Demand for talent in crypto less dependent on the market as the industry matures

by · November 9, 2022

As the all-time highs of the last two-year bull market disappear and a new bear market appears to be on its way, only the talented individuals with strong convictions can find the motivation to devote themselves full-time to Web3, blockchain and crypto . .

During the good years of a crypto market on the rise, many curious professionals with an interest in disruptive technology have flirted with the idea of ​​working for startups in the space.

The demand for talent usually outstrips the supply, as there is a limited number of people with the experience required to navigate this fast-paced industry and willing to take on a new project, whose lifespan is uncertain.

Bull markets bring talent into the space and educate new people about what can be achieved using this disruptive technology. Bear markets test the convictions of even the strongest minds and reward those patients enough to stay. As the industry is expected to grow over time, it will require more talent to drive innovation.

Raman Shalupau, founder of Crypto Jobs List – a platform for Web3, blockchain and cryptocurrency job postings – told Cointelegraph:

“I wouldn’t be surprised if the bear market vibes continue into 2023. If we don’t see any other major collapses or regulatory surprises, we’ll likely enter a productivity plateau in terms of full-time opportunities in the industry. More clear business models and a lot of investor money in the space that provides fueling many land-grabbing opportunities, all of which require human capital.”

As the crypto market continues to cool off from all-time highs and projects tighten their budgets until the next bull cycle, finding a full-time job during a bear market does not look as attractive and may not be as easy as during a bullish one. scenario.

Current crypto job market situation

The bearish sentiment in the market can be measured by the amount of hiring going on. According to data from Crypto Jobs List, the number of job postings and talent interested in the space has declined by around 30% to 40% compared to the hiring frenzy at the peak of the last bull market in February 2022.

“Hiring and the demand for talent have stabilized in recent months. After the hiring freeze and layoffs in May-June, we are seeing more companies using capital to hire for key positions,” commented Shalupau. “Thanks to some of the redundancies, we now have more talent who have experience in the industry.”

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Demand has been affected by negative price activity. The surplus of talent currently looking for a job can be a positive thing in an innovative field like Web3. This surplus in the offer means that new projects can employ qualified talent who would otherwise end up in a larger organisation.

With young projects still figuring out business models and inexperienced talent learning requirements and best practices, it’s reasonable to assume that price activity and volatility will be reflected in the number of job postings.

“Typically, right after a sudden 10% or more selloff, there follows a period of uncertainty and caution that most companies exercise,” explained Shalupau. Of course, this will depend on the nature of the business and how the company’s financial management is managed, as many projects have allocated their funds asymmetrically between fiat and stablecoins, volatile assets such as Ether (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) or risky returns farms in decentralized finance (DeFi).

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The uncertainty that comes with price volatility affects professionals’ willingness to invest time and effort in a project. Having such a dynamic in play creates doubts for many professionals who believe that the down market is a bad time to join the industry. This could mostly affect professionals on the verge of switching to crypto full-time. Shalupau said:

“Those who are still unsure if they can make it in crypto full-time have their doubts confirmed with the price drop and the fear that follows it. It’s counterintuitive, but the reality is the opposite, a bear market is the best time to start working with crypto and find a job.”

Lessons learned from the previous cycle

At the peak of each bull market, projects tend to chase specific technical talent to add to their team, and high-level leadership positions such as chief technology officer are most in demand.

From 2016 to 2018, projects had to hire Solidity developers just to present an Initial Coin Offering (ICO). So from 2021 to 2022, the race was on to hire smart contract engineers to develop non-fungible token projects.

Advertised crypto salaries in the crypto industry. Source: Crypto Jobs List

As the demand for jobs in crypto increased, salaries also began to increase accordingly. “However, I think the main driver is the amount of VC money in the space, which is chasing a limited talent pool,” Shalupau explained:

“Projects go for talent with a strong technical background and desire to learn crypto, rather than for talent with strong prior technical experience.”

Technical jobs such as engineering for smart contract programming languages ​​such as Solidity and Rust have increased the most, while responsibilities for these types of jobs have largely remained the same. However, the amount of work may have increased, considering the number of new integrations that most projects have to perform these days.

Projects building a cryptocurrency wallet, an interchain bridge, analytical tools, or DeFi products like a decentralized exchange require their engineering team to provide multi-chain support for their products. When building a product, each piece of the puzzle has its own nuances and often requires a different approach.

Future cycles are repeated and improved

The cyclical job patterns experienced during the end of the bull market in 2018 and into the transition period in subsequent years tend to be similar to the current job landscape experienced in 2022 and what is expected in the following years.

With each cycle that the space experiences, the crypto labor market slowly consolidates a stable demand for talent regardless of price trends in the markets.

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“More projects are raising USDC, shares and token warrants, and therefore the market fluctuations do not affect the hiring plans as much as they used to in 2016-2019 when most of the increases were via ICO and in ETH,” Shalupau said, adding:

“Bear markets purge all short-term opportunistic companies, leaving room for well-funded, serious businesses to continue hiring and building.”

Established projects can maintain employment during downturns in the market. The right funding makes it possible to form new teams and take advantage of different skill sets that promote growth.