Blockchain Jobs
- by Samuel Santos
- 6 posts
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In recent months, an increasing number of engineers and developers announced that they are leaving established Silicon Valley tech companies in search for new opportunities in the world of blockchain and crypto.
Firms like Facebook, Apple, Google, Netflix, and Amazon are all viewed as target companies for most engineers. However, even these giants are rapidly losing their best developers to the growing blockchain industry.Engineers’ Fascination with Blockchain Technology
A lot of these technicians, such as Facebook’s former engineer Maximilian Wang, or Qi Zhou, who worked at both, Facebook and Google, have left these firms to pursue the blockchain. They were among those who discovered blockchain technology relatively early, meaning prior to the explosion of cryptocurrency in 2017.
Ever since then, they were fascinated by it, and they quickly became investors into crypto.
Despite the fact that this was only a little over a year ago, blockchain and cryptocurrency were still far from being as well-known as they are today.
Because of that, even the most optimistic investors had doubts, but also strong faith in the new tech. After the crypto craze kicked off, numerous investors such as Preethi Kasireddy decided to leave their former positions and try their luck in the blockchain world.
While this was undoubtedly a big risk to take, they believed that it was worth taking. The blockchain world greeted them with open arms. Not only are engineers coming from big companies highly skilled and sought after in the crypto and blockchain industries, but their background also brings new credibility to these projects.
It is known how difficult it can be to get a good position in firms like Google, Facebook, or Amazon. And when someone from those position leaves for a specific blockchain project, that is a big nod to this project’s quality and potential.
Furthermore, a lot of engineers in these companies are young people, in their late 20’s or early 30’s, which allows them to quickly understand and accept new concepts.Why Crypto and Blockchain Won’t Work Within Large Firms
A lot of these engineers are not leaving tech firms for blockchain and crypto in their desire to earn better. Instead, they are leaving simply due to their belief in this technology, and its potential to take over traditional methods at some point in the future.
They wish to help this technology reach that point. However, they cannot hope to work on the blockchain within the large companies.
Some firms like Facebook have developed an interest in the blockchain, and have even launched teams that will research this technology.
However, due to the fact that Facebook is a large, well-established company, it has far more restrictions than startups that are free to shape themselves however they like. Another large issue comes from ICOs. If Facebook were to launch an ICO, this would be a very sensitive project.
It would have to be responsible to the shareholders, it would need good reasons for the move, and it would have to find a way to implement digital coins into its existing business model.
These difficulties will likely prevent large firms from reaching out to blockchain and crypto in the near future. However, engineers and developers still believe that this technology is the future, and they are willing to risk their careers at the largest tech companies in order to help that future arrive sooner.-
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Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst Engineers leaving SV for blockchain jobs is a strong signal of change. SV employees are among those with more job´s satisfactions and they historically don't like to change outside of it. Engineers also don't change works for better money but for better challenges when a new and promising technology arrives, in this case blockchain.- 10 1 vote
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Recommended: Blockchain developer salaries now command as much as $175K | Comput... (computerworld.com)The demand for blockchain engineers or software developers has continued to skyrocket over the past year and salaries for those positions are growing in lockstep.
The median salary for a blockchain developer is now $127,000, with experienced individuals commanding upwards of $172,000 when they move to new organizations, according to Janco Associates, a management consulting firm that conducts regular salary surveys.
[ Read about the 2018 Best Places to Work in IT ]
"ERP and Blockchain jobs are in great demand. Individuals can look forward to salaries continuing to increase," Janco CEO Victor Janulaitis said via email.
Janco Associates
Hired, a job recruitment firm, placed the salary for blockchain engineers even higher than Janco, saying they can command between $150,000 and $175,000 a year; those jobs are now on par with developers of artificial intelligence (AI).
By comparison, software engineers earn an average of $137,000, according to Hired CEO Mehul Patel.
"Since launching blockchain as an expertise on our platform in late 2017, we have witnessed demand for blockchain engineers increase 400%," Patel said via email.
"Interestingly, blockchain engineer has not solidified itself as a standalone job title quite yet; instead, blockchain is increasingly being included as an area of expertise for back-end, solutions architects and machine-learning engineers.
