Where to make friends with blockchain: websites, courses, community
Alexandra Pitkevich, Head of Blockchain Practice at EPAM, shares best practices for learning blockchain for beginners and advanced engineers exclusively for the Anywhere Club blog.
Why blockchain is needed
— Blockchain technology has made inroads into a wide range of industries, extending far beyond its roots in cryptocurrency. As a result, we are now witnessing the growth of blockchain projects in every aspect of society: from traditional supply chain traceability and cross-border payments, to less mainstream (but equally important) smart cities using the technology for traffic and parking solutions, peer-to-peer energy trading, and carbon credit management. The growing number of opportunities means that the demand has greatly increased for developers who are skilled in building blockchain networks and applications, inspiring many individuals to consider a career in blockchain development.
It is a common myth that you need an advanced degree to work with blockchain. There are many tools in the market to assist in leveraging this technology, and several blockchains allow you to develop applications in almost any contemporary coding language. I will share some resources that you can use to start exploring blockchain and to level up your skills if you already have blockchain experience.
For beginners
For beginners on their journey in the blockchain, as an independent study you can begin with LinkedIn Learning courses. My favorites are:
In addition, there are several useful resources from O'Reilly:
- The NFT Handbook — learn exactly what NFTs are, how they evolved and why they have value;
- Introducing Blockchain Applications: Understand and Develop Blockchain Applications Through Distributed Systems — deepen your understanding of blockchain technology and develop your own blockchain applications; and
- Cryptocurrency All-in-One For Dummies — get up to speed on cryptocurrency investing and mining, blockchain, bitcoin, and Ethereum.
It is also worth attending some of the live training events offered by O’Reilly experts:
- Blockchain, NFTs, and Smart Contracts for Practical Use (September 9, 2022); and
- Blockchain, Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, NFTs and the Metaverse (August 25, 2022).
For advanced engineers
To dive deeper into blockchain technology, I recommend the following courses:
- Build an Ethereum Blockchain App from LinkedIn Learning;
- Blockchain with Hyperledger Fabric — Second Edition from O’Reilly;
- Learn Ethereum from O’Reilly;
- Hands-On Smart Contract Development with Hyperledger Fabric V2 from O’Reilly;
- Certified Blockchain Developer – Hyperledger Fabric (CBDH) (Hyperledger) from O’Reilly;
- Securing Blockchain Networks like Ethereum and Hyperledger Fabric from O’Reilly;
- Ethereum Smart Contract Development from O’Reilly;
- Mastering the Lightning Network from O’Reilly; and
- Mastering Corda from O’Reilly.
Additionally, you can refer to these O’Reilly titles:
— In addition to these materials, together with colleagues we study various aspects of blockchain technology and its use in the industry, discuss the latest technological changes, and consider use cases in the industry. Several times a month, our community gathers for Brown Bag meetings dedicated to business or technology. We have a YouTube channel, a podcast in Russian, and we regularly host global events from Blockchain Professionals.