⭐How to Become a Blockchain Developer in 2024

Blockchain technology of distributed ledger has revolutionized and redefined a large number of businesses, sectors, and industries. The technology opens a new gate to tech enthusiasts or any individual wanting to build their career as a blockchain developer in 2024.

Blockchain is a shared, immutable ledger to record transactions and track assets in a business network. An asset can be tangible (a house, car, cash, land) or intangible (intellectual property, patents, copyrights, branding). Virtually anything of value can be tracked and traded on a blockchain network, reducing risk and cutting costs for all involved. Blockchains use distributed ledger technology by creating network nodes.

Blockchains are an integral part of the backend when it comes to provide crypto services. Individual nodes are created to keep the encrypted information of the cryptocurrency forming a thread like structure. These nodes combine and create a blockchain. The entire connectivity is done using distributed ledgers.

To become a blockchain developer, you can take up an online course that will provide a deeper understanding of blockchains including detailed information about the working of  Ethereum, IPFS, Hyperledger, and R3 Corda.

To explore more about becoming a competitive Blockchain developer, let’s dive in to discover the detailed knowledge.

Why Should I Learn Blockchain Technology?

Why should I learn Blockchain

Becoming a blockchain developer is a rewarding, and exhilarating choice to start your career. For learning blockchain technology, you must have a strong passion for learning Blockchain, its ecosystem, and how it works. Ultimately, the answer to the question is “ Why should you become a blockchain developer? – must be clear in mind. The experts give the following reasons to choose blockchain development:

  • Less Competition in the Job Market
  • Higher Salaries with a better understanding of the Crypto Market
  • Take the first movers’ advantage
  • You can start building your Blockchain applications

Here are some tips to start with:

  • Start learning the fundamentals and the process of the way blockchains operate.
  • Ethereum and dApps are the starting points. Front-end and Backend development resources will help you develop a better understanding of the blockchain rabbit hole
  • Learning Smart Contracts, Solidity, and Resources
  • Other tools that help in creating, managing, and organizing blockchains

Knowledge about Web 2.0

Understanding the Web 2.0 standards and hands-on experience in web development technologies is important to start blockchain technologies. Knowledge about React.js, and Next.js will be beneficial because Decentralized applications aka DApps have a standard vanilla Javascript or Javascript framework frontend.

Learn the Fundamentals of Blockchain

To become a Blockchain developer, you need to understand what a blockchain is? how does it work? and why and when do we use it?

You first need to know what you are working with. The foundation course for the blockchain covers the following topics;

  • What is a Blockchain?
  • How does it work?
  • How to interact with Blockchain?
  • How to connect web applications to your Blockchain?

However, It is a suggestion to start working with Ethereum blockchain as it is very popular and It has a strong dev community.

Learn about Smart Contracts

A smart contract, like any contract, establishes the terms of an agreement. But unlike a traditional contract, a smart contract’s terms are executed as code running on a blockchain like Ethereum.

It allows the development of apps that take advantage of blockchain security, reliability, and accessibility while offering sophisticated peer-to-peer functionality — everything from loans and insurance to logistics and gaming.

Learn Solidity, The language for Smart Contracts

Solidity is known as the language of smart contracts. Solidity is an object-oriented, high-level language for implementing smart contracts. Smart contracts are programs that govern the behavior of accounts within the Ethereum state.

Solidity is a curly-bracket language designed to target the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). It is influenced by C++, Python, and JavaScript. You can find more details about which languages Solidity has been inspired by in the language influences section.

Solidity is statically typed and supports inheritance, libraries, and complex user-defined types among other features. With Solidity, you can create contracts for uses such as voting, crowdfunding, blind auctions, and multi-signature wallets.

Also Read: What’s the Best Programming Language to Learn First?

Learning Decentralized applications

After getting familiarity with smart contracts and solidity, you are ready to build, test and deploy your smart contracts. Now, you will need a user-friendly interface as the frontend so the end-user can interact with your dApp. In the frontend interface, you create a dApp (Decentralized Application). dApp can be a mobile or web app but in most cases, it is a web app. Web apps are usually like regular web apps using HTML, CSS, and Javascript.

While building your app, the two most important tasks are:

  • Integration with Blockchain
  • Integration with Wallet

For the integration with blockchain, a javascript library web3.js is used.

Learn about MetaMask or any other Crypto wallet

A blockchain wallet is a digital wallet that allows a user to store and manage their funds like Bitcoin, Ether, and other cryptocurrencies. The wallet is used to exchange funds quickly. These transactions are cryptographically signed and therefore, are secure. The wallet is accessible from mobile apps and web apps. A blockchain wallet provides all the necessary features for safe and secure transfers and exchanges of funds between different parties. It is very similar to sending or receiving money through PayPal or any other gateway used today, but you use cryptocurrency instead.

