How to become a blockchain developer
Without any doubt, we are currently in an industrial transformation. Blockchain is playing the role of a catalyst.
The result would be more efficient and transparent systems across all sectors.
For you, this means opportunity.
If you are already in the development field, you have better chances to become a blockchain developer.
On the other hand, if you are starting, you need to be more patient with yourself.
But, what do you get after becoming a blockchain developer? Let’s look into the benefits of becoming a blockchain developer.
Reasons to learn blockchain
In the internet era, you as a developer can find new things to learn and explore.
Blockchain is one of those things that can help you reach your goals as a developer.
High demand
The demand for blockchain has increased drastically in the last few years.
As a technology, blockchain has always been promising, but the real growth and demand started when bitcoin started to boom.
It caught the attention of diverse industries, which means more job opportunities for you!
Working on cutting edge technology
Blockchain is still a high-speed growing technology. It is new, and less than 1% of the population is using blockchain.
If you invest your time and effort in learning blockchain, you can become part of the change. It will also bring more opportunities in the future.
Amazing pay!
According to Blockgeeks, blockchain developers are making more than $120K per year. In general, it is 10-20% more than other developers income.
However, you can also get paid up to 200$K if you have strong knowledge of blockchain.
Ability to teach others
The demand for blockchain-related content is exceptionally high. If you are a blockchain developer who can create projects, you are already ahead of the curve.
Just like you struggled with the blockchain useful content, many learners would want to learn from you!
This means that you can open a new revenue stream along with your job!
At Education Ecosystem, we offer you the same opportunity to showcase your knowledge and earn at the same time. If you are confident, then you can create your very first blockchain project now!
Becoming a part of ICOs and cryptocurrencies
There are two ways you can benefit from learning blockchain.
First of all, you will have the technical ability to understand cryptocurrencies and ICOs. This means you can work on cryptocurrency and ICO projects.
Secondly, these concepts can also help you become a better investor or trader.
Improved digital identity and data security
Blockchain offers a 100% trustable network.
This makes it an ideal solution to build systems or solutions that require better security and identity protection.
The use of blockchain will also improve transparency.
Contribution to other new-age technologies
Blockchain is not the only new-age technology.
There are other technologies such as IoT which is also playing a key role in the transformation.
If you learn blockchain, you will have the chance to work on other ground-breaking new-age technologies.
The end goal is to build a safe network with the use of blockchain and other related technologies.
Who is blockchain developer?
Before you start your journey of becoming a blockchain developer, we need to go through the definition of a blockchain developer.
“A blockchain developer is a developer that takes care of optimizing and developing blockchain-related dApps, smart contracts, protocols, and architecture.”
It is a responsible position which requires attention to detail, knowledge, and ability to overcome challenges.
Types of blockchain Developers
Just like other technologies, there are different types of blockchain developers. They are as follows:
- Core Blockchain Developers
- Blockchain Software Developers
Each type of developer has its specific type of role. Let’s go through them in detail.
Core Blockchain Developers
The core blockchain developers are responsible for architecture development. They design the protocols required to run a blockchain solution successfully. The other vital aspects that you need to take care of include the consensus protocol design and making high-level decisions.
To get a clear understanding, let’s list the key responsibilities of a core blockchain developer.
- Understanding and implementing blockchain features and functionality
- Designing blockchain protocols, consensus protocols
- Designing security for the network
- Ensure network works as intended.
Blockchain Software Developer
Blockchain Software Developer works differently. His role is to develop and implement the blockchain using the designs created by the core blockchain developers.
Blockchain software developers develop decentralized applications(dApps). To get a clear understanding, let’s list blockchain software developer responsibilities below.
- Use designs to implement smart contracts
- Develop the backend and frontend of dApps
- Ensure that dApps are running as intended
- Look after integration with other services and apps
Blockchain Developer Technical Skills Requirement
To become a blockchain developer, you need a good set of technical skills. Let’s go through them below.
Understanding blockchain architecture
For starters, you should have a complete understanding of blockchain architecture and how it works. Apart from that, you should also understand key concepts such as
- Consensus
- Hash functions
- Distributed ledger technology
You can find tons of resources on understanding blockchain architecture. But, we recommend going through the whitepaper to get a proper understanding.
For enhancing your knowledge about blockchain, check out projects on Education Ecosystem.
Data Structures
Data structure is also one of the must-have technical skill for a blockchain developer. You, as a developer, need to learn data structures.
