How to become a Blockchain Professional?
Blockchain technology is one of the fastest emerging technologies in today’s IT scenario. The market grew to a whopping US$ 7.4 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach US$ 94 billion by 2027, showing a CAGR of 66.2%. Several businesses and enterprises, including giants like Samsung, IBM, Capgemini, etc., have adopted Blockchain technology. Blockchain technology is also widely used in finance, real estate and manufacturing for its efficiency and security.
The possibilities in the domain are endless. According to a report by LinkedIn, knowledge of Blockchain is one of the most needed skills in the market right now. But so far there has been a dearth of talented and passionate individuals who can take advantage of this scenario. Although that may change, as anyone with the right guidance and Blockchain training can fill important roles in the market.
This article aims to provide a thorough understanding of Blockchain technology and the essential skills and knowledge required to become a Blockchain professional. We will discuss the roadmap to becoming a Blockchain professional and career paths.
Definition and Concept of Blockchain Technology
Blockchain technology is a modified database system that records transactions in a secure, decentralized and transparent manner. It consists of a computer network that works together to validate and record transactions. Each block in the chain contains a hash of the previous block, creating a chain of blocks that cannot be changed without consensus from the network. Blockchain cannot be destroyed and altered, which helps maintain the chronological consistency of the data. As a result, Blockchain technology is extremely useful for maintaining and creating an online ledger for storing data or securing transactions.
Basic elements of blockchain technology
The basic elements of Blockchain technology include blocks, transactions, nodes and consensus algorithms. Blocks are linked together to form a chain, transactions contain information recorded on the Blockchain, nodes are the computers that participate in the network, and consensus algorithms are used to validate transactions and maintain the integrity of the network.
Blockchain Use Cases
The immutability and consistency of data stored on Blockchain makes it valuable to various businesses and enterprises. Blockchain technology has been used in various industries, including finance, where it is used to manage payments, make trades or keep track of transactions; in healthcare it is used to manage and store patient data together with other important information related to management, or supply chain management where this technology is used to ensure an efficient system for verifying the products at different warehouses or terminals.
It is also being implemented in other industries such as energy and education. Some of the most common examples of Blockchain use cases in these industries include digital identity verification, peer-to-peer payments, supply chain transparency, and smart contracts.
Advantages of Blockchain technology
The benefits of Blockchain technology include increased security, transparency, efficiency and faster auditing. Blockchain technology provides a tamper-proof and transparent way of recording transactions, which can help reduce fraud and increase trust in the system. It also eliminates the need for intermediaries, which can reduce transaction costs and increase efficiency. The data on the Blockchain is immutable and consistent, which makes it possible to reconstruct the data exchange that occurred in a specific period and helps with faster auditing.
Limitations of Blockchain Technology
The limitations of Blockchain technology include scalability, energy consumption and regulatory challenges. Blockchain networks can be slow and have limited capacity, making it difficult to handle large transactions. The energy consumption required to maintain the grid can also be significant. In addition, regulatory challenges can create uncertainty and slow adoption. Despite these limitations, there is no reason to doubt the technology itself, which will only improve with time and solve these problems.
Who is a Blockchain Professional?
Before we discuss the roadmap to becoming a Blockchain Professional, it is necessary to understand who is a Blockchain Professional. It will help you understand the roles and responsibilities you may have to handle in the future. A Blockchain Professional is someone whose area of focus includes a specific job role such as a Blockchain Auditor, a Blockchain Architect or Blockchain Developer.
Being a Blockchain professional requires you to constantly learn new technical and soft skills to help your company build faster and more efficient solutions using new technologies in the market. Knowing what a Blockchain Professional is, we will discuss the key skills you need to become a part of this rapidly growing sector.
Essential Skills and Knowledge for Blockchain Professionals
As a professional in Blockchain technology, a person should be skilled in combining various essential skills including technical and soft skills. These skills help you become a valued individual in your company, interact with the community, and understand what solutions are needed to make your product more viable and laughable for consumers. Now let’s take a closer look at these skills, which will help you grow quickly in the domain.
Technical skills
Programming language
It is important to have good knowledge of various concepts related to programming in order to excel in this field. Blockchain technology requires in-depth knowledge and a strong understanding of programming languages such as Java, Python and Solidity. Java is a widely used programming language that can be used to develop Blockchain applications, while Python is used for data analysis and machine learning. Solidity is a programming language for developing smart contracts on the Ethereum Blockchain.
