How to learn Blockchain Coding
Blockchain can be used for virtually anything where trust in a central authority may be an issue, such as voting records or land titles. But what’s all this about coding? Why would you want to learn how to code blockchain? Here are four reasons why it can help your career:
- 1) It makes you a more desirable candidate – Hiring managers will love seeing that you have coding skills. Blockchain developers are currently in very high demand and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. According to Blockchain Developer Report, blockchain developer jobs are growing at an average of 3.7 times faster than the rest of the IT sector.
- 2) It’s a fast-growing field – According to Statista, over the next few years, employment opportunity in blockchain will grow by a staggering 23%. And, as mentioned above, developers are especially in demand right now due to the high level of interest in blockchain right now.
- 3) It’s an excellent way to differentiate yourself – Blockchain is still pretty new and can feel like a bit of a buzzword at times. By adding coding skills to your resume, you can show the world you’ve been thinking about it as a field of your own and are willing to go the extra mile.
- 4) It doesn’t require a CS degree – Software development is an essential skill in the modern digital economy, so earning qualifications like a Computer Science degree is not required. This means that even if you don’t have any experience in software development, learning how to code blockchain is still entirely possible.
Contents
- 1 Blockchain Fundamentals
- 2 Blockchain Theory 101
- 3 Ivan on Tech Academy
- 4 Blockchain — Principles and Practices
- 5 Introduction to Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain Technology
- 6 General tips to learn blockchain coding
- 7 What Does a Blockchain Developer Do?
- 8 What Kind of Mindset Do You Need to Become a Blockchain Developer?
- 9 Learning how to work with Ethereum
- 10 Types of Blockchain Development jobs
- 11 Conclusion – what is the best way to learn blockchain coding?
- 12 References
Blockchain Fundamentals
The course Blockchain Fundamentals on Coursera offers a good way to get started with blockchain technology. It’s also offered by Princeton University in its own standalone course, Princeton Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies. After learning the basics of cryptocurrency, you’ll learn how to work with Ethereum, and create your own blockchain application.
Blockchain Theory 101
The course Blockchain Theory 101 on Udemy is another good way to learn the basics of blockchain technology. The first section provides a good overview of what blockchain is and what it can achieve. The second section focuses on cryptocurrency and how cryptocurrencies actually work, and the final section explores how to develop your own cryptocurrency.
The next step after learning the basics of blockchain is learning the language you’ll use to create your own dApps: Solidity (the Ethereum smart contract language). You can learn it in a couple of weeks by taking Princeton’s course on Coursera or Udemy. Then you can apply what you’ve learned to develop a new blockchain application.
If you want to get really involved, start your own project! Make something new and useful; something that won’t just appeal to other crypto enthusiasts – something that anyone would actually use.
You can find the course here: https://www.udemy.com/course/blockchain-theory-101/
Ivan on Tech Academy
The advantages of this course are that it is mostly hands-on, and you can interact with other people who are learning blockchain. There will be links to actual code snippets and assignments so that you can learn from your peers.
The course does have a money back guarantee and the price is starting from 22 dollars per month.
You can find the course here: https://academy.ivanontech.com/
Blockchain — Principles and Practices
The course Blockchain — Principles and Practices on Plurasight is another way to learn the basics of blockchain technology. In this course you’ll learn all the basics of blockchain technology, from what it is to how it works. The first part focuses on understanding both cryptocurrency and how people use cryptocurrencies, the second part explores different ways to use blockchain, and the final part teaches you how to create your own dApp.
You can test the course for 10 days here: https://www.pluralsight.com/courses/blockchain-principles-practices
Introduction to Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain Technology
The course Introduction to Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain Technology on Udemy is another useful guide to getting started with blockchain development. The first section looks more broadly at cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Zcash. The second section focuses more specifically on the Ethereum ecosystem, and the third teaches you how to develop your own application.
Find the course here: https://www.udemy.com/course/introduction-to-cryptocurrencies/
General tips to learn blockchain coding
Learning blockchain technology is all about learning new coding techniques, and finding out how other people have implemented them. When you’re looking at someone else’s project, try to identify how they’ve solved particular problems. Try to write simple programs to test your own ideas. And don’t think too hard about the big picture right away; it can be useful to start with small projects first and build up from there.
Blockchain technology is still a new field, and there’s plenty of room for creativity. Trying out more advanced tools such as Ethereum Studio and Truffle can be useful in choosing the best tools to use to solve a particular problem.
There are also useful community resources on blockchain technology that you can use to learn new techniques, such as the Ethereum Stack Exchange website.
What Does a Blockchain Developer Do?
There are all kinds of different people and business who use blockchain technology for different purposes. Some are involved with the mining process, in which they validate transactions using techniques such as proof-of-work. Others are dedicated to creating new blockchains and tokens, or creating innovative new ways to use existing blockchains.
Overview of tasks:
- 1.Design the Blockchain protocols
- 2. Design the network architecture that can be used for decentralizing the data and applications
- 3. Design the smart contracts and develop the blockchain programming language based on them
- 4. Develop the applications and integrate the distributed ledger technologies in to the existing business processes
- 5. Provide complete services for custom development and implementation of distributed ledger technologies
- 6. Support clients to implement DLT solutions within their environment
- 7. Create better, smarter and more innovative solutions for clients through Blockchain technology.