It will give you the ability to play with the blockchain and configure it according to your requirement.
Smart contract development
Smart contracts are at the core of modern blockchain networks.
Ethereum, for example, offers smart contracts. It lets you set up business logic or automate certain aspects of dApp. You may want to learn Solidity as it is one of the programming languages used to develop smart contracts.
Basic understand of cryptography
Cryptography is yet another technical skill to have. Blockchain protects the data by using highly effective cryptography algorithms.
Knowing cryptography can help you implement dApps and other blockchain-related services more confidently.
How to become a blockchain developer
With a clear understanding of what is blockchain developer, its role types, responsibilities, and technical skill-set, it is now time we go through the steps to become a blockchain developer.
Step 1: Learn basics
Like every other technology out there, you need to start from the basics.
This includes blockchain basics concepts, ideas, and architecture. Learn about what is decentralization, its public and private approach, the use of consensus in achieving decision making in the network, and so on.
Also, go through blockchain glossary, and you will be able to understand most of the essential concepts.
You should also keep a tab on the principles of blockchain.
The basics also include getting familiar with popular blockchain development tools. Apart from the technical aspects, you should also get yourself familiar with the market. Learn about ICOs and cryptocurrencies.
Apart from that, also dive deep into cryptography and make sure that you understand all the major cryptographic algorithm used by popular blockchain solutions.
Lastly, you should learn about the blockchain ecosystem. Blockchain has grown a lot in the past few years, so its ecosystem. Learn about the following, and you are good to go!
- Enterprise blockchain platforms
- Blockchain as a Service(BaaS) such as Hyperledger, Quorum, Corda and Ethereum Enterprise
- Learn about popular dApps
Step 2: Learn how blockchain process works
Incredible, if you think you understood step 1, now it is time to move a little deeper.
With basics complete, now you need to get familiar with real-world implementation. It is easy to find learners or developers who call themselves blockchain developers, but have not developed anything in reality.
To get started, you need to start with an exchange of your choice. By working through basic cryptocurrency, you will be able to appreciate what blockchain has to offer.
Remember, cryptocurrency is just one use-case of blockchain. It is the first use-case of blockchain.
Even though we do not recommend investing or trading, you should try out buying some cryptocurrency and storing them in an offline wallet.
By going through the whole process, you can understand how cryptocurrency, one of the most significant use-cases of blockchain works.
To store the coins, you need to create wallets. They are digital and can be created easily. But, do ensure that you know about private keys and its safety.
Step 3: Start coding – Learn from blockchain tutorials
With a strong fundamental and practical understanding of cryptocurrency, it is now time to dive deep into coding.
For beginners, we recommend learning Solidity. It will help you create and developer dApps and smart contracts on Ethereum blockchain.
You may also want to dive deep into the open-source code of different blockchain platforms. Most of the blockchain platforms or solutions are open source, and hence the code is readily available for scrutiny or learning.
However, creating or maintaining an open-source blockchain is not easy. It requires you to overcome challenges such as security, performance, resource management, and isolation.
In short, you need to do the following.
- Create a simple block
- Create a blockchain out of it
- Understand what is genesis block and implement it
- Adds the blocks to the blockchain
- Validate the chain
- Use it by doing test runs.
If you do everything correct, you will have a basic working blockchain!
Step 4: Learn Smart Contracts
Smart contract is also one of the vital blockchain concepts that you need to learn. It is a computer protocol similar to legal contract in real life.
You can use it to automate or add functionality to your dApps. A smart contract needs to have three main features, including deterministic, terminable, and isolation.
Step 5: Read Blockchain Related Content
Keep reading blockchain-related content. Many websites offer high-quality, blockchain content. We recommend checking out BlockGeeks and 101Blockchains.com.
Step 6: Keep improving
There is no end to learning. We recommend you to keep learning.
You can also subscribe to Education Ecosystem Blog as we will cover blockchain and cryptocurrency in-depth in the future.
Companies hiring blockchain developers
The best way to become a blockchain developer is to work on real projects. That’s why we recommend you to check out companies that are hiring blockchain developers.
There is a massive demand for blockchain developers, and if you know your craft well, you are bound to get a good start.
A good starting point is to join a programmer’s community and always be on the lookout for an opportunity. You can join communities like Reddit, GitHub, and StackExchange.
So, what do you think about blockchain developers? Do you still want to become one? Comment below and let us know.
