How to Become a Blockchain Engineer?

In today’s digital world, blockchain technologies are among the fastest-growing in the world. The fact is that these technologies are not only among the latest in the industry but also provide a wide field of opportunities for application developers, e-commerce specialists, and so on.

How to become a blockchain engineer

Before moving to the detailed description, here is a quick step-by-step guide future blockchain engineers should know.

  1. Get a deep understanding of blockchain technology (cryptography skills, data structures, smart contracts functioning, etc.).
  2. Get web development skills.
  3. Learn popular blockchain platforms and coding languages.
  4. Understand blockchain ecosystems.
  5. Learn blockchain development tools.

In general, it is a good example of a profession of the future that has already arrived: high salaries, flexible work schedules, the ability to do your duties from anywhere in the world, and so on. In this review, you will be able to learn more about the essence of the profession, the main responsibilities of blockchain development, important skills you should know, and so on.

The Relevance of the Blockchain Developer Profession

In the modern world, the profession of a blockchain developer is directly related to two key aspects: data security in a global sense and participation in the functioning of the financial sector. However, the possibilities of blockchain do not end there, and you can see its impact on healthcare, education, travel, and more.

The important thing is that, at present, the number of professionals in this field does not match the demand, so you have every opportunity to take your place in the sun. Considering the blockchain industry’s relevance, you can look at the list of the best crypto audit companies and evaluate the range of work their specialists are involved in.

Who are Blockchain Developers?

To answer this question, you must first define the role of blockchain engineering. Blockchain projects are somehow implemented in many top companies (HSBC, IBM, Walmart, and others). Every day, all these companies are faced with the development of blockchain networks, cryptography problems, data structuring, modernization of existing algorithms, and so on. Behind each of these tasks is the hard work of many blockchain enthusiasts. Depending on the specifics of work and experience, such blockchain developers may be able to work on one or several services (Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other blockchain platforms).

One of the key requirements for the work of blockchain developers is deep knowledge of the creation and implementation of a digital blockchain. At the same time, you should remember that the development itself is far from a set of blockchain engineers’ responsibilities.

They must also analyze the company’s current needs, predict its future, work on existing open-source technologies or create new ones. An important aspect of their work is the issue of the safety of using the technology by all parties involved.

The Main Things You Should Know to Become a Blockchain Architecture Specialist

Below you can check the main skills, requirements, responsibilities, and other features you should know to start your carrier in blockchain architecture. If you want to expand your knowledge on this topic, you can click here.

Description of the Blockchain Engineering

Before you decide to get a job in a company as a blockchain developer, you need to do a little research. First, find out what requirements are put forward to the applicant and the level of blockchain technology knowledge. Here the situation can be very different. For example, small companies can accept blockchain engineers with basic knowledge.

And there are market leaders who can boast of high competition for each blockchain developer position. In this case, you need to represent yourself well and have objectively confident knowledge in the field. Regardless of the type of company, you should have certain basic skills, which are described in the section below.

Let’s take a look at the ideal case. A blockchain expert is a complete and autonomous unit with programming skills that can perform operations, data analysis, application development, implementation of the finished product, support the blockchain network at different life cycle stages, and so on. It is also important to understand the particular business models that certain data service firms use.

Skills you should know

If you do not know how to become a blockchain engineer, you can look at the necessary skills you should have.

  1. Blockchain programming languages are one of the most important things you should consider. There are many programming languages currently, but the most popular is Solidity.
  2. It will be a great advantage if you have experience working with different codebases.
  3. A blockchain architect should be able to create and maintain open-source projects.
  4. You are unlikely to progress in your career without knowledge of algorithms, smart contracts based on various programming languages, and an understanding of data structures.
  5. You can barely become a blockchain engineer without an understanding of cryptography. You should know what cryptographic hash means or what is software development umbrella is.
  6. Peer-to-peer computer networking should also be in your knowledge bank. You need to know how different blockchain platforms operate and how their separate nodes interact.
  7. Being a blockchain aspirant, you should clearly understand how to use different development tools to create a multi-head code. Such code types are common thing almost I’m any blockchain project.

