The demand for blockchain developers continues to soar with a growth rate of 517% increase over the past few years. The research predicts that the figure for professionals with AI skills will continue to increase in the coming future. With the growing demand for professionals with blockchain skills, the job listings had grown 33-fold in a year, says the U.S. Emerging Jobs Report.
Although there is an upsurge for blockchain professionals, we are still facing a severe mismatch of individuals with the right set of skills. Another reason why organizations are offering lucrative salary packages to professionals with the new age technology. Since almost the entire industry is adopting to blockchain technology, there is also a proportional increase when compared to the wages of other developer roles without the blockchain skills.
A career in blockchain technology will continue to be on the cutting edge of technology and probably be on the priority list by potential employers. Becoming a blockchain developer or getting skilled as a blockchain professional is one of the most promising career job roles in today’s date. As a blockchain developer, one will be able to get placed in any fields related to financial services, healthcare, government sector, politics, legal industry, and security etc.
However, becoming a blockchain developer or taking up a profession in blockchain is not a cakewalk. The blockchain is going to revolutionize the way business is handling data, keeping this in mind it is fair enough for one to take up blockchain as their career choice, but before going further one must also know the skills and prerequisites to learn blockchain.
What are the prerequisites to learning blockchain?
Currently, the IT industry is in a pursuit to hire candidates who are not just exception with their fundamental software engineering skills but also great at demonstrating these skills. If you’re looking for an entry-level position you need to have at least a bachelor’s degree in computer science, business, information technology, and other related disciplines with two or more years’ experience in object-oriented programming, databases, analytics, and cloud-based apps and platforms.
Technical skills:
- Web development – having a basic understanding of web development is a must if you’re looking to learn blockchain. An entry-level blockchain professional will be required to design decentralized applications. In short, having extensive knowledge of front-end development and back-end development is the core foundation. Having skills like API handling, request handling, and creation of interactive graphical user interfaces for Dapps is an added advantage.
- Data structures – in-depth knowledge of data structures are mandatory for aspiring blockchain professionals. Blockchain developers keep meddling with data structures such as petrecia trees and merkle trees to meet their requirements. Hence, knowing and working with a lot of data structures is necessary for building a secure and immutable system using cryptography. Taking up blockchain without having knowledge in data structures is deemed incomplete.
- Smart contract development – since the release of Ethereum smart contracts have become an important factor in the blockchain industry. Almost every industry today has started to incorporate smart contract functionality into their system. Doing so provides the usage of blockchain to be very easy. Now if you’re looking to become a blockchain developer, you need to know what is smart contract development. To get here, you need to have knowledge in programming languages such as Chaincode, Solidity, and Viper etc.
- Cryptography – Cryptography is one skill that plays a vital role in a blockchain professional. To generate signatures one should also be aware of cryptographic methods like hash functions such as KECCAK256 and SHA256 apart from the asynchronous signature. If you do not have a clear understanding in such as these it is going to be very difficult to become a blockchain developer.
Now that you know the skills required to learn blockchain, it is high time that one take up a certification and become a certified blockchain developer soon. Companies such as IBM, Google, Microsoft, and Accenture are already filling spaces by hiring talents with a relevant set of skills. For example, it is said that for every five job roles available in the market there is only one blockchain professional with the right set of skills. Currently, the fastest way to become a blockchain developer is by taking up certification that is credible and is accredited.
Today, blockchain technology can change the world for better and it doesn’t hurt if you’re keeping a broader eye for the future. With the hype that is ongoing in the job market, it is highly recommended to master the skills in new age technologies such as blockchain. Having a stand-alone skillset in blockchain technology will not only keep you at the priority list by potential recruiters but will also help you acquire jobs much faster than the other professionals without the blockchain skills.
