How Learning Solidity can Help Your Career
The Ethereum Programming Language
What’s in it for you? There are a lot of programming languages out there to learn. A subset of these languages is those that are exclusive to use in blockchain technology. More specifically in cryptocurrency use.
For background on me, I have worked at Microsoft and Cambia Health Solutions, as well as several Web3 or blockchain projects during my tech/programming career, is for Ethereum.
Solidity is the smart contract language that is built for the Ethereum blockchain. It is what makes the Ethereum blockchain really go. Other programming languages such as Javascript or Ruby are not compatible with the blockchain technology of Ethereum. Building a smart contract on the most used blockchain in the world means learning Solidity or just skipping building for Ethereum.
Higher Earnings with Blockchain Development
You may want to learn this technology because you can also gain in your earnings. The average earning power of a blockchain developer is $154,000/year. That compares very favorably with earnings for some other developers in IT. Earnings for major companies in the tech space are not as high as they can be for blockchain developers. On average your starting salary and every step above that are 20% higher than someone in a similar place in their career working in non-blockchain-related companies.
It is typed like Typescript
I have built several projects in Typescript and I enjoy the static typing that is available in Solidity as well. It saves on compile time for the processors if types are static or strong. So if you have used Typescript maybe learning Solidity would not be as hard as you may believe. Solidity is noted for being more difficult than Javascript but the tradeoff is improved compile times for your code.
I am not intending to get into a long discussion around typing in programming here.
There are a lot of Learning Resources
Here is a link to a good Learning Solidity Youtube resource. The creator goes through almost every aspect of Solidity programming to get you started. I used his resource to learn how to create my first smart contract earlier this year.
- Ethernaut is another great resource.
- Complete Guide to Fullstack Ethereum development
- Dapp University, he speaks at TruffleCon every couple of years too
- Crypto Zombies, features interactive coding lessons
- Typescript/Solidity starter, a little more advanced
- Block Heroes, a great resource for all things programming and especially Web3.0
There is also a great suite of tools to help you build your first dApp at Truffle.
It is part of Web3
Web3 that is coming and it will only get larger over time. Learning a programming language such as Solidity will help future proof your career. Most programming languages stick around for years not. I mean Ruby is still around, though little used anymore. So it is not like you would become obsolete soon without this skill, but learning Solidity will make your skillset valuable for any number of teams looking to take advantage of what is coming with Web3.0.
It is an EVM Language
EVM that stands for Ethereum Virtual Machine. There are a number of blockchains that are EVM compatible. Besides Ethereum there is Avalanche Blcockhain, Binance Smart Chain, Thorchain, Matic(Polygon Network), xDai chain, Ontology Network, That is just a few of the blockchains you could program for if you learned Solidity.
It makes you a better programmer
This is my standard answer when asked why to learn a new programming language. Learning how types work, for a standard example, in a new language helps you understand how types or other parts work in the language you use most. Solidity is not too far different from Javascript or Typescript and I am not familiar enough with C++ to say much there.
Build your own Smart Contract
When you are done you can create your own smart contract that can hold your own cryptocurrency. Maybe that is not everyone’s goal with learning Solidity but the potential is there. Do you have an idea you are dying to try and build? Maybe building it on-chain would be the way to go. Or maybe not. You will not know fully if blockchain technology can be part of the solution for whatever app you are trying to build until you learn more about blockchain technology. I think the best way to learn if something will fit is not just by reading some Medium posts or Reddit’s about a topic. My plan has always been to get hands-on and learn for myself. If you are that kind of person then maybe Solidity learning is something you might want to try.
Thank you for reading