You can start your journey with any of these languages as they will help you advance your career. But Python is usually preferred by beginners as the concepts are easy to understand and you can learn it quickly in a short time. The Blockchain Council has online Blockchain courses that can help you start your Blockchain coding journey today. As you gain more experience, you will need to learn and code in multiple languages as you may need to work on different Blockchain networks.
Blockchain Platforms and Tools
Understanding various Blockchain platforms and tools is essential for you as a professional as it helps you understand various aspects of Blockchain. To run a Blockchain platform, coordination between different platforms and tools that make distribution and decentralization possible is extremely important in the first place.
Blockchain platforms and tools such as Ethereum, Hyperledger and Corda are important examples of such tools as platforms. Ethereum is a popular Blockchain platform that supports smart contracts and decentralized applications, while Hyperledger is an open source Blockchain platform used for enterprise applications. Corda is a Blockchain platform designed for use in the financial industry.
Cryptography
We talked a lot about the immutability of blocks in Blockchain earlier, but how is it done? The answer is cryptography. Cryptography ensures that once the data is shared on the Blockchain, no one can modify or alter it, thus maintaining the security of the assets.
Blockchain uses a different form of cryptography, and as a professional you can use cryptography to protect your platform from malicious attacks and protect your data. You should know cryptographic algorithms such as SHA-256, RSA and ECC and understand how they encrypt and decrypt data.
Smart contracts
Smart contracts are self-executing contracts. The terms between buyer and seller for such an agreement are directly written into lines of code. Smart contracts enable transparency and trust when a transaction occurs over a Blockchain network, making it extremely viable for real-world applications.
Blockchain professionals should know about smart contracts and how they are used to automate business processes. Suppose your job role as a Blockchain professional is Smart Contract Developer. If so, you need to build smart contracts, deploy them for your business, and keep track of the operations facilitated through them.
Business and industry knowledge
Understanding Blockchain’s potential applications
Blockchain technology creates a new frontier for businesses and enterprises to cover, and new infrastructure to facilitate its daily creation. As a Blockchain professional, you need to understand and learn where Blockchain technology can have applications and build solutions accordingly. Integration of different platforms and more efficient use cases cannot be underestimated. It helps to improve the technology and can help to create more viable solutions and potential applications that could have been missed before.
Understanding the Blockchain ecosystem
Blockchain professionals should understand the Blockchain ecosystem and the components that make the technology viable and working. They should know the different Blockchain platforms, tools and protocols and understand how they interact. Blockchain applications are heavily dependent on other tools and platforms for all their operations. Each tool and platform acts as a component of a complex machine that facilitates the entire process. There are blockchains like Ethereum, then different platforms offer services to facilitate user interactions, and so on.
Knowledge of industry regulations and compliance
Blockchain professionals should also be familiar with industry regulations and compliance standards, such as KYC and AML. They should understand how Blockchain technology can be used to comply with these regulations and ensure that their solutions comply with industry standards.
Soft skills
Analytical thinking
Analytical thinking is one of the most sought-after skills in the job market. As a Blockchain Professional, analytical thinking can be essential as you need to look for solutions while solving a complex problem and making decisions on a regular basis. You should be able to analyze data and identify patterns to understand an underlying problem and mobilize a solution.
Exact
We have already talked about how you need to keep track of transactions over Blockchain as a Blockchain professional. But it is not as easy as it sounds. You need to focus on small details so that any irregularities do not miss your eyes. It is important to keep a close eye on Blockchain since each transaction is stored chronologically. If you miss it once, finding it again can be a complicated process that wastes a lot of resources and time.
Communication skills
Communication skills are important to excel in any field, and Blockchain is no different. You must have good communication skills to interact with team members, clients and community members to get feedback on your product and understand their needs to improve the product. While good communication skills can be developed over time, you should integrate them as early as possible to grow your business quickly.
Team work
Having the ability to work as a team is critical if you want to build a great product while making your job easier. Good teamwork helps to reduce the workload on the shoulders of all the team members and a good bond also helps to increase their productivity. Interaction between team members promotes a relaxed work environment and reduces stress.
