Blockchain was the fastest-growing skill in 2018. Its growth exceeded 2,000% for three quarters in a row and 6,000% for year-over-year growth. No wonder – blockchain has the power to transform the way money is transferred, how people vote online, how they verify their identities, invest, prove ownership of digital assets, and much more. In this article, we’ll take a close look at the much-debated topic of blockchain developer salary. We’ll discuss:

Key points:

• Blockchain developers are making on average between $150,000 and $175,000 in the United States
• Blockchain growth exceeded 2000% for three quarters in a row and 6000% for year-over-year growth
• Blockchain developer salaries are some of the highest paid jobs within the industry.

What is the blockchain salary?

According to Hired, an average salary for a blockchain developer is between $150,000 and $175,000 per year. To compare, an average software engineer salary stands at $137,000 per year. The highest blockchain developer salary can be found in the San Francisco Bay Area – $162,288.

According to another recruitment source, Janco, a median blockchain engineer salary stands at $127,000 and $172,000 for more experienced developers. Top blockchain engineers can earn even more than $200,000 per year.

Source: Janco Associates

Similar numbers are provided by CryptoCurrencyJobs.co, which states that blockchain engineer salary in the United States stands at $136,000 per year.

Skills that affect blockchain developer salary :

The high salaries of professionals with blockchain-related skills also result from the desired skill set that is relatively rare and specialized. Although blockchain developers are supposed to know popular programming languages while being flexible and curious about new technologies, there are also some specific skills they should possess and they significantly affect a blockchain developers’ salary. To give you an example, here is a common skillset of a blockchain developer:

• C/C++/ Java/Python/JavaScript,
• GitHub and experience with open source projects,
• Hyperledger,
• Ripple,
• Solidity,
• basic knowledge of mathematics and algorithms,
• understanding of Bitcoin and blockchain.

Ethereum developer salary :

Blockchain developers are often supposed to have a working knowledge of Ethereum, which is “an open-source, public, blockchain-based distributed computing platform and operating system featuring smart contract functionality.” Thanks to Ethereum, developers don’t need to have advanced skills related to cryptography or algorithms to build blockchain-based applications. This open software platform facilitates and automates much of their work.

Similarly to Bitcoin, Ethereum is a distributed public blockchain network. However, instead of tracking ownership of digital currency, it runs the code behind decentralized applications. No wonder that engineers with Ethereum skills are in demand. However, similarly to the blockchain developer, Ethereum developer/engineer is not commonly considered as a separate job, but more as a skill. That’s why popular salary and recruitment services don’t provide information on its average salaries. 

Cryptocurrency Jobs only shares an average Solidity developer salary in the United States, which is related to Ethereum developer salary and stands at $127,500 per year.

In fact, the best way to get a reliable idea about how much Ethereum developers earn is to check freelancing marketplaces. As we’ve already mentioned, many blockchain engineers work or would like to work remotely, often as freelancers and consultants. That’s why it’s easy to find them and their rates. Upwork, shows that the majority of Ethereum developers expect between $50 and $100 per hour. 

What is blockchain? 

One of the biggest advantages of blockchain is that it’s a distributed network. Instead of relying on a single registry, blockchain relies on a network of computers forming a secure chain or ledger. That makes it resistant to manipulations or hacking as an attacker would need to hack more than 50% of the computers in the network at the same time.

Another reason for the popularity of blockchain in the tech world is that major companies such as IBM, Samsung, and SAP have taken blockchain seriously, implementing more blockchain-based features and regularly hiring engineers and computer scientists specialized in the blockchain. What is more, blockchain is now being used in the fields of business and finance, even by traditional companies like Visa or Bank of America. All of that affects the job market and average blockchain salary. 

Blockchain technologies are often considered to be cutting-edge and complex, which together with the growing usage and interest has created an increasing demand for software developers with blockchain skills. It’s important to stress that blockchain developer or engineer has not become a job title itself, at least not yet. Therefore, companies that need people with these skills should instead look for back-end developers, machine learning engineers, and solutions architects with blockchain skills. It’s a relatively new and growing field which means the job market for blockchain professionals will likely still undergo some changes and an average blockchain salary may change in the future. Another interesting trend in the blockchain job market is the rising demand for remote work. According to Mehul Patel, the CEO of Hired, over half of tech professionals want to work 100% remotely, not to mention those demanding home-office from time to time.  

The growing demand for blockchain talent and the rare skill set it has contributes to relatively high salaries, higher than average in tech.

Skills Required to become a blockchain developer

Before looking at the blockchain developer salary in India, one must be aware of the skills required. Basic knowledge of mathematics and algorithms is required. You must be well-versed in programming languages such as C, C++, Java, and Python and tools such as Geth, Remix, Mist, Solium, Parity, BaaS, and Truffle are important skills as well. 

1.Blockchain Architecture

First and foremost, a blockchain developer must have an in-depth understanding of what blockchain is. S/he must know how it works and its architecture. Concepts such as cryptographic hash functions and ledger technologies come at a later stage. One of the best ways to get an understanding of the basic concept is to go through the bitcoin blockchain whitepaper. This can be considered as a tedious task, so learning from blogs/courses always helps. 

