Job security is an important factor that each of us consider when choosing a career path. We decided to write this blog post as a response to a common question we have received on Facebook, Twitter and via email ([email protected]).

“Is a job in blockchain a secure career choice?”

In the next three weeks we will dedicate a 3-part blog series to the topic of job security in blockchain. We will provide you with an analysis of the benefits and challenges of a career in blockchain, by taking into account the most important factors we all consider once we stand at the gateway of a new career path.

This week, in Part 1 of the series, we will present and unveil the two biggest myths often quoted as a hurdle to a secure career in the blockchain industry.

Blockchain Job Security Myth Number 1:

The complete blockchain industry can implode and vanish in a few days.

We argue that based on the following facts the occurrence of such an event is highly unlikely:

• The number of blockchain jobs has increased by over 630% in the period 2015-2017 (CoinDesk, 2017) and has continued to grow exponentially in the past nine months. The technology has caught the interest of numerous large international banks, established online companies and stock exchanges, which have created thousands of job opportunities in all possible positions. Additionally, there are hundreds of start-ups offering improved and more secure technical solutions to our established infrastructures, growing at a rapid rate and actively looking to hire skilled professionals. Take for example Crypto Careers - on our platform you can find over 700 vacancies in blockchain; one of which could be your next career step. Browse jobs now.

• Investments in blockchain: When talking about blockchain, people generally look at the cryptocurrency market capitalisation through ICOs in order to evaluate the market. To get the full picture though, we should also point our attention to the rapidly growing VC investments in the space, which have exceeded $4 billion in the past nine months alone. (CoinDesk, 2018) This impressive amount of funds raised in only three quarters of a year are a strong indicator of the rapidly increasing interest in the blockchain technology and its high potential for future growth. VC Investment in blockchain Startups Is Up 280% So Far This Year - CoinDesk;

• The constantly growing number of daily transactions for the major cryptocurrencies;

• Growing ICO space. Even after Bitcoin lost 60% and Ethereum more than 75% of its value in 2018, the ICO space continued to grow, exceeding 2017 investments by over 230% by August 2018 (Cryptonomist, 2018);.

• Expected market growth. The revenues generated from blockchain companiesis expected to grow by a multiplicator of 16 in the next 7 years and reach an industry size of over USD8 billion by 2025. (CoinDesk, 2018, Grand View Research, 2018).

The facts above state a loud and clear “NO” to the chance of blockchain and cryptocurrencies disappearing overnight. They rather show us the complete opposite - the chance of blockchain growing faster than any of us expected and that it might even have more applications than we initially thought. Next best thing after the Internet? We think so.

Blockchain Job Security Myth Number 2:

If someone hacks Bitcoin, will this destroy the complete blockchain economy?

Again, from our perspective this is highly unlikely because:

• Hacking Bitcoin? Bitcoin is the longest software security experiment in the world. It offers one of the biggest bounty in the world - if you can hack Bitcoin, there are a cool USD70 billion for you, right there. However, in the past ten years since its conception no one has managed to hack it;

• Technology Strength. Hacking Bitcoin due to a technology or coding error will, of course, cause some instability in the crypto market, but at this stage cryptocurrencies have reached an advanced enough stage to be able to survive after such an event. If you have followed the crypto market in 2017, you remember The Dao hack that shaked Ethereum, for example. Although the solution was criticized by a lot of people in the community and led to the birth of Ethereum Classic as such, Ethereum survived and managed to remain the second-largest cryptocurrency in the market, after Bitcoin.

• Variety of Applications. Cryptocurrencies are not a synonym for blockchain, but rather only one of its applications. As an example, blockchain is used in the financial services sector - as an innovative trade processing and settlement method in asset management, or for risk-free and transparent claim processing in insurance settlements. Wallstreet has been embracing Blockchain for a while now - JPMorgan Chace, Goldman Sachs, Citibank, Bank of America and Nasdaq are constantly advertising new roles with a focus on Blockchain and have multiple announced projects. Blockchain based smart contracts have also found application in the Internet of Things (IoT), voting systems, healthcare, online music, security of cloud solutions, distributed computer power, to name a few. Its wide application spectrum makes this transparent and secure technology the ”go-to-solution” for many of the traditional cumbersome and error-prone processes in most sectors.

The above arguments show us that the future of blockchain is not as questionable and uncertain as many choose to believe. The usage of this technology has demonstrated benefits to a large number of industries and public organisations, all facts that draw a rather positive picture of its future. So, based on the arguments above, it is safe to stay that blockchain is here to stay.

Now that we have debunked these myths, let’s assess the most important company factors you should consider prior to starting a job in this exciting new industry.

Tune in next week, when we are going to give you a detailed overview of the various employer groups in the blockchain space and discuss the biggest factors that influence job security in this industry. We will help you weigh the risks of starting a new job in blockchain.

Our vision at Crypto Careers is to enable companies and professionals build the future with blockchain technology. As part of this, we publish blog posts about your career in blockchain, helpful tips and suggestions, interesting companies to follow and salary information.

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Photo by Leio McLaren (@leiomclaren) on Unsplash