"Blockchain, Patel said, is poised to transform everything from how people verify their identities to how money is transferred, and so is expected to have longevity as a career option.
[ Looking to upgrade your career in tech? This comprehensive online course teaches you how. ]
"Combine its immense potential with the fact that it’s a new and growing field, and I can see the demand for these roles remaining high for the foreseeable future," Patel said.
A recent survey by HIred found IT professionals are increasingly looking for a position that is challenging — with 64% indicating they’d leave their job if another one offered new challenges and problems to solve. Career positions in AI/machine learning, devops and blockchain will continue to be on the cutting edge of technology, and a priority for hiring needs, Patel said.
For those hiring and looking to provide competitive offers to candidates with blockchain or other in-demand skill sets, the option to work remotely is a good incentive.
"In fact, we conducted a recent survey that found that over half of tech talent are interested in working 100% remotely," Patel said.
"Offering remote work to fill the demand for blockchain and AI engineers might meet the talent demand for these future-focused companies.
"Over the past 12 months, total job openings for blockchain skills have grown to 12,006, according to job data analytics firm Burning Glass Technologies. That represents a growth rate of 316% over that time frame. In June, Burning Glass reported 5,743 blockchain developer jobs.
The median advertised salary for Software Developers requiring blockchain is $125,000 to $150,000, according to Burning Glass.
Freelance job site, Upwork, said demand for blockchain-based positions has increased on average 96% quarter-to-quarter in terms of job postings; it sees blockchain development as the hottest skill in the freelance job market today.
Skills gap translates into higher pay
People with experience using specific blockchain iterations such as Solidity and Hyperledger Composer are in even higher demand - and that demand is increasing steadily, said Eric Piscini, CEO of Citizens Reserve and formerly a principal in the technology and banking practices at Deloitte Consulting LLP.
Janco Associates
"This is the number one thing I have in mind when I wake up in the morning: 'Where will I find more engineers to join the team,'" he said in an earlier interview with Computerworld.In addition to postings at established companies such as Deloitte, 2,977 blockchain startups have posted 2,043 jobs, according to AngelList, a website for investors and job-seekers looking for work at startups.
Even as companies are posting a plethora of blockchain jobs, there is a dearth of talent to fill them.
According to Upwork's latest figures (posted in June), 53% of hiring managers surveyed cite access to skills as their biggest hiring challenge, and the majority (59%) are already utilizing flexible talent.
The top blockchain jobs available today include entry-level and internship positions; blockchain engineers; blockchain project managers; and blockchain developers. The best career opportunities are now in financial services, government agencies and at tech companies; all are seeking ways blockchain can create new efficiencies.
Other blockchain positions include quality engineers and legal consultants or attorneys, and blockchain web designers. Large organizations are also planning to beef up their middle management as they focus on Big Data, blockchain and smartphone and tablet connectivity, according to Janco.
Where to get blockchain skills
Most who choose to add blockchain to their skillset or seek a career as blockchain developers are typically versed in programming languages such as Java or Python, Piscini said. But that's by no means a prerequisite.
"More universities are starting curricula and the natural cycle to graduate enough students will produce good volumes in the next few years," Piscini said. "We collaborate with universities around the world to develop content and hire the best talent.
"Several accredited U.S. universities now offer courses on blockchain, such as MIT, which has offered two courses on cryptocurrency engineering and design, and Stanford University, which has a course called Bitcoin Engineering that teaches developers how to create bitcoin-enabled applications.
There are also specialty schools, such as Mountain View, Calif.-based Blockchain University and London-based education startup B9lab, which launched an online Certified Ethereum Developer Training program in 2016.
"We've been running this and other courses for over two years now and have trained 1,000 people from over 75 countries," said Elias Haase, founder of B9lab.The most successful students in B9lab's courses tend to have sysadmin experience and have worked with Javascript before, Hasse said.
But "with the right amount of focus, we've seen people from different backgrounds do really well."Our youngest student was 14, the oldest 76. So we've seen a pretty broad variety of developers," he said.
Currently, the easiest and fastest way to become proficient is to learn on your own or attend programs organized by blockchain vendors and industry groups, such as Consensys, Blockapps, the Ethereum Foundation and Hyperledger.
Senior Reporter Lucas Mearian covers financial services IT (including blockchain), healthcare IT and enterprise mobile issues (including mobility management, security, hardware and apps).-
Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst Blockchain tech jobs are growing, and their salaries continue to be high, as industries are hiring more and more skilled workers with blockchain skills. This also shows how important is this becoming, as industries are looking for blockchain solutions which are useful and can be placed in the marketplace.
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Suggested: From upskilling to outsourcing: How CTOs can introduce blockchain to ... (information-age.com)Information Age's guide on how to introduce blockchain to your enterprise in the face of the digital skills crisis. Looking at everything, from upskilling schemes and outsourcing to how CTOs can impact change in relation to how universities shape their degrees
With the proliferation of blockchain initiatives comes a unique need for a diverse range of skills, including engineering, app development, cyber security, and decentralised governance, to name just a few. All this makes for a criterion that is hard to meet.
Beyond all the marketing and sales hype, blockchain has managed to establish itself as a realistic disrupter in the tech space, particularly for its potential ability to transform traditional business channels, supply chains and communications.Industry titans like Mastercard, IBM, British Airways and Samsung are just some of the organisations currently spearheading blockchain initiatives, and at the same time, blockchain-based start-ups are increasing at an agile rate.
Between them, what they each hope to get out of their blockchain projects differs significantly. However, whatever their end-goal may be, they will all face similar roadblocks along the way.In this guide, I’m going to talk about some of the ways CTOs can overcome some of these hurdles.
However, instead of focusing on the limitations of the technology itself, I want to focus on one of the less talked about challenges facing CTOs and their utilisation of blockchain: finding the talent to use it.The talent shortage in blockchain
The skills shortage relating to blockchain has become a real pain for IT leaders who desperately want to experiment with it.Of course, the lack of talent is not exclusive to blockchain, CTOs looking to incorporate things like; AI, machine learning or big data, I’m sure, know this only too well.
>See also: Closing the skills gap: Developing the next generation of STEM talent
However, with the proliferation of blockchain initiatives comes a unique need for a diverse range of skills, including engineering, app development, cyber security and decentralised governance, to name just a few. All this makes for a criterion that is hard to meet.
Overall, the estimated global revenue for enterprise blockchain applications is expected to rise to $19.9 billion by 2025 from $2.5 billion last year.
>See also: Key employer challenges for 2018 amid the digital skills crisis
According to a study by Burning Glass Technologies, blockchain-related job postings increased more than 100% between 2016 and 2017.However, the harsh reality is that organisations can’t find the talent they need, this is why CTOs need to think outside the box to make their blockchain projects succeed.
Figure 1 – Blockchain Adoption, Worldwide. Source: Gartner (May 2018)Blockchain-as-a-service
If something is hard to obtain in-house, one logical option is to look for external help.In the last few years, a number of blockchain based consultancies and outsourcing services have popped up.
>See also: Business process as a service can deliver improved performance too
It looks like a booming market, and it’s an option that a lot of organisations are vying for. As such, there is a lot to choose from, with major organisations like Amazon, Oracle and Baidu all offering blockchain services.
For CTOs trying to weigh the pros and cons of each of these providers – and if the wisdom of the crowd means anything – a recent study by the consultancy firm, Juniper Research, may be worth looking at. They surveyed close to 400 company founders, executives, managers and IT leaders, and identified IBM, Microsoft and Accenture as clear leaders in blockchain solutions.
In 2017, the consultancy also found that 60% of tech executives and leaders named IBM as the market leader.
>See also: SaaS, Paas, XaaS, and more: looking behind the acronyms
Of course, these consultancies are all different and depending on your organisation; some may be better suited to your needs.Here is a list of some popular blockchain-as-service (BaaS) providers to have a look at:- Amazon’s Blockchain Templates – AWS Blockchain Templates aims to help organisations and individuals quickly create and deploy blockchain networks on AWS using different blockchain frameworks.