There are lots of blockchain/crypto wallets. I would suggest initially going with Metamask. Metamask allows users to access their Ethereum wallet through a browser extension or a mobile app.

Learn web3.js and ether.js to connect smart contracts to dApp

Now you will have a user interface application (frontend application) and a blockchain (smart contract). Now you’ll need your frontend to interact with the blockchain. The two most popular for this purpose are, web3.js and ether.js.

Web3.js is a collection of libraries that allow you to connect with a local or remote Ethereum node using HTTP, Websockets, & other communication protocols directly from your JavaScript Based front-end. Ethers.js is a lightweight  JavaScript library used.to connect the JavaScript front-end with Smart Contacts as an alternative to Web3.js.

Also Read: Angular Developer Roadmap 2024

Learning the Role Of Blockchain Developer

The main role of a blockchain developer is to build applications by using expertise and knowledge in areas such as smart contracts design/development, API, design/development, security, cryptography, data analysis, UI/UX, blockchain analysis, project management, blockchain architecture design, and more

To start, you can become a  junior blockchain analyst, developer, senior developer, or team leader. and so on. The salary package of blockchain developers is higher compared with other developers. Innovation and lesser expertise are the main reasons for it.

⭐Skills Needed to Become a Blockchain Developer

If you have the knowledge of software development and you understand the core processes to develop a decentralized system, you can become a blockchain developer. 

Some of the main skills to become a blockchain developer are:

  • Cryptography: hashing algorithms, wallets, keys, digital signatures
  • Programming Languages: Solidity, C, C++, Rust, Go, Javascript
  • Web Development: Javascript, HTML, CSS, Web Frameworks, and Libraries (Web3js, React, Angular, Vue, …)
  • IDEs: Remix, Visual Studio, Eclipse
  • Source Code Tracking: git, GitHub/GitLab
  • Data Structures: graphs, hash trees, heaps, stacks, Patricia and Merkle trees
  • Smart Contracts: design, develop, test, deploy
  • Testing Tools: Metamask, Ganache, Truffle

Keeping the above keyset in mind, developers can start taking professional courses to master all the above–mentioned technologies.

Also Read – Java vs PHP vs RoR vs .Net

Top Blockchain Development Tools

Having the right tools for the job is half the battle, the other half is mastering how to use them. So, when you are on your way to becoming a blockchain developer, make a learning list of things that are mentioned here ;

IDE (Integrated Development Environment)

For smart contracts when starting https://remix.ethereum.org  has everything you need in one place. You can use it as an online text editor, compile and debug contracts and even migrate code and execute smart contract functions via injected web3.

Once a blockchain developer starts to take on more complex projects with dependencies and multiple files it’s often worth moving to an offline locally hosted solution. There are two strong options here: Hardhat and Truffle.

Truffle was the original node js application that has been used for many years to compile and migrate Solidity code to the blockchain. Hardhat is newer and has some design improvements and feature benefits. Which you choose is a personal decision and both do the same job in only very subtly different ways.

Text Editor

Once you have Truffle Suite or Hardhat installed, the text editor like VS Code from Microsoft. Will help you do simpler coding.

Browser & Wallet

You’ll also need a web browser and a digital wallet to hold funds and pay transaction fees. Google’s Chrome browser and Metamask again are obvious choices. Metamask can be configured to work with any EVM compatible blockchain by adding networks. For Solana development, there is the excellent Phantom App.

Terminal

A terminal is like an old-school MS-DOS prompt where you can run things from a command line. 95% of blockchain stuff can be run on Windows, Mac, or Linux. If you are a windows user then you can use the Powershell terminal, just hit the windows key and type PowerShell to launch a terminal. Occasionally node software can only be run on Linux or via docker which will require either a cloud instance or a VM like WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux). However, the developers prefer to use Windows and Linux via WSL.

Access Point

An access point provides an API to interact with to send transactions to a decentralized network. So the web3 javascript code will connect to an access point, sometimes called an RPC provider and that will relay messages to the rest of the nodes that form a peer-to-peer blockchain network.

Free Web Resources To Learn Blockchain Development 2024

Here are some excellent resources to help learn Solidity and Web3 development

Crypto Zombies –This is a gamified tutorial focused on smart contract development. It includes aspects of NFTs, Web3, and gas optimization.

Crypto Zombies Developer Game 

Capture The Ether– It is quite old now but provides an excellent primer on smart contract security. You can polish your solidity and other skills while facing each challenge of learning blockchain technology.

Read The Docs

Ethereum has great documentation and going through the online tutorials available on the official website is of great use.

