Demand for blockchain developers - looking into the future

[lorand-horvath]

I'd like to start a discussion regarding the demand for blockchain developers in the actual market.
How can we know that the often hyped demand for blockchains devs is actually there? Also, is there any stability in having such a job or is it more fluid, i.e. jumping from one project to another, depending what is more fashionable at the time? You know, smart contracts, NFTs, crypto, DAO, etc.

Also, I would personally like to know whether it's worth it jumping into blockchain development, if you're a full stack JS developer (Vue.js, Nuxt.js, Node.js, Express, MongoDB, Nest.js) with some traditional experience in fintech as myself (e.g. implementing websites and apps for banks). It would be nice to have some clear reasons pointed out besides the usually fluff and hype that I'm witnessing in the field. Thanks!

[cromewar]

Hello @lorand-horvath
The average salary on the space for a blockchain dev is 150k to 175k per year, and the stability of your job depends a lot on where are you working, some protocol and companies will provide you long term contracts as they are growing fast, for newer ones it could be unstable as they are just starting.

About the demand, I would say is huge but with biases. They are hiring devs everyday, but good ones... If you already have a background as fullstack I think you'll do just fine. Just build cool projects for you portfolio ;)

And regarding to if it is worth or not... hard question to answer, is it worth to learn how to dance? or learn how to play the guitar? Well, it depends, I would ask what your motivations are? what you want to accomplish?
For me Blockchain is a world game changer because it opens opportunities as never before, decentralization is way more than just nodes running around the world. I think blockchain will build internet as it should have been always and it'll also brake this corporate big company philosophy.

So if you don't know if blockchain is worth it or not for you, I strongly recommend to take the first lessons and understand deeply the concepts behind it. And then ask yourself again if it worth it for you or no ;)

Cheer, Vasiliy.

[lorand-horvath]

@cromewar Thanks for your response, I'm giving it a go! :-)

[Utilitycoder]

Thanks for your comprehensive reply @cromewar. My own problem is addressing the bias that exists in the hiring. People like me who have no development background but have been hacking smart contract, EVM, and even full-stack development for over a year are finding it difficult to land a job.

Since the majority of the open roles I have seen demand more than 2 years of solidity and sometimes more for other languages like javascript, what can you advise me to do?

[PatrickAlphaC]

@Utilitycoder - honestly, the advice is keep coding, keep applying, and most importantly, keep participating.

Web3 is a little atypical when it comes to hiring. A lot of the time people get hired because they are active in the community. Chainlink Labs in particular has hired a ton of people that were helping out node operators, making good PRs to github repos, etc. So keep sharpening the axe, keep growing, and eventually you'll be better than the current devs and they will have to hire you.

You can even apply for roles tangental to web3. Any regular software engineering role will be lucky to have developers who have completed this course - and hopefully you can convince them to do web3 stuff!

Keep building, keeping applying, and keep participating!