How to Find the Right Crypto Job for You

In recent cryptocurrency trends, popular coins like Bitcoin have skyrocketed in value in recent years. One of the best-known cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, has expanded its market cap from less than $20 billion to a peak of more than $1 trillion in the last five years [1]. 

With all the attention surrounding cryptocurrency and related technologies, career opportunities in the crypto space are on the rise. Understanding available job opportunities, industries that utilize crypto, and desired skills can help you find the right fit for your skill set and career goals.

What is a crypto job?

Crypto jobs have cryptocurrency technology as a central aspect of their role. Sometimes, these jobs require knowledge and working directly with cryptocurrency or blockchain technology. People who work in these crypto jobs often demonstrate high levels of technical skills, such as programming, data analysis, engineering, and cryptography.

The expansion of cryptocurrency has also increased the number of crypto jobs outside the traditional technology world. Now you can find crypto jobs in business development, marketing, content creation, project management, and more. Companies that create cryptocurrencies or use their technology to scale or streamline their operations need people for these supporting roles.

For example, if you’re a content creator for a crypto-based company, you may write articles that engage potential customers and convince them why your organization can help them meet crypto-related goals. If you’re in advertising, you may create advertisements targeted toward specific customer personas to increase traffic to the organization’s web page. 

Read more: What Is a Cryptographer? Career Guide

Industries that have crypto jobs

Crypto has exciting new job opportunities that combine different interests, experiences, and knowledge from different industries into crypto technology. For example, if you have a background in hospitality and travel, you could combine this interest with crypto knowledge to help a travel company integrate blockchain-based transactions into its customer interfaces.

Crypto jobs are still clustered in the cryptocurrency industry, but new applications of crypto allow the technology to evolve to fit different industries. The list below shows the top sectors where you can expect to find existing crypto jobs: 

• Cybersecurity

• Entertainment

• Financial services

• Health care

• Information Technology

• Manufacturing

• Mining

• Retail

• Supply chain

• Telecommunications

• Travel

• Venture capital

Crypto jobs to explore

After you’ve identified the right sector for you, you can begin searching for positions that match your knowledge, skills, and interests. This process can help identify gaps in your skill set and provide direction for your next steps. 

Technical crypto positions 

When you think about crypto jobs, you likely envision technical positions like software developer, engineer, and data analyst. These jobs typically require proficiency in one or more programming languages and an in-depth understanding of blockchain, cryptocurrency, or data analysis. If you enjoy the technical side of computer science and data analysis, take a closer look at these jobs:

*All average annual US base salary is sourced from Glassdoor as of December 2022

• Blockchain architect: $103,314

• Blockchain developer: $90,151

• Blockchain engineer: $99,930

• Cryptocurrency trader: $67,516

• Data center technician: $47,895 

• Data scientist: $102,971

• Full stack developer: $99,150

Read more: Computer Science vs. Computer Engineering: How the Jobs Differ

Non-technical crypto positions 

Crypto jobs also include various non-technical positions that require only a basic understanding of cryptocurrency and blockchain. You may find these jobs listed as full-time positions with crypto companies or as opportunities for freelance and consulting work. Here are some non-technical roles in crypto and their US annual base salary: 

• Accountant: $55,260

• Account executive: $60,110

• Business development manager: $79,948

• Social media manager: $48,530

• Events manager: $57,208

• Financial analyst: $67,601

• Technical writer: $63,580

• Legal counsel: $142,641

Tips to launch your career

If you’re ready to pursue a career in the crypto space, this may require learning a new skill, gaining hands-on experience, and finding opportunities to network with other professionals in the field. Your career interests will largely determine the appropriate steps, but you may find the following steps helpful.

Learn about cryptocurrency technologies.

Cryptocurrency technologies, such as blockchain, operate differently from traditional technologies. Learning more nuanced information in this field can help your career transition. Even if you have background experience in a specific sector, taking the time to examine and understand how cryptography, blockchain, and related technology work within the sector may be useful.  

Choose a crypto sector. 

Choosing a crypto sector will help tailor your knowledge to your specific career interests. For example, crypto applications in the medical field may require different skills than crypto applications in real estate. This can also help you develop your industry knowledge and design your resume to highlight skills and experiences that are particularly relevant to your job of interest.

Sharpen and expand your skill set.

Consider sharpening and expanding your existing skill set to increase your chances of getting your desired job. If you’re interested in technical cryptocurrency jobs, employers may typically require software development, programming, or computer engineering knowledge. However, there are also job opportunities that require skills such as writing, business, or communications. 

Build a portfolio.

Building a portfolio can help show employers why you’re the candidate for the job. While education and qualifications are important to showcase on your resume, having a portfolio that shows high-quality, relevant work may increase a potential employer's confidence in your ability to perform the job well. You can build a portfolio through personal projects and freelance work.

Network with industry experts. 

Your next job offer can come from anywhere. Take the time to find professionals in your industry to build your network and open new opportunities. Consider connecting on professional platforms, participating in internet forums, attending career fairs and conferences, and seeking mentors in the same field. You can learn from their successes and setbacks while starting your career.

Read more: How to Use LinkedIn: A Guide to Online Networking

Update your resume.

For any job application, having a resume that reflects the skills and experiences most relevant to the position of interest is important. Hiring managers will likely look at your resume and make assumptions about whether you’re the right fit for the role. Before applying for a job, give your resume a makeover, so it reflects the language you see in the job description and highlights the experience and skills you have that are most relevant to the position.

Read more: 16 Resume Tips to Help You Apply with Confidence

Key skills you’ll need

In your crypto job, you'll rely on a combination of technical and workplace skills to complete your tasks successfully. Technical skills include reading and writing a programming language or building smart contracts. You may notice the following technical skills as you browse job listings:

• Blockchain

• Business development

• Coding

• Content writing

• Cryptography

• Cybersecurity

• Data analysis

• Financial analysis

• NFT

• Risk management

• Smart contracts

• Statistics

• UX design

Technical cryptocurrency jobs also require a degree of workplace skills. These skills include working on a team, managing time, and using creativity to make work decisions. The following workplace skills may frequently appear in crypto job listings.

• Collaboration 

• Communication

• Creativity

• Open-mindedness

• Organization

• Persuasion

Crypto job salaries

Crypto jobs offer competitive pay across the board, but several factors influence your salaries, such as position, location, experience, and industry sector. Average salaries often range in the six figures for positions requiring more technical skills. For example, blockchain developers in the US earn an average base salary of $118,478 annually [2]. Salaries for less technical jobs tend to be lower than their technical counterparts but still above the national average. For example, marketing managers in the US can expect an average base salary of around $69,640 per year [3]. 

Next steps

Whether you’ve identified the right position for you or you’re still investigating options, taking top-rated courses and certifications can help you explore career paths and build your crypto job portfolio. Diverse course and certification offerings exist on Coursera that allow you to tailor your education to build the right skills. Courses like Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies by Princeton University can help you build a base knowledge, while certifications like IBM Cybersecurity Analyst by IBM can help you build job-specific skills.