- Oracle Blockchain Cloud Service
- Baidu Blockchain Open Platform Chinese web search giant Baidu’s open platform sets out to provide the most “user-friendly” blockchain service.
Blockchain-related freelance network
Another option is to tap into the freelance market. Although, in this market, there is a lot of demand.Upwork, the freelance jobs site, recently stated that they had more than 1,200 blockchain openings, half of which were technical positions.
>See also: Why we will soon be paying our freelancers in cryptocurrencies
According to their report, the second most desired skill among employers in the third quarter of 2017 was blockchain development. With such demand, it can also be an expensive choice as, naturally, their salaries will be inflated.
>See also: Rise of the IT freelancerAccording to CNBC, the hourly pay rate ranges from $50 to more than $200 in the US. However, high hourly pay rates may be worth it, especially when you take into account how quickly the technology is becoming a valuable part of tech.If you are interested in learning more about how to access the freelance market, I’ve put together a list of some of some popular blockchain-related freelance hiring platforms.- Dream – This is a marketplace for high-end blockchain talent and has already handled thousands of projects collectively worth over $8m.
- Codementor.io
New-collar workers
Given how blockchain is an emerging technology, it is somewhat self-evident why relevant skills are hard to source. However, despite the complexity of blockchain, depending on what an organisation wants from this type of technology, you may not necessarily need people with degrees from the top universities.
Sometimes all that is required is a little bit of training.
>See also: Prioritising skills in the digital age
Jobs of this sort of often referred to as “new-collar careers”. A new-collar worker is an employee who develops the core soft skills required to fulfil a role through means outside of traditional education.
The term was coined by IBM’s CEO, Ginni Rometty, in relation to “middle-skill” occupations in technology, such as cyber security analysts, application developers and cloud computing specialists.
According to Rometty, speaking on CNBC: “For the future, there are many jobs that can be done without a four-year degree. In some of our centres in the United States around a third of our folks don’t have four-year degrees.”
>See also: Should IT recruit attitude rather than skills?
I think this sounds like an interesting option for very evident reasons, in that as the IT industry continues to evolve, it is critical to bring in young and diverse talent.
However, if you are going to open your company to “new-collar workers”, it is vital that you put in place a structure that will help them upskill and give them opportunities to contribute in fields like blockchain.In-house training schemes
Some companies, like IBM, have taken this into account with their blockchain projects, and perhaps their strategies can be an example for all CTOs.IBM, who is recognised as a leading blockchain vendor, have used an in-house training scheme to attract and retain talent.
The company also has an internal blockchain community boasting more than 5,000 active members.
>See also: Breaking down training barriers with technology
An interesting part of this initiative is how it offers certificates, so employees can then display their skills on their resumes or LinkedIn profiles.I think this is an important feature which not only encourages participation by way of offering recognition; it also helps IBM understand the type of skills they have.
>See also: 5 benefits of using webinars to train new employees
According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, UK employers are spending less on training than other major EU economies.
Although this statistic doesn’t relate solely to blockchain, it does point to a basic attitude problem when we think about the skills gap.CTOs should look into how they can upskill their existing staff. This means they should consider educational platforms that can help, and they should remember that education doesn’t end in the classroom.Make blockchain open
While universities across the world create thousands of courses, fustratingly, graduates still struggle to link their degrees to careers. For example, in the UK 11.7% of computer science graduates spend six months unemployed after completing their degrees, despite the huge demand for them. I think this points to a good reason for why CTOs and recruiters need to rethink how they currently engage with educational institutes.
Hope may be on the horizon with the recent launch of the Institute of Coding. With funding from the UK Government’s Higher Education Funding Council for England and elsewhere, the IoC, led by the University of Bath, aims to bring together a consortium of more than 60 universities, national and international corporations, SMEs, industry groups and experts in non-traditional learning professional bodies to bridge the divide.Information Age recently spoke with their director, Dr Rachid Hourizi, who explained how CTO’s can work with them to develop the type of teams they need.
He said: “We are keen to develop new courses, so if you’re a CTO of a company and you just can’t get the kind of educated staff you need, or there are soft skills that are not being developed, we are enthusiastic to hear about how we can help.”