2.Data Structures

You must know how to apply data structures when it is necessary. Blockchain developers are constantly working with existing data structures such as Merkle trees so that they can meet their network requirements. Throughout your career as a blockchain developer, you will work on numerous data structures along with advanced cryptography. This is used to build a secure system. 

3.Cryptography

Cryptography is just as important as Data structures. Various methods and hash functions like SHA256 and KECCAK256 are used in blockchain development. 

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4.Smart Contract Development

Smart contract development has become very important these days. Most blockchain developers try to incorporate it in their functions as business logic can be easily applied to the blockchain technology. 

5.Web-Development

One of the core aspects of becoming a blockchain developer is to create and design decentralized applications. Thus, front-end and back-end development become important. 

Roles and responsibilities of a blockchain developer

Job duties of a blockchain developer include setting up security measures that can help protect the organisation from cyber attacks. They also work on building infrastructure, educating sales personnel about the technology, and setting up best practices. Collaborating with other IT personnel during the design process is also part of the job. 

We have seen above that a core blockchain developer works on the blockchain architecture and the security of the entire system. Some of the other responsibilities include- 

1. 1.Designing blockchain protocol
2. 2.Coming up with the consensus protocols and a security pattern for the network
3. 3.Design the network architecture
4. 4.Supervising the entire network 

Let us now take a look at the responsibilities of a blockchain software developer. The responsibilities are completely different from that of a core developer. 

1. 1.Developing Smart contracts
2. 2.Supervising the entire stack running their Dapps
3. 3.Looking after the backend development related to blockchain
4. 4.Development of interactive front-end designs for Dapps 

Blockchain Developer Salary in India 

The salary of blockchain developers varies depending on several factors such as job location, company, number of years experience, skills. The jobs in this domain are increasing at the rate of 2000-6000%. The blockchain developers salary in India is seen to be 50-100% higher than other developer jobs. 

On a broad scale, the salary ranges between 5,00,000-30,00,000 LPA depending on the various factors mentioned above. 

The average salary in India is ₹801,938 per annum. With three years of work experience, a blockchain developer can expect to receive close to ₹45,00,000 annually. A blockchain developers average salary in Europe is $73,300 while the average in the US is $136,000. 

Source: Computer World

How to become a blockchain developer?

More Indian companies have joined the blockchain technology bandwagon. Since there is a significant gap between the number of jobs available and the number of skilled professionals in this field, now would be a great time to upskill. The first thing you must do is learn the basic skills required and the tools used by a blockchain developer. If you understand the core concept, it becomes easier to move forward in the field. Learn the process of the technology, and learn programming languages such as C, C++, Python. This will be very helpful when you are required to perform coding activities. Blockchain is a fairly newer field to work in, but the opportunity to be successful is higher as well. 

Blockchain developer advantages

However, there are numerous benefits to becoming a blockchain developer. First and foremost, the aforementioned economic benefits of having a high-paying job. However, there are more advantages to becoming a blockchain developer than simply a high wage.

One of the perhaps most attractive traits is the remote flexibility. The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic is shining a light on the importance of being able to work remotely. This is just emphasizing the rise of remote jobs – and blockchain developers are often able to work remotely.

Seeing as there’s a far greater demand than supply of blockchain engineers, these can often set their own rules when applying for a job. As such, it is likely that those looking to land a blockchain developer job will have a ”work from home” option.

Another interesting perk is the potential to receive equity as payment. Although far from all companies offer this opportunity, it is common with startups. Working for a crypto or blockchain technology startup means that employees can, oftentimes, be paid in tokens. 

Blockchain jobs NYC

Data from Indeed shows that the most popular city for blockchain jobs in the US is New York City. Noticeably, blockchain jobs in NYC are even more common than they are in Silicon Valley. As such, those looking to land a high-paying blockchain gig shouldn’t discard searching for jobs in The Big Apple.

Many of the high-paying NYC blockchain jobs are for legacy firms looking to broaden their expertise. This can be attractive for those who want to work at a high-profile legacy company. However, one should note that this reduces the chances of being able to work remotely.

In fact, data from Glassdoor shows that ”blockchain jobs NYC” make up 24% of all the blockchain jobs in the US. Some of the legacy companies looking for blockchain jobs in NYC are firms such as IBM, Microsoft and Visa.

Nevertheless, one should also note that many of the jobs are coming from startups. Put simply, those looking for blockchain jobs in NYC have a lot of different alternatives to choose from. That is, at least, if they have the necessary experience and knowledge.

How to get a blockchain job in 2020

Those looking to land a blockchain job as a blockchain developer should keep in mind that the right education is just a click away. Ivan on Tech Academy offers various courses without any requirements for preexisting knowledge. As such, anyone can land a job as a blockchain developer. 

2019 saw the blockchain job market heat up significantly. Moreover, this trend shows no sign of fading. Instead, it seems likely 2020 will be the best year yet for blockchain developers. As the average blockchain developer salary keeps rising year after year, there’s never been a better time to get into blockchain.