Knowledge is power. Is it the case in crypto sphere?

Knowledge or luck?

As experts believe, the sphere of ICO and blockchain, is trending both in Russia and in other countries, since crypto economy itself originated from the intersection of the most popular areas: top level of programming, trading, financial analysis, international legislation and fintech.

"The salaries that such employees have are at the peak, and people who have experience and knowledge in several areas, in fact, can be counted on two hands. In Russia and Europe there is an incredible process of hunting specialists by companies that can give + 100% or even + 200% above the market, as well as large bonuses," said Alexei Pospekhov, ICONIC.VC.

"A programmer with two years of experience in blockchain can already be considered a guru. Marketing experts, ICO experts, copywriters, bounty managers - they all came from related sphere and mastered this trendy subject by themselves. If such experts are experienced in launching ICO, it gives them an advantage over other candidates. However trading experience, even successful one, is not enough: it's unclear what this success is based on: knowledge of the topic or luck, " notes editor of the Internet portal" Rabochaya "Mila Kretova.

In addition, companies hunt experts in the sphere of project promotion.

"Now there is no competition of ideas and projects, but rather competition of marketing teams. Therefore SMM and PR specialists are highly demanded, and they are nowhere to be found. These are not just people who make posts. They are specialists in active promotion. There is also a lack of blockchain programmers. But here comes another problem. Is a good programmer himself ready to deal blockchain, since everything in this subject is very, very raw. Technologies are not developed. There's more hype," said Eduard Lanchev, CEO & Founder of fundery.io.

Experts note that the labor market sees the emergence of not only vacancies marked ICO, blockchain, and cryptocurrencies, but CVs as well.

In view of the fact that crypto economy is a product of globalization, most projects need specialists of international level, and there are practically no such specialists.

Vacancies for beginners

There about 15 vacancies on HH.ru in the field of ICO for specialists with no experience.

Mainly it is a position of community manager, whose responsibilities include promotional campaigns, posting materials on the company's page in FB, VKontakte and other social networks and messengers, working with comments and feedback on the project, etc.

However, such a specialist must perfectly know English, as well as a second foreign language. For example, Japanese, Korean, German, etc. A specialist who meets such requirements is likely to be paid from $600 to $1000.

With no experience, you can try to start building a career in the field of trading. However, in this case, one needs to understand more or less the risk assessment, know the principles of exchange, and master a fundamental and technical analysis. In this case, the specialist can also expect a salary of about $500 rubles, plus various bonuses based on performance.

Newcomers can also try their hand at writing articles about ICO, blockchain, etc. Copywriters at the initial stage can earn about $650.

The main requirement for all the candidates was the knowledge of English at least at the upper-intermediate level.

If the applicant has an experience of one to three years, then such a specialist can be offered a more serious job and higher salary. Experts in the preparation and promotion of ICO, that are good in marketing and public relations, can receive up to $4000.

High salaries in the field of ICO and blockchain are also available for project management specialists. These vacancies assume an excellent knowledge of English as well.

What experts say

"The number of CVs marked "crypto" and "ICO" has sharply increased, which does not mean an increase in the number of professionals in the market. Demand has generated supply, but on this wave, there are more of those who want to make money, but do not know how to do what is required. If we take our segment - promotion and PR - among experts there are many of those who sold tickets for concerts and worked as wedding hosts, or advertised different products, or even repaired windows. The lack of minimum experience in finance leads to the failure of the projects and the owners will have to deal with the results of such newcomers on the market in the future," comments Valentina Drofa, general director of the agency Drofa and ICOPR Agency.

"To overtake competitors, it is enough to develop with desire no matter how big is your experience, and then it is followed by adjustment for the project. And the experience of creating projects not necessarily in  blockchain, of course, plays a big role, since whatever technology it is, one must be able to create the final product," said Vasily Trofimchuk, the founder of BitClave.

In the cryptosphere there are several main areas: ICO, mining, investment management, blockchain start-ups. "A graduate can work as a manager of ICO projects (including developing in the directions that make up ICO: the legal direction, the development of smart contracts and their audit, ensuring cybersecurity, marketing and PR). Also, the vacancies like "farm manager" will be frequent in the near future due to major players entering the market in the 1-3 year perspective," noted Maya Zotova-Hess, CEO & Founder | Asset Manager CANYON RIVER.

"Knowledge of new technologies is always an advantage for applicants. And if we take a look at any new trends - blockchain, DataSince, artificial intelligence or Fuzzy Algorithm, etc. - being a specialist in these spheres increases the potential salary," said Maxim Bolyshev, deputy director of the department of banking software RS-Bank, R-Style Softlab.

"Ideally, you should be a specialist in "blockchain plus something". That is, you may be a programmer of smart contracts. A lawyer who understands the existing regulation of blockchain in different countries and who has the appropriate practice. You may be an investor in blockchain projects. Or a trader who understands the specifics of this entire market. And the further we go, the more regular professions must be completed by the knowledge of blockchain. Whatever specialty you take, " said Alexey Antonov, director of marketing and finance at SONM.

How to become a super specialist: expert advice

To make a career in the sphere of blockchain, it is necessary to have economic, financial and technological skills, as well as proficiency in the English language. In addition, the applicant's competitive advantages are enhanced, if he speaks another language.

"First of all, an understanding of IT processes is necessary, which is why programmers were one of the first to monetize this sphere. Then there are those who understand finance, shares, bonds and know the model of monetary emission. The third component is economic, because without understanding what is happening with the national debt, economic processes and their pace (whether GDP growth accelerates or slows down), investments, it is difficult to determine the potential of deflationary assets. The intersection of all these skills and knowledge gives a vivid picture and an opportunity to make high-quality and demanded projects," said expert Grigory Klumov, CEO and Founder Stasis.Net.

When talking about the technology of blockchain and its implementation in business processes, some believe that there are not enough engineers. "In order to implement this (Ed., create a blockchain-based project), you need to have deep knowledge in programming languages, data transfer protocols and cryptography. In concrete terms, Bitcoin, for example, is implemented on C ++. Accordingly, people who have big experience in programming in general, working with protocols and encryption, can apply for this job. Due to the relative youth of the technology, there are no specialized blockchain faculties, therefore it is necessary to "grow" specialists from graduates of the major technical universities, "comments Albert Moiseev, Technocracy World.

Experts also note that specialists with experience in product creation and project management have a great success in the sphere of crypto economy.

The founder of the Blockchain.ru project, Dmitry Matsyuk, said that many specialists are now ready to work for free or for the project tokens just to gain experience in their portfolio.

Building a career in the sphere of crypto economy is a promising idea. However, one should understand that it will be necessary to be a specialist in several areas, and do it on his own, since there are no special educational projects yet.