>See also: Interview with Dr Rachid Hourizi, Director of the Institute of CodingIn relation to blockchain, I also spoke with Professor John Domingue, Director of the Knowledge Media Institute at the Open University, who is currently working with IoC to better link blockchain education to the needs of industries.
He said: “With the IoC, we are developing courses that can bridge the demand from the workplace. We will introduce new blockchain courses in an agile and flexible manner, that means having people being able to learn while at work.”
>See also: Open University unveils FutureLearn MOOC platform“With the IoC we are also designing a new accreditation framework in-line with industry, this will be a way of mapping skills in a fine grain manner in key areas of blockchain, and other channels, like AI and cyber security. We then take this framework and we map it so students will have a life-long accredited learning record.
One can then link this record with jobs that may be available.”“Connected to that, some of our partners at the IoC and IBM are developing an automated career coach which we want to help link a students course to a career.”
“We at the Open University have been speaking with Reed and I think it signals to a future where learning will be more linked to the workplace.”-
Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst The 4IR is bringing changes everywhere and this is seen on the FinTech and blockchain sector too. While "diplomas" or "certificates" from institutions which are behind the times are needed yet, new jobs and positions need new ideas from CTOs and HR on how and who hiring, and in which conditions. New skilled young people are running from tradicional works, and tradicional ways. They develop skills out from the tradicional certification network and want more liquid relationships with companies. Learning will be ongoing and linked to work and the digital sphere.
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HireFreeHands Blockchain Freelance Workplace Network ICO Launches July 30 (bitcoinexchangeguide.com)It is the era of decentralization powered by blockchain technology and the digital freelance space is not left out as Hirefreehands is expanding its network and outreach with blockchain technology to support growth, quality and cost-effectiveness.
Hirefreehands says its mission is to improve online freelancing by ensuring clients get value for every dollar spent and freelancers receive pay on a fair basis, employing blockchain technology to decentralize the process.
Already with more than 10,000 active users from 10 countries, Hirefreehands aims to bring and maintain quality within the digital freelancing space while achieving scale that will enable every individual and organization across the globe to participate in the wealth of expanding freelance opportunities.Breakthrough Technology For The Freelance Marketplace
The new initiative employs blockchain’s decentralized platform to enable an emphasis on quality interactions, efficiency, unbiased and decentralized dispute resolution, and enhanced communication.
By decentralizing quality control, Hirefreehands is able to creates greater opportunity for companies and individuals engaged in freelance efforts across the globe.
It uses “proof of skill” to allow freelancers to manage recruitment through a blockchain system as well as “proof of process” to support quality control, project management and dispute resolution.
According to Sunkanmi Ola, Hirefreehands co-founder and CEO, the global freelance market is exploding as more individuals seek to share their skills online and more companies take advantage of this skilled labor, representing a significant challenge and opportunity.
He added that the company’s innovative platform is designed to make freelancing scalable across the globe while still supporting the highest quality in work, communication and fund transfer.How HireFreeHands Works
Hirefreehands uses a Price Regulation Algorithm to automatically determine fair prices for jobs, eliminating the need for negotiation and protecting both clients and freelancers from unfair prices.
The decentralized platform uses a jury system for both skill verification and dispute resolution. Further, the KYC system uses blockchain for identity recognition.
The expected growth in global GDP from online freelance platforms is $2.75 trillion by the year 2025, according to a McKinsey Global Institute Report.
All of this enhanced technology serves to simplify the process of finding a freelancer or performing freelance work, Ola added.-
Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst If there is a space where anyone can use blockchain it will be used. Freelance market is one of them, and this platform promises to use blockchain to do the process between client and freelancers, protecting them and giving fair prices. Again, saving costs, and spreading trust is the benefit. Good idea.
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As head of human resources for a rapidly-expanding company within the blockchain industry, I am constantly faced with a variety of challenges that are unlike any I’ve encountered in my nearly 10 years of experience working in the corporate and financial sectors.
Very early on, I realized that finding top professionals for this exciting, yet uncertain, space was going to require more than just an average hiring rubric, and assembling an efficient and collaborative team was going to require careful due diligence and thoughtful consideration.
