Along with the fast-growing demand for digital assets, there’s also a steady rise in the number of job opportunities in the cryptocurrency world. A few years back, thinking about a full-time career in crypto was nothing short of a dream but today, it is a lucrative option. In fact, a report that showed data from the job search portal Indeed suggested that crypto-related jobs had increased by 118% since September 2020. Let’s read here: MultiBank.io
So, if you’ve been considering turning your crypto hobby into a profession, now is the time.
Crypto jobs in the market
It is hardly a surprise that in 2021, the blockchain industry witnessed monumental growth from every direction.
Blockchain funding has grown at an incredible pace. As Blockchain VCs continue to pump in money to the system, the overall funding has risen by 500% as compared to 2019 and perhaps even more than 1000% if look at it against the last Bitcoin bull run. Needless to say, more funding implies more job opportunities.
There is a plethora of blockchain-related jobs in the market. There has been a 15X growth in the number of paid listings on Cryptocurrencyjobs.co in the past year. Indeed, the job postings have doubled, and paid LinkedIn posts in the U.S have witnessed a 600% growth one year after another. Everywhere, organizations and firms are hiring for crypto-based roles like never before. If in between this surge, crypto prices see a hike, the hiring will get another boost.
People are showing an interest in the market too!
Job postings were at an all-time high at the beginning of 2021 and haven’t really stumbled a lot since then as the general curiosity and interest around crypto continues to grow. The search statistics on Indeed show a 300% spike in crypto-related searches since September 2020 that often include hefty paychecks. One thing is clear that there’s a lot more to this market than just buy and sell cryptocurrency instantly. This digital market opens a host of other opportunities.
Going beyond developers
Cryptocurrencies and blockchains run on modern technology and thus the roles offered hitherto have also mostly been tech-related. However, this is now changing and expanding beyond software development, even though it still accounts for a majority of these jobs. According to Indeed, non-IT jobs have increased in the last year. Just like every other industry, approximately one out of two crypto professionals happen to be from IT but the remaining are often marketers, salespeople, finance, accounting, HR, and operations folks!
The key differentiator here is of course the remote work culture.
Remote work rules
Not only are developers working remotely, but so are many others. And don’t be surprised when we say, Web3 startups are first in this league.
It is not just developers who work remotely. Several others, especially the ones in Web3 startups, often work from home. In fact, hardly any firms or people in the DeFi world do not work remotely. Aave in London is an exception to this.
What’s the data telling us?
A Web2 escapist published a great article in the Business Insider (believe it or not), detailing how he left his early adopter tech startup job to pursue a career in Web3. He outlined two reasons:
A remarkable article published in the Business Insider was authored by a Web2 escapist, where he spoke about the way he let go of his early adopter tech startup job to enter Web3. The two key reasons for doing so, according to him were:
- It is much more feasible to make the most of your skills on Web3 as you can directly sell your expertise. The transaction costs are rather low and thus, making your own micro-economy where there are no intermediaries is a whole lot easier. This also makes it possible to own your work.
- Several crypto start-ups do not have a defined end product as the ultimate aim is to elaborate, document, and carry out transactions of asset ownership without any intermediaries. When you’re coming up with cooler ideas every day, this creative liberty can be tempting.
Yet another aspect is that Web3 offers higher salaries. As per 2018 data from AngelList, median salaries in the U.S for technical as well as non-technical jobs are nearly 10% higher. Keeping in mind that this could have now come a long way in 2022, this figure can only be much higher. Web3 also supports remote work as over 37% of these jobs were reportedly remote-friendly while only 14% of the crypto jobs could be done remotely.
In this together
Why should one work in Web3? Well, one can list out quite a few reasons. Let’s begin with the fact that it is certainly a very idealistic world where most people strongly believe that they’re part of a big change that’s coming soon. This is tagged along by a ‘unity is strength’ kind of a feeling and hence there is hardly any real rivalry to be witnessed. A development or a successful attempt by someone else could give you a reason to cheer for them as you might benefit from it eventually.
It is a community of people that are not always motivated by money but are in every sense passionate about their work. A lot of startups also work in a similar way but the overall bonding over a shared vision has much more weight in Web3. Politicians and skeptics do not have a fair understanding of this market and the mentality behind it. As a result, they create a sort of fortress around it which also keeps the market from being adopted at a larger scale.
And finally, Web3 moves rather fast. The fluctuations are rapid and drastic to such an extent that industry veterans are now used to it. This also makes the entire process very exciting but at the same time keeps you at the edge of your seat as a reminder that a similar high or low may hit your projects as well.
Let’s look at some jobs in the field
As we mentioned above, there are several entry-level jobs in the crypto market that go beyond that of a developer. Here are some options:
- Developers
- Analysts
- Marketers
- Content writers
- Community managers
- Product managers
- Business development managers
Let’s take a look at them briefly:
Developer
Developers play a big role in the crypto and blockchain world as they keep the show running. It is definitely one of the most important and sought-after roles where the person responsible codes applications for use.
Skills required:
Coding skills. Smart Contract Development (Solidity, Rust) along with the usual suspects such as Frontend (React, Vue) and backend frameworks (nodejs, python, ruby), REST, RPC, GraphQL, and others.
Analyst
If you’re familiar with an analyst’s role in traditional businesses such as the ones in a tech or a finance-based company, this one would not seem very different. The primary job of an analyst would be to compile, structure, and manage data as well as establish a connection between the product team and client data.
Skills required:
Python, and SQL, as well as sound knowledge of PowerPoint, are essential. Relevant experience in data analytics, business intelligence as well as data visualization is also important.
Marketers
Usually, blockchain marketers are at the top of the hierarchy in a community that often includes social media managers, writers, and business development managers. They create promotional strategies on the basis of the skills and requirements that come as a part of these three positions.
Skills required:
Crypto marketing experience is very important for these roles. Traditional online marketing as well as crypto marketing does have many common grounds. Social media and community-oriented channels like Discord, Telegram, and Reddit are especially important for blockchain spaces.
Content writers
The role of a content writer is to create written content for a project’s website and social media channels to drive visibility as well as engagement. Articles such as the one you’re reading right now, social media posts, press releases, website copy, and internal content copies have to be written and proofread by the content writer. This is a bit different from the job of a technical writer who talks about products and writes tutorials.
Skills required:
You should have good writing skills and the ability to decode as well as simplify difficult concepts for your reader. Storytelling skills get you brownie points but do remember that writing is a skill that will only sharpen with more writing.
Community managers
A good community manager is one who can establish a strong relationship with their community members. Fans, token owners, and potential buyers reach out to community managers at first. Thus, it is important that these managers choose the right Discord and Telegram moderators who can organize events, listen and keep the community engaged in meaningful ways.
Skills required:
Communication skills, patience, ability to create content, and have the tendency to be a serial socializer. The right person for this role should be someone who likes to interact with people on a regular basis.
Product managers
Broadly, this is a role that is not very different from that of a regular product manager in any industry. It entails communicating and helping the tech team or developers execute what the marketing team concludes as clients’ demands. Product managers study customer tendencies as well as the functionality of a product on the basis of which further developments are made.
Skills required
A role fit for designers as well as creative folks, this requires having relevant product design experience. The ability to understand and effectively translate consumer demands into products is of great importance.