You should also have critical thinking skills, technical knowledge, and an understanding of blockchain development tools. They may impact your career and make you stand out among blockchain developers.

Average Responsibilities of a Blockchain Engineer

No matter which company you apply to, they all have a set of responsibilities that their blockchain engineers must perform. As described above, the situation may differ significantly from the ranking of the particular firm and its current position in the market.

At the time of writing, it is possible to outline a list of the current basic responsibilities that can be considered standard. Below you can get acquainted with them and understand the approximate horizon of your future work.

  1. Detailed research of the material used in the specific blockchain project. In this case, we are talking about analytical rather than technical skills.
  2. Design and development of special applications based on blockchain technology. As the name implies, it is already a purely technical side of your work where you should be aware of various coding languages.
  3. Testing separate tools, various blockchain application types, and so on. Any development process is always accompanied by a series of tests that are carried out at different stages of the life cycle. A good engineer can create a test case competently and identify shortcomings in the early stages of project development. It is a perfect way to significantly save money and time.
  4. Ability to work with both back-end and front-end applications. Most top companies include this requirement in their list since such a specialist is as autonomous and effective as possible.
  5. Be able to fully implement the product in the blockchain ecosystem with further maintenance and modification according to new conditions.
  6. Ability to work with an application or solution already at a certain stage of development. Suppose you got a job in a company whose team is at the stage of testing or production of a certain blockchain platform. You need to quickly join the process, understand how all the previous stages went, and proceed to your relevant duties.

Separately, the obligation to provide documentation for each project is worth noting. It is extremely important for tracking continuity and studying the prerequisites that led to a particular result.

The salary you can count on

As you know, blockchain experts are part of a large community of software developers. At the same time, they are engaged not only in creating new solutions, as mentioned in the section above. It directly affects the salary you can count on. The more skills you have and the work you can do, the higher your salary.

As a rule, such questions are resolved directly at a face-to-face interview, where conclusions are drawn based on the interview and an assessment of your knowledge and skills. However, it is quite obvious that blockchain developers’ pay scale is substantially larger than software engineers.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics recently conducted a detailed study on the dynamics and popularity of this profession in the United States. According to the data received, until 2026, there will be an upward trend in increasing the number of jobs in the industry by up to 11%. It is noteworthy that the starting point for the growth of this indicator was 2016.

There is also a significant gap in the growth of the popularity of this profession in comparison with others in the digital industry. The relative universality of the profession explains it. As it was said, blockchain engineers are in demand in almost any field, including healthcare, finance, industry, and more.

It also affects wages, which are growing almost every day. It may be one of the most highly-paid professions shortly. As for today’s situation, below you can see a list of countries and the average sums that blockchain engineers receive. For convenience, they all are converted into US dollars.

  • USA – 107,000 USD;
  • United Kingdom – 57,000 USD;
  • Singapore – 4,000 USD;
  • Canada – 75,000 USD;
  • Germany – 59,000 USD;
  • China – 55,000 USD.

Considering such sums, it becomes clear why people make a lot of effort to master this profession.

FAQ

Why is blockchain development a promising profession?

The reason for the relevance and future growth of the popularity of the blockchain developer profession lies in the fact that it is used in almost all spheres of human activity. Blockchain specialists perform a wide range of tasks, which makes them in demand in almost any company. According to the latest statistics, this profession is one of the fastest growing in almost all countries worldwide.

What should I know to become a blockchain engineer?

To enter this profession, you should master certain skills, including technical (knowledge of special coding languages, algorithms, databases, and so on) and soft skills (flexibility, high adaptability, critical thinking, and so on.). You can read more on this topic in the relevant section above.

Can I become a developer without a specialized technical education?

If you have a technical education related to digital sciences, it will be much easier for you to master this profession and find your place in the blockchain industry. However, the presence of such education is not an axiom. With the appropriate level of motivation, you can master this profession of being a humanitarian.