I liken it to what’s known as a “Greenfield Site,” where we have a unique opportunity to build out a company from the ground up — complete with candidates from myriad practice areas and varying levels of experience. Instead of marching ahead with a traditional hiring strategy, I first asked myself:
How can you effectively hire for an industry that’s just beginning to formalize its policies, and what job-specific skills do you look for in potential candidates that have never heard of blockchain?
Over the past year, with the help of two top-notch technical recruiters, my team has hired 78 industry professionals, with 40 hired in the past three months. While this is certainly fast-paced growth, it’s not unprecedented. In fact, there has been a 320 percent growth in the number of blockchain jobs offered on popular hiring sites in the past 12 months, with a 52 percent increase in blockchain-related job searches from June to November 2017 alone.
The industry as we know it is changing, and companies are looking for bright, engaged, professionals from an array of different industries and career stages to provide their expertise. The following is a brief overview of my experiences, as well as my take on how other blockchain companies can compile an expert team in the most exciting and innovative field since the dawn of the internet.Finding candidates
This past year has been overwhelmingly referred to as the “golden year of blockchain.” What was once an industry comprised of small-scale startups with largely unstructured teams has since flourished into a global industry with a current market capitalization of $269 billion. This is certainly promising news for the future of blockchain, but for HR professionals it means hiring top talent is surprisingly difficult. And that means it’s difficult to scale.
With rapid fluctuations in the space due to hyper-expansion and regulatory formalization, it’s becoming harder to ensure that prospective candidates have the necessary experience to understand the shifting requirements.In setting substantive recruiting expectations, I recommend starting from a standpoint of company culture and engagement.
Does this candidate fully understand the current climate surrounding the blockchain industry, or, perhaps more importantly, do they understand the mission of the company?
Do they have any relevant experience in the blockchain industry? And, if not, how has their prior experience prepared them to take on this upcoming role? These are some of the first questions I’ll ask in any interview.As the industry begins to gain mainstream momentum, hiring top candidates with blockchain expertise will become less of a rarity.
However, for the time being, finding individuals with a deep-seated understanding of the company’s mission, as well as a demonstrated interest in blockchain and cryptocurrency, is a far more achievable metric. As with any team, there’s certainly a learning curve, and rejecting candidates simply for their lack of experience could result in losing highly-qualified individuals.Building a team
For most HR departments, building out a team is a formulaic process. Managers hire their direct reports with approval from senior executives. This is certainly true for blockchain companies. However, as startups begin to transition into fully-realized companies, new positions become necessary that might not have been pertinent six months ago.
Service providers with soft skills, particularly in the communications, legal, and marketing practice areas, are excellent examples of this. Of course, key skills needed as a startup may no longer be required for the next phase of growth so companies have tough decisions to make. In anticipation of new positions, in new departments, in new regions of the world, HR professionals should set up a precautionary hiring policy that establishes where incoming service providers will fit into the overall company structure.
Similarly, as blockchain companies continue to expand, HR professionals will need to ensure that internal protocols, including onboarding, performance reviews, and training programs, grow to meet the heightened demand. Regardless of size or scale, every incoming person should feel adequately prepared for their given position and understand the requirements expected of them. This cannot be overstated.Fostering a future
Without a crystal ball, it’s impossible to accurately predict what the future will hold for blockchain. The industry is on an unprecedented trajectory, the likes of which even the most optimistic crypto experts could not have anticipated. For HR professionals, this ambiguity can present itself as a daunting and intimidating process.
However, I urge you to think of it more as an opportunity — to use this “Greenfield Site” to find top talent, create a team of experts in their field from around the globe, and foster the next generation of crypto specialists.
At my company, for example, we are working with education and research programs — establishing the Blockchain Technology Laboratory at the University of Edinburgh, establishing an Input Output Cryptocurrency Collaborative Research Chair within the Tokyo Tech School of Computing, and providing the ‘Haskell & Cryptocurrency’ course to students in Athens, Barbados, and soon in Ethiopia.
This lets us take our candidate search directly to the classroom, informing students about the promise of blockchain and inspiring them to solve real-world problems in this space.
