Blockchain technology has successfully garnered the interest of top players in different industries. Industry leaders want to customize blockchain technology to fit their specific business use cases. Smart contracts based on blockchain technology are one of the most significant interventions in the field of technology. If you want to become smart contract developer, then you can capitalize on many interesting use cases of smart contracts.
Smart contracts have defined the possibilities for using blockchain technology in something more than the world of finance. The different utilities of smart contract-based applications have been gaining momentum in recent times. Popular DeFi solutions and NFTs use smart contracts for the automated execution of transactions.
The functionalities of smart contracts might take up a whole discussion altogether. However, what would you do if you wanted to develop smart contracts? You would need the essential smart contract developer skills and the best practices for finding jobs. The following guide services you with a roadmap for becoming a smart contract developer.
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Why Should I Pursue Smart Contract Development Jobs?
The obvious question in the mind of any candidate before pursuing smart contract developer jobs would focus on the reasons for the same. One of the first things which might convince you would refer to the variety of roles you can work in. You can also use your experience in smart contract developer roles to earn a lucrative salary. The average annual salary for a blockchain developer is almost $150,000 USD.
Therefore, the smart contract developer salary would be more or less the same. With such interesting opportunities for career development and a lucrative salary estimate, any candidate would find the reasons for pursuing smart contract development jobs. The rapid shift towards decentralization also points out the role of smart contract developers in driving the gears of technology in the future.
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What Do I Need to Become a Smart Contract Developer?
The answer to such questions points to a smart contract developer roadmap, which can guide you towards the jobs of your choice. You can have the opportunity to work with a technology that could transform the technology market only with the necessary skills. The first thing you need in a roadmap for becoming a smart contract developer is the outline of the prerequisites.
All the aspiring candidates for smart contract development jobs must have a clear impression of the skills and knowledge required for the responsibilities of smart contract developers. You need to learn all the skills which can make you eligible for top smart contract developer jobs with lucrative salary estimates. Here is an outline of the important skills you need to become a smart contract developer.
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The Fundamentals
The primary highlight in almost every guide to smart contract development jobs focuses on the basics of everything. Let us cover all of them in one section. Speaking of fundamentals, you must have a fluent understanding of computer science basics, such as the working and classification of networks.
You must also learn about the basics of blockchain technology, such as its definition and benefits. Learn more about the working of blockchain technology in detail, along with examples of its practical use cases. Another important addition in ‘fundamentals’ required among smart contract developer skills would refer to programming basics.
The work of a smart contract developer would deal with conventional programming, albeit with a different language. Therefore, candidates who want to learn about smart contract development must have prior experience in a high-level programming language. Some examples of programming languages include JavaScript, Python, and C++.
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Cryptography
The scope of a smart contract developer tutorial would also include a solid focus on cryptography as an essential skill. Public key cryptography is one of the integral highlights of blockchain technology. You should develop a detailed understanding of the working of public key and private key pairs. In addition, you must also learn about cryptography digital signatures for easier message signing and identity verification.
Smart contracts would depend on digital signatures as there could be no transactions without approval through signatures. While you are at the job of learning about cryptography, make sure that you learn about hashing and its role in blockchain applications. You can learn about the implications of hashing for cryptography and how it helps in connecting different blocks securely.
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Ethereum Blockchain
The next important prerequisite in a smart contract developer roadmap is the Ethereum blockchain. It is the foundation on which you would build smart contracts, and almost every new blockchain platform for developing and deploying smart contracts follows the design of Ethereum. You should build a comprehensive impression of how Ethereum works, which can ensure favorable outcomes for your skill development journey.
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Smart Contract Programming Language
The most noticeable detail in any smart contract developer course would focus on the programming language for creating smart contracts. You need a foundation for building smart contracts, and the best option you have is Solidity. In addition, you can also explore the possibilities of using its competitor like Vyper. Solidity is the statically-typed language for smart programming contracts on the Ethereum blockchain. Fluency in Solidity programming language is essential for developing smart contracts on Ethereum, Polygon, and other EVM chains.
