Why you should seriously consider a career in Blockchain

Whether you're fresh out of college or already established in your career, you should be seriously thinking about blockchain as your next step. Not only is the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry thriving today amidst the global economic climate, but the trend has been clear for some time. Governments around the world from China to the US (and in between) have been exploring ways to incorporate this technology into our lives.

Central banks have either been researching or running pilot projects to see how a blockchain-based digital currency would work in their economies and even challenge dollarization around the world. And many exciting projects are receiving funding and the backing of large players from global banks to tech companies.

Blockchain has started (or is about to start) disrupting all industries as we know them from finance to healthcare, entertainment to manufacturing. So if you're looking for a challenge, love constant learning, and want to be part of the future, you should seriously consider a career in blockchain.

 

What's So Interesting About Blockchain?

Perhaps a better question to ask would be--what isn't interesting about blockchain(!)? While bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies offer us a different way to manage our wealth, blockchain goes way deeper than financial transactions or individual sovereignty. The technology is growing at a rapid pace and making in-roads into all major industries.

Thanks to its transparent nature, immutability, decentralization, and the ability to remove the middlemen, this technology was made for rooting out inefficiencies. From speeding up financial transactions and moving large sums of money around at a fraction of the cost to automating settlements and improving the efficiency of the supply chain, blockchain has many advantages, and a career in this area will be a fulfilling one.

 

Cryptocurrency

If all that quantitative easing makes you uneasy, you may be considering an alternative for your finances. After all, the tales of governments inflating money supplies have been told throughout the ages and never have they ended well. Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin act not only as an excellent store of value to shield your wealth from money printing and inflation but now there's a sophisticated suite of products that have built up around them.

You can transfer value easily, hold cryptocurrencies and earn interest, or make use of a wide range of financial instruments such as crypto derivatives, loaning and staking to make your money work for you. You can even invest in ingenious projects through IEOs (Initial Exchange Offerings), on platforms like OKEx Jumpstart, or apply to work with the biggest exchanges in the business and learn from the inside-out.

 

Remittances

The worlds of remittances and cross-border payments are being transformed forever by blockchain's efficiency. According to the World Bank, the remittance market registered approximately $529 billion in 2018 in flows to low-and middle-income countries. It's a costly and lengthy process that sees both the sender and receiver lose out multiple times along the way--a typical remittance cost may be as high as 20%.

Blockchain technology, such as RippleNet or XanPool, have already started to provide a faster and cheaper alternative to traditional cross-border payments methods. Some markets are adopting blockchain faster than others but with India recently relaxing its stance on cryptocurrency, as the largest remittance market in the world, there's room for explosive growth here.

 

Supply Chain

Companies incorporating blockchain technology are transforming their supply chains. From shipping companies like Maersk to retail giants like Walmart, blockchain technology is helping them to track items from the source to their final destination.

By using smart contracts on permissioned blockchains, not only are payments automated and efficient, but all stakeholders can trust in the information they're viewing as it is recorded on a transparent immutable ledger that cannot be tampered with.

This removes the need for many costly intermediaries and speeds up the process as well as passing the cost savings onto the suppliers and end-users.

 

Data Security

The rising cost of cybercrime is nothing short of arresting, estimated to cost businesses some $6 trillion by 2021. Companies are in a constant battle with hackers to keep private information safe. In this area, blockchain shows great promise as a much securer way of storing this data. Being decentralized, blockchain has no single point of failure in the shape of one (or a handful of) vulnerable company servers.

Thanks to independent verification processes, each time new information is added to a block in the chain, it will be rejected if it contains malicious code. This could be huge in helping businesses to keep their customers' data safe. It could even spread further than businesses to voting in elections, registering land deeds, transferring ownership, and even having our own personal digital identities safeguarded on-chain.

 

So Much More

According to CB Insights, there are at least 58 major industries that blockchain can disrupt in the near future. The chances are, whatever your career and whatever interests you, your industry will be among them. You don't have to a developer, data scientist or finance graduate either. There's plenty of room for all sorts of skillsets in this ample space.

Blockchain and cryptocurrency companies like OKEx are continually looking for fresh talent in all areas from marketing and PR to programming, administration and accounts. In fact, even in the middle of the COVID crisis where many traditional companies are applying hiring freezes or being forced to lay off staff, blockchain companies like ours are aggressively hiring. Blockchain is the future. So, why not start finding out more about it today?