The goal of our training courses is to extend the computer science training of participants and introduce them to Haskell, an elegant functional programming language, in the context of the cryptocurrency industry. At the end of each course, students are given the opportunity to apply for positions and continue their professional career in Haskell.
Through education programs like these, we have a unique opportunity to reach an untapped pool of global candidates, as well as to inform and inspire their future relationship with blockchain.
As HR professionals in the most fast-paced industry in the world, it’s our shared duty to find and cultivate collaborative teams, as well as to create an environment conducive to their long-term success. Amid such rapid expansion, it can be easy to lose sight of the qualities that make an effective team member.
However, with a clear vision, careful planning, and an acute attention to detail, not only can we turn once lofty ambitions into a concrete plan of action, but we can find top talent in a variety of industries to help us along the way.
Tamara Haasen is Head of Human Resources at IOHK.
https://venturebeat.com/2018/06/24/hiring-for-the-blockchain-revolution-how-to-create-an-expert-team...
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Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst This is a beautiful article. Doy you want to hire? You want to work in Blockchain? Read this to understand that this new technology needs a whole new understanding process both for the company and for the personnel. What is needed now is a commitment with a vision, a process, and an opportunity to be at the core of a transformational movement. Skills, studies are very important, but more is the clear vision, a conduce environment and adaptability.
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Recommended: Why it is so hard to hire anyone working on blockchain tech | Moder... (modernconsensus.com)
Modern Consensus was on the ground in Berlin for BlockShow, a two-day festival boasting thousands of attendees, each one there to expand their understanding of blockchain technology and meet some A-list crypto-players.Between the public on-stage panels and the private conversations we had with attendees, one theme cropped up consistently:
it’s hard to acquire the talent and human resources necessary to take a large or small company into the new blockchain-enabled future.
We know the song all the crypto-kids sing: blockchain technology isn’t just about powering bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, it’s a “new internet” setting a higher standard for how information moves and is validated around the world.
This stuff isn’t even ten years old yet; this new internet is in its dial-up phase. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t wisened experts out there.
Most of them just happen to be too busy to go to work on someone else’s project.
“It’s difficult to recruit top blockchain talent at the moment because most experts prefer to do their own ICO, or set up a consultancy to better leverage their knowledge and share it with a series of clients,” said Antoine Verdon, founder of Swiss blockchain company Proxeus.
In simplest terms, the blockchain’s existing pros mostly want to work for themselves.
This sentiment is backed up by Marc P. Bernegger, a member of the “blockchain task force” that advises the Swiss economics minister on all things crypto.
“Some of the smartest blockchain people have been in the space for quite a long time and became financially independent from their digital asset holdings,” he said. “They get to do just what they want, and are not forced to work for others because of money.
”This situation is bound to change. As blockchain technology goes more mainstream, there will be an influx of widespread public interest (beyond all-caps “bitcoin” headlines) and savvy workers ready to handle crypto tasks.
“We will hopefully see emergent products that reduce the technical hurdles to harness blockchain, and let employees focus on improving and carrying out business processes,” said Verdon.
His comment can be interpreted as a subtle plug for his company Proxeus, which provides companies with a figurative blockchain toolbox (it’s been called “WordPress for blockchain” in the past), letting people with no technical expertise quickly and easily create their own blockchain applications.
In any event, today’s pool of young computer programmers will likely shift their attention to the blockchain space, bringing all their existing expertise with them as they begin to specialize in this “new normal.
”To any company looking to hire blockchain specialists, Bernegger and Verdon offer the following advice: look for people who have actually built blockchain solutions that solve real problems, then ask them to detail their solution step by step.
“Thanks to tools like GitHub, you have far better opportunity to test the skills and the knowledge of today’s tech people compared to ten years ago, and the talent pool is truly becoming global,” said Bernegger. “I think smart people focusing on blockchain have a very bright future.”
https://modernconsensus.com/cryptocurrencies/blockchain-jobs/
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Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst Smart blockchain developers or programmers know they can do their own blockchain projects partnering with entrepreneurs. But a new wave of young people is eager to get formed. By now, the best option is probably to deal with specialists who are already working on real blockchain solutions to get things done while training new specialists for future projects.