To work in an emerging field of technology

Blockchain technology has opened up a wide variety of opportunities in different sectors. Here's a look at some of the careers that students can take up in this field

Evolution lays strong testament to the fact that with different times, different skills become more employable. While at one point, manual labour and farmers comprised the majority of the workforce, soon it was replaced by heavy machinery during the time of industrial revolution. The advent of computers further disrupted the employment sector, making another set of skills prerequisite.

In this age of digitisation, blockchain technology is one of the most disruptive career option to emerge. With interest in blockchain technology growing globally, it is not far behind in India, with various opportunities opening up in the government and private sectors. So, what is blockchain technology? In simple terms, blockchain can be understood as a decentralised public ledger that records different transactions.

While the ledger is available to all, nobody owns this ledger. Hence, this makes the ledger immune from external hacks or tampering. Owing to this very feature of digitised recording and security, the applications of blockchain technology are spread across various sectors like banking, real estate and healthcare. As the demand for blockchain technology experts increases, it makes an exciting career choice for many.

Plenty of opportunities

Students well-versed with JavaScript and Go have the right foundation for building applications based on the blockchain technology. Furthermore, a deeper understanding of various business processes and operations will help blockchain developers come up with robust applications that can solve real-world challenges. Here are some of the career choices that students can explore:

1. Developers: Blockchain development is one of the most sought after skills today. Making smart contracts that transform business logic into a chain code is in vogue today. Apart from being familiar with JavaScript and Go, students should also learn the fundamentals of Ethereum and Bitcoin. They should also try building their own decentralised apps and connect with professionals in the field.
2. Architects: Implementing blockchain technology would require blockchain architects. They are people who can build, design and implement the blockchain technology. They also design and build solutions to leverage cross-asset concepts and frameworks.
3. Engineers: Blockchain engineers are responsible for understanding existing crypto platforms, analysing similar algorithms and contribute towards developing various crypto platforms or projects. Engineering graduates with a strong background in C, C++ or Go along with the fundamental knowledge of blockchain are the prime candidates.
4. Consultants: They work with businesses to help identify areas where blockchain technology can offer significant value addition and help implement these changes. After being well-versed with blockchain technology, aspirants can work with leading and emerging businesses, helping them adopt this disruptive technology.
5. Educators: Take the lack of a training module or structured protocol in blockchain education as an opportunity and provide credible education courses for blockchain aspirants, which is the need of the hour.

Easy to learn

Along with blockchain, several other technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computing have come to mainstream prominence. While these fields provide a handsome pay package for the right talent, it does take time for them to be taken seriously and be paid well. Furthermore, venturing into either of these fields would require specialised learning and hence, an equally high investment in the beginning.

However, blockchain aspirants need not necessarily go to a school or get a diploma in this field. The beauty of blockchain development is that the skill can be picked up easily and there is an extensive range of resources available online. Aspirants can easily find courses on bitcoin or crypto-currency on online learning platforms like Coursera and Cryptoversity. With the aid of online resources and the discipline required for self-education, aspirants will be able to build a strong career in blockchain technology.

(The author is chief executive officer and co-founder, Unocoin, Bengaluru)