How to Get a Cryptocurrency Job
If the market downturn has placed your Lambo dreams on hold, perhaps it’s time you found another revenue stream. Anyone can make money in a bull market, but when the wicks turn red and altcoin season ends, you might want to consider getting an actual job. Just because it’s unprofitable to keep flipping ICOs doesn’t mean you have return to flipping burgers though. The cryptoconomy offers a vast range of job opportunities with no qualifications necessary. You just have to know where to look.
The Digital Gold Rush Has Just Begun
In 1848, a man named Sam Brannan stood on Market Street in San Francisco waving a bottle of gold dust and declaring the great gold rush to have begun. His efforts are credited with kick-starting the mania that followed, as men and women packed their bags and ventured off to seek their fortune. Brannan was a canny man, and prior to the announcement he’d bought up all the picks and shovels in the city, which he then sold to prospectors for a tidy profit. And thus the adage was born: in a gold rush, sell shovels.
You might have missed out on $100 bitcoin but you haven’t missed out on the greatest job creation opportunity the digital age has ever known. Crypto is growing so fast there’s a major talent shortage, and it’s not limited to blockchain developers. From community managers to translators, the range of openings is diverse. This burgeoning sector needs more people capable of wielding picks and shovels, and you don’t even have to get your hands dirty to participate. The majority of cryptocurrency jobs can be performed from the comfort of your own home.
Getting Your Foot on the Ladder
The first step towards finding crypto employment is making yourself employable. Make sure your social media bios are up-to-date, your profile pic looks professional and that you’re using these accounts to add value to the conversation rather than simply retweeting bitcoin memes. This doesn’t mean you have to reinvent yourself as a strait-laced wage slave, but a modicum of seriousness wouldn’t go amiss. While you’re at it, update your Linkedin, being sure to include relevant keywords in your job title and bio.
Crypto moves so fast that many employers don’t have the time to scrutinize CVs and check up on qualifications, but this doesn’t give you carte blanche to make everything up. If you lack the basic skills to do the job you’re applying for, you will get found out, and it will do your reputation no favors. For all its growth, crypto is still a tight-knit space with very few degrees of separation. Do a bad job and you might struggle to find your next one, but on the flip side, if you excel you’ll find your inbox filling with more opportunities than you can handle.
If your portfolio is devoid of crypto experience, your first step on the ladder is to put yourself out there. If you can write, start publishing content on Medium or Steemit to establish your authority and demonstrate your knowledge. If you prove to have a preternatural talent, you might even earn something on Steemit. If writing’s not your forté and code is a foreign language to you, there’s always marketing. It’s relatively easy to get a job as a community manager for an ICO, moderating their Telegram or tracking their bounty campaign. It’s not the most glamorous of jobs, and you’ll probably be paid in tokens, but it’s a start. Work hard for three months and post-ICO you’ll be well-placed to apply for your first “proper” crypto job.
Where to Find a Crypto Job
We’ve covered the how. Now let’s consider the where with a quick rundown of the best platforms for finding cryptocurrency jobs.
Crypto Jobs List: A simple job board and email newsletter, the platform contains a good number of marketing, community management, and content writing roles, as well as more technical positions.
Angel List: A general job site with a strong cryptocurrency section, Angel List contains filters so you can search for a role that suits your skills, schedule, and location.
Peopleperhour: Due to their exorbitant fees, there’s a lot to dislike about sites like Peopleperhour and Upwork, but they are stacked with employers seeking freelancers just like you. Create a profile, bid for jobs and, once you’ve established trust with the client, cut the middleman and start working with them directly to save on platform fees and ideally get paid in crypto.
Crypto freelancing sites: The UX of blockchain job sites such as Ethlance isn’t great and the number of postings is pitifully low. Still, at least they’re crypto focused. Other platforms to consider include Moneo, Hire Match, Blocklancer, and student marketplace Bitjob.
ICO websites: Using an ICO tracker site, work your way through the websites of forthcoming ICOs, as well as those that have just completed their token sale and are looking to embark on a hiring spree. Many will have vacancies openly advertised.
Linkedin: For all its flaws, Linkedin is good for finding crypto jobs, especially those that call for a degree of skill/experience. Connect with other crypto professionals, join blockchain-related groups and pretty soon your feed will fill with relevant vacancies.
We’re privileged to live in an age where the only tools you need for professional success are an internet connection and a willingness to learn. Immerse yourself in quality content, absorb long reads covering industry areas of interest, watch Youtube tutorials and soak up as much knowledge as you can. Then get out there and start putting it to good use.