In recent years, Blockchain has become an essential part of a growing number of industries.

Dozens of startups, developing companies and even large institutions invest most of their profits on studying and mastering this young technology.

Experts expect the blockchain industry to be worth $20 billion in 2024 (DotcomInfoWay).

This phenomenon explains the growing demand for blockchain developers.

According to Glassdoor, Blockchain jobs in the US grew 300% compared to the previous year, while the number of Blockchain-related LinkedIn job postings more than tripled over the last year.

This trend indicates:
1. A huge job opportunity for Blockchain developers, and
2. Difficulties for companies to find suitable Blockchain talents.

Over time, the increase in demand might have exceeded the supply of qualified Blockchain developers.

As of 2018, there are only 105,000 Blockchain developers around the world.

That’s a tiny percentage out of the total 18 million software developers.

That said, companies seeking Blockchain talents face many dilemmas when hiring their Blockchain developers, ranging from decisions like outsourcing vs in-house developers, to how much to pay their developers.

If your company is one of them, keep reading!

1. How your company can benefit from blockchain
2. Skills to expect in a blockchain developer
3. Roles and responsibilities of a blockchain developer
4. Outsourcing vs insourcing: Which one is right for your company?
5. Blockchain developer salaries based on country
6. Finding the best candidate for your company

How your company can benefit from blockchain

From healthcare to banking, nearly all companies are trying to implement blockchain into their daily business operations.

Because of its highly secure nature, it now becomes a first resort for any businesses when attempting to solve problems now.

A common benefit of blockchain that’s shared among different industries is the transparency that it offers.

It’s because blockchain records all transactions in a distributed ledger that can only be modified or updated through everyone’s consensus in the network.

This ensures accuracy, consistency and transparency of data at all times.

The fact that it is distributed across an extensive ledger network instead of a single server also makes the data more secure.

This feature prevents the possibility of fraud or any unauthorized activities.

It also saves your company a lot of time that could’ve been spent doing all the paperwork organizing and validating your data.

Skills to expect in a blockchain developer

Blockchain development is currently one of the fastest-growing sectors in the world.

That said, you can also expect your blockchain developers to have a wide variety of skill sets that corresponds to what the market wants.

However, there are some essential critical skills that all blockchain developers share; these include:

• Web development

A core skill that every blockchain developer should know and learn in web development.

That’s because majority of blockchain developers embark on their career by designing basic decentralized applications.

This suggests that the majority of blockchain developers should know the basics of both front and back-end development. 

• Data structure

You could also expect your for your blockchain developer to have an in-depth knowledge of data structures to build a secure and immutable system.

Knowing only about blockchain is not enough, one should also be able to apply this knowledge as they will most likely be tweaking and modifying existing data structures.

• Blockchain architecture

One must be familiar with blockchain’s network function and how it’s built as a blockchain professional.

Besides, you could expect these developers to be well-versed with concepts like cryptographic hash functions, distributed ledger technology, consensus, etc.

• Smart contracts

Smart contracts are increasing in popularity since the introduction of Ethereum. A smart contract refers to a self-executing contract in the form of computer codes.

As they’re running on a blockchain, these contracts are stored in a public database, cannot be changed and can be sent directly without a third party. 

• Cryptography 

Blockchain utilizes many cryptographic methods such as hash functions like SHA256 and KECCAK256 apart from asynchronous cryptography for generating digital signatures.

This explains why blockchain is said to be a conjunction of advanced cryptography and data structures. That said, your developers must be aware of such concepts.

Roles and responsibilities of a blockchain developer

There are two different types of blockchain developers:

1. Core blockchain developer, and

2. Blockchain software developer. 

A core blockchain developer builds a foundation which others will build upon.

They design the security and architecture of the proposed blockchain system.

One of these “others” is a blockchain software developer.

They use the core web architecture built by the core developers to create decentralized apps, web varieties, etc.

Despite having a very different set of roles, according to Betterteam, both developers share similar core responsibilities such as: 

• Collaborating with managers to determine blockchain technology needs and envisaged functionalities.
• Creating application features and interfaces by using programming languages and writing multithreaded codes.
• Applying the latest cryptology techniques to protect digital transaction data against cyberattacks and information hacks.
• Maintaining client and server-side applications.
• Optimizing and securing blockchain applications by integrating new tools and technologies.
• Educating sales personnel on blockchain features that allow secure digital payments.
• Documenting blockchain development processes and complying with best practices in data protection.
• Keeping up with current blockchain technologies and cryptography methods.

Blockchain developer salaries based on country

From learning economics, we know that excess demand and limited supply will result in a high price equilibrium. And that works in the exact same manner for blockchain developers’ salaries. This is good news for blockchain developers.

For companies, you might need to set apart a lump sum to pay your blockchain developer.

Here are some of the average blockchain developers companies can refer to before creating job postings (Source: Simplilearn):

• India: over ₹460,000
• United States: over $96,000
• United Kingdom: over £68,000
• Singapore: around S$95,865
• Canada: C$136,500 and C$78,500 for entry-level positions
• Germany: from $60,000 to $150,000 
• Switzerland: $180,000
• China: from ¥45,000 to ¥60,000 on average, and approximately ¥60,000 to ¥120,000 for managers and directors

Outsourcing vs insourcing: Which one is right for your company?

