Blockchain-Engineers Wanted: an Empirical Analysis on Required Skills, Education and Experience

Abstract

There is an indisputable industrial need for highly skilled individuals in the role of blockchain engineers. However, little is known about the typology of activities which fall under the blockchain engineers' responsibilities and the competencies and experiences sought from employers' perspectives. To shed light about the main characteristics of the new roles available in the market, we built and analyzed a dataset of 400 job ads related to software blockchain engineering and development roles in the U.S.. We performed a thorough analysis conducted to find the industrial demand for competencies related to the blockchain engineer role in terms of (i) level of education, training, and experience; (ii) blockchain-related development skills; (iii) technical skills; and (iv) soft-skills. Relevant correlated skills that may influence shaping the profile of the blockchain engineers were also analyzed. We conclude that a new “blockchain engineer” role is shaping up, and that specific skills, educational background, and experience are requested from the job market.