The blockchain is the buzzing word. It has the power to revolutionize the data-driven digital world. This website domain itself has a blockchain word. No matter how it sounds to you but it makes sense to the industry. We know how it comes into existence and demonstrated the level of versatility and security. The hot job in this scenario is the blockchain developer. The blockchain development is not that much different than the regular programming. In both, you need to sit tight and code. The only difference is that regular development has settled the frameworks. Whereas the blockchain is new and has new frameworks & programming environments. 

When the Bitcoin has happened, the scope of development was less. But this becomes an old term when Ethereum came. It is the second black swan event that happened in the crypto era. It is also called Blockchain 2.0. 

The developers around the world now have a platform on which they can build applications. This is because it becomes a hot skill. After Ethereum, hundreds of developments happened. The new projects kept coming and the wave hasn’t calmed down yet. Becoming a blockchain developer is a skill that takes time. One or two courses don’t help you a lot. But they provide you the start you’re looking for. 

How to be the Blockchain Developer

Choose your Blockchain language:

You want to start your career in the blockchain and don’t know where to start. Then the first step you can do is to choose the language. Many languages are being used in blockchains. The Bitcoin code is in C++. It is still popular among all blockchain languages. Other than C++, the JAVA, Solidity, Michelson, Ruby, Python, Go are also used in blockchain development. 

Attend the Hackathons:

Before getting into the blockchain developing, try to attend the hackathons. Cryptocurrency projects regularly do these kinds of activities. They give prices and allows the developer to use their platform. The blockchain developers build applications on the platform.

Example: The Aeternity blockchain executed a big event in Prague. Around 500 participants participated in the grand event. Developers, entrepreneurs, and big tech minds discussed scaling solutions. This type of event is the big opportunity to meet the ideologically settled people. 

Un-institutionalized Ways:

The technology created environments where skills matter the most. The degree of college doesn’t matter much if the person can’t debug the code. There are only a few educational institutions that are providing blockchain education. Online sources are the best way to learn about the blockchain. There are hundreds of free introductory courses are available online. The Vlogs and the live project talks also help a lot. 

Institutional Ways:

We understand universities are not the fastest way to get blockchain education. But it shouldn’t be discounted altogether. Some universities are providing blockchain education. If they’re providing blockchain education, then there must be the teachers who are very well qualified in this area. Some teachers spent life focused on near-threshold computing for low-power systems. These brains are the best source of blockchain development education.

Self-learning:

For some people, going alone is the only way to learn. They feel more focused when they learn about their maintained discipline. In this process, all the students need the willpower to study. Firing up crypto every time leads to concentration lapses. There are multiple sources available for self-learning individuals. Few good books like Mastering Bitcoin by Andreas M. Antonopolous or books on the Bitcoin core may help you a lot. 

Figuring out the types of Blockchain:

There are mostly two types of blockchain developers. The core blockchain developer and the software blockchain developer. At first, you need to figure out in what role we can opt to be a blockchain developer. The man who handles the architecture and designs the security of the blockchain system is a Core blockchain developer. S/he handles the foundation upon which others will then build upon. 
The blockchain software developer uses the core to develop applications also known as DApps. The easiest way to find a space in the blockchain ecosystem is to be a software-based blockchain developer. There are multiple small businesses where you need to use the core to make the business happen. 

Here are a few roles of the blockchain developer

• Development of the Backend Blockchain Protocols 
• Front-end design development according to the cline requirements
• Monitoring and Development of the Smart Contracts
• Network Architecture Designer that can be used for the data
• Blockchain Protocols Designer

There are more duties for the developer like the complex analysis, design, testing, and debugging. 

New to Development?

Someone with not related skills on the development but have the power to walk on the tough road can also be a blockchain developer. The dedication is the key. 

A few steps, an interested to-be-a-blockchain-developer can take:

Understand, Why Blockchain:

Understand the blockchain in a precise way. To get a precise knowledge of something, we need to learn history first. The blockchain comes with an idea of the Bitcoin. The current implementation might not need Bitcoin to get mentioned. The regulatory environment is vague, but as a student, it should be started by the Bitcoin. Trading of cryptocurrencies is the first step you can do to understand the idea of the Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. There are also Bitcoin Whitepaper and Bitcoin forums to read. 

Towards the Blockchain development:

Make your feet wet in the platforms like CryptoZombes and the Space Doggos. These platforms will help you to learn the Solidity. The more silly the names are, the more useful the products are. These are just like games. They’re considered as the most entertaining way to learn Blockchain development. 

Take the Blockchain Developer courses:

As mentioned above, try to find out institutional or un- institutional blockchain courses. 

(The big organization still see if the candidate has taken the course from accredited training providers.)

New things always have big obstacles than traditional things. The same thing goes for the blockchain developers. The developer has to work with legacy infrastructure and its limitations. Giving a client more than the expected product. There are challenges such as understanding the technical practicality of cryptosystems. Some processes fall outside of the traditional IT development skill-set. This means a Blockchain developer needs specialized skills. 

Talking about the future, we know clearly that we all be replaced by robots and AI. In this scenario, the fact stands tall that skilled humans will always be in demand to maintain the current generation of the crypto network. To create new applications and layered solutions built upon the decentralized technologies. The only way to add skills for this tech-oriented future is to stop dreaming and start studying.

Gopal Bansal