Blockchain insourcing

According to Investopedia, Insourcing is a business practice performed within the operational infrastructure of the organisation. When a company in-sources its blockchain developers, it will assign the particular project or tasks to someone who is part, or who will soon be part of the company. 

Insourcing is a viable option for a company with enough talent in its current workforce or can find suitable blockchain talents during recruitment. 

An insourced employee signs a long-term contract with the company. As they are recruited, they will become part of the company’s workforce and are bound by everything written on the employment contract. 

Advantages of blockchain insourcing

Improved communication

One of the most commonly faced problems for outsourced projects is communication issues. Because the outsourced team usually works in a separate location from your core team, you might find it difficult to arrange meetings, determine deadlines and plan schedules, etc.

This often leads to poor communication amongst members. 

As such, those preferring in-sourcing blockchain developers find it more convenient to work with them within the same location or at the very least, same geographical city or country. This could be due to them having more control over the blockchain development team.

That way, they can track progress more quickly and make alternate changes should they be needed throughout the project lifetime.

On top of that, majority team members also prefer having face-to-face meetings with their colleagues, mainly to discuss major developments and updates. Doing so allows one to read the other person’s body language and hear their voice’s inflexion, limiting miscommunication possibilities.

Speed of development.

One of the well-known disadvantages of outsourcing blockchain developers is “the 4x rule”. This translates to how it takes four times longer for an outsourced project to reach completion than estimated. 

A common reason behind this problem is improper communication between the company and the outsourced party. Besides, it’s also possible that your project isn’t the only one they are focusing on at the moment. 

This also raises possibilities that your project isn’t on top of their priority list, making development speed even longer.

More control.

If your company decides to outsource, you assign a large proportion of control to your outsourcing blockchain development partners. Hence, you’ll need to rely on them to deliver the quality of the project that you expect. 

As you are most likely not seeing the outsourced team daily, you might also find it difficult to update the project’s progress over time.

This issue can be minimized if you have an in-house development team working for you. As you’ll have complete control of the project, you’ll also be able to conduct periodic quality checks and immediately address problems, should they arise mid-development.

Minimize security issues.

By outsourcing, your company agreed to have your software developed outside your perimeter. In such circumstances, you may have concerns regarding the security of your blockchain product and your intellectual property.

Getting your outsourcing partners to sign an NDA can mitigate this risk. Nevertheless, there may be high security blockchain projects that pose too much risk for outsourcing.

In this case, insourcing might be your only option.

Blockchain outsourcing

Instead of wasting time forming and training a team of qualified blockchain developers, many companies choose to outsource their blockchain development projects to external partners. 

Outsourcing refers to the process of having someone external to your company, that is not your employee, complete a task or a business process. In the context of blockchain, your company will hand over a particular blockchain project to an external party for completion.

Also Read: 7 Activities To Bond Your Remote Team.

Advantages of blockchain outsourcing

A team instead of individual members.

When your company outsources, you are working with a full team of qualified blockchain developers. Your outsourced partner will most likely have all the skills to be on board on the project immediately. Additionally, as everyone in the team has most likely worked with everybody else, your company can limit the team members’ buffer time to adapt. 

When you are chased by time, outsourcing blockchain developers might be your best option. Besides, they can help you shape your project better as well.

Better focus on core business functions.

Nowadays, blockchain is not limited to technology companies—many operating in other industries, such as retail, pharmacy, automobile, finance, etc. are also adopting the rapidly developing technology, 

It’s a lot more efficient for these businesses to spend their time and resources working on something they’re experts at. This is because choosing to do everything yourself might stall your business growth, as the likeliness of project failure and waste of resources is relatively high.

It’s usually advised to outsource everything but your core business processes. This way, you can avoid stress, save money, spend your energy on activities you enjoy, and bring additional business revenue.

Access to more skills and expertise.

Blockchain is a young technology that’s still continuously developing. By outsourcing, you are allowing your company to be exposed to skills not just available in your geographical location, but globally, since many outsourcing partners work remote.

Your outsourcing partners are also likely to have all the needed technologies to carry out your blockchain projects, which might not be available in the location your company is operating in. This allows you to get access to a vast and skilled pool of talents without any geographical limitation.

Cost-effectiveness.

The increase in demand and a limited supply of blockchain developers have increased the cost of recruitment. Besides, there may be some training and development costs needed after your developers are recruited. 

Moreover, outsourcing blockchain developers also allows you to avoid spending on needed equipment and machines to develop blockchain software. Your company can then put more capital into revenue-producing activities, which delivers significant cost saving than the operational cost of in-house blockchain development.

How should you decide?

As we’ve seen above, both insourcing and outsourcing blockchain developers have its own pros and cons. As a company, your biggest question might be which one is the right one for you?

You should outsource if:

• This is your first blockchain project.
• You are running on an extremely tight deadline.
• There’s no blockchain developers on board in your company.
• You are not thinking of doing another blockchain project in the future.

If you choose to outsource, however, do make sure that your partners have the right skills, experience and commitment to provide optimal solutions for your projects. 

Finding the best candidate for your company

No matter insource or outsource, you need to act fast as the technology keeps evolving as we speak.

You can contact us for any assistance in your company’s blockchain developer hiring decision.

9cv9 has been trusted by both local and foreign businesses such as Pansonic, Pizza Hut, Bosch, Zalora, Toshiba, LINE, etc in recruiting the best talents out there.

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