How to Get Hired in Bitcoin in 2024
Looking for a Bitcoin job?
Well, you're in the right place. But why should you listen to us?
Because we work in the Bitcoin industry, so we are familiar with the challenges of making the transition.
Alright, let's get into it.
The number one thing you can do to get hired — in any industry — is stand out. And standing out from the crowd is even more critical in a small but growing niche industry like Bitcoin. Today, there is far more demand for Bitcoin jobs than supply.
Don't let that discourage you — we're here to help.
Here's a step-by-step process that anyone can follow:
- Learn the industry
- Establish a brand
- Create your Proof of Work
- Network your ass off
- Follow up and keep adding value
Let's unpack.
Learn the industry
Bitcoin tends to attract people with more passion than helpful knowledge. That's okay. Passion is the key to staying motivated and meeting challenges.
But being realistic about where you are in your Bitcoin journey can only help. It will allow you to spend your time wisely to move to the next level.
When you are new to Bitcoin, you aim to build a strong foundation. Keep earning fiat at your fiat job and stack sats while researching Bitcoin in your spare time. Plan to apply for Bitcoin jobs in a few months or years — you'll know you're ready when you're ready.
Read, read, read (and watch some videos)
If you're new to Bitcoin, expect to spend significant time reading books to learn the ropes.
Videos play an important role. They allow you to familiarize yourself with the voices and faces of the industry. For visual learners, they can help you learn faster.
But don't underestimate the importance of reading. Books and long-form essays contain the core of Bitcoin knowledge. This will form the basis for your new career.
Do you try to read a few minutes before bed but find it difficult to focus on dense material that late in the day?
Set aside reading time as part of your morning routine. Reading early when your energy and caffeine levels are high is easier than before bed.
Assemble your own "Bitcoin Starter Pack"
Ask ten Bitcoiners for the best way to start learning about Bitcoin. You will get ten different answers.
Here's our suggestion: assemble your own 'Bitcoin Starter Pack'
Here's one example:
- Complete the Bitcoin for Everyone course at Saylor Academy. This free course includes Bitcoin's most important blog posts, videos, and podcast episodes. This course will also teach you the names of many influential personalities in the space (so you can follow their content later).
- Listen to one or two prominent podcasts. Listen to them when you're working out or doing chores. Great shows: Bitcoin Audible, The Stephan Livera Show, or What Bitcoin Did.
- Read at least three hard books. We like Broken Money by Lyn Alden, The Bitcoin Standard by Saifedean Ammous, and Bitcoin Is Venice by Allen Farrington and Sacha Meyers.
- Read Satoshi Nakamoto's original Bitcoin whitepaper. If anyone asks if you've read the whitepaper, you need to be able to answer truthfully that you have.
Don't be a "Bitcoin generalist" The industry is desperate for specialists
Most Bitcoin companies are fast-paced startups. They need employees who can get started QUICK.
Getting hired as a beginner will be easier if you have a unique skill set.
Bitcoin is only 14 years old. There are no experts. And at the same time, everyone's an expert. That's why specializing is necessary to stand out in a competitive field with a job. You won't get this experience on the job because others are willing to become specialists in their spare time.
You can distinguish yourself from the field of generalist candidates by specializing in one domain—for example, mining, lightning, custody, or banking. Decide which is best for you, then dive as deeply as possible.
Stay in the loop. But be wary of doom loops
Keeping up with industry developments will increase your awareness of new job opportunities. Most companies hire from their network without ever posting a job ad.
This is why you need to be active and present in the online and offline Bitcoin communities. Stay engaged so that you don't miss important opportunities.
Staying engaged does not mean doom-scrolling Bitcoin Twitter. This can create an illusion of engagement and pose a dangerous distraction.
Consume content wisely
Unless you are tuning your career to pursue political activism or humanitarian causes that intersect with Bitcoin, be aware of how much time you spend consuming content about these.
They engage your emotions and give you euphoric sensations of virtue by allowing you to feel that you are helping an important cause just by consuming content.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Building a successful career in Bitcoin requires hard skills. When choosing what content to consume, consider non-bitcoin content that will level up your skills. Learn about engineering, business, finance, product design, etc.
Build a personal brand
Building a personal brand is the #1 way to differentiate yourself from other job seekers.
However, this process is often misunderstood. Building a brand is not the same as building a follower count or posting things that get you likes or comments.
Be realistic about privacy
Bitcoiners tend to worry about privacy, and that's good. Some people could add a lot of value to the Bitcoin movement.
The issue? They freeze in fear of losing their privacy.
Overoptimizing privacy is a dangerous distraction for most people. Some Bitcoin jobs (such as writing open-source code) can be done pseudonymously or anonymously, but that is impractical for the vast majority of people.