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Development and Testing Framework
You must also emphasize the technical skills required to become smart contract developer, such as command over development and testing frameworks. Beginners can start with Remix IDE, although knowledge of other environments such as Hardhat and Truffle Suite also helps in skill development for smart contract developers. The development and testing frameworks are essential requirements for ensuring efficient smart contract development, compilation, testing, and deployment.
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Security
The skills for developing, testing, and deploying smart contracts would also need the support of skills to ensure security. You must learn about safeguarding your smart contract, which could possibly manage millions of dollars. While cryptography skills ensure that you create robust and secure smart contracts, you must also learn the smart contract developer skills to avoid different types of attacks.
For example, you must have fluency in the methods to deal with common attacks in smart contracts like reentrancy attacks. Smart contracts also depend on many other external functions such as oracles for making decisions. In such cases, you need a security mindset to anticipate any potential threats to the security of your smart contracts.
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Best Practices to Prepare for Smart Contract Development Jobs
The outline of skills required for smart contract development jobs and the salary estimate can serve as the starting point for pursuing such jobs. However, you cannot choose any random smart contract developer course to begin your journey as a smart contract developer. You need to follow a strategic approach in preparing for smart contract developer roles. Here are some of the best practices which can speed you up toward your goal of becoming a smart contract developer.
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Choose a Trustworthy Training Course
The first and foremost thing which can help you achieve your smart contract development career objectives is a training course. You need a training course that not only guides you on the basics of smart contracts and their architecture but also the practical implications. The course must include comprehensive modules on every aspect required for building smart contracts. A reliable smart contract developer tutorial would include in-depth training for Solidity and skill development for using Remix IDE or Truffle Suite.
Furthermore, the course should feature content enriched with insights from industry experts as instructors. Most important of all, the demos in the smart contract developer training course should also prepare learners for developing smart contracts in real world. On top of it, you must ensure that the training course providers guarantee responsive round-the-clock support from experts.
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Use the Internet
The training course should not be the only platform for learning smart contract developer skills as you have the whole internet at your disposal. You can explore the internet, especially YouTube, for an abundant collection of resources to support your learning. Building your skills as a smart contract developer is easy on the book. However, you need to learn how smart contracts work in the real world.
Get closer to more examples of smart contracts with YouTube videos or blogs by smart contract experts. In addition, Discord servers are also great platforms for discovering new insights on smart contract development. Take some time to use the additional learning resources to boost your knowledge of smart contract development.
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Community Involvement
The next promising suggestion among best practices to become smart contract developer would focus on community involvement. Community is an important highlight in the smart contracts ecosystem as it is quite hard to keep up. New developments in the world of smart contracts can catch up on you by surprise.
You don’t want to end up confused about the tool you should use or the feature you must add to your smart contract to comply with trends. Many smart contract developers are actively involved in communities on social media platforms such as Twitter.
In addition, developers also participate in hackathons to meet their peers and learn more ways to improve their skills. Apart from a great opportunity for skill development, hackathons also help in building relationships with other professionals. You may end up finding your new employer or a potential investor in your smart contract project in such community events.
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Build a Credible Portfolio
The dream to become smart contract developer and the persistence in learning required skills can improve your skills only to a certain extent. You must have a portfolio that can convince employers that you can contribute value to their business. The most striking highlight of the portfolio of a smart contract developer refers to the skills. You must outline your smart contract development skills and the professional courses you have completed for the same.
It is also important to showcase the details of the projects you have worked on. In addition, you should also try including the details of the professional certifications you have achieved in blockchain architecture and security. Use social media and professional networking platforms as the stage for advertising your skills and knowledge. Sooner or later, you will land up with some promising leads in your job search.
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Final Words
The outline of the smart contract developer roadmap clears one thing in particular. You have to start with Ethereum, rely on Solidity, and use your programming expertise. At the same time, you also have a lot of other topics to learn, such as the Truffle framework, Remix IDE, libraries, and smart contract security.
The overall objective of training for smart contract developer jobs should focus on learning skills that would matter in present times. You must work on building your skills alongside practical knowledge of smart contract development.
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