INTRODUCTION:
Blockchain technology is all the rage these
days in the technology world. Just in case you have never heard of this before,
Blockchain is what powers the crypto-currencies, like the Bitcoin.
what is Blockchain
Blockchain technology is the
“engine” that powers cryptocurrency networks and it is rapidly gaining
recognition among businesses.
In very simple terms, blockchain is a ‘distributed ledger’ or a ‘distributed record’ that is used to keep
a track of information transfer between points. Consider a monetary transaction
between person A and person B
Blockchain, being the revolutionary technology that it is, has obviously
opened up a new field of development called blockchain development. This, in
turn, has created numerous job opportunities for developers and tech
enthusiasts. Even with such fantastic job opportunities around, people
generally seem to be confused about the direction they should take to become a
blockchain developer. Hence, I decided to write up this article to guide fellow
blockchain enthusiasts into the world of blockchain development
Okay, let me just list out the topics I’ll be addressing in this
article:
·
In the past few years, I’ve actually been asked this question on
numerous occasions as to “who exactly is a blockchain developer and what kind
of development is he concerned with?” Well, I guess it’s easy to get confused,
with so many types of developers out there in the industry. So let’s remove
this confusion by actually defining a blockchain developer…
A developer responsible for developing and optimizing blockchain
protocols, crafting the architecture of blockchain systems, developing smart
contracts and web apps using blockchain technology are commonly called
blockchain developers.
You may also go through this recording of Blockchain Developer where
our Blockchain Training experts have
explained the topics in a detailed manner with examples.
How to
Become a Blockchain Developer? | Edureka
Basically, any developer that is involved in the development of blockchain technology can be tagged as a blockchain developer. Now blockchain developers can be classified into two distinct types. Let’s take a moment to discuss both these types.
Types of Blockchain Developers
As I just specified, there are two types of blockchain developers,
namely:
- Core
Blockchain Developers
- Blockchain
Software Developers
Core blockchain developers are mostly responsible for developing the
architecture of a blockchain system, how its protocols should be designed, the
design of consensus protocol and other high-level decisions and development
related to blockchain technology. Blockchain software developers, on the other
hand, use the architecture and protocols designed by Core Blockchain developers
to build decentralized applications that run on blockchain technology.
Now that we know the types of blockchain developers, let me tell you guys about their respective roles in the industry.
Now that we know the types of blockchain developers, let me tell you guys about their respective roles in the industry.
Roles of a Blockchain Developer
Let’s first discuss the roles of a core blockchain developer.
Core Blockchain Developer
As discussed earlier, a core blockchain developer is generally involved
in the design, architecture, and security of a blockchain system. In brief,
their roles include the following:
- Design
of blockchain protocols
- Design
of consensus protocols and security patterns for the network
- Design
of the network architecture
- Supervision
of the entire network
Blockchain Software Developer
Blockchain Software Developers have a separate set of roles. These roles
have nothing to do with consensus design or architecture of the system. Much
like how a normal web developer uses the protocols and design structure set up
by a core web architect to build web apps, blockchain software developers
build decentralized applications or Dapps using
blockchain technology. Their roles include:
- Development
of Smart Contracts
- Development
of interactive front-end designs for Dapps
- Backend
development pertaining to Blockchain
- Supervision
of the entire stack running their Dapps
Now that, I’ve told you guys about the different types of blockchain developers and their respective roles, let me tell you guys about the technical knowledge and skills required for you to bootstrap your career as a blockchain developer.
Technical Skills Required to Become a
Blockchain Developer
When talking about a blockchain developer, a combination of skills is
expected by the person. Let’s discuss them one by one.
Blockchain Architecture
A blockchain developer should have an excellent understanding of
blockchain, its working, and its architecture. Concepts like cryptographic
hash functions, consensus, distributed ledger technology should
be at the tip of their fingers. The best way to get yourself familiarised with
blockchain technology is to go through the bitcoin blockchain whitepaper, but
going through the complete white paper can be a tedious task and a little
guidance always helps boost the learning curve. Hence you could sign up for edureka’s
Blockchain course
Data Structures
Secondly, an in-depth knowledge and applicative sense of data structures
is a necessity when aiming to become a blockchain developer. Blockchain
developers are constantly playing around and tweaking existing data structures
like merkle trees, petrecia trees etc to meet their personal
network requirements. Blockchain uses a plethora of data structures in
conjunction with advanced cryptography to build a secure and immutable system.
A knowledge about blockchain, without any knowledge of data structures, can only
be deemed incomplete.
Cryptography
As I just mentioned, Blockchain is a conjunction of data structures and
advanced cryptography, hence it is only obvious that a good grasp on
cryptography is also required to become a blockchain developer. A lot of cryptographic
methods like hash functions eg SHA256 and KECCAK256 are used in blockchain
aside from asynchronous cryptography for generating digital signatures. Without
understanding how these work, it is impossible to become a blockchain
developer.
Smart Contract Development
Smart Contracts have become a huge thing since the release of Ethereum.
Now every blockchain tries to incorporate smart contract functionality into its
system so that business logic can be easily applied on the blockchain. Hence,
developers striving to get into the blockchain field should definitely learn
about smart contract development. This generally entails learning network
specific languages like Solidity, Viper, Chaincode etc.
Web-Development
Web development is a core aspect of a blockchain developer. When a
person begins his career as a blockchain developer in the industry, a majority
of them are employed for the basic designing of decentralized applications.
This means you must know the basics of both front-end and back-end development
which includes things like creating interactive graphical user
interfaces for Dapps, API handling, request handling etc.
Now that I’ve told you people, the skills required to become a blockchain developer, let’s see the companies highering blockchain developers.
Now that I’ve told you people, the skills required to become a blockchain developer, let’s see the companies highering blockchain developers.
Companies Hiring Blockchain
Developers
So if you think if you have what it takes to become a blockchain
developer, then it’s a pretty golden time for you because opportunities are
thriving. For every five blockchain developer related job in
the industry, there is only one eligible blockchain developer
available. Many fortune 500 companies like IBM, Accenture, Capgemini are on the
hunt for eligible blockchain developers.
Not only are there endless opportunities for blockchain developers in
the current age, but also they have handsome salaries to go along with the jobs
too. A core blockchain developer on an average makes around $100,000 annually
while blockchain software developers make $70,000 per annum.