The rise in the demand for software engineers with blockchain experience and skill shortage in the market has led to them being paid on par with AI experts.
Massive Growth in Demand for Blockchain Skills
Despite the slump in the cryptocurrency market, the need for blockchain engineers has surged. According to Hired, a San Francisco based tech recruitment firm, the requirement for software engineers with blockchain background has gone up by a whopping 400% since December.
Blockchain engineers command salaries in the range of $150,000 to $175,000, which brings them on par with engineers specializing in Artificial Intelligence. The findings were reported in an article published by CNBC based on data provided by Hired.
According to the recruitment firm, software engineers on an average make around $135,000. The company claims to have used data collated from its own service to calculate these numbers. The firm had in December added blockchain as a sub-role to its service.
Tech Giants Also Hiring Blockchain Engineers
As per the article tech giants like Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, and IBM are also looking to hire blockchain experts. These companies are among those that have posted job vacancies for the niche skill.
“There’s a ton of demand for blockchain,” said Mehul Patel, CEO of Hired, adding, “Software engineers are in very short supply, but this is even more acute, and that’s why salaries are even higher.”
“When my title became ‘principal blockchain engineer,’ it became relentless,” said Dustin Welden, who was hired earlier this year by Seattle-based Globys.
He further added, “I get interview requests every day on LinkedIn now.”
Growth in the Blockchain Domain Since Last Year
How the start-up eco-system has grown since last year can be estimated by the fact that in the first six months of this year $15 Billion were raised in ICO funding compared to $4.1 Billion in the whole of 2017.
Many of these start-ups have been set-up by functional experts with little or no technical skills. To build their products or services, they need software engineers with blockchain background and experience.
Blockchain engineers code in one of the programming languages such as Java, JavaScript, C++, Go, Solidity and Python. Besides, it is desirable for them to have skills in networking, database design, and cryptography.
Patel concluded:
There’s a mindset here of taking a long-term view of planning. If you’re going to build blockchain technology, you have to get that talent.
With growing demand for blockchain engineers and the dearth of skills in the market, rising salaries are expected. Aspirant looking to get into the industry should equip themselves with the skills mentioned above.
Why do you think the tech giants like Amazon, Facebook, and Microsoft are hiring blockchain experts? Let us know in the comments below.
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