YouTube Channels

YouTube provides updated information that is important to know if you like to grow in the field of blockchain. Some of the references that you can follow are dApp university, Eat The Blocks, Eth Global, and Alysia Tech.

Solana Development

Can visit the given link for learning the Solana development- https://solana.com/developers 

Also, there’s SolHack which provides tutorials broken down into manageable bite-sized modules with an active community.

Hackathons

Hackathons help you learn more while you communicate with the dev community. It can also be a good place to meet VCs and investors if you are looking to raise capital.

Open Source Projects

A great resource for new and experienced developers is the open-source nature of decentralized finance. The vast majority of projects make their code openly available to learn from, fork, and play with.

A good starting point is Open Zeppelin’s libraries of token interfaces and helper modules. https://github.com/OpenZeppelin/openzeppelin-contracts/tree/master/contracts

These provide a good example of what quality Solidity code looks like, what is possible, and how to do particular things.

Also Read:  Your Complete Guide to Become A Professional Frontend Developer in 2024

Blockchain Development Jobs and Salary – 2024

The blockchain developer’s job is divided into two main categories:

  • Core blockchain developers design the architecture and security of a blockchain system
  • Blockchain software developers use the core web foundation and architecture built by the core developer to create decentralized applications (dapps) and web applications, as well as smart contracts

Depending on the job category, the salaries of the developers are decided. It will not be fair enough to describe the net figure over here but you can be sure to get an attractive salary. All you need is to develop core skills

Some sites to find blockchain jobs:

To get help in your job search as a blockchain developer, go through the link – https://www.udacity.com/blog/2021/02/top-blockchain-developer-jobs-and-how-to-get-one.html

Become The Part Of Blockchain Developer Community

The blockchain developer community is a welcoming bunch of geeks, libertarians, and businessmen. Community events are normally good fun, informative, and great for getting a feel for where the industry is and where it might be heading.

Get involved in conferences, meetups, hackathons, and local communities.

Forward Path To Become A Blockchain Developer

The first and last step towards setting a roadmap for a blockchain developer is to keep learning. You can develop the skills and can take up the projects online.

As a developer, you must remember that technology changes rapidly, and new advances come out every day. You’ll constantly learn something new by diving in and following the dev community.

Initially, you can start your blockchain developer journey by taking up online courses. Later on, to strengthen your curriculum vitae, you can do the blockchain certification course.

Also, you can connect with the tech companies like Red Blink Technology to gather more information on the latest updates and new advancements in technology! 

FAQs – Blockchain Developer RoadMap 2024

1. How do you start your career as a Blockchain Developer in 2024?

Those who have a problem-solving approach and are ready to work in the tech domain can opt to become Blockchain developers. 

However, there are two kinds of people entering this field, 

1) Experienced Developers who want to explore new opportunities and looking to boost their careers.

2) Beginner Developers, those who are looking for a stable and passionate career in blockchain technology. 

Here are some steps that will help in both cases to start  your journey to become a blockchain developer:

  • Learn about  Blockchain and its future in the cryptocurrency and other big applications
  • Learn about Blockchain Developer’s role, their salary, and the top 5 blockchain organizations
  • Understanding Different Programming Languages used to develop blockchain applications
  • Take Blockchain Developer Courses

2. What Does a Blockchain Developer Do?

The duties of a blockchain developer are difficult to put in boundaries: However, the following roles are assigned to a blockchain developer:

  • Design the Blockchain protocols
  • Design the network architecture that can be used for the centralizing or decentralizing the data
  • Backend development according to the Blockchain protocols
  • Developing front-end designs according to client requirements
  • Developing and monitoring any smart contracts

Also Read: Become Java Developer in 2024 – A Roadmap 

ALSO READ  How To Hire the Best AI / ML Consultants or an Engineer in 2024

3. Which language is best for blockchain?

Blockchains are inherently built on top of a programming language. The most popular languages used to build blockchains are C++ and Python. However, there are many other languages that can be used to build a blockchain including JavaScript, Java, Go, Ruby and more.

As the latest trend, Solidity is used for doing the smart contracts programming. In fact, it is easy to code with the support of inbuilt libraries available in Solidity.

4. How do I master a blockchain development?

Making a career in the tech domain is not easy. It takes time and effort to learn and master the technology. Since the blockchain industry is still in the development stage, it is easy to become a blockchain developer. The best blockchain organizations hire the fresh talent, train them and help them do a certification course.

So, if you are seeking a career in this field, approach the companies like Red Blink Technology which can guide you further! You need an education in the field, get relevant experience, build a portfolio, and build a blockchain network before you can begin to apply for blockchain jobs. We will help you do this!