The Blockchain Job Boom Continues

Employer demand for engineers with Bitcoin, blockchain, or general cryptocurrency expertise continued to grow between September 2018 and September 2019-albeit in fits and starts (see graph, below). These figures come from job search site Indeed. The 26 percent increase that occurred over this period was not as dramatic as the jump of 214 percent between September 2017 and September 2018.

Searches by job seekers had mostly kept pace with the increase in job opportunities before turning down in early 2018. Job search volume has continued to drop since then, with the gap between job posting activity and job searches now wider than ever. Change in job seeker interest seems to track changes in the Bitcoin price, Indeed reported in an earlier study. But employers need blockchain engineers whether Bitcoin prices are high or low. If that's so, blockchain engineers looking to change jobs might want to keep an eye on the price of Bitcoin.

Indeed also analyzed the types of job functions companies searching for cryptocurrency specialists looked to fill, and concluded that the top five roles, respectively, are software engineer, senior software engineer, software architect, full stack developer, and front-end developer. The most important skills, the search firm concluded, are (in no particular order): basic cryptography; P2P networks; and software languages including C++, Java, Python, and JavaScript.

Consulting firm Deloitte posted the most cryptocurrency and blockchain jobs for an individual company over the past year, according to Indeed's study. IBM came in at number two and Accenture at number three. [The top 15 are listed in the table below.]

Indeed indicated that consulting and accounting firms like Deloitte are looking to help companies apply new technologies, while IBM needs engineers to help it roll out IBM Blockchain World Wire, an international payments network. Banks on the list are typically interested in developing their own cryptocurrencies. And non-finance companies are beginning to apply blockchain to supply chain management and the ability to accept cryptocurrencies as payments.

Companies leading the pack in hiring cryptocurrency engineers: