Blockchain development has become a really hot trend recently. With over a decade of presence in the market, it is no longer limited to the finance or technology areas. According to the 2021 Global Blockchain Employment Report, this technology has been widely adopted in healthcare and energy industries and has started its evolution into the areas of arts and culture, food agriculture, real estate, legal, and education.
Having explored the perspectives and benefits of blockchain solutions, more and more engineers are considering launching their careers in the target area. This field provides a wide range of professional growth opportunities and is also a quite lucrative option. As of December 2022, the median blockchain developer salary starts at $144,500 per year, which is 20% higher than the typical software engineering job (Talent.com).
Nevertheless, over the past few years the disastrous cocktail of a global pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the extensive printing of money, and rising inflation have all resulted in widespread uncertainty for this industry. So, is there any future in blockchain development?
In this article, we’ll look at the prospects of starting a career in the target area and the top courses that can help you learn the basics of blockchain development from scratch.
Free Blockchain Development Courses to Try: Top Picks
The flexibility and diversity of free online courses have improved the educational process and facilitation in many ways, and the blockchain industry is not an exception. Learners are free to choose the program that ideally matches their expertise and goals and complete it anytime and from nearly any place.
Let’s now review the most trendy blockchain-based courses that have already proven their value in practice.
Blockchain: Ethereum
Freshman By LearnWeb3
Programming Language: Solidity
LearnWeb3 offers extensive tutorials for different levels, helping entry-level developers continually grow their expertise in the Ethereum blockchain. They’re also offering a large set of tests for users to check their understanding of each topic, which only increases learning efficiency.
What You’ll Learn:
The fundamentals of Web3 include setting up your crypto wallet, getting into developer mode, and deploying your first smart contract, token, and NFT.
No matter whether you have little or no experience working with Web3, this course from LearnWeb3 will help you make the most of your efforts in learning development for the Ethereum-based blockchain.
Build your first Ethereum dApp With Buildspace
Programming Language: Solidity
The key point of this Ethereum dApp development course from Buildspace is to learn through practice. Its authors have launched a free and open-source course program that is a good fit for Solidly-focused hackers or engineers who plan to launch a custom product and even students who want to build their portfolio.
What You’ll Learn:
- Some Solidity basics
- Smart contract deployment using ETH blockchain
- React Web3 client app development
If you want to increase your knowledge in Etherum-based dApp development on Solidity, we’d recommend reviewing this online course from Buildspace.
Blockchain: Solana
Rust + Solana By IdeaSoft Career Booster
Programming Language: Rust
This course is one of the very few offering a detailed guide of Rust-based development in addition to the Solana blockchain basics. That is why it can be extremely helpful for beginners with little to no expertise in tech development. Once you complete each lesson, you will be offered various sets of interactive quizzes and tests to consolidate the course material.
What You’ll Learn:
- The Specifics of Rust-based development
- The basics of Solana blockchain, its differences from Ethereum, and major use cases
- How to build production-ready programs using Solana-SDK
- The Benefits of the Anchor framework and its applications for Rust/Solana development
Learning multiple blockchain technologies can significantly add to your competitiveness in the job market. So, Rust + Solana free blockchain development course for beginners by IdeaSoft Career Booster is an excellent way to get started in the Web3 niche.
Solana Development Course By SolDev
Programming Language: Rust
This course has an extensive set of modules aimed to uncover the basics of Web3 Development based on the Solana network. Its key advantage is the program is continually updated, which means you’ll stay in the loop of the latest trends in Solana development.
What You’ll Learn:
- The basics of the Solana network and Solana-based development
- How to Create Solana NFTs
- How to Build and swap tokens
- Client interaction with Solana-based programs
If you’re looking for a comprehensive Solana development course, we’d recommend exploring this learning program from SolDev.
Blockchain: Near
Meme Museum By Near Academy
Programming Language: AssemblyScript
At Near Academy, learners can access free interactive courses for Web3 dApp development. Overall, the course consists of 8 chapters, each of which is presented in a fancy gaming concept – play-to-learn. After completion, each participant is guaranteed to get an NFT certificate and join the builders of NEAR Academy on GitHub.
What You’ll Learn:
- The Full Potential of the Decentralized Internet
- The NEAR protocol basics
- A theoretical knowledge of Near-based development
- Practical coding skills using NEAR blockchain
Explore the details of the Meme Museum blockchain course from Near Academy on their website.
Blockchain: Polygon (MATIC)
Blockchain Development Guide: Polygon By Udemy
Programming Language: Solidity and React
This free course from Udemy is dedicated to studying the specifics of the Polygon dApp development in the form of online lectures. The program is a perfect fit for beginner Web3 learners and also has some great insights for more advanced blockchain engineers as well. However, it does require a basic understanding of Solidity and React, so keep that in mind before getting started.
What You’ll Learn:
- How to launch a dApp project on Polygon
- How to Create Polygon-based protocols
- Review the basics of Solidity and React development
- How to Operate with smart contracts on Polygon
For those who have expertise working with Solidity and React languages, trying an online Polygon blockchain development course by Udemy can be a great place to start.
Summary
Having explored the future prospects of blockchain development, we see that the blockchain industry has already become an integral component of software development. So far, it has been successfully integrated across many industries and will continue transforming more and more niches.
There has never been a better time to get into this area and improving your expertise in blockchain development with free online courses can be an excellent way to start a career in this field. We hope that this overview has helped you get some insights into the blockchain learning programs that are available and that you can pick one that perfectly meets your business goals and needs.
Good luck!
