The past 1 year or more has witnessed the dawn of a new technological era with the emergence of the revolutionary Blockchain technology. The distributed ledger tech is facilitating solutions to the problems faced by many industries- from healthcare, real estate, supply chain, logistics, to education. We’re currently witnessing the adoption of this tech across many such sectors.

News has been abuzz with many such collaborations and partnerships leading to the launch of Blockchain-based pilot projects. Owing to its myriad use cases, Blockchain is continuously receiving endorsements from global leaders, veteran industry experts, and even rising entrepreneurs. In fact, Blockchain is heralded as the harbinger of the next big industrial revolution. If you are looking to make a successful living then a career in Blockchain technology just might be the right thing to pursue.

Before thinking about starting a Blockchain technology career you may want to get into the basics of what Blockchain technology is. Well, the distributed ledger technology was initially developed as a way to account for the peer-to-peer digital currency, Bitcoin, by a person or a group of people who went by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto. Since its inception, the technology has made many leaps and today it has gone beyond just Bitcoin and is now starting to serve use cases beyond cryptocurrencies, as discussed above.

The active deployment of Blockchain across industry sectors and the enthusiasm for a technology that has the potential to start another technological revolution has stirred up the demand for Blockchain related jobs. As per a report by Upwork, the worldwide freelance website, Blockchain topped the list of the 20 Fastest-Growing Skills on Upwork for Q1 2018. TechCrunch, on the other hand, reported in an early 2018 article that Blockchain careers are in huge demand because Blockchain jobs were then the second-fastest growing in the labour market. The article illustrated that at the time there were as much as 14 job openings for 1 Blockchain Developer.

Even though Blockchain is making waves, the job sector is comparatively new and the career path is one that hasn’t been tried before. Therefore, starting a career in this field might be as experimentative and the path to success as innovative as the technology itself.

For the longest time, a good college degree has been considered the gateway to getting a high paying job. In fact, students have been following the same path all along- get good grades in school to land up in the class of a good college, study an in-demand course, and finally pass out and get a high income earning job. This has although changed ever since. In fact, many college grads are leaving school with massive debts on their head. As per a news, US college student debt has reached a gigantic USD 1.5 million. While there are others who complete their education but are not able to find a job relevant to their major. A consequence of the aforementioned disparity in education and skills has led to companies struggling to find the ideal candidates. In the technologically advanced times of today, there is a growing consensus that skills are more important than a candidate’s education.

Education in Blockchain

Since Blockchain technology is still in its infancy, those looking for a career in this revolutionary field will have to understand that their career path will be entirely different from the technology entrepreneurs who made their mark before them. To establish a successful career in this field a candidate should understand that the need of the hour is people who can continuously improve upon their skills. Since Blockchain is continuously evolving, it is very essential for candidates to stay up to date with development in the field. If you want to kickstart your career in the Blockchain industry right away, then you must renounce the thought of following the traditional education process. Instead here are the steps to follow!

Understand the fundamentals

Unlike any other technology of the time, Blockchain comes with a unique value proposition. Just how the advent of the Internet stirred up another era, the Blockchain tech has commenced the start of a value exchange revolution. The understanding of this is very critical to the start of a career in Blockchain. Features such as decentralization, Daaps, and Smart Contracts are the essence of Blockchain and it is essential that anyone wanting to begin their career in this industry should be aware of the essence of it.

For a Blockchain Developer, technical skills in the distributed ledger technology form the backbone of their career. A good place to start is Solidity for the development of Smart Contracts, and JavaScript for the development of a website. In fact, learning a programming language can also help you land a part time job until you hone your Blockchain-related skills. Hence, a degree in Computer Science or the like can prove to be very helpful here. Instead of joining a professional course or going for formal education, one can opt for online education programs that have gained a lot of prominence in the digital times of today.

Go for training in cryptography

Assets are moving from the physical world to the digital realm. As a result, cryptography is gaining much significance. The distributed ledger technology of Blockchain plays a crucial role in asset management, as it is the tech that facilitates the protection of the digital assets through the art of cryptography. Big organisations depend on cryptography to secure their assets, and any failure in the deployment of codes can have a devastating impact on the privacy of these organisations as well as the users. For a successful career on Blockchain, aspirants must go for a high level cryptography course from reputed online sources such as Udacity, Coursera, etc.

Gain knowledge of Distributed Computing Theory and its use cases

In the current times where technology has proliferated to all new levels, reliability and security have become two of the most important issues that affect the users, organizations, and the world as a whole. This is where Blockchain comes into play! Through distributed computing Blockchain tech offers a solution like never before. However, the deployment of Blockchain is plagued by excessive energy consumption and myriad other issues such as scalability. Aspiring Blockchain students need to understand these issues and arise at solutions for the successful implementation of Blockchain across sectors and industries.

Be a part of the Blockchain community

Cryptocurrencies and their underlying technology Blockchain have thriving communities that are responsible for the promotion of the cause of the revolutionary tech. Today, there are several cryptocurrency projects in the market. These projects offers rewards for completing tasks. For a budding student of the Blockchain industry, it is crucial that she/he partakes in such projects as they function as on-the-job training mechanisms. To be able to participate in these projects, a students would be required to reach out to the Blockchain startup and offer your services that help with the community outreach, be it leadership talks, event organization, or developing applications on Blockchains. Starting this way will give you, as a Blockchain student, the leverage of working and networking with the right people in the niche industry.

Create your own path

There is no doubt that jobs in Blockchain are flourishing, but the future holds even more potential for those working in this cutting edge technological field. This is the right time for aspiring students to get involved in the community and create their own path to career success. For Blockchain it is not yet important to spend years in formal education. The above mentioned strategies should definitely help in charting your path.