The Ultimate Smart Contract Developer Roadmap

Why Should I Become a Smart Contract Developer?

Becoming a smart contract developer has several benefits for your career. Here are some of the notable ones.

• Growing Demand

The blockchain and smart contract industry is exponentially growing. And it is showing no signs of slowing down.

With the growth of blockchain and its related technologies, the demand for skilled smart contract developers will also increase.

Moreover, we are slowly transitioning into web3. It will also push the demand for Solidity developers as it is the primary programming language for smart contract development.

• Competitive Salaries

Let’s stay honest here. Who doesn’t like handsome salaries?

We all look for salary potential before choosing a profession. 

And in the era of blockchain, you won’t get a better salary than a blockchain developer or smart contract developer.

We are talking about $60,000 to $100,000 annually in a decent company.

And mind you! This is the starting salary. The yearly increments will only make it more hefty.

• Career Growth

A career in future-focused technologies will always encourage your professional growth.

To put it simply – a stagnant career is frustrating and draining. 

Blockchain and smart contracts are futuristic technologies. Their use cases and applications across major industries are already making them mainstream.

As these technologies become the spotlight, your career will keep flourishing. You will get ample job opportunities across the world with attractive salaries.

• Entrepreneurial Opportunities

Let’s just not stick to 9-5 jobs. 

Smart contract developers can use their skills and expertise to start their own businesses.

You can either launch an app or a platform. Further, you can even start a smart contract development company offering digital solutions to other businesses.

Learning Solidity and smart contract tech stack gives you the freedom to work on projects you are passionate about. It opens the door to your professional creativity and success.

However, becoming a smart contract developer requires dedication and hard work. You need to be very honest in your learning journey. 

Apart from learning the basic concepts, you have to keep yourself updated with the industry’s latest news and developments. 

The blockchain industry is one such domain where falling behind can have dire consequences, underscoring the importance of staying current, especially with the aid of expert blockchain consulting services.

So, if you are willing to commit to your career, start learning smart contract development right now.

How Do I Become A Smart Contract Developer?

If you have reached this stage, then you have shown your commitment. The only thing you need now is to know where to start and the resources you need and how to do it.

Let’s get started!

1. Enroll in a Course

Investing in yourself is the best investment you make. 

The first thing you should do to become a smart contract developer is to enroll in a course.

Let’s face it! 

You may be a tech geek or a complete technical stranger. But you need a coach to teach you about the basics of smart contract development. 

The right coach will train you in advanced concepts. They will help you code, audit and deploy your own smart contracts. 

But how can you select the right course?

Choose a course that:

• Starts from the basic concepts of cryptography and blockchain
• Focuses on in-depth smart contract tech stack and architecture
• Teaches practical implementations
• Includes in-depth training on Solidity, Remix IDE and Truffle Suite
• Has doubt clearing sessions
• Offers live learning support

Now, how will you know the course has all these elements?

Take the demo session! 

Before buying any smart contract development course, attend its demo class.

Usually, the demo session is free. It is the best way to find out what the tutorial has in it for you.

2. Start from Fundamentals

A smart contract developer has to know all the basic concepts starting from computer science to cryptography and programming languages.

Where do you start?

Start by learning the basics of these concepts. Once the basics are clear, move to advance topics.

• Computer science
• Cryptography
• Javascript
• Cryptography digital signatures

After you are done with these topics, it’s time to move to blockchain and hashing.

Get to know:

• What is blockchain?
• How does hashing work on the blockchain?
• What are consensus mechanisms?
• What are different blockchain networks?
• Other intricacies of blockchain

3. Ethereum Blockchain

The next important concept you need to learn is Ethereum. 

Ethereum is the foundation of smart contract development. Almost all the new blockchain follows the Ethereum architecture to code and deploy smart contracts.

Learn everything about the Ethereum blockchain network. Don’t forget to include Ethereum 2.0 and The Merge in your learning.

4.Smart Contract Programming languages

Once you have understood how Ethereum works, it’s time to focus on programming languages.

Solidity is the programming language used for writing and deploying smart contracts on the blockchain. 

So, you need to learn Solidity and build your expertise in it.

Solidity is a statically-typed programming language specifically designed for creating smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain. 

Proficiency in Solidity is crucial for developing smart contracts on Ethereum, Polygon, and other blockchain networks based on the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).

5. Development and Testing Framework

Mastering the technical skills required for smart contract development involves proficiency in various development and testing frameworks. 

As a beginner, you can start by familiarizing yourself with Remix IDE, a popular integrated development environment for Ethereum smart contracts. 

Additionally, knowledge of other environments like Hardhat and Truffle Suite will further enhance your skill set as a smart contract developer. 

These frameworks are crucial for the efficient development, compilation, testing, and deployment of smart contracts.

6. Security Protocols

Ensuring the security of smart contracts is of paramount importance. 

As a smart contract developer, you must acquire skills in developing, testing and deploying secure contracts, especially considering the potential value they may manage. 

Cryptography skills play a vital role in creating robust and secure smart contracts. 

Additionally, you must be well-versed in smart contract development techniques to mitigate various types of attacks.

For instance, understanding how to handle common attacks like reentrancy attacks is essential. Smart contracts often rely on external functions, such as oracles, for making decisions. 

Having a clear mindset enables you to anticipate and address potential threats to the security of your smart contracts. 

By acquiring these skills, you can ensure the integrity and trustworthiness of the contracts you develop.

Final Thoughts

Becoming a smart contract developer is a long and tedious process. It won’t happen overnight. You will have to put in your best efforts to learn everything and put your learning to practical use.

With the right mindset, clear goals and hard work you can become a certified smart contract developer. 

Looking for experienced Solidity developers for your project? Wondering how to hire them?

Save your time by hiring our smart contract developers. You can choose from our flexible hiring models and customize your own development team. Call us today!