Working a job requiring blockchain skills.
At this point, blockchain technology still seems so young and fresh that it’s hard to imagine what a job in the field would look like. Of course, that might be the opinion of someone sitting on the outside.
Anyone within the field knows that vacancies are popping up in many companies, and they will soon have the names of blockchain professionals on them. That leads to the question of where blockchain skills can take you this year, next year and in the years to come.
The short answer is that they can take you very far as more of these opportunities continue to grow like wildfire.
Companies Now Want Blockchain Professionals at a Feverish Pace
According to a report by Toptal, a marketplace for on-demand tech talent, requests for blockchain engineers has increased by 700% since January 2017. Additionally, 40% of fully managed software development projects required applicants to have some blockchain skills.
In 2017, 15 out of 18 of the most popular jobs mentioned “cryptocurrency” in the job description and between December 2016 and December 2017, Indeed.com stats revealed a 207% increase in blockchain positions.
To get a sense of the bigger picture, the number of blockchain jobs from November 2015 to December 2017 increased by 631%.
Currently, forecasts have projected the blockchain market to see up to $9.7 billion in spending by 2021.
To put it plainly, these statistics alone are showing how far blockchain has come in just a few years. There’s a huge demand for professionals with these skill sets and it’s only getting bigger. But these are just outside numbers. What’s actually happening behind closed doors at major companies looking for blockchain talent?
Who’s on the Hunt for Blockchain Skills
If you were to do a Google search or look up major job boards for blockchain jobs, you’d see a wide range of different companies. Companies with varying levels of maturity, capabilities, and from different industries want individuals who have blockchain skills on their resumes.
They include startups (perhaps what most people think of), mature enterprises, global conglomerates and independent companies without major funding. Many of these names are recognizable while others are completely unknown.
Cryptocurrency Startups (namely digital currency exchanges)
Blockfolio
Coinbase
Coinlist
Kraken
Jaxx
Established enterprises
IBM
VISA
CISCO
Intel
Microsoft
Freelance/Gig marketplaces
Upwork
Toptal
Freelancer.com
Elance
Guru
These are just some of the places where blockchain skills are welcome or required. The full list would go on for dozens of pages. To get a more in-depth of look at these jobs, you can visit the more popular job boards such as Indeed and Monster. There’s also blockchain-specific job boards such as Blocktribe, Crypto Job List and Blockchain Job Board.
Industries Looking for Blockchain Skills
In short, every industry you can think wants blockchain skills right now. It’s not limited to the tech world. And this makes perfect sense considering blockchain has applications for virtually every industry on the planet.
With that said, there are some industries which at the moment are standouts. These tend to be the fields where blockchain technology shows the most promise in causing disruption or major change (for the better).
Industries with High Rates of Blockchain Jobs
Technology
Finance
Security
Healthcare
Supply chain management
Insurance & benefits
Real Estate
Project Management
And this list is growing and expanding into dozens of other industries.
Top Cities where Blockchain Skills are in Demand
Another facet to look at with blockchain jobs right now is location. After all, you have to go where the jobs are. These jobs are showing up in many places throughout the world and here in North America alone, are plenty of cities where blockchain openings keep on popping up.
Canadian Cities with High Rates of Blockchain Openings
Toronto
Waterloo
Vancouver
Montreal
Calgary
U.S. Cities with High Rates of Blockchain Openings
San Francisco
New York City
Chicago
Los Angeles
Boston
Palo Alto
Austin
Menlo Park
Seattle
Denver
The obvious trend here is that jobs requiring blockchain skills are located in major cities, a common theme with “tech” jobs. However, geography really isn’t an issue because many of the jobs in these cities are flexible, allowing for remote work.
The Jobs
Of course, this post wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the kind of jobs available in the blockchain field. Now, most of you will assume that there’s basically one type of skill set needed to get into the blockchain world: you’ve got to be a techie.
You’re probably thinking that you need to know how to code with your eyes closed and have the ability to analyze massive storehouses of data to even be considered.
True, the majority of blockchain jobs at the moment are more technical, and anyone possessing programming/development skills will have an advantage. But blockchain technology is multifaceted, not to mention that companies who build the tech need a pool of different skill sets to make their offerings possible. That includes marketing, sales, management and more. With that said, there are blockchain jobs in various “departments” so-to-speak.
Tech-Related Blockchain Jobs
Front-end/Back-end developer
Blockchain engineer
Software developer
Solutions architect
Business-Related Blockchain Jobs
Business analysts
Business strategists
Business developers
Product managers
Marketing-Related Blockchain Jobs
Growth marketers
Content creators and marketers
Marketing account managers
Marketing product managers
Design-Related Blockchain Jobs
UI/UX design
Web designer
App designer
There are many positions within these fields and plenty of other fields that blockchain companies rely on to build and sell their products. But this list will hopefully give you an idea of just how diverse the blockchain ecosystem is right now.
Also, keep in mind that blockchain training can benefit you regardless of what stream you enter. Even if the course skews more towards the technical side of things, such education can give a non-technical blockchain employee an understanding of the language they may have to speak or digest.
Many of these jobs, especially the more technical ones, start in the high five-figure range and extend to the low six figures. For startups, there are often stock or token options. At more mature companies, blockchain jobs also bring on high salaries, with full benefits, perks and the option to work from home.
Putting It All Together
So we’ve given you a mix of things to look at here: the companies looking for blockchain skills, the industries looking for blockchain skills, and jobs and the cities where blockchain skills are in high demand.
Ultimately, answering the question of where will blockchain skills take you is just a matter of looking at all of these factors.
You can almost look at it like an equation with numerous combinations. For example, you might get a…
A blockchain engineer job in San-Francisco, paying you north of $120K annually at a startup like Coinbase, perhaps with stock options
A blockchain app developer job in Toronto, paying you $80K+ at a financial institution, perhaps with wiggle room to work in different locations
A blockchain growth hacker/marketer job that’s location independent, paying you in the $80-90K range, for a mature enterprise in healthcare
All of these are just a few examples of the various and mushrooming world of blockchain jobs. There are plenty of positions out there that can make the most of your skills, passions and “callings”. Finding them is a simply a matter of googling them or looking through some well-known job boards.
Forging Your Blockchain Path Via Education, Credible Certification and Professional Designation
We’re still in the early stages of blockchain adoption, meaning that now is the best time to start educating yourself and learning about blockchain. While several online and in-class options exist, it is important to find a program that best caters to your goals, learning style and builds on your existing non-blockchain expertise. It is also important to learn from credible experts and practitioners who have applied blockchain across different industries. There is a lot of hype and bias in peoples’ opinion in this area, so finding a program that provides you a good cross-section of the various areas related to blockchain is important.
Also, there are several certification options from both companies and universities. Pursuing a certification in the field is valuable when the certifying body has some credibility. We say this because, like any industry, there will come a mass migration of talent to the industry, and eventually, market saturation.
Therefore, education and accompanying certification from a body that has legislated and industry authority to issue certifications and regulate professional designations is important. Examples of this can be Professional Industry Associations (i.e., the CIO Association of Canada) or Legislated Bodies that issue and regulate professional designations (i.e., the Institute of Management Consultants).
But that alone shouldn’t motivate you to seek a blockchain job. If you want to be part of a spearheading tech movement that can simplify our lives and secure our assets, then that should push you to seek training in blockchain skills.
There will be challenges and a lot to learn, but the rewards will make the journey worth it.