Crypto Careers: How Adoption Will Fuel a Boom in the Blockchain Workforce

The emergence of any new industry inevitably leads to an increase in the job market. This is because not only are new products and services being created for consumers but there will be a need for those who will provide the goods and services themselves.

Blockchain and cryptocurrency are no different, as they have seen massive growth in the last decade and have also seen thousands of new people making careers out of it. Just as the marijuana industry created a multitude of jobs once it went mainstream, the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry is on track to do the same thing in the next few years as they find more adoption and acceptance outside their own spaces.

As a coach & technopreneur, where others see just technology, I see opportunity. Not just from a monetary perspective, but more so from a position of how Blockchain & Cryptocurrency will change human lives. Which is why I wanted to share my thoughts here around how the world may see an entire new sort of economy and livelihood rise in the foreseeable future thanks to this disruption.

Crypto and Blockchain Jobs

When one thinks of cryptocurrency and blockchain in terms of a career, the most likely thought would be that of a developer or someone who works in the raw technical aspect. However, there are many jobs that exist within blockchain and cryptocurrency that aren’t necessarily technical.

In the technical aspect, you’d see jobs such as blockchain engineer, blockchain web designer, blockchain developers, blockchain quality engineers, cryptographers, and blockchain project managers. In the non-technical aspect, you would see jobs in other fields that interconnect with blockchain.

For example, in 2018, the first-ever blockchain-focused law firm opened in the United States as there was much more discussion and activity around blockchain regulations, the legal technicalities of blockchain, and cryptocurrency as well as the emergence of more firms which requires more legal expertise.

There are also jobs such as PR, technical writing, and so on. While the general tech industry in itself is very complex and has a wide array of jobs, cryptocurrency represents a smaller subset that requires more specialized skills.

Mind the Gap

Because blockchain and cryptocurrency, by their very nature, are highly specialized, there is a noticeable skill gap, and this is due to many factors.

The first is that it is an emerging industry, and as such, is not fully matured. As a result, there are fewer people in blockchain and cryptocurrency than a field such as robotics. As blockchain and cryptocurrency become more highly publicized, however, there is the expectation that more talented individuals will consider going into the field as a career. It is the same way social media management and development was a relatively new concept a decade ago but now is fully bloomed with a larger and more dynamic workforce behind it.

Another factor to consider is the training gap in the sense that there aren’t as many avenues for individuals to learn about blockchain and cryptocurrency to acquire enough skills to go into a career in that field. There isn’t a lot of focus on it in terms of higher institutions, with most people learning through online courses and training sessions.

However, there is a benefit to this current skill gap as the lack of skilled individuals has created more of a demand than there is a supply for talent, so blockchain is rather profitable with the average blockchain engineer reportedly earning between $150,000 and $175,000.

Growth Ahead

While blockchain and cryptocurrency are now emerging Industries, they will not remain so forever, and it is estimated that the industry will grow by billions of dollars over the next decade. A lot of this growth can be chalked up to several new developments.

One of these developments is crypto adoption as a whole. A few years ago, only a small handful of places, mostly online, accepted cryptocurrency as a form of payment. Today, cryptocurrency is being accepted by major merchants such as KFC and AT&T. The need for skilled hands for the processing of such payments and the managing of the cash flow will increase over the next decade, so there will be greater demand for blockchain-related skills.

Another issue to bear in mind is that blockchain and cryptocurrency are slowly but surely being embedded into the global legal system. Many countries, such as Malta and France, are developing a framework regarding blockchain and cryptocurrency. While it tries to find its footing, there will be a need for skills such as legal experts and advisers who will help ease the transition.

Blockchain as a technology is being applied in everything from supply chain management to food production to the tracking of precious metals, and it is believed the blockchain will find use in almost every facet of human life. A career in blockchain is already lucrative as it is, and one can only imagine what will happen if the skill gap is not closed in time for the boom in demand.

Filling the Gap

While blockchain and cryptocurrency are not being studied on the same level as something like medicine or law, there have been efforts by various institutions around the world to give more of an education in the blockchain field. Universities in Geneva, Tokyo, and New York, for example, have begun offering blockchain-related courses, and it is believed that at some point, a blockchain-related degree will be available at the university level.

There is also more incentive for the universities as many are beginning to issue their certificates on various blockchains to ensure that credentials cannot be forged and are accessible at any time. By doing this, universities are linking themselves more firmly to the blockchain world and will be more likely to train the next generation of blockchain developers and other skilled labor.

There is also more interest on the part of individuals themselves towards a blockchain career as LinkedIn announced in 2019 that blockchain developer was their most searched career choice on their platform.

Obviously, individuals are becoming more educated about not only blockchain as a concept but blockchain as a career, and should this trend keep up, we will likely welcome a new influx of talent and skills into the blockchain world which will sustain it for decades to come.