Building A Career In Blockchain ー For Coders & Non-Coders

Just a quick Google Search tells me that there are 2000+ job opportunities in blockchain just on LinkedIn. Blockchain is one of the top technological trends that is driving the industry in 2018. Small startups to large corporations like IBM and Microsoft are looking for the best people to work on their blockchain technology. Indian MNC, Infosys, too has established their mark in blockchain trade finance in collaboration with 7 private banks, Axis Bank being one of them.

So if you are fascinated by blockchain – how do you get into the blockchain sphere and build a solid career in it?

For The Developers

Just as automation is responsible for creating jobs in artificial intelligence and machine learning, blockchain too is creating career opportunities for the current market. Developers aka coders have maximum opportunities in blockchain technology.

Programmers need to get hold of certain skills that can accelerate their progress in the blockchain job-hunt –

•  Since blockchain is a decentralized technology, you need to first understand centralized & distributed network to truly appreciate the critical nature of a decentralized network.

•  Studying Cryptography – Handling private and public keys, securing the identity of the sender of the transactions, ensuring past records are not tampered – is an essential skill.

•  Engineers with skills in embedded programming have high value since blockchain code is highly sensitive and a simple mistake can cost millions.

•  Of course, basic programming knowledge is a must-have; For instance, one must have a good foundation in data structures, algorithms & OOPs concepts.

•  Blockchain is huge in FinTech & it does have a direct connection with cryptocurrencies, so a fundamental knowledge of economics is always an added advantage – You can study supply & demand, opportunity cost, etc.

Try reading a few books on blockchain and giving a shot to courses on Udemy & Coursera (by Princeton University or IBM).

UI/UX Designers & Blockchain engineers (who need to study the blockchain needs of their company first) are also high in demand under blockchain technology.

For The Non-Developers

Blockchain companies are like any other companies. They require legal, product designers, managers, marketers, operations, all of it. So if you're a non-programmer you can still have a place in the blockchain world.

If you had nothing to do with blockchain as yet but are fascinated with it, and want to find yourself a place in the blockchain environment, what do you do?

You create a position for yourself from scratch. And by this, I don't mean your existing skill-sets & experience will be rendered useless. You just have to get a lot of knowledge on blockchain. Read books on blockchain, create a tech-blog, go to meetups, market yourself, in short – put yourself out there!

In Legal? – You can become a Legal Consultant for a blockchain company. Financial transactions in blockchain are conducted anonymously. This can cause a lot of security issues. With more & more FinTech projects, the need for technology attorneys has increased. The growth of blockchain has caused a directly proportional growth in the blockchain legal department.

Blockchain Managers

Planning and supervising the execution of a blockchain project falls under the manager who need not be a coder. Communicating with clients and being the middleman between them and the development team falls under the manager's post. A Consultant or a Manager needs to understand – How blockchain can be applied to their business environment?. Always keep in mind that blockchain based solutions must be more efficient, secure & cheaper than the available alternatives. Else what's the point, right?

Let's Go Off Beat…

There are two ways in which companies mastering in blockchain can go forward with

If you are a fresher in blockchain programming, you can choose to work on a platform – Hyperledger, Ethereum, Ripple are some of the well-known open-source blockchain platforms. So by any chance, after acquiring a job in blockchain, you will be working on either one of these platforms or creating your own. Thus, starting off fresh with one of these platforms will definitely be a hands-on experience.

Quick Thoughts…

Blockchain has a steep learning curve, so people who are not technologically sound can find it quite intimidating. But if you are fascinated by it, I say, Give It a Shot!

2014 to 2016 saw an average growth in the job market w.r.t. blockchain. But 2017 onwards the tech industry saw an unprecedented steep growth for the same. Blockchain has rapidly growing career opportunities – So bring your existing skill-sets & knowledge of blockchain to the market and enchant your takers. Ciao!