With cryptocurrency gaining more traction and legitimacy across the world, the technology behind its record-keeping, known as “blockchain”, is also becoming a prospective career option for many. Here, we’ll know about Blockchain Developer Salary.
Blockchain adoption across many large and small companies has taken place. That too is taking place at an unprecedented rate. Which has created a lot of employment opportunities for blockchain developers.
Understanding the Global demand for Blockchain Developers
As mentioned before, this niche job is relatively brand new in the job market. Keeping in mind its recent entry into the global stage, genuine and reliable Blockchain talent is difficult to find. All of this has resulted in the blockchain developer job becoming one of the most desired after skill sets in the job market.
The demand for Blockchain Development comes mainly from banking, insurance companies and, other financial services. There has also been a gradual increase in demand from other industries like healthcare, education, cloud computing and, stock trading as well. This basically showcases the flexibility and high employability that one obtains when pursuing a career.
The highest demand among Blockchain development is for Hyperledger, Solidity, Ripple and, Ethereum. But most companies do not have any specific demands and settle for any unique skillset. Companies tend to look for developers who have a good foundation in mathematics and algorithms. In addition to that, a good knowledge of programming languages such as C, C++, Java, and Python helps as most Blockchain projects are done in these languages.
Blockchain Developers are also expected to be able to work with various tools related to Blockchain development such as Geth, Remix, Mist, Solium, Parity, BaaS, and Truffle, to name a few out of many. Companies usually lean towards hiring Blockchain Developers who have at least a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics or Computer Science. Although this is not necessary, it does help in landing a job.
A basic way to understand this is that, developers must have a relatively good foundation in handling technology and be open to learning newer skills.
What a Blockchain Developer does
A minimal and straightforward answer as to what Blockchain Developers do is that they develop Blockchain. This is simply an oversimplification and just dissecting the term itself.
Moving on, to defining it more, there are primarily two types of Blockchain developers. Firstly, there’s the Core Blockchain Developer. Then there’s the Blockchain Software Developer. These are the two subdivisions in the industry of Blockchain overall.
A Core Blockchain Developer focuses on designing the security and blueprint of a certain Blockchain system. Breaking it down, the Core Blockchain Developer serves as the backbone of the whole operation.
The rest of the operation is run by the Blockchain Software Developers. They are in charge of utilizing core web architecture, which was initially built by the Core Blockchain Developer to create apps, which could be decentralized or of web varieties.
There is a scenario where one individual ends up filling both these shoes. The important point to understand here is that Blockchain Development has two dimensions to it. To cultivate a career in Blockchain Development, it’s highly ideal to know a bit of both, regardless of what you might want to specialize in.
Most day-to-day responsibilities include:
- Creating Blockchain protocols.
- Come up with the network architecture that can be utilized for centralizing or decentralizing the data.
- Backend development in coherence with Blockchain protocols.
- Creating and building front-end designs in accordance with client requirements.
- Creating and observing any smart contracts.
The average Blockchain Developer’s responsibility mostly involves having creative solutions to challenging problems and high integrity as an individual. The developer will also have to perform highly difficult analysis, design, development, testing, and debugging. As is evident, the job requires a wide array of skills and familiarity in many things.
How one can enter the field of Blockchain development
Most people who want to enter the field will be quite scared, seeing the sheer number of skills the job entails. And since there is no fixed route or training that can be undertaken, it is only natural to wonder where to start the journey of becoming a successful Blockchain Developer.
The harsh truth is that a complete newbie to both Blockchains as well as Software Development will find it very difficult to break into the field. A good start would be to learn a few programming languages and then learn Blockchain basics and look for an entry-level job or internship in the industry.
Most Software professionals will find it relatively easier to enter the field. A crash course on Blockchain and some work experience will suffice to get started.
Regardless of the experience level, it is important to acknowledge that Blockchain Development is a constantly changing and evolving field. What this means is that most Blockchain Developers learn a lot of things on the job itself.
Even if you are a complete beginner, you can start slow and from somewhere. Although it may take you some time, Blockchain Development is a welcoming community and you should up to speed, provided you put in the time and work required.
What Blockchain Developers are paid
Owing to the nature of the lack of Blockchain Developers across the world, most employers are more than willing to pay heft amounts to professionals in the Blockchain industry if they execute the job well. Factually speaking, most Blockchain Developers have a higher average salary than most IT professionals. If the Blockchain Developer is particularly good, there is scope for a more luxurious salary.
Consequently, most Indian companies and organizations are wanting to adopt Blockchain technologies. This has resulted in the average annual salary of a Blockchain Developer in India skyrocketing. As such, the salary of a Blockchain Developer can range from $150,000 and $175,000. This is just a rough approximation and can vary quite a bit depending on many other factors.
What makes it a tad complicated is that the individual salary can have variations depending on software development experience as well as Blockchain Development experience.
Blockchain Developer salary corresponding to experience level
The shocking fact is that most blockchain developers who are newer to the field have been found to get 6-figure salaries. This is surprising keeping in mind that there is no fixed education route one has to undertake to become one. Most of the time, a 6-month period of hard work and dedication is sufficient to become an expert in the field of blockchain development.
Firstly, complete beginners who have no experience in either software development or blockchain were found to get approximately $110,000 a year. Although getting your foot in the door as a complete beginner is not very easy.
The second scenario is when someone has a certain amount of experience in the software field, but is relatively newer or has no experience in the field of blockchain. This group was found to get $120,000 in a year. This is the common form of entry into the blockchain niche.
As for the last level, it involves individuals being mostly intermediate to advanced in both software as well as blockchain. This group was found to be offered approximately a hefty $153,000 in a year. Most of these individuals were found to have a very deep knowledge of both blockchains, as well as, software in general.
Blockchain Developer Salary by location
There is an interesting variation in salary among the salary offered to blockchain developers based on their location.
San Francisco was found to be one of the locations in the US that gave out highly paid blockchain development jobs. With a salary of roughly $155,000 a year. Although the cost of living in San Francisco is depressingly high, the positive aspect is that the location also offers job opportunities for remote employees. So, this allows employees to take advantage of a high salary without having to lose it out to exorbitant living costs in San Francisco.
New York proved to be the second-best destination for Blockchain Developers. Interestingly, the location is also ideal for gaming engineers. The famous city had an average salary of $137,000 a year to offer developers. Most of the employment opportunities offered in the city are also open to remote workers.
Many other locations have a demand for professional Blockchain Developers. And with the Blockchain industry gaining traction fast, there will be more demand in most of the major cities, not just in the US, but across the world.
Conclusion
What makes the Blockchain Developer industry so appealing is that there is a noticeable gap in the demand and supply of Blockchain professionals in the world. This could be attributed to the highly versatile and evolving nature of the Blockchain industry. The industry is expected to see a vast increase in the coming years, especially with cryptocurrency becoming more mainstream.
We can hope that with all these positive factors, more Blockchain Developers are created in the coming years.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the average Blockchain Developer Salary?
The average salary can range from $150,000 to $175,000. This is just a very rough estimate and can vary quite a bit depending on a lot of factors such as, individual experience and how much a company is willing to pay.
- How much can a beginner Blockchain Developer make?
A complete beginner can expect roughly $110,000 a year. This is a very reasonable beginner salary considering the sheer number of skills it takes a beginner to master to enter the field.
