager is to handle all the blockchain-related business needs. They have to act as an intermediary between business professionals and blockchain app developers, helping the two understand each other’s needs, challenges, and other factors and thus, enjoy a streamlined blockchain development process within the predetermined budget and resources.
Since this job title is that of a manager who connects tech persons with nontech persons, you need to have strong managerial skills along with a knack for easily converting technical terms and jargon to simpler layman’s language and vice versa. This means you need to have robust communication skills and, of course, knowledge of blockchain technology.
Blockchain Quality Engineer
Just like any other quality engineer, the role of a blockchain quality engineer is to maintain a standard in the blockchain development environment. They have to unveil and test different scenarios within a blockchain environment using distinct automation frameworks, testing tools, devices, platforms, network speed, etc.
To apply for this job, one has to be well-versed in the basics of the blockchain environment and testing standards in addition to an engineering degree.
Blockchain Web Designer
Since many small and established businesses are turning toward harnessing the potential of blockchain and cryptocurrencies for trading/payment process, there’s a rise in the demand for blockchain web developers who design customer-centric websites and pages and assist the businesses to let their customers know what they offer and how to leverage the benefits of their offering.
To make a career as a blockchain web developer, you are required to have an in-depth knowledge of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and designing tools like Illustrator and Sketch.
Blockchain Legal Consultant
Though many digestible guides to blockchain app development are present in the market, various firms are still grappling with how to integrate the technology into their existing solutions, especially on the legal front. This is where the need for blockchain legal consultants or attorneys is coming into existence.
These legal consultants provide the business owners and their teams with sound legal advice on how to build legal partnerships and contracts (smart contracts), how to put their money in initial coin offering (ICO) development effectively, how to handle transactions in a blockchain-based program, and much more. In this way, they aid these organizations to take a bigger slice of the benefits associated with blockchain development.
A person applying for the job of blockchain legal consultant should have a thorough knowledge of blockchain technology as well as a law degree to make legal terms understandable to these business holders.
Blockchain App Developer
Blockchain app developer is the most popular and highly paid job in the blockchain market. Here, the candidate has to design and develop blockchain-based solutions and apps, which can bring some value to the business or customer fronts, or both.
They need to have extensive knowledge of blockchain-based concepts like smart contracts and Hyperledger and expertise in C, C++, HTML, CSS, C#, SQL, XML, jQuery, Go RESTful, Solidity, etc.
Blockchain Intern
While the aforementioned career options are for somewhat experienced professionals, this is an entry-level job position that provides you with an opportunity to understand all the other career options, polish your skills in each field, and determine which is the right direction to take your career in.
Ready to Dive Into the Blockchain Arena?
With this information, you know what it takes to enjoy a brighter future in the blockchain market and the different ways to step into it. So, what is your next move?
Are you ready to invest your time and effort in embracing the blockchain technology and learning these skills? Share in the comments section below.
Published on Java Code Geeks with permission by Bhupinder Kour, partner at our JCG program. See the original article here: 6 Blockchain Career Options You Need to Know About for 2019 Opinions expressed by Java Code Geeks contributors are their own. |