Many Bitcoiners understand Bitcoin's potential to improve the lives of billions of people. Yet, they still conclude that it is too important to protect privacy.
Take your online presence seriously
Your online presence serves as a showcase of your skills, values, and interests to potential employers. Everything you say and do online is an implicit part of your job application. Any good hiring manager will look you up online. If they like what they see, they might give you a chance.
Work isn't the most important part of life — that's family — but your job is where you apply your talents. Although it may be fun to maintain if you have an irreverent or edgy online persona, it could be at odds with your career goals.
An undisciplined online presence can limit your career and, ultimately, the impact your talents can have. Take the time to clean up your posting history and professionalize your online persona in the future.
It's not all about Bitcoin
Your online brand doesn't need to be about Bitcoin to help your career development.
Your online presence should showcase your accomplishments, skills, and experience. And only secondarily, your passions, aspirations, and ideas.
Create a personal website
Bitcoiners love decentralization. But in the case of your online presence, centralization is good.
Prospective employers should see a well-maintained personal website that captures your skills and achievements. In that case, they are less likely to need to dig through social media to find information about you.
Buy a domain name and create a site that presents yourself as you want to be presented, and keep it up to date.
If you feel moved to express yourself online, write polished blog posts on your website. You can always share links to posts on social media or reuse your content there.
Keeping all your online musings in one place will allow you to build a body of work you can be proud of for years.
Create your Proof of Work
You probably know by now that Bitcoin's consensus mechanism is Proof of Work.
This phrase has a technical definition, but the Bitcoin community has extended its meaning. It often refers to an ethos that prioritizes action over ideas, grit over privilege and results over appearances.
Bitcoin employers are looking for Proof of Work from candidates. It is essential to show potential employers that you have already worked for Bitcoin.
Whether or not this is fair or how things should be is beside the point. Other people looking to enter the Bitcoin space are doing it, so you must, too. The three best 'Proof of Work' things are contributing to open source code, organizing meetups, and building a portfolio.
Contribute to open-source projects
Volunteers created Bitcoin.
Bitcoin and many of the most exciting software projects in the space are open source. If you are an engineer, contributing to an open-source Bitcoin project is the best option.
It will teach you much about how Bitcoin works, build your professional network, and generate goodwill.
Organize a meetup
Organizing in-person meetings is a very high-leverage activity. This is where interpersonal connections with other Bitcoiners are built.
In-person networking develops your leadership and communication skills. These will be advantageous in any job.
If you live in a city with an existing meetup, look for opportunities to give presentations, ask questions, schedule guest speakers, and invite friends.
Build a portfolio by working on projects for free
Yes, for free.
By offering value upfront instead of asking for stuff, you can show your skills, receive feedback, get better at what you do, and build things you can point to later as achievements.
A strong portfolio will allow you to walk into a job interview and confidently speak to your experience building a list of things that are now out in the wild — and this is more valuable in the long term than insisting on working only for compensation, which will severely limit the number of projects that are open to you.
Content creation as Proof of Work
Another great way to show Proof of Work is to build an online community around a particular facet of Bitcoin by hosting a podcast, making videos, or rallying a subgroup of social media users. This is a good choice if you have an aptitude for marketing or want to build a career in content creation.
However, people other than marketers tend to assume that content creation is the default Proof of Work activity, perhaps because we all consume a lot of content online.
If you're a marketer or an aspiring marketer, go for it. Remember that producing content is all about consistency and polish, and no matter how much time you budget for content creation, it will likely take far more time than you anticipate.
If marketing is not part of your aspiration for your Bitcoin career, consider pursuing a different Proof of Work.
Network your ass off
In most cases, the time writing cover letters for cold job applications would be better spent building a track record in one of the ways suggested above.
Once you know which subdomains and which companies within those subdomains interest you, get to know the people who work there. Don't be discouraged if there are no job openings.
Play the long game, build your reputation, and keep earning fiat until the right opportunity comes naturally.
Follow up and keep adding value
Don't just send your applications and wait. Instead, take a proactive approach and follow up with companies.
However, it's important to avoid overwhelming the recruiting manager with multiple spam messages asking for a decision.
Instead, provide the recruiter with helpful information to make their decision-making process easier, such as:
- Examples of how you would do the work
- Your previous work (yup, your proof of work)
- Ideas on how the company could make more money
Bitcoin's global money protocol is available to anyone who needs it. If bringing Bitcoin to a broader audience excites you more than anything, it might be time to enter the space professionally.
And if you are hungry and put in the work, the industry will find its way to you.
Places to find about new Bitcoin jobs:
Written by:
Written by: David Waugh, Business Development and Communications at Coinbits, Dave Birnbaum, Director of Product at Coinbits, and Arsen Thagapsov, Social Media Lead at Relai
