Blockchain technology revolutionized the world, no less. It is now being used in various industries, such as marketing or even banking. Even though this technology is relatively new, it is already widely known, and more and more companies are searching for ways to include it into their daily workflow and hire blockchain developer.

With its tendency to simplify business processes, blockchain will surely become an important tool of corporations’ organization. Having said all that, there is no surprise that the role of the blockchain developer became one of the most demanding in the modern market.

Let’s learn more about these specialists and what value they can add to the business.

Blockchain Development: An Overview

Probably everyone has heard of blockchain by now, however, not everyone knows what kind of technology it is and what it could be used for.

First and foremost, this technology is a record-keeping system that grants access to any Internet user out there. The data put into the blockchain cannot be removed and can only be further specified in case of changes.

This technology is insanely versatile thus it is being used in various industries. Even though most people associate blockchain with cryptocurrency, it is also being widely used in banking, medicine, retail, voting systems, digital retail, etc.

Due to the increased popularity of this technology and variety of cases where it can be used, there is no wonder that the role of the blockchain engineer is getting high in demand as well.

Blockchain Developer Duties

It would be hard to keep going about blockchain software engineercareer path popularity without explaining their duties first. Previously we have mentioned that blockchain is basically a chain of informational ‘nodes’ that are connected to each other and consist of encrypted data pieces. So blockchain developer is a person who is responsible for applications’ development that are being executed on each particular node of a blockchain.

The biggest challenge of this job is to make sure that the code, written for blockchain can be used in a successful cooperation with a ‘classical’ code.

Now, if you decide to hire blockchain developer, you will need to know that currently there are two main types of them – core and software ones.

Developers of the first type are usually responsible for the architecture of the blockchain, design of its protocols, and other high-level decisions. On the contrary, Software blockchain developers are being somewhat dependent on the previous type, as they use the results of the core blockchain developers’ work to build applications that would be run on blockchain.

Blockchain Developer Skills

Regardless of the type of a blockchain developer you are looking for, there is a set of certain skills that either of them should obtain:

• Blockchain architecture. Obviously, a good blockchain developer should know this technology from inside and out, being expert in how blockchain protocols are being built, and so on. Also, a great specialist of this field should be familiar with all professional terms.

• Proficiency with data structure. Data structure is one of the core elements of blockchain technology and is a key to understanding its true capabilities.

• Cryptography. Blockchain is all about security so any good developer of this field usually knows two or three such methods to ensure the safety of the data. 
• Smart contract. Smart contracts are those particular functions that allow business seamlessly incorporate the blockchain technology into their workflow. Usually it means learning a few particular programming languages such as Viper or Chaincode. 
• Web development. Blockchain development might differ from web development as we know it, however, knowing the basics is a ‘must’ for anyone who is thriving to become an expert of it, especially major aspects of front-end and back-end development.

Blockchain Engineer Salary

Regardless of whether you are about to hire such a specialist or want to become one – a question of financial compensation will always be in high demand. According to the recent data, the current blockchain developer salary is somewhat around $100,000 annually. Such a number is mostly explained by the fact that currently the demand for such services is much higher that supply and companies are trying to attract rising talents to them by all means possible.

The Increasing Role of The Blockchain Developer

As we have already mentioned, the job of a blockchain developer is rising in demand with an enormous speed. According to the LinkedIn’s economic report from 2018, this particular type of specialists are worthy of taking the first place of the list of the most demanding hard skills.

According to the very same source, blockchain developers are mainly in demand in the US, Atlanta, San Francisco, and New York in particular. However, as time went by, the market of blockchain development grew much bigger and now you can find positions for a blockchain developer basically anywhere.

According to LinkedIn specialists, even though blockchain seemed to be a somewhat ‘shadowy’ technology in the past, not it surely is not, as more and more companies are finding out about what benefits it can give them.

At the same time LinkedIn mentioned software engineer as one of the most in-demand jobs. It would be fair to say that software engineer who is also an expert in blockchain technologies would be welcomed in literally any tech company these days.

Final Thoughts

Blockchain is most definitely one of those technologies that can and will shape our future. The matter of security and data protection are now important more than ever and blockchain is most likely the best solution to that issue.

Years ago, blockchain was mainly associated with cryptocurrency and now it is one of the leading technologies in any industry where data breaches are not acceptable, such as law, medicine, banking, and so on. It is a powerful tool that, if treated accordingly, can save you lots of money and stress.

We hope that this article gives you relevant information in brief about an important role of a blockchain developer in today’s landscape, as well as, motivates to start mastering the skills required to stay ahead of the competition.

So developing this kind of hard skills might be beneficial for many developers as it greatly broadens their horizons, as well as it does for company owners.