Want to Get Into Blockchain Development? Here’s How, According to Flatiron School

In 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto founded Bitcoin, which enabled users to digitally transact with each other without the need to rely on a single, centralized third party such as a bank or government. The founding of Bitcoin was the start of a new era in fintech.

Blockchain is the technology that powers Bitcoin. For those still trying to fully understand blockchain, it’s a decentralized digital ledger that stores data and records transactions within a network of participants.

Since it’s decentralized, no single authority controls what is written on a shared ledger. This makes blockchain technology unique. Instead of central authority monitoring transactions, identical copies of a blockchain are stored on different computers across an extensive network.

Since blockchain technology emerged, Bitcoin, NFTs, crypto, and Ethereum have become popular buzzwords and have made their way into everyday language. While blockchain applications (apps that use blockchain technology) have had their ups and downs over the past 10 years, blockchain technology will likely be a significant part of the future. Voting, the transfer of assets, and banking, for instance, are slated to move toward embracing blockchain technology.

For this reason, it’s not surprising that the demand for blockchain skills is growing. And there’s a quick way to learn these skills with tech bootcamp, Flatiron School.

How to Start a Blockchain Development Career: A Flatiron School Guide

In this guide, Flatiron School career coach Dyana King shares how you can start a career in blockchain development in four steps.

Step 1. Determine if a blockchain career is right for you.

Since blockchain development is a relatively new field, it can be challenging to assess whether a career in the field is right for you. According to King, a Flatiron School education offers guidance in this area.

The school does not just teach you technical skills. It also guides you through an internal learning process to help you realize whether a blockchain career is the right fit for you and what type of company you should work for.

At the time of writing, Flatiron School offers immersive training in four main fields, each leading to multiple roles in tech like blockchain development:

• Software Engineering
• Data Science
• Cybersecurity
• Product Design

Step 2. Build solid programming skills.

Any junior blockchain developer must be proficient in at least one programming language. While Flatiron School doesn’t offer a specialized course in blockchain development, its Software Engineering program instills strong programming foundations so you can start exploring various roles in blockchain and related fields.

The curriculum covers front end and backend technologies in four phases, each of which culminates in a group project designed to provide real-world experience. Depending on your availability or capacity, you can also choose between the full-time or part-time program.

Step 3. Supplement your training with self-learning.

For those interested in pursuing a career in blockchain development, King’s advice is to learn as much as possible on their own, even when there is just a spark of interest.

“There’s a sea of information out there,” King says. “There are a ton of pundits and opinions. So stick less to the opinion stuff and more to the facts [about] how blockchain works, and then start building your understanding of other things that get traded on blockchain.”

She also shares that it’s vital to use career pages to reference the skills you’ll need as an aspiring blockchain developer. King advises that interested developers should become familiar with fintech and blockchain players and start their research based on this.

“What kinds of things do you see on job descriptions for software engineers? How much do you understand? Maybe you wouldn’t be able to execute some of those things. But if you can read it and say, ‘Okay, I know what that is,’ that’s a good start. You can get a sense of what sorts of skills and aptitudes are going to be asked of you in fintech or blockchain-type companies,” King continues.

For example, a current opening on LinkedIn listed the following qualifications required for a blockchain developer:

• Proficiency in programming languages like C++, Java, JavaScript, and C#
• Experience in working with codebases
• Hands-on experience on open source projects
• Standard algorithms and data structures knowledge
• Basic understanding of cryptography

Step 4. Land your first blockchain developer job.

To land your first blockchain developer job, King says that your learning process shouldn’t stop when you graduate from the bootcamp. “You’re not going to come out of Flatiron School or any bootcamp 100 percent ready for a fintech or blockchain job,” King shares.

“This is why I say you should go out and learn what’s on the job descriptions, the kinds of companies you want to work in, and the kind of skills being asked. Then, acquire skills by doing projects and ensure your Github is active.”

“Get some data structures and algorithms expertise under your belt that you can demonstrate because you’ll likely encounter them in interviews and technical skills,” she adds.

Once you’ve built up the skills you learned from Flatiron School with further experience, you’ll be on your way to launching a career as a blockchain developer.

Enter Blockchain’s Booming Job Market

Despite the ups and downs that Bitcoin and blockchain have experienced in the last five years, it remains an exciting and lucrative industry. As a result, many opportunities await those genuinely interested in learning more about the field and willing to invest the time and effort into becoming adept in the industry.

Whether it’s cryptocurrency, NFTs, or a new blockchain-powered innovation that hasn’t even been explored, the technology’s potential is endless. And a Flatiron School education can help you gain the solid programming skills required to start your career in blockchain. If this sounds interesting to you, apply to Flatiron School today.