Crypto and web3 was all the rage and now that it’s a bear market, it feels like it’s no longer in season again. Here’s a balanced take on reasons for and against finding a crypto job.
Table of contents
- Reasons to find a crypto job
- You can get in early in a growing industry
- It’s fast-changing, dynamic and exciting
- There are an increasing number of job opportunities
- You can get paid more
- You can work more flexibly
- Reasons not to
- The future of the industry is uncertain
- The industry is highly volatile
- There are a lot of scams
- Crypto culture can be uninviting
- There is a lack of diversity
- Resources to learn more
✔️ You can get in early in a growing industry
There’s no doubt that the industry has seen explosive growth over past few years. Record levels of venture capital funding is pouring into the space. Crypto prices reached all-time highs in 2021. NFT transactions grew by more than 200x from 2020 to 2021. Will this continue?
If you believe that the future of the internet is web3, then we will see even more growth in the coming decades. Crypto adoption now is the same as internet adoption in the 1990’s. If we follow this trend, then it’s still early days. The 2022 State of Crypto Report by Andreessen Horowitz puts the level of development equivalent to the internet in 1995, based on the number of Ethereum addresses versus internet users.
There are many use cases that already exist today, such as NFTs, decentralised exchanges, DeFi, lending, user-owned marketplaces, connected device networks and stablecoins. But there are many more use cases that are yet to be fully unlocked, including regenerative finance, decentralised science, the metaverse, social media, gaming, decentralised storytelling, tokengated commerce and data ownership.
See 12 Innovative Australian Crypto Companies.
✔️ It’s fast-changing, dynamic and exciting
In a high growth environment, everything is moving and changing quickly. Trends come and go in a couple of days. There are always exciting new projects popping up that have world-changing potential. As a result, there is a lot of learning to be done, as well as an opportunity to really shape how this industry will look in 5- or 10-years’ time.
✔️ There are an increasing number of job opportunities
As the industry grows, the demand for good talent also grows. Crypto-related job postings on LinkedIn grew by 395% from 2020 to 2021, outpacing the wider tech industry, which saw an increase of 98%. Meanwhile, share of postings for blockchain and crypto jobs on Indeed more than doubled from 2020 to 2021.
✔️ You can get paid more
Given the level of venture funding in crypto, it’s not surprising that many jobs in crypto pay extremely well. HR firm Johnson Associates says that crypto jobs pay 20-30% more than comparable non-crypto positions. In crypto startups, there is often more upside in the form of tokens, sometimes in combination with traditional equity compensation. The additional benefit of tokens over equity is that they are often become liquid much sooner.
✔️ You can work more flexibly
Many crypto startups embrace remote working. An Indeed study in 2021 saw that 36% of crypto job postings in the US were remote-friendly, versus 7% for the rest of the US. This is not only true for developers, but non-technical roles as well.
❌The future of the industry is uncertain
It’s not clear when or if the promises of the web3 vision will be fulfilled. As with any new technology, it’s difficult to predict what will happen.
There are many people who do not believe that web3 is the future of the internet. Among other criticisms, critics have labelled blockchain as a solution in search of a problem, view cryptocurrencies as Ponzi schemes and have claimed that web3 is not as decentralised as painted out to be.
It’s up to you to do your own research and form a balanced, unbiased view.
❌ The industry is highly volatile
The bear market of 2022 has reminded people that crypto is still in its early stage of development. We saw the collapse of $40bn cryptocurrency Luna, the bankruptcy of major crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital and Coinbase laying off 18% of its workforce. Crypto prices are down 90%+ from their all-time highs. Even if you do believe in the long-term future of web3, it will no doubt be a rollercoaster ride.
❌ There are a lot of scams
In its current state, there are many scams, rug pulls, hacks and bankruptcies in web3. In the worst case, you have malicious bad actors trying to take advantage of all the money flowing into the industry. In other cases, you may just have negligence or incompetence. Either way, this can make it risky for someone considering entering the industry. If you happen to take a crypto job at the wrong company, it may negatively impact your career reputation in the future.
❌ Crypto culture can be uninviting
There is a distinct culture within crypto and web3 that many people find it hard to break into. Not everyone wants to constantly use the rocket emoji or slang terms such as HODL and FUD. Many people who jump from a traditional company to a web3 company often find that people in web3 are more relaxed and less professional.
❌ There is a lack of diversity
It’s not a secret that crypto has been traditionally male dominated, spawning the meme of the “crypto bro”. Surveys often show that at least twice as many owners of crypto are men than are women. However, it should be noted that there have been efforts in the space to encourage greater diversity such as World of Women.
Learn more
Why work in web3 and crypto
- Why I Quit My High Paying Tech Sales Job and Moved Into web3 by Glenn Rachlin from Alchemy, a blockchain developer platform
- Web3 Use Cases: The Future by Packy McCormick from Not Boring, a web3 and startup newsletter
- 2022 State of Crypto Report by Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm
- Token compensation: a brief explainer for job candidates by Dan McCarthy from Paradigm, a web3 venture capital firm
Critiques of web3 and crypto
- Web3 First Impressions by Moxie Marlinspike, creator of Signal, an encrypted messaging service
- Web3 is Going Just Great by Molly White – tracking examples of where web3 is not going well
- Critiques of crypto/web3 by Rufus Pollock – a curated list of critiques of web3
Gary Liang is the Founder of Apollo Jobs, a web3 and crypto jobs platform. FInd him on LinkedIn and Twitter.