Decentralized finance is a rapidly growing industry that is creating numerous job opportunities in 2023. According to Dappradar, the total value locked in DeFi protocols reached $74.6 billion in February 2023, a 26.82% growth from the previous month.
The DeFi ecosystem is revolutionizing traditional finance by providing decentralized, permissionless alternatives to financial services. As a result, the industry's demand for talented professionals keeps increasing. The DeFi sector is attracting top talents from various backgrounds such as developers, smart contract engineers, marketers, financial analysts, etc.
In this article, we will explore the insights shared by a DeFi expert, Bianca Andreea Buzea. She is currently the developer advocate engineer at Balancer, a DeFi liquidity infrastructure and she is the creator of DevRel
University, a free pilot program for aspiring developer relations engineers. We invited her to discuss the topic ‘career opportunities in DeFi in 2023’ and to share the key skills and qualifications needed to succeed in the rapidly evolving DeFi industry.
Current Status of the DeFi Industry
Our first discussion with Bianca was to tell us the current status of the DeFi industry. The most important metric to look out for is Total value Locked (TVL). It measures the value of deposits people have put into different decentralized applications or protocols. As of the 8th of February, 2023, the cumulative TVL of the DeFi industry was $48.89B.
What Types of Protocols Exist in DeFi?
The different types of protocols in DeFi are:
Liquidity infrastructure and AMMs: This protocol enables the seamless exchange of cryptocurrencies by facilitating liquidity provision through smart contracts. An example is Balancer.
Debt/Lending Markets: They allow borrowers to access loans without intermediaries, and lenders to earn interest. An example of such a protocol is Compound.
Derivative Market: These are financial contracts that track and provide exposure to underlying assets. An example is dYdX.
LSDS - Liquid Staked Derivatives: This enables users to earn rewards by staking their cryptocurrency holdings, while also trading the staked asset as collateral for loan. An example is Lido Finance.
DEXs - Decentralized Exchanges: They are similar to centralized exchanges but the main difference is that they are powered by smart contracts and function at all times. An example is PancakeSwap.
DEX Aggregators: They put together swaps from different DEXs such that in the end, you have the best swap available to you. An example is paraswap.
Decentralized Insurance: They protect users against risks, such as smart contract hacks, by pooling their funds and creating insurance policies governed by smart contracts. An example is Nexus Mutual.
Innovative Products Built on DeFi
Three specialized products exist on DeFi. They are:
Stablecoin designs: This solves the problem of the fluctuating nature of cryptocurrencies. An example is Gyroscope stablecoin which sets the bar for digital currency. It monitors its system and adjusts liquidity and risk management according to transparent, autonomous rules. The rules define the minting prices quoted by the system and stabilize the protocol’s balance sheet in the event of shocks to the reserve.
DeFi-Powered Remittances Service: This refers to the use of DeFi protocols to facilitate cross-border payment and remittances. It solves the problem of high fees for using centralized finance remittances. In a defi-powered remittance transaction, fees are reduced and people get more value in sending remittances. One example of a defi-powered remittance platform is Xave. It enables users to transfer funds across borders quickly and cheaply.
Fixed Yield markets: These are DeFi protocols that offer users a fixed rate of return on their cryptocurrency holdings, regardless of market fluctuations or volatility. One example of a fixed yield market is Element Finance.
What changed in the DeFi market in 2022?
The TVL of the DeFi industry was $91.93b in 2022 but it used to be higher than that before. This is a result of the Luna crash that happened on the 9th of May 2022 which made lots of people lose their trust when it comes to the Web3 space.
“The current fear in the market can be reduced by educating people on the benefits of decentralized finance and helping them differentiate between centralized finance and decentralized finance” – Bianca Andreea Buzea, Developer Advocate Engineer at Balancer
Career Opportunities in DeFi
Bianca outlined career opportunities available in the Defi space and the description for each job role. They are as follows:
1. Engineering: The job types under this category include front and engineer full stack engineer, full-stack engineer, developer operations, and smart contract engineer. To get a job for any of the above job roles, the professional must have the following:
Knowledge of how smart contracts work, Ethereum signatures, wallet connections, and transaction signing execution.
2. Marketing: For this category, the job types include marketing manager, social media manager, and content manager. Any professional applying for any of the job roles under marketing must meet the following requirements:
Strong understanding of digital marketing concepts and tactics.
Proficiency with content management systems.
Excellent knowledge of SEO
Strong copywriting skills
Highly developed creativity
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Highly developed attention to detail.
3. Developer Relations: The job types that fall under this category include developer advocate and developer advocate engineer. The requirements that must be met for these job roles include:
Deep understanding of blockchain concepts
Public speaking
Strong knowledge of the developer products and tooling market in web3
Strong level of understanding of GitHub and or other open-source tools.
Coding experience
“Other career opportunities in Defi cut across other sectors such as legal, accounting, community management, and others”– Bianca Andreea Buzea, Developer Advocate Engineer at Balancer
Bianca mentioned that there are soft skills and hard skills required to get a job in the DeFi space. The soft skills include communication, being open to feedback, adaptability, the ability to work in a team, and active listening. The hard skills depend on the domain you wish to apply for. It could be accounting, marketing, programming, cloud competencies, etc.
How to Become Successful in your DeFi Career
Bianca mentioned that what helps take you closer to a career in DeFi are tokenomics knowledge, open-source contributions, and being an active community member in a DeFi protocol.
1. Tokenomics Understanding: Being knowledgeable about tokenomics helps you understand how the overall system works and you stand out to potential employers.
2. Open-Source Contributions: Contributing to open-source projects can be an excellent way to gain experience, build a portfolio and demonstrate your skills to DeFi companies.
3. Being an Active Community Member: Being an active community member in a protocol you wish to work with is a great idea. It helps you get noticed and at some point, if they find you valuable, they will want you to work for them.
She concluded the webinar by sharing links to websites where aspiring Defi professionals can get job opportunities. Below are the links:
http://web3.career/remote-jobs// - Web3 Career
https://angel.co/ - Wellfound
https://lensa.com/talent/job-opportunities - Lensa Insights
Directly on the company’s website/LinkedIn profile
Conclusion
DeFi is a fast-growing industry that is continually evolving and providing several opportunities for individuals to offer their skills and expertise. Whether you are a developer, entrepreneur, lawyer, accountant, marketer, or any other type of professional, there are numerous opportunities to contribute to the DeFi space and have a substantial impact on the future of finance.
Token Researcher & DeFi Analyst Training
EkoLance is organizing a Token Researcher and DeFi Analyst training session to empower professionals with the knowledge and skills they need to become successful in the industry.
The training session will provide a comprehensive overview of tokenomics, covering topics such as token design, distribution, and governance.
Whether you're a seasoned DeFi professional looking to deepen your knowledge, or a Web2 professional seeking to enter the space, this training session is an invaluable opportunity to learn from industry experts and connect with blockchain professionals. This training session will not only take your DeFi career to the next level, but it will also increase your chances of securing a high-paying job as a Token Researcher or a DeFi Analyst. Click here to enroll for the upcoming training program.
About EkoLance
EkoLance is a skill-training and recruitment company that equips you with the knowledge and skills needed to meet the specific requirements of your preferred career in the blockchain industry. In addition to providing skill training, we partner with global tech companies in finding and hiring qualified candidates from our talent pool.
To read the summary of our just concluded blockchain content creator training for professionals, click here.
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