Bitcoin and other crypto currencies had their ups and downs, as their volatility has been quite shaky ever since their creation. Nevertheless, the technological advancement that followed cryptos was inevitable. As a result, the underlying blockchain technology has been expanded out of the crypto market. What kind of jobs can be related to crypto? The majority of them are tech jobs as companies mostly seek developers who are knowledgeable in blockchain and other related technologies. However, other non-technical jobs are available as well, since there are ‘bitcoin-related skills’ which are not directly connected to the development of blockchain technology.
Is the Crypto Winter Over?
It was cold during the crypto winter as many companies managed to hit their all-time low, resulting in many layoffs during that period. According to the article at Glassdoor, the number of jobs available in the crypto industry has increased over 300% from August 2017 to August 2018, and the number of job openings seems to keep growing. Furthermore, they stated that the median salary for all jobs that are related to crypto and blockchain is approximately $84,884 per year. In other words, things are looking pretty bright on the market when it comes to jobs that include working with blockchain and cryptocurrencies in any way. Let’s take a look at the type of jobs that is most in demand.
What Are the Companies After?
As previously mentioned, most of the jobs are technical, and it is only logical that the popular type of job openings is a Software Engineer. In fact, this is the most common position that companies want according to the number of jobs on Glassdoor. However, we have to narrow this down a bit as the majority of software engineers are required to have some prior knowledge in blockchain development, unless they apply for an internship or junior positions. Therefore, it is safe to assume that the actual name for the most popular position is a blockchain engineer.
In order to become a blockchain engineer or a blockchain developer, having a computer science degree is a good start, but it is not necessary since many developers are self-taught. It is important to have some knowledge about coding and programming languages and to understand how it all works. People who have a background in web development will have a firm basis for extending their knowledge to the blockchain. Therefore, the most essential thing is the will to learn more and upgrade your development skills. Many online academies already offer various blockchain-related courses, with Ethereum development being the most popular option.
The next one in line when it comes to crypto jobs is an Analyst Relations Manager which makes up a total of 5% of all job openings for blockchain and crypto professionals. For the sake of comparison, software developer jobs take up 19% according to Glassdoor.
The following is a Product Manager, and it is followed by Front-End Engineer, Technology Architect, Risk Analyst, Technical Consultant, Back-End Engineer, Marketing Manager, and Community Manager.
The number of jobs will increase if the popularity of blockchain technology and products based on it grows. Should this happen, more non-technical jobs are bound to appear. At this moment it is difficult to predict whether technical positions will definitely remain #1 in the crypto world for a very long time.
What Companies Are Interested in Crypto and Blockchain?
Today, cryptos and blockchain are more like a religion, as many skeptics still don’t believe that the future will be blockchain-driven. Blockchain is indeed in its infancy, and it is difficult to predict where everything will go from here. But some companies are putting in a lot of effort and money to explore blockchain and implement it into their systems.
The majority of companies that hire blockchain professionals are actually various ICOs and startups that are still exploring multiple possibilities for their products and services. However, the already established companies are also looking for crypto and blockchain aficionados who will further upgrade their businesses.
ConsenSys is one of those startups that are all about blockchain, and it has come a long way by building decentralized apps, blockchain infrastructure, and more. Online exchanges are also very active when it comes to hiring blockchain and crypto professionals. One of the names that always pops up near the top of the best employers for blockchain jobs is IBM. The company has devoted a great deal of energy and money into using blockchain technology and exploring various possibilities related to it.
Blockchain Jobs by Country – How Geography is affecting Jobs?
The US is currently the leading country when it comes to jobs in the crypto sphere, with more than 2,600 positions available at the moment. This is much more than the UK offers – about 1,000 jobs. The next one is India with 257, and Singapore with 231. However, the data is taken from Glassdoor which is focused mainly on the US market, but it pretty much sums up the popularity by country. According to their statistics, China offers only 42 jobs, while Russia sits at 30. There is a good reason to believe that these two superpowers currently have more positions available for people who are knowledgeable in blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.
Conclusion : What are the Opportunities available in Blockchain?
As you can see, there is a lot of hype going on about blockchain and cryptos in the world, with the US being its epicenter. Blockchain developers, blockchain engineers, and software developers are the most popular jobs at the moment, and it seems that this trend will continue throughout 2019 and the years to come. Despite the crypto winter, numbers have been rising, and job openings have been blossoming all over the world. Moreover, people are becoming increasingly interested in this type of technology and actively learning the skills related to it.