What is Web3?
Simply put, Web3 is a new iteration of the World Wide Web that incorporates Blockchain into the common stack of technologies used to develop apps, combining notions like decentralization, cryptocurrencies, and token-based economics (tokenomics).
The term was coined in 2014 by Gavin Wood, co-founder of Ethereum, and it gained popularity in 2021 as a result of the thriving crypto community, huge tech businesses, and venture capital firms.
Web3's core is the Blockchain, and one of its primary components is "smart contracts" – let's take a quick look at what they are, how they help the creation of DApps, and why smart contract developers are paid so well.
Smart Contracts in Web3 Applications
Smart contracts are immutable bits of software that operate on a decentralized network and are in charge of storing, reading, manipulating, and updating data on the blockchain, as well as processing all of the in-between logic to achieve the intended outcome (such as calling other smart contracts or performing calculations).
Cryptocurrencies and NFTs, for example, are all supported by a smart contract that instructs tokens on what to perform.
Smart contracts have two primary features:
- are deterministic
- are immutable
Deterministic because the outcome will always be the same given the same input.
Immutable because a smart contract cannot be updated once deployed — This is the key reason smart contracts are considered security-sensitive and must be properly tested before being published to the blockchain since any bug present at deploy time will be exploitable by anybody in a second moment.
Immutability is also one of the factors contributing to smart contract engineers' high pay since it makes it extremely difficult and crucial to write secure and reliable code that cannot be exploited once deployed.
Web3 Developer Salary
Let's be clear, Web3 developer's pay varies greatly based on three major factors:
- Role
- Years of experience
- Country
The first pertains to the developer's job in the development pipeline, the second is determined by how many years a web3 developer has worked in the industry, and the final is impacted by the cost of living as well as other aspects connected to the developer's and the company's region of origin.
However, according to glassdoor.com and talent.com, the following are the low, high, and trends of the average Web3 developer salaries by country:
| Region | Low | High | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| India | $10,000 | $40,000 | $25,000 |
| USA | $121,000 | $230,000 | $140,000 |
| UK | $90,000 | $130,000 | $110,000 |
| Canada | $80,000 | $170,000 | $130,000 |
| Singapore | $70,000 | $120,000 | $90,000 |
| Germany | $60,000 | $150,000 | $110,000 |
| Switzerland | $100,000 | $174,000 | $130,000 |
| China | $9,000 | $30,000 | $15,000 |
| Italy | $30,000 | $60,000 | $34,000 |
Web3 developer salary by country
As you can see, we move from a global low of $9,000 in China to a global high of $230,000 in the United States. This is because we include in these statistics a wide range of Web3 professions with widely disparate pay.
Just like Web2, Web3 development isn't only about developing smart contracts, instead, it includes various different professionals all working together to bring decentralized apps, protocols, and blockchains to reality.
Of course, pay for various blockchain development roles will vary.
Web3 developers can be broadly classified in:
- Core Blockchain developers
- Blockchain software developers or Smart contract developers
- Full-stack web3 developers
- Front-end web3 developers
Can you become a Web3 developer if you have no prior programming experience?
Yes.
The Developer Stack
If we consider web3 to be a car, then web3 libraries/dApps are the chassis, smart contracts/blockchain are the internal hardware components, wallets serve as the driver's license, and the node is the fuel required to power the car. Let's take them one by one.
Web3 libraries/dApps: Web3 libraries allow us to easily communicate with the blockchain, transact, and deal with smart contracts. We may create decentralized apps that exist on the blockchain or interact with it by using a web3 library, such as web3.js, ethers.js, and web3.py.
Smart contracts: Smart contracts are snippets of code that reside on the blockchain. They operate within the blockchain and are unchangeable. Solidity is the most often used programming language for smart contracts. The majority of developers write, build, and deploy contracts using Remix IDE. When a local development environment is required, tools such as Truffle, Hardhat, and Brownie come in helpful.
Nodes/Web3 providers: To obtain data from the blockchain, nodes or Web3 providers are required; nodes run a copy of the blockchain. Nodes are an essential component of the web3 developer stack since a web3 library cannot communicate with smart contracts without them. They act as a portal into the blockchain universe.
Wallets: A Wallet address on a blockchain serves as an individual's identification while also keeping the owner's various cryptocurrencies. Whenever we wish to do a write operation on the blockchain, we must first validate the transaction and pay a fee to the network; this is made easier by utilizing a wallet, such as MetaMask. Additionally, you can develop your own ETH address/wallet with JavaScript, Python, Ruby, Go, or PHP.
Conclusions
Learning Web3.0 and blockchain technology may appear intimidating at first, but anyone can do it.
Learn step-by-step, beginning with the fundamentals of computer science and progressing through JavaScript, solidity, and cutting-edge DeFi apps.
You won't be able to master Blockchain Development in a week, but you can accomplish it in a year if you put in the effort.