If we have to talk about a technology that is poised to make some remarkable development in the times to come, then Blockchain is the one. The technology that was once an underpinning for Bitcoin exchange has now become a part of mainstream technology. Amongst the number of use cases spread across different business verticals for myriads of business operations, Blockchain also hosts opportunities for those who are willing to make a career in this field. Blockchain development is often eyed as a popular career choice for many who wish to grow and excel in the IT segment.
Why Blockchain development is a popular career choice?
LinkedIn shared that Blockchain was one of the topmost skills in 2019, and it will continue to be the same in the times to come. Despite being in great demand, the number of blockchain professionals is not enough to match the demand by the industry. Hence there is a dire need for trained Blockchain professionals who have expertise and skill in leveraging this blockchain technology on the forefront.
One of the primary reasons for the growing demand for blockchain development is that this technology is in great demand across the different industrial segments. Blockchain is one of the most-demanded skill in the UK, USA, France, Germany, and Australia. Companies like Oracle, Deloitte, and others are hiring Blockchain professionals.
Here are some of the industries which are actively hiring Blockchain professionals:
- Industries- All the business segments ranging from accountancy firms, oil and gas, electricity, banks, insurance and retailers are actively hiring Blockchain professionals.
- Start-ups – Various startups are working towards creating Blockchain-based applications for the end-user.
- Tech firms – As most of the tech companies need to stay abreast with new technologies to make the system work seamlessly, they need the right workforce who can guarantee the same. Blockchain is triggering the tech companies to make a shift to a decentralized system for which they need the assistance of skilled Blockchain professionals.
- Governments – Many governments are also hiring Blockchain experts to make their system more transparent and seamless.
To conclude, we can say that almost all the business segments is showing inclination for hiring Blockchain professionals.
Blockchain development process and what you need to know?
As per the report by CB Insights, big names like Walmart and Pfizer are creating Blockchain pilot projects for tracking medicine and food safety. If you are a Blockchain developer or are planning to become one, you need to know about the Blockchain development process and what are the key components of the same.
The basic steps of Blockchain development are:
- Goal identification
- Identifying the Blockchain platform
- Ideation of Blockchain
- Proof of concept
Let’s elaborate on this process in detail:
- Goal identification– Before delving deeper into the Blockchain development process, it becomes paramount that you must know what the use case of this application is, and how Blockchain is going to help you in this. It is also going to help you choose the right Blockchain platform and further aid in coding and developing the algorithm.
- Identifying the Blockchain platform– Once you have collected all the information about the project and what is the end result you are expecting, the next move is to choose the right Blockchain platform. Some of the popular decentralized platforms that you can consider are:
- Ethereum:- the first and most popular choice is Ethereum. It is a decentralized open-source platform. It is used for developing smart contracts. It makes use of the proof-of-work algorithm, Ethash. It requires more memory and IASICs- specialized mining chips.
If you are looking for developing a public application with smart contracts, then you must consider Ethereum.
All the smart contracts are written in Solidity programming language.
-
- Hyperledger Fabric: The next popular choice which offers an enterprise-level solution is Hyperledger Fabric. It is a DLT on permissioned network. All the participants of this network are authorized and known.
It contains pluggable architecture components. It supports smart contract, “Chaincode”. It can be written in any of the programming languages. If you aim to build an enterprise application, then you must choose Hyperledger Fabric.
-
- Hyperledger Sawtooth: It is also used for building applications on the permissioned blockchain network. It runs on Proof of Elapsed Time consensus mechanism.
If you wish to develop smart contracts on Hyperledger Sawtooth, then you have to use programming languages Go, Python, Javascript, and Rust.
From the above description, we can conclude that programming language forms the core of Blockchain development. Hence, you must know about the different programming languages if you wish to become a Blockchain developer. Once you have decided the Blockchain platform, you must move to the next step, and that is ideation.
- Blockchain Ideation- Here you need to evaluate, and formulate the different use cases of Blockchain experimentation.
You need to prepare a layout of the products and also decide when you are going to release alpha, beta and ready-to-launch version. Here you also need to decide the front-end programming language and servers of your application. Once you are through with this step, your next move is to prepare proof-of-concept.
- Developing a proof-of-concept- This stage involves two important steps, the first is to develop a theoretical build-up, and the second is the prototype. In the theoretical build-up, you need to have all the details of the project. And in the prototype, you have the improvised design and architecture of network once you have shared the theoretical build-up. Once the stakeholder approves of this, you can start working on the designing of the visual part of the application.
This was all about the basic steps of Blockchain development. However, a lot needs to be done on this to ensure that you have a seamless running system on the forefront. A lot of effort goes in designing the basic architecture of Blockchain; for this, you need to be adept with Blockchain concepts. Hence a certification course in this field is a must.
Concluding thoughts
Blockchain is going to be the future of technology, and there is going to be a growing demand for skills in the same field. If you too want to be a part of this growing technology, there is no better time than starting today.