There is a shortage of technical (and female) crypto talent: report

There is a shortage of technical (and female) crypto talent: report

The supply of engineers and IT talent in the blockchain industry is not meeting demand.

According to a new study from crypto exchange OKX and LinkedIn, mature digital asset markets have shifted companies' needs toward technical roles - particularly when it comes to security.

Finance talent makes up 19% of blockchain-focused employees, the report said. Engineers, on the other hand, make up 16%. And business development, information technology and sales people each account for about 6%.

The analysis contains samples of research data from LinkedIn covering 180 countries from January 2019 to January 2022.

The most sought-after jobs are crypto traders, software engineers, analysts, support analysts and customer service representatives – which tend to come with relatively higher compensation.

However, according to LinkedIn job postings, the finance category ranked sixth in terms of hiring demand in June. Instead, engineering and information technology workers are most sought after as companies build blockchain capabilities, followed by professionals in product management, marketing and human resources.

The study examined both crypto-native companies and traditional companies trying to gain a foothold in digital assets.

The fastest growing title was a “Quality Assurance Analyst,” which had a growth rate of 713% from June 2021 to June 2022. Cryptology technicians and compliance specialists ranked second and third, with growth of 350% and 253%, respectively, this range.

“The blockchain industry is transforming from a highly financial to a highly technical nature,” the report said. “It will take full advantage of the combination of technical and financial properties of blockchain to gradually become an important part of the digital economy.”

Emily Landon, CEO of The Crypto Recruiters Blockworks said their company is receiving many requests for marketing, investor relations and developer roles - including front-end developers as well as those familiar with the Rust and Solidity programming languages.

But finding tech talent is becoming increasingly difficult because candidates don't always market themselves well on LinkedIn, she added. Others have deleted their LinkedIn accounts because of spam from recruiters, Landon said, and flocked to Twitter and Discord instead.

“That makes it difficult to find them on these platforms,” Landon said. “Essentially, these developers have gone incognito.”

More numbers at a glance

LinkedIn data shows that the platform's total number of members working in the blockchain industry increased 76% year-over-year through June. The US has the most people working in space, followed by India and China.

In terms of job postings, blockchain-related talent demand is most concentrated in the United States, China, France, India and Germany.

The average tenure of global blockchain talent is 1.2 years, according to the report. Aside from the influx of employees from financial and technology companies into the space, the influx of talent in the industry primarily comes from the segment.

Despite year-on-year growth, female talent remains scarce overall. According to the report, the segment has about four times more men than women.

“[We’ve had] it’s incredibly hard to find women in space, especially,” Landon said. “We want to help more women enter technical careers.”

. .

The post There’s a Shortage of Tech (And Female) Crypto Talent: Report is not financial advice.