The most important part of a blockchain developer’s job is to create new applications and decentralized services.
If you want to get started with blockchain development straight away, the Ethereum Stack Exchange can be a good place to begin your search for information about how to use specific features of the language Solidity.
For the full-stack blockchain developer, there are companies like ConsenSys, which specialize in offering multiple services to various different companies and clients, from consulting to development to marketing and more. These companies help clients with everything from designing a token economy for a new blockchain project to building the actual applications that run on top of existing blockchains.
Another option is working for a larger blockchain company such as IBM or Deloitte, where you’ll be supporting one of their existing projects or creating new ones. There are also plenty of smaller startups looking for more people with blockchain coding skills, so you can approach those directly if you decide this is the best direction for your career.
The next step after learning the basics of blockchain is learning how it actually works. That’s where the course Blockchains — A Scalable Technology on Plurasight comes in handy.
What Kind of Mindset Do You Need to Become a Blockchain Developer?
Blockchain developers are often more interested in cryptocurrency than coding. Since the technology is so new, you’ll probably have to follow and analyze news and media articles quite a bit to keep up with the changes that are happening on a regular basis.
This can be a bit of a disadvantage if you really only want to work on blockchain itself as opposed to trying out new ways to make it work for other companies or clients – but at the same time, it’s also an opportunity for you to expand your knowledge and gain perspective as someone who’s actually working with the technology. You can even use this information when building your own blockchain projects.
A lot of the same skills you’ll need to learn as a web developer are necessary for learning how to create decentralized services – it’s a bit trickier than just coding websites, though. You’ll need some ability to communicate complex ideas clearly and be able to manage multiple tasks simultaneously.
If you end up working on developing blockchain-based startups or projects, you’re likely going to be doing a lot of research on the technology and all of its potential applications. Blockchain tech is similar to other disruptive technologies that have started in recent years – especially AI and the Internet itself – in that it can drastically change how businesses work today.
Learning how to work with Ethereum
Ethereum is a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts. It can be used for anything from creating decentralized apps (DApps) to paying for things with cryptocurrency. According to the Ethereum website, it’s the “world computer” that developers can build on and create new things with.
In order to work with Ethereum, you first need to understand blockchain technology. There are a few different kinds of blockchain protocols and each has specific applications – so it’s important to understand how they all work together and what each protocol does for a blockchain network.
Types of Blockchain Development jobs
There are a few different types of blockchain jobs, each having unique responsibilities. Blockchain developers will usually work on one specific blockchain platform, like Ethereum or Bitcoin, but there have been a few cases where individuals with experience working on multiple platforms have been able to find work.
The most common type of blockchain jobs are for engineers and software developers. Software developers are responsible for developing the infrastructure that the platform is built on – this includes writing code that will be used to create apps and programs running on a particular blockchain network, usually in the form of smart contracts.
Engineers are responsible for building out the infrastructure that enables a large number of users to interact with each other in an efficient manner without disrupting the network. They’re experts in computer science and software engineering, building the computers that run the system and the software in which it’s built.
Blockchain technology can be used for multiple things. One of its most common applications is money. And since Ethereum is based on a blockchain platform, it makes sense that you’d mostly see people working as blockchain developers for Ethereum-based companies.
The trend in blockchain development jobs has been to pair these two job types – programming specialists and blockchain specialists – in order to get one person working on both sides of the coin.
Conclusion – what is the best way to learn blockchain coding?
There are many different options available for someone who wants to learn blockchain technology. At this point in time, there aren’t any colleges or universities teaching blockchain-specific courses – although some educational institutions have started teaching more broadly about cryptocurrencies.
If taking courses online isn’t for you, you can always get the relevant books that teach you about blockchain development, which is a good way to start your journey of learning how to develop new and exciting things with this technology.
There are also companies such as ConsenSys and IBM which offer jobs for developers who are looking to work with them on their existing blockchain projects or create new ones of their own.
All in all, blockchain technology is something that’s here to stay. It’s a great way to learn how to program, and provides a lot of opportunities for the right kind of people looking for their next career move. So if you have experience with code and are interested in learning about this new technology, now is the time!
References
- Blockchain courses : https://www.udemy.com/course/introduction-to-cryptocurrencies/
- Blockchain – Principles and Practices : https://www.pluralsight.com/courses/blockchain-principles-practices?couponCode=PLURALSIGHT15
- What Is Blockchain Technology? https://www.investopedia.com/university/blockchain/whatisblockchaintechnology.asp
- Blockchain technology jobs : https://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit-loans/5-blockchain-jobs-to-watch.aspx
- What is ConsenSys? https://consensys.net/?lang=en#whatis#whatisconsensys
- What does a Blockchain Developer Do: https://medium.com/@mblockdotio/what-doestheblockchaindeveloperdoaebceb27dfc4#hx5MpVfNFKMYiKskjqAeNwDc=
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