This article tells you how blockchain developers work.
Original title: " Blockchain Job Tier List "
Written by: Jeffrey Scholz
Compile: Sibyl
Guide:
Many developers are pouring into the web3 and encryption field, entering a new field from a traditional development background, learning or job hunting, it is inevitable that they are a little confused. This article provides developers with an overview of the level of developer positions, and puts forward pertinent suggestions for learning paths.
Enjoy ↓
All industries have a hierarchical list or implied ranking. It's often self-evident, but it's a real thing, and it's time to tell you how to get a job as a blockchain or smart contract engineer.
At RareSkills, we get a lot of questions about how to get a blockchain job. But this question assumes that all web3 engineering jobs are created equal. not like this.
Some engineers were surprised when we said "you can already get a job in web3", but then we said, "this may not be the job you want". Let's see.
Clarification 1: Working for a web3 company does not mean you do blockchain engineering
At this level, we are specifically talking about engineering work that really works on the blockchain, specifically smart contract development, smart contract auditing, and blockchain protocol development.
You can get a (nice!) job in the blockchain space by working on tooling, front-end web applications, data science, and back-end infrastructure with relatively little knowledge of smart contracts and consensus algorithms.
However, when most engineers say "get a job in the web3 space", they mean working on "unique jobs", specifically blockchain itself, smart contracts, and security auditing. These are specialized and new skills not used elsewhere.
Clarification 2: Innovators and Derivatives
In order to understand hierarchical lists, you must understand the concepts of innovators and derivatives.
Every industry has some innovators and some spin-off projects. This is not to praise "innovators" and belittle "derivatives". This dichotomy will always arise in a healthy market because no one company can please every potential customer. Let's look at some examples.
- Ethereum: Innovator. Fantom: Derivatives .
- Uniswap: Innovator. Sushiswap: Derivatives .
- OpenSea: an innovator. LooksRare: Derivatives .
This happens in every industry. Machine learning, SaaS, food delivery, coupon apps, and more. There is absolutely nothing wrong with copying a market leader. This is good business practice and gives customers more choice. It also puts market leaders under pressure to innovate constantly to stay ahead. But you should be aware that finding a job at an innovator company is much harder than finding a job at a spin-off company. But that doesn't mean it's easy to find a blockchain job at a spinoff, these are just relative comparisons!
Clarification 3: Legitimate and questionable items
Web3 has more projects and companies that want to collect as much money as possible while doing as little as possible. These people are at a lower level than derivatives. They are also known as money grabbers. As you might expect, it's easier to find a job as a smart contract engineer on a problematic project than it is at a company that genuinely wants to add value to its customers. Just to clarify, a spinoff project can be legal and hard to get a job. But a problematic project is always not very competitive.
The "three, six, nine, etc" of blockchain work
Obviously this article is for software developers. What is said here does not necessarily apply to other verticals of web3.
Without further ado, let's share the tier list! In honor of us gamers, S (super tier) is the highest tier.
S class
- Senior protocol engineer for Ethereum, Solana, or a full-fledged, fundamentally innovative blockchain.
- Architect of tokenomics and protocol design for innovative DeFi applications from the ground up.
- Lead Auditor for Trail of Bits, OpenZeppelin, Consensys, and more.
Grade A
- Lead protocol engineer on an EVM derived blockchain.
- Smart contract engineer (not lead) in a top DeFi protocol.
- Lead auditor at a derivative but legal audit firm.
- Auditor (non-lead) for a leading audit firm.
B floor
- Junior Protocol Engineer for Derivative Blockchain
- Smart contract engineer on a derivative (but legal) DeFi protocol.
- Auditor (non-lead) at a derivatives audit firm.
- Junior auditor of a well-known audit firm.
C layer
- Build a token ecosystem for small but legitimate projects
- DeFi engineer (non-lead) for a spin-off protocol.
- Lead DeFi engineer on problematic DeFi protocols. Copy and paste a DeFi protocol onto a less popular EVM-compatible blockchain with minor modifications.
- A smart contract auditor for a questionable security firm.
D layer
- Small projects for freelancers NFT and basic ERC20 tokens. Usually short-term jobs. Items are of reasonable engineering quality.
- This level of smart contract auditing is either a joke or a hoax.
F layer
- Any job accepting a developer who only has an online certificate from the Developer Education website. Produce poorly written smart contracts. Know nothing about security issues.
How your web2 experience affects your tier
Web3 engineering is not a shortcut, it is not a shortcut for you to escape learning those seemingly boring or theoretical things in web2.
Reputable blockchain companies want to see that you know how to write production-level code, whether it's solidity, rust, vyper, or any programming language. They want to see that you can reason out what's going on behind the scenes and think through a lot of things that aren't obvious. They want to see that you know how to approach a problem several ways and can take into account the relative trade-offs of the solutions.
These skills are not unique to web3, they are developed in web2.
The longer you work as a traditional software engineer (assuming you're always studying and working, not coasting and working), the higher levels you can strive for.
Areas of your past experience also matter.
If you've been working in some subfield of cryptography, distributed systems, systems programming, or network security, it's going to be a lot more than working in traditional full-stack applications. If you are really good in the first four areas above, you may go directly to the B tier with minimal blockchain training and be promoted to the A tier within a year.
To get into Tier A, you need at least (and this is very optimistic) two years of intense relevant experience to qualify, plus enough web2 experience to prove you're a qualified programmer. It is not enough to use Solidity programming for two years, but to challenge new topics in the ecosystem every week until you can become an expert in many topics in the blockchain. In the past two years, I assumed that I learned faster than the average person, worked harder than the average person, and had a dual role of passion and talent. For most people, it will take longer.
It might sound comical to expect people to have four years of experience in such a new field, but when an A-level job posting asks for it, they usually mean it.
RareSkills hasn't been around for a year yet. As a result, we are proud to say that our students receive B-level offers and sometimes even A-level offers. This is a significant achievement for a five-month-old company. We will continue to develop our education offerings until RareSkills offers the most direct pathway to A-level jobs.
Is this so-called grade important?
unimportant.
It only tells you how difficult it is to get the job.
The only thing that matters is what is relevant to your ultimate career goals.
You don't have to wait for a company to accept you as an employee if you're particularly interested in working on a job that interests you. You can start contributing to open source tomorrow (hint: start with documentation).
If money is the most important thing, yes there is a correlation between job level and income, but it's not absolute.
If you're looking for remote flexibility that will give you the freedom to travel around the world, targeting a top company might not be the best idea, as the environment will be more competitive.
Why discuss this topic?
It's worth reiterating. If your goal is to "find a job in the blockchain field", you need to be clear in your mind "what kind of job and what company". The hierarchy of the job role will tell a lot about what preparation you need to do to get the job.
I hope this is a useful tool for you to filter out people who claim they can "get you a job in the web3 space". At that time, you have to ask more, what level of work is it?
