Comment by Sycamore on "Hi, I'm Nader Dabit, Developer Relations engineer working in web3 with Edge & Node & Graph Protocol. Ask me anything!"

Stoked for this!! 🙌 gm Nader Dabit! 🦄

I'm going to go ahead and ask the line of questioning that I'm sure is on the minds of many, many devs checking in here:

What would you say is the baseline proficiency required to break into web3 as a developer?

Do I need to pick up Solidity? Rust? Should I be focusing on Ethereum? Solana? Something else I haven't heard of yet?

Is it possible for me to get in with a typical early-career dev's tech stack of HTML + CSS + JS + some React and/or Node?

Are there many roles for early-career devs in this space? Would you advise folks to seek a gig in web3 as their first dev job, or should they hold off until they've got some web2 experience under their belt?

I think it's going to depend on the position, but the easiest / lowest barrier to entry is definitely with front end developers, as they can usually get hired without any web3 experience at all. If you are a FE dev, and you spend a month to learn Ethers.js + calling smart contracts, sign in with Ethereum, and querying from something like The Graph, you'll stand out for sure. I think this tweet is pretty accurate
I think for new devs into the space, you can't go wrong learning Solidity, Ethers.js, and Hardhat as an entry level stack. It's much easier to pick up and you can write for a dozen or so chains. Rust is gaining momentum and there are a ton of job openings, but the barrier to entry is much higher and it's a lot more complex. I think of the EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) as the React / JavaScript of the blockchain world. Learn once, write in many places.
Yes, you can probably land a role in web3 as a FE developer with just that skillset!
Yes! I just interviewed Alisha today here, she broke into the space a few months ago and has been crushing it. It's all about networking, finding a community, and providing value. Find the communities that you are interested in and start diving in. Also check out the different grants programs that are out there. These programs often are the best way to get paid to learn while also building relationships with the teams. You can land grants for beginner type of stuff, like community building, documentation improvements, or educational blog posts and videos.